Loose Blues News

Video Blues: Raoul and The Big Time had their first video debut in June on Jazzland with Ross Porter on COOL TV. 'Cold Outside', directed by Train 48's Andrew Kenneth Martin, will continue to play in rotation this summer. The Big Time has also recently been granted a BRAVOFACT grant to shoot a short film/video for their song 'Baby Don't Stop', which will be directed by recent American Film Institute grad Jeff Stephenson.

www.ultimatejamtracks.com: Pete Schmidt & Shane Scott have a new website for their "Ultimate Blues Jam" cd series, and are about to release the "Harmonica Edition" disc this month.

downchild.com: Released for the first time on CD are Downchild Blues Band recordings "Straight Up" (1973), "We Deliver" (1980), "Road Fever" (1980), "Blood Run Hot" (1981), and "But I'm On The Guest List" (1982).

June Benefit: The 16th Annual Fundraising Gala for Literacy, hosted by Shelagh Rogers, was held last month at the Red Barn Theatre in Jackson's Point, Ontario, and featured the Jimmy Bowskill Band, Danny Marks, Jory Nash, Mike Stevens, Lara St. John, Lorne Elliot, and many more. Founded by Peter Gzowski, these events have raised more than $6.5 million in the past 16 years for literacy organizations across Canada.

1st Annual Mansion House Blues Festival: July 16 to 18, at the Mansion House, 129 High Street, Sutton, Ontario, 905-722-8345, this new festival has been curated by Mark 'Bird' Stafford. The first year is intended to be small and intimate, but with a potential for a sprawl into the streets, and other venues, in coming summers. Chosen artists include David Owen (solo), Jack de Keyzer, Michael Pickett (solo), Wickens-Knight, Harmonica Knights hosted by Mark 'Bird' Stafford with special guests Al Lerman (Fathead) and Espanola Slim, Grant Lyle and the Brotherhood, and David Rotundo and the Blue Canadians.

The Empire Sandy Rhythm and Blues Cruise: N iagara College once again presented this sunset cruise last month, sailing in Lake Ontario from Port Weller West (St. Catharines, Ontario), with dinner, coffee, dessert and live music featuring the Midnight Shift (Jerry Salfi, Gil Hicks, Kirk Devereux and 'Lemon Lime' Pete Gallant). The Empire Sandy is a 62-metre(200 foot), three-masted tall ship with plenty of room, on deck and below, to party and dance, and to enjoy the music, moon and stars.

Readers update: Over the spring months, there was a lot of uncertainty in the air in regards to the future of Readers in Dunnville, considered for the last few years, as being one of the finest listening rooms around for roots `n' blues. But the skies have cleared, the clouds of doom and despair are gone and the sun is shining. On June 30, Readers will be signing the documents and taking possession of the building at 144 Queen St. With the help of a couple of fundraisers, some generous donations, and some marketing and advertising ideas, the revenue required has been raised and the partners are now sole owners and captains of their own ship.

On Saturday, July 3, Readers will be having a party to celebrate not only their victory, but also their third anniversary. Tickets are just $10.00 and include a buffet BBQ dinner with some hot blues and funky r&b and rock n roll supplied by Catfish.

The bad news though, is because the atmosphere of uncertainty hung in the air too long, due to time constraints, there will be no SouthCoast BluesFest this summer.

However, Readers will still host a Blues Bash Weekend of shows on July 31 & Aug 1 with Harrison Kennedy, Anderson/Sloski, Suzie Vinnick, John & The Sisters and more. Check the website at www.readerscafe.com for more details and ticket prices and for a possible free outdoor Sunday Afternoon concert across the river at the Boathouse with surprise special guests.

CBC's Saturday Night Blues' "Great Canadian Blues Award": David Gogo was announced as the 13th winner of this yearly event, which, in the past, has honoured Colin Linden, Rita Chiarelli, Dutch Mason, Richard Newell, David Wilcox, Donny Walsh, Colin James, Long John Baldry, Amos Garrett, Big Dave McLean, Matt Minglewood, and Sue Foley for a lifetime contribution to the blues in Canada. Gogo wishes to especially thank "SNB, the CBC (for not cancelling the show - it is way too important for the Canadian Blues Community), SNB producer Dan Cherwoniak, and most gladly, Holger Peterson - Order of Canada - and SNB Host. This award means so much." See DavidGogo.com for dates, times and other information regarding Gogo's performances this summer, including as part of festivals in Winnipeg, Montreal, Ottawa, Thunder Bay, Mont Tremblant, Perth, Sudbury, Toronto, Comox, Carleton, Salmon Arm, Port Credit and Niagara Falls.

Magic Slim (right) stands as the greatest living proponent of the intense electrified, Mississippi-to-Chicago blues style that spawned so much of the music played by modern blues artists and rockers. Born in Torrence, Mississippi in 1937, Magic Slim (Morris Holt) was given his stage name by his mentor, the legendary Magic Sam. Magic Slim and The Teardrops won Band of The Year at the 2003 W. C. Handy Awards and are featured in Martin Scorcese`s epic documentary "THE BLUES". What many consider as "the last real Chicago blues band" is enjoying a career high point. That energy transforms onto the bandstand and shouldn`t be missed. He plays the Silver Dollar Saturday July 3rd as part of the Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival.

Ray Condo Remembered: Toronto fans of Canadian rockabilly hero Ray Condo paid tribute with a memorial show at the Horseshoe and a photo exhibit by Gayle Hurmuses in the front room at the Cameron. Many of the photos were shot at Ray's memorable appearances in Toronto at Sneaky Dee's, The Cameron and the Horseshoe. He passed away in Vancouver on April 15.

House of Blues presents John Lee Hooker: On Father's Day Weekend, the House of Blues Radio Hour dedicated the complete hour to John Lee Hooker. Hosted by Elwood Blues, aka Dan Akroyd, this hour-long syndicated radio show discussed the John Lee Hooker Estate releases Face To Face, Jack O Diamonds 1949 Recordings, and the newest DVD, Come & See About Me - The Definitive DVD, all released through Eagle Rock Entertainment. A number of Canadian radio stations featured the show. The Definitive DVD commences with his earliest footage from the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival, right through1989's The Healer, providing a fine retrospective of this entire career. In addition, it includes footage of Hooker playing with his disciple, Van Morrison. Come & See About Me is a who's who of musical pioneers, with performances by John Hammond, Paul Butterfield, Foghat, Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder, Carlos Santana, the Rolling Stones and many more.

Antone's, Home of the Blues: The new independent film, "Antone's: Home of the Blues", premiered at the Chicago Blues Festival last month. "From its humble beginnings to its current place as one of the premier showcases in the world for blues and other roots music, Antone's became a beacon for blues legends and newcomers alike, who found in its friendly confines a place to perform their music in front of an appreciative audience and in an environment that nurtured both the music and the artist alike. Starting with its opening night guest of legendary Zydeco king Clifton Chenier, Antone's has hosted a literal "who's who" of the blues world, with such artists as Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Fats Domino, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Jimmy Reed, Buddy Guy, Eddie Taylor, Sunnyland Slim, Hubert Sumlin, Luther Tucker, Jimmie Rogers and Big Walter Horton gracing the stage through the years. In addition to the legends, Antone's became a school for such Austin locals as Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Charlie and Will Sexton, and Angela Strehli, who, drawn by the majesty and power of the blues, embraced its soul and took the music to new heights with their own interpretations of the classic sound. Laced throughout "Antone's: Home of the Blues" are rare interviews and previously unseen performance footage. Included are interviews with many of the local and national people who've helped nurture and support Antone's throughout its history, as well as testimonials from a gamut of special guests ranging from B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Billy Gibbons, Buddy Guy, Joe Ely, Marcia Ball and Kim Wilson. "Antone's: Home of the Blues" was directed by Dan Karlok, an award-winning cinematographer and director, who has won two Emmy Awards for directing and producing the Asleep at the Wheel long-form documentary, "Ride With Bob." He was also nominated for a Grammy Award for the same project. In addition, his work has been honoured at the MCA-1 Awards, the New York Film Festival, the Worldfest Film Festival and film festivals in Chicago, Charleston and Houston. He has also directed an episode of the NBC-TV hit series, "Law and Order." Executive producer of the film is Lucky Tomblin, founder and owner of SilverStar Entertainment, who is a bandleader and songwriter. He founded the Fire Station recording and film studio in San Marcos, Texas, where he recorded such artists as Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Texas Tornados. The documentary includes rare performances and interviews with such music giants as B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Billy Gibbons, Buddy Guy, Willie Nelson, and Jimmie Vaughan". The Chicago Blues Festival premier included a post-screening jam featuring Pinetop Perkins, Willie Big Eyes Smith, bassist Bob Stroger, and other musicians from the film. www.antones-homeoftheblues.com.

www.ultimatejamtracks.com: Pete Schmidt & Shane Scott have a new website for their "Ultimate Blues Jam" cd series, and are about to release the "Harmonica Edition" disc this month.

June Benefit: The 16th Annual Fundraising Gala for Literacy, hosted by Shelagh Rogers, was held last month at the Red Barn Theatre in Jackson's Point, Ontario, and featured the Jimmy Bowskill Band, Danny Marks, Jory Nash, Mike Stevens, Lara St.John, Lorne Elliot, and many more. Founded by Peter Gzowski, these events have raised more than $6.5 million in the past 16 years for literacy organizations across Canada.

Readers update: Over the spring months,there was a lot of uncertainty in the air in regards to the future of Readers in Dunnville, considered for the last few years, as being one of the finest listening rooms around for roots `n' blues. But the skies have cleared,the clouds of doom and despair are gone and the sun is shining. On June 30, Readers will be signing the documents and taking possession of the building at 144 Queen St.With the help of a couple of fundraisers, some generous donations, and some marketing and advertising ideas,the revenue required has been raised and the partners are now sole owners and captains of their own ship.

The bad news though, is because the atmosphere of uncertainty hung in the air too long, due to time constraints, there will be no SouthCoast BluesFest this summer.

Ray Condo Remembered: Toronto fans of Canadian rockabilly hero Ray Condo paid tribute with a memorial show at the Horseshoe and a photo exhibit by Gayle Hurmuses in the front room at the Cameron. Many of the photos were shot at Ray's memorable apperances in Toronto at Sneaky Dee's, The Cameron and the Horseshoe. He passed away in Vancouver on April 15.

The 5th W.C. Handy Blues Awards program: Now available in PDF on the Handy page, it can be viewed and downloaded from ttp://blues.org/handys/pastyears.php4?YearId=1.

Eddie passed away in his sleep on May 29. Musical partner Steve Grisbrook reports that he had been battling a couple of serious medical conditions for quite some time, which he had chosen to keep private. Steve adds that he was "a brilliant musician, singer/songwriter, an award winning producer/engineer, and a best friend. Eddie was working on a new release that will be finished and released with the help of his friends." Here are some of the testimonials posted by friends on MapleBlue-L and Canadianblues-L. You can read more at the memorial page at www.iridescentmusic.ca/baltimore.html.

Lance Anderson wrote "Eddie and I have been friends since we met playing with Maureen Brown in Big Hand. We both shared a love for N'Orleans music, cuisine and, in Eddie's case, the culture. His trips to the Jazz and Heritage Festival were the highlights of his year. I shared honourary keyboardist and accordionist duties with Denis Keldie in Slowpoke. We had some great times especially on the Southern Accent Mardi Gras cruises. One featured both of us billed and advertised as "an accordion duel-to-the-death". That was Eddie's sense of humour. Eddie will not go down in history as one of the musical greats or legends. He will not be mourned by millions nor his life's work honoured in a retrospective. But that does not mean that he did not make a contribution. This was his life's work. It is the hard working artists like Eddie who slog it out in the trenches, with little recognition, who have my greatest respect. Eddie carried the torch for this music and loved to play it and talk about it. His complete dedication to following his chosen path, as both a producer and player, made him special in my mind. He and so many musicians like him are the backbone of the art. The disciples of the blues.

Eddie and I have recorded some duets and also some full band songs that featured Garth Hudson on them. This will be finished. Also Eddie answered the call (as he always did, no questions asked) and came down to London, Ontario, on short notice and recorded Garth and Maud Hudson in concert. His engineering skills shone on it. His production work with Willie P. Bennet earned him a Juno. But it is his enthusiasm that was infectious and inspiring. Eddie was IN. If you had something that was musically interesting or artistically fulfilling, no matter what the money was, count him in. Man, that's priceless. And in this industry that's special! Eddie's life work was to express himself through his instrument. He was touched early by a music that came from far away and before his time. He spent his life connecting to that music's primal force, that he was drawn to. In this time of war and destruction, here was a soul who did nothing but attempt to create joy for himself and his listeners. This should be remembered and celebrated. Our society would do better to encourage this as a life pursuit, and recognize the positive contributions artists of all levels make to our world. Though people die every day, I would like to think that when a musician with Eddie's gentle heart passes, even the angels cry. I do too."

Alec Fraser: "Eddie Baltimore was a great producer/songwriter/teacher and always had a wonderful sense of humour. One of those people you are always glad to see. I and many others will miss him. Peace be with you Eddie".

Madagascar Slim: "Eddie gave me my first chance to record in a big studio setting. As a teacher at the Harris Institute he used my band as a project for his students to record. That demo was a great promotional tool and helped me tremendously with my career. After that, Eddie and I, with Joe Burns on bass, opened for Ali Farka Toure at Harbourfront. Those were the good old times! A man of humour, a fearless musician whose taste span from 'deep south blues' to 'deep south Malagasy music', a great human being, the music scene is that much poorer with his departure"

Derek Andrews: "Eddie Hutchison aka Baltimore and I also go back a ways. In the 70s when he provided musical / guitar backbone for Charlotte Melby and Pretty Face, I booked the band. We got to hang out a lot and endure the scuffs and bumps of music in bars where 'commercial' music kept the taverns full or at least active. Years later, when we re-acquainted, we got to hang in his musical mecca, New Orleans, during jazzfest. Eddie and I worked on the TBS Blues in The Schools structure before Alec Sinclair picked it up. Eddie got out into the schools through the BITS programme, and got in front of Harris Institute students in a well-earned day job teaching studio tech. Eddie Big Ears. Damn shame he is gone."

From Brian Blain's website, an abbreviated bio that Eddie threw together for their gig: "...Played psychedelic country blues with "the Humble Sponge " in Yorkville, opened for Johnny Winter at Massey Hall - worked with Jamaican recording star Carlene Davis through mid 70s - toured in relentless obscurity for 80s - fronted Slowpoke since 1990

- won a Juno as engineer on Willie P Bennett's "Hearstrings" in 1999 - gigged in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Memphis, New Orleans , and the North Bay Rib-Fest

- opened for Ali Farka Toure with Madagascar Slim - wrote original music for and had songs in 2 feature movies - sat in with Irma Thomas in her club in New Orleans, and with members of Fats Domino's band

- has autographs of Muddy Waters and Scotty Moore - has played in every kind of venue imaginable, from concert halls to supermarkets, from prisons to garden parties, and even a concert for 12 priests at the Briars in Jackson's Point (and no, they didn't dance )

Over 200 musicians showed up at his funeral at St. Bonaventure Church on June 2nd.

And finally, we remember Ray Charles: The Associate Press reported as follows: "Ray Charles died at 73, on Thursday, June 10, 2004. Ray Charles, the Grammy-winning crooner who blended gospel and blues in such crowd-pleasers as 'What'd I Say' and ballads like 'Georgia on My Mind', died Thursday, a spokesman said. He was 73. Charles died at his Beverly Hills home surrounded by family and friends, said spokesman Jerry Digney. Charles' last public appearance was alongside Clint Eastwood on April 30, when the city of Los Angeles designated the singer's studios, built 40 years ago in central Los Angeles, as a historic landmark.

Blind by age 7 and an orphan at 15, Charles spent his life shattering any notion of musical boundaries and defying easy definition. A gifted pianist and saxophonist, he dabbled in country, jazz, big band and blues, and put his stamp on it all with a deep, warm voice roughened by heartbreak from a hardscrabble childhood in the segregated South. 'His sound was stunning — it was the blues, it was R&B, it was gospel, it was swing ' it was all the stuff I was listening to before that but rolled into one amazing, soulful thing', singer Van Morrison told Rolling Stone magazine in April. Charles won 9 of his 12 Grammy Awards between 1960 and 1966, including the best R&B recording 3 consecutive years ('Hit the Road Jack', 'I Can't Stop Loving You' and 'Busted').

His versions of other songs are also well known, including 'Makin' Whoopee; and a stirring 'America the Beautiful'. Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell wrote 'Georgia on My Mind' in 1931 but it didn't become Georgia's official state song until 1979, long after Charles turned it into an American standard. 'I was born with music inside me. That's the only explanation I know of', Charles said in his 1978 autobiography, 'Brother Ray'. 'Music was one of my parts, like my blood. It was a force already with me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me, like food or water'. Charles considered Martin Luther King Jr. a friend and once refused to play to segregated audiences in South Africa. But politics didn't take. He was happiest playing music, smiling and swaying behind the piano as his legs waved in rhythmic joy.

His appeal spanned generations: He teamed with such disparate musicians as Willie Nelson, Chaka Khan and Eric Clapton, and appeared in movies including 'The Blues Brothers'. Pepsi tapped him for TV spots around a simple 'uh huh' theme, perhaps playing off the grunts and moans that pepper his songs. 'The way I see it, we're actors, but musical ones', he once told The Associated Press. 'We're doing it with notes, and lyrics with notes, telling a story. I can take an audience and get `em into a frenzy so they'll almost riot, and yet I can sit there so you can almost hear a pin drop'. Charles was no angel. He could be mercurial, and his womanizing was legendary. He also struggled with a heroin addiction for nearly 20 years before quitting cold turkey in 1965 after an arrest at the Boston airport. Yet there was a sense of humour about even that — he released both 'I Don't Need No Doctor; and 'Let's Go Get Stoned' in 1966. He later became reluctant to talk about the drug use, fearing it would taint how people thought of his work. 'I've known times where I've felt terrible, but once I get to the stage and the band starts with the music, I don't know why but it's like you have pain and take an aspirin, and you don't feel it no more', he once said.

Ray Charles Robinson was born September 23, 1930, in Albany, Georgia. His father, Bailey Robinson, was a mechanic and a handyman, and his mother, Aretha, stacked boards in a sawmill. His family moved to Gainesville, Florida, when Charles was an infant. 'Talk about poor', Charles once said, 'We were on the bottom of the ladder'. Charles saw his brother drown in the tub his mother used to do laundry when he was about 5 as the family struggled through poverty at the height of the Depression. His sight was gone two years later. Glaucoma is often mentioned as a cause, though Charles said nothing was ever diagnosed. He said his mother never let him wallow in pity. 'When the doctors told her that I was gradually losing my sight, and that I wasn't going to get any better, she started helping me deal with it by showing me how to get around, how to find things', he said in the autobiography. 'That made it a little bit easier to deal with'. Charles began dabbling in music at 3, encouraged by a cafe owner who played the piano.

The knowledge was basic, but he was that much more prepared for music classes when he was sent away, heartbroken, to the state-supported St. Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind. Charles learned to read and write music in Braille, score for big bands and play instruments ' lots of them, including trumpet, clarinet, organ, alto sax and the piano. 'Learning to read music in Braille and play by ear helped me develop a damn good memory', Charles said. 'I can sit at my desk and write a whole arrangement in my head and never touch the piano. There's no reason for it to come out any different than the way it sounds in my head'. His early influences were myriad: Chopin and Sibelius, country and western stars he heard on the Grand Ole Opry, the powerhouse big bands of Duke Ellington and Count Basie, jazz greats Art Tatum and Artie Shaw. By the time he was 15 his parents were dead, and Charles had graduated from St. Augustine. He wound up playing gigs in black dance halls ' the so-called chitlin' circuit ' and exposed himself to a variety of music, including hillbilly (he learned to yodel) before moving to Seattle. He dropped his last name in deference to boxer Sugar Ray Robinson, patterned himself for a time after Nat 'King' Cole, and formed a group that backed rhythm `n' blues singer Ruth Brown. It was in Seattle's red light district were he met a young Quincy Jones, showing the future producer and composer how to write music. It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

Charles developed quickly in those early days. Atlantic Records purchased his contract from Swingtime Records in 1952, and two years later he recorded 'I Got a Woman', a raw mixture of gospel and rhythm `n' blues, inventing what was later called soul. Soon, he was being called 'The Genius', and was playing at Carnegie Hall and the Newport Jazz Festival. His first big hit was 1959's 'What'd I Say', a song built off a simple piano riff with suggestive moaning from the Raeletts. Some U.S. radio stations banned the song, but Charles was on his way to stardom. Veteran producer Jerry Wexler, who recorded 'What'd I Say', said he has worked with only three geniuses in the music business: Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin and Charles. 'In each case they brought something new to the table', Wexler told the San Jose Mercury News in 1994. Charles 'had this blasphemous idea of taking gospel songs and putting the devil's words to them. He can take a gem from Tin Pan Alley or cut to the country, but he brings the same root to it, which is black American music'.

Charles released 'Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Volumes 1 and 2' in the early '60s, a big switch from his gospel work. It included 'Born to Lose', 'Take These Chains From My Heart (And Set Me Free)', and 'I Can't Stop Loving You', some of the biggest hits of his career. He made it a point to explore each medium he took on. Country sides were sometimes pop-oriented, while fiddle, mandolin, banjo and steel guitar were added to 'Wish You Were Here Tonight' in the '80s. Jones even wrote a choral and orchestral work for Charles to perform with the Roanoke, Virginia, symphony. Charles' last Grammy came in 1993 for 'A Song for You', but he never dropped out of the music scene. He continued to tour and long treasured time for chess.

He once told the Los Angeles Times: 'I'm not Spassky, but I'll make it interesting for you'. 'Music's been around a long time, and there's going to be music long after Ray Charles is dead', he told the Washington Post in 1983. 'I just want to make my mark, leave something musically good behind. If it's a big record, that's the frosting on the cake, but music's the main meal'. Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.

As we mourn the loss of Eddie Baltimore and Ray Charles in this issue, we must not omit some folks who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to keep the music coming. John Greco, the owner of Peterborough's Legendary Red Dog Tavern, died on June 18 at age 51. And Estelle Klein, the architect of folk festivals as we know them today, who gave so many great undiscovered blues artists a new lease on life by introducing them to a new generation of folk music fans, also passed away this month. And a name that is probably not familiar to readers of this magazine, Niki Goldschmidt passed away at the ripe old age of 96, after a lifetime promoting and producing choral music. A few nights ago, Roy Thomson Hall was packed to the rafters with his fans in a tribute concert and it is worth noting that his final act, in a lifetime of promoting Canadian artists, was to begin writing a letter to the next Prime Minister insisting that the Government make sure that the Canada Council received adequate funding. He died before he could finish that letter but everyone in the hall left with the intention of sending a letter of their own, and as we see the Council re-inventing itself to accommodate roots music, it wouldn't hurt if the new PM (whoever that may be) got a few letters from some blues fans, too. BrianB