The Maple Blues Band performs at the TBS 20th Anniversary Party at the elegant Mod Club on College Street on Sunday, May 29. Pictured from left to right, Chris Murphy, Pat Carey, Gary Kendall, Tom Bona, Michael Fonfara, Chris Whiteley, Teddy Leonard and Al Lerman. They will be joined by guest vocalists John Mays, Chuck Jackson and Dawn Tyler Watson. Photo by Rick Zolkower

Healey Jr.: Jeff Healey and his wife Cristie Healey are proud to announce the birth of their first child, Derek Alexander David Healey, born at 12:49 a.m. on March 7th in Toronto, weighing 7 lbs 5 oz. Both mom and son are doing fine. Well-wishers may send a message to the Healeys at info@jeffhealey.com.

Time for a Spring Tune-Up: Chicago's is doing something different this month offering two workshops for aspiring blues musicians: April 23 (guitar with Pete Schmidt) and April 30 (harmonica with Bird Stafford). Here's a chance to lead the band and pick up some new skills. Blues Player Workshop is a pro jam with instruction taught by veteran players of the Toronto blues scene. Both workshops will be held upstairs at Chicago's in the Bird's Nest from 12:30 - 6 pm. In the evening the instructors will be appearing at the same venue for a public show. Registration is $75 and further information at www.bluesplayerworkshops.com or by calling Robert at 416-922-4738.

Canadian Indie Awards: The Jimmy Bowskill Band would like to thank everyone who voted for them as they were awarded Favourite Blues Group at the Canadian Indie Awards, for the second consecutive year. www.jimmybowskill.com.

New Blues Festivals: Next month we'll begin a monthly Blues Festival "Round-Up" to keep you informed on all the festival activity going on this summer. We are happy to announce that there will be two new blues festivals in our area. The Distillery Blues Festival takes place June 10, 11 and 12 and will be the new home for the Toronto Blues Society Talent Search. Visit www.distilleryblues.com to view the complete lineup.

Down the road apiece, the first Hamilton International Blues and Jazz Festival is scheduled for Sunday, July 10, 2005, at the Ancaster Fairgrounds. Performers will include John Mayall, Jeff Healey's Jazz Wizards, and more artists to be confirmed. For updates, visit www.fusionmanagement.com.

U.K. acoustic blues virtuoso Peter Price (right) spices up the blues with Indian, Brazilian and Bahamian flavours. He will be touring Ontario with stops at the Lula Lounge on April 5 (with Harrison Kennedy and Michael Pickett) and a big Leadbelly Tribute Concert at the Galt Little Theatre in Cambridge on April 2 (also featuring Ken & Chris Whiteley, Paul James, Mo Kauffey, Brian Blain, Alfie Smith and more)

Aboriginal music and blues on XM Satellite Radio: Elaine Bomberry was recently in Washington, D.C., with a team of radio producers from Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, to produce a radio series about the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian. Elaine was invited to XM Satellite Radio, on the program World Zone on Channel 100 with Shawna Renee Oduor. Elaine was interviewed about "The Aboriginal Music Experience...A Radio Documentary Series", which she produced and hosted, as well as about her work in Native blues. A few songs from The Pappy Johns Band with Murray Porter JUNO-nominated release Full Circle were also broadcast. A description is posted on www.xmradio.com (Programming).

Call for the Nanaimo Blues Festival: A concert series is planned for eight consecutive Saturday afternoon/evenings in the Harbourfront Plaza in Nanaimo, B.C., beginning July 9. Any artists who will be touring in the vicinity are invited to contact Bill Lucas, President of the Nanaimo Blues Festival Society, at info@nanaimobluesfestival.com, or billieboy@chly.ca.

Condolences to JW-Jones: His brother, Gabe Wynne-Jones, died tragically on March 7, the result of a car accident. States JW-Jones, "my brother was a great man who did not judge anybody, and always saw the beauty of a person for who they were inside. Gabe is not gone, he lives on in all of us, and will be greatly missed." Adds Ottawa drummer Matt Sobb, "I knew Gabe pretty well. He was a great guy who didn't have a mean bone in his body - very happy-go-lucky, a very enthusiastic music fan, and his big brother's #1 fan. He was studying for a career in the music biz in engineering and marketing/management". For more information, visit www.jw-jones.com/gabe.

We remember Joe Ingrao: It is with great sadness that the blues, soul and jazz communities learned of the passing of the great Joe Ingrao in his sleep on March 19. Joe was the keyboard player for the Lincolns, (including when they performed at Wayne Gretzky's wedding), and for another R&B band, The Ants. Joe was also a fixture at the Niagara Casino, where he interpreted with great soulfulness his unique brand of pop, soul, R&B, jazz, and swing. Sympathies are extended to his wife and family. Niagara's Bill "Mojo Willie" Rymer reports that "Joey performed incredible keyboard and vocal work, and embodied the very essence of cool. His gigs were always a wonderful, warm place to be. He was a great master of musical understatement and subtlety, with a driving left hand. His work on the bass clef rivalled the very best in the business, even though he was largely self taught. Joey will be sorely missed". Adds another resident of the Niagara peninsula, drummer Jim Casson, "Joe was simply one of the best. Not only did Joe represent the high water mark for Blues and R&B keyboards in Niagara, he also worked with Long John Baldry as well as the Lincolns and the Ants. I have worked with Joe many times and always felt the thrill and intensity that he brought to the stage."

George "Wild Child" Butler 1936-2005: The great bluesman George "Wild Child" Butler died on March 1 in a Windsor, Ontario hospital, the result of a pulmonary embolism. He was 68. Wild Child was born in Autaugaville, Alabama on October 1, 1936 and earned his blues stripes beginning in the late 1950s when he took his unique harmonica sound and singing from rural Alabama juke joints to the clubs of Chicago. In the late 1960s, he performed mostly in New Orleans and Houston before returning to Chicago and then touring extensively. Wild Child eventually settled in Canada in 1986 with his wife Elaine, who survives him. Wild Child's recording debut came on the Sharp label in 1964. Between 1966 and 1968, he recorded singles produced by Willie Dixon for Jewel Records. He later had releases on Mercury, TK Records, Charly, Rooster Blues, MC Records, Bullseye Blues and APO Records. His final record, Sho' Nuff, was released in 2001. Wild Child's performance resume includes tours with Jimmy Rogers, Sam Lay, Lightnin' Hopkins, Cousin Joe and Roosevelt Sykes. He also played periodically with Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Willie Dixon, Jimmie Lee Robinson, John Lee Hooker, Sonny Boy Williamson II and many other famous bluesmen. George Butler came upon his nickname even before he could walk. The little boy took to harassing the women who visited his mother in their rural Alabama shack. He would crawl across the floor and pull on their skirts and legs until the women began telling Beatrice Butler that her son was "a wild child." From the time Wild Child picked up the harp at age five, he played it upside down. Not until about 25 years ago did somebody tell him that the high notes were supposed to be played on the right side of the harp. By then, Wild Child had developed his upside down sound, and that style combined with his syncopated singing has been tough to pigeonhole. "They've always called mine the swamp sound," Wild Child said in 2001. "It's not too fast and not too slow. They calls it snapping blues. I was told from Willie Dixon that I had a way-out strange voice. He said he could hear it between Howlin' Wolf and Lightnin' Hopkins. He said ain't nothing been around like that." Dixon also once told Wild Child: "You are the moan of the suffering woman, the groan of the dying man. You ain't nothing but the blues." Wild Child was a very talented songwriter who performed and recorded almost all originals. He and APO Records were planning another recording session when he died. Wild Child had finished writing all of the songs. To those who knew him, Wild Child will be remembered for his exceptional kindness. He had a child-like innocence and enjoyed laughing about simple observations. He sincerely cared for his friends and checked up on them regularly, even those who never checked on him. He met his wife Elaine while playing at a blues bar in Whitehorse, Yukon. Following a three-year long-distance romance, they were married in 1986, and moved to Belle River, near Windsor, to be as close as possible to Chicago, while still remaining in Canada.

Founding Blind Boy George Scott Dies: (By Barry A. Jeckell, Billboard) George Scott, founding baritone of gospel vocal group the Blind Boys of Alabama, died on March 9 at his home in Durham, N.C., according to a statement. He was 75. "We're grateful to the Lord for letting us have George for as long as we did," said Blind Boys leader Clarence Fountain, who was one of the last people Scott spoke to before his death. "He and I grew up together and sang together from little boys to old men. George was a great singer, he could sing any part in a song. We loved him and he was one of the 'Boys.' He lived a life of service and now he's gone on to his reward." Born George Lewis Scott in Notasulga, Ala., the artist met Fountain and Jimmy Carter in 1936 at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind. Three years later they formed the traditional gospel singing group, which Scott also accompanied on guitar. In recent years, the group enjoyed a resurgence in popularity and recently won the Grammy for best traditional soul gospel album for There Will Be a Light (Virgin), recorded with singer-songwriter Ben Harper. The set featured Scott singing lead on the album's opening track, "Take My Hand." Though Scott retired from touring last year, he continued to record with the group and will be heard on its new album, Atom Bomb, just released on Real World Records. No changes are planned in the Blind Boys' touring schedule. His family has asked that mourners make donations to the American Diabetes Assn. (www.diabetes.org/home.jsp). Scott is survived by his wife, Ludie Lewis Mann Scott; his mother, Hassie Lou Scott; and his sister, Benzie Jackson. (Reuters/Billboard)

TBS TALENT SEARCH CALL FOR ENTRIES:

Send a CD with 3 songs (original music encouraged) with a $15 processing fee to: Toronto Blues Society Talent Search, 910 Queen Street West, Suite B04, Toronto, Ontario M6J 1G6

Your CD should have been recorded within the last 2 years without national distribution.

Deadline for submissions is 5 PM May 6, 2005
Finals will be held at the Distillery Blues Festival on June 10,11, 2005

Winner will receive a prize package that includes recording time at Bassline Studios, a photo shoot with Rick Zolkower, and a showcase performance at the Distillery Blues Festival and CBC recording.

FOR MORE INFO:

TEL: 416-538-3885 toll-free 1-866-871-9457

This event is produced with the support of the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Ministry of Culture and the Department of Canadian Heritage.

TBS MERCH AVAILABLE ONLINE

As a result of the blues festivals that didn't happen,
we have lots of brand new TBS T-shirts sitting around the office.

To make it easier for you to own a new TBS T-Shirt or other merchandise, we have added secure transactions on our website to allow you to buy merchandise over the Internet.
Visit our merch page.

You may also take advantage of our Secure On-line Processing to renew your membership with a VISA card at our join up page.

Loose Blues News

TBS TALENT SEARCH CALL FOR ENTRIES:

TBS MERCH AVAILABLE ONLINE