Maple Blues Online - Loose Blues News

Richard Flohil is the first non-musician to he awarded the Estelle Klein Award, the lifetime achievement award of the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals. The presentation was made at the OCFF Conference where Richard received not one, but two standing ovations (he commented later "I hope performers who get applause like that NEVER take it for granted!"). Richard is a long time TBS member, former Board member and currently sits on the Programming Committee.

Happy Birthday Jackie! Jackie Washington celebrates his 87th Birthday at Hugh's Room on Sunday, November 12th with his musical compadres Mose Scarlett, Ken Whiteley and many surprise guests. Jackie has been a staple of the Canadian musical scene since the age of 5 when he sang with The Four Washington Brothers. With a repertoire that extends from the days of slavery to the present, Jackie knows well over 1,200 songs! His incredible life has been the subject of a biography and the number of artists he has known and worked with is staggering. The list includes jazz giants such as Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton and Clark Terry, songwriters such as Joni Mitchell and Gord Lightfoot and blues men like Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee and Lonnie Johnson. For reservations contact Hugh's Room. For more info on Jackie, visit www.jackiewashington.com

This Blues Party is Green: The Call of the Valley is a unique Don River Awareness musicians' showcase, bringing together ecology and performance, passion and politics. The Call of the Valley is Part 3 of the monthly "HOT" Hearts Open Toronto Series at the Rivoli Upstairs (332 Queen St West, Toronto, 416-596-1908) Sunday, November 12 at 7pm, with Danny Marks & friends. Anyone with an interest in preserving green space and saving the Don River Valley is encouraged to contact dmarks@bluz.fm.

2007 Juno Awards Submissions Deadlines: Submissions are now being accepted for the 2007 Juno Awards, Canada's Music Awards. All submissions must be completed online at junosubmissions.ca. The final deadlines are November 15, 2006 for the craft categories, and January 8, 2007 for the sales categories. The fee for CARAS members is $60 per submission, and the non-member's fee is $80 per submission. www.carasonline.ca.

Happy Birthday Mel Brown: Last month, Guitar Legend and Electro-Fi Recording Artist Mel Brown turned 67. It's been a good year for Mel as he continues to enjoy stable health and a busy schedule with several festival appearances and the release of both a new CD "Blues - A Beautiful Thing", and "Mel Brown - The DVD", Mako Funasaka's insightful film on Mel's life and times.

Rez Bluez on APTN: Rez Bluez is now being re-broadcast on APTN every Wednesday at 9 pm & 2 pm, and repeats the next day at 1 pm.

9th Annual Blues On The East Side: This benefit concert is scheduled for Sunday November 5 at the Element Night Club in Kitchener (new location due to the closure of the Lil Big Horn Bar and Grill in Cambridge), and features an all-day line-up including Coco Montoya, Bettye Lavette, Mel Brown, Miss Angel, Cheryl Lescom, Julian Fauth, Paul Reddick, and Webs Jr. and The Honeywood Express. Doors open at 12 noon, show starts at 1:30pm. There will be prizes awarded all day as well. Proceeds from this event will support Community Living Cambridge. For more information, visit www.bluesontheeastside.com

Blues on The Rideau Returns: The Blues on The Rideau Dinner & Show Concert Series is returning for 2006/07 on the 3rd Friday of every month from November to April. All will be at The Cove Inn, Westport (www.coveinn.com), "a beautiful country inn in one of the nicest little towns on the Rideau" Cost is $49 per person (full buffet dinner & show, taxes & tip included) with proceeds going to help support local charities (over $4,000 was raised for charity last year). Buffet 7 pm, shows at 8:30. Advance reservations are required, call (613) 273-3636 or 1-888-268-3466. New this year, The Cove is offering a Blues Weekend Getaway Package that includes Friday dinner & show, Friday & Saturday night accommodation, Saturday breakfast, lunch & dinner, and Sunday breakfast, from only $169 per person double occupancy. The schedule is: November 17 - John Campbelljohn Trio (proceeds to Guthrie House Resource Centre), December 15 - Mark "Bird" Stafford & Band (proceeds to Lucy Drysdale Memorial Scholarship Fund), January 19 - Mike Goudreau Band (proceeds to Westport Lions Club Van), February 16 - Treasa Levasseur Band (proceeds to Friends of Foley Mountain), March 16 - The Bebop Cowboys (proceeds to Westport in Bloom), and April 20 - Diana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley & Band (proceeds to The Rideau District Museum). www.bluesontherideau.ca email: info@bluesontherideau.ca

Guitar Women Shows: "Internationally renowned multi-award winning blues guitarist Sue Foley, internationally renowned slide guitarist Ellen McIlwaine, and fast rising Canadian talents Roxanne Potvin and Rachelle van Zanten, combine for an incredible evening of remarkable guitar skills and powerful music while raising funds to create a bursary award for up and coming young musicians: Thursday November 2 at the Centrepointe Theatre in Ottawa, Friday November 3 in Goderich, and Saturday November 4 in Kitchener - www.GuitarWoman.com. Sue Foley and Rachelle van Zanten in the past few years have not only been making waves in the Canadian and international music scene but have also been focusing on developing a positive role model for young women. Foley has been creating a book highlighting some of the world's most renowned guitar players and how women musicians should be focusing more on skill rather than just image and sexuality, while Rachelle Van Zanten has created Rocker Girl Camps across Canada for young aspiring female musicians. Through the Guitar Women show on November 2nd, the proceeds from the event will help create a bursary for two young up and coming guitar players in the Ottawa area - one male and one female under the age of 18. This will be decided with the help and support of the Ottawa Folklore Centre and a jury of guitarists from the Ottawa area".

Blues for Sail: The Quebec Adapted Sailing Association (Association québécoise de voile adaptée, www.aqvaqc.com) held their second annual "Blues for Sail" fundraising event last month at Bourbon Street West, with the Jamie Wood Band performing their repertoire of blues, jazz and swing. All proceeds contribute to program funding for the association, which provides the opportunity for people with all levels of physical disability to leave their wheelchair or mobility aid on the dock and discover the joys of sailing aboard a sailboat adapted to their needs.

CMW 2007 Opens Nominations for Independent Music Awards, the Indies: Canadian Music Week (CMW) is calling all independent recording artists to apply for The Indies - the 2007 Independent Music Awards. The event will kick off the CMW 07 festivities held in Toronto on Wednesday, March 7, 2007. Applications are due on November 15, 2006. Tickets for The Indies may be purchased on the Rogers Wireless Canadian Music Week web site at www.cmw.net or by calling 905-858-4747. This year's submissions will be taken exclusively through Sonicbids at www.sonicbids.com/indies2007. Submission rules and regulations can be obtained from the CMW web site at www.cmw.net. Presented by inDiscover.net, The Indies celebrate outstanding achievement in sound recording. The awards are limited to independent artists and cover 14 different genres of music. Winners in 27 of the 30 categories are decided by both a public vote and an industry vote. Keep checking www.cmw.net for updates on nominations, hosts, presenters and performers.

Canadian Music Week 2007 promises to deliver a number of exciting highlights, including The Indies (Independent Music Awards), Wednesday, March 7, a celebration of the best in Canadian and International independent music; the convention, March 8-10, two parts conference, one part trade show, three full days of learning from the best in a spectacular forum of seminars, debates, clinics, keynote speakers, celebrity interviews, and breakout sessions geared towards music business professionals and musicians alike.

For the musicians, it's the one chance to interact with and learn from the pros in all sectors of the industry; the Festival, March 8-10, The largest music festival in Canada, spans three nights of performances with over 500 showcasing bands at over 44 live music venues throughout downtown Toronto, the place to hear the hottest acts, from home and abroad, both famous and unknown; the Songwriters' Festival, March 9-10, a freewheeling creative exchange between legendary songwriters, prolific hitmakers and some of the best up-and-comers in the global music market; and more. Tickets for all CMW events may be purchased now on the Rogers Wireless Canadian Music Week web site at www.cmw.net or by calling 905.858.4747.

James "Snooky" Pryor 1921-2006: Andrew Galloway advises that "We mourn the loss of our great friend who passed away October 19th. His contributions to blues music were legendary, and included pioneering the amplification of the harmonica, and releasing the first post-war Chicago blues record. We were honoured to have Snooky on the Electro-Fi label, both as a solo artist and with his long time friend and musical partner Mel Brown, from 1998 until his retirement in 2003. A true gentleman who loved life and laughter, Snooky used to say "l'm the last of the best". Anyone who ever had the pleasure to meet the man or hear him play the blues will never forget him.

Henry Townsend 1909 - 2006: 96 year-old blues legend Henry James "The Mule" Townsend died, with his son Alonzo and his long time friends Scott Shuman and John May at his side. Known as the Dean of St. Louis Blues, Henry was the oldest living recording artist, recording in every decade since the 1920s.

Etta Baker 1913 - 2006: An influential blues guitarist who did not become a professional musician until she was 60, died last month in Fairfax, Virginia, while visiting a daughter who had had a stroke. She was 93.

The Hardest Working Blues Musician In The Land

Jack de Keyzer seems like a man on a mission. London, England born, Jack's been playing since he was 18, and his formidable resume has grown to include countless nominations and prestigious awards, including 5 Maple Blues honours, and one Juno (for best 2003 Blues CD - 6-String Lover). As a teenager in the 70s, Jack was already playing guitar with a founding father Of Rock 'n' Roll, Ronnie Hawkins; and he also backed up Canadian harp legend King Biscuit Boy. By the mid-80s Jack was delivering the goods rockabilly-style, especially with the Bopcats, before deciding to take wing as a solo act, and incorporating a wider style spectrum into his budding repertoire.

Jack would realize all his professional dreams, starting by playing with the best in the world (Etta James, Otis Rush, Bo Diddley), but equally, by attaining the highest respect from his peers. Jack's first album from 1991 was titled Hard Working Man, although today he's even busier, chalking up an average of 150 gigs a year. He has recently expanded his horizons by getting into the production end of the business. Credit for releases by Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Kevin Mark, Cheryl Lescom, and Tracy K, have earned him in-demand producer status for Blues-based musicians nation-wide.

It's all based on wonderful talent, of course, but his success is also predicated upon dedication and hard work. It seems like he is always on the move, always entertaining his legion of fans, and he's thrilled by his band too, acknowledging their flexibility in allowing him total rein in running the gamut of roots music, from hard-core Blues, jazz-tinged Soul, classic R&B, to old-time Rock 'n' Roll. The current lineup features drummer David Colter, Alan Duffy on bass, and Chris Murphy on saxophone, and it's occasionally augmented by Martin Aucoin or Mike Fonfara on keyboards.

When not performing at numerous Blues festivals, clubs, and corporate functions, de Keyzer is a member of the Northern Blues All Stars, a Canadian contingent including the likes of Mike Fonfara, Alec Fraser, and Al Lerman, that collectively back up Chicago legend Willie "Big Eyes" Smith. Here's an abbreviated list of other artists whose recordings have been embellished by Jack's stylish guitar work: Sam Myers, Big Daddy G, Harmonica Shah, Rita Chiarelli, Mark "Bird" Stafford, Dave Rotundo, and Jimmy Bowskill..

To date, de Keyzer has recorded 4 studio albums. All are blessed by a remarkable breadth: cool arrangements, contagious grooves, superior song-writing, great vocals, and sparkling guitar. "6-String Lover" brought his standing to its highest pinnacle. Its signature accomplishment was a willingness to tackle a wide range of diverse musical styles and then complete the sale with style, taste, and conviction.

Jack's response, when asked why he goes that extra mile in the recording studio, provides revealing insight into the perfectionist that lies underneath his easy-going demeanor. Jack realizes, for a musician, it's not getting to the top that's the hardest part of the struggle, but rather staying there: "Singing and playing for a live audience is great. It gives you a natural high and very few art forms offer that outlet. But writing is important. The beauty of writing is etching your work in stone and leaving something on record that's rewarding. And you have to be versatile; able to adapt to several styles or it's going to be tough to make a living in the business. I've been at it for 30 years. I've been blessed."

When not touring throughout Canada, United States, Mexico, and Europe, Jack spends his time writing and planning new projects; like a CD of new material, something we can look forward to in 2007. Right now, he's putting the finishing touches on a DVD that will feature live shows incorporating material heard on his Silver Blues CD.

Mention the name Jack de Keyzer to Blues promoter, Mory the "Sockman", and you'll elicit a tremendously positive reaction. Sockman attributes the success of his promotional debut, the Superbowl Rockin' Blues Gala in January 2004, to Jack's enthusiastic participation. That happy occasion launched the magical trajectory of Mory (the "Sockman") and his First Class Promotions, so it's no surprise this promotional wizard is ecstatic over Jack getting on board for another landmark event: "A NIGHT TO REMEMBER" - at the spectacular Palais Royale on November 11, 2006.

This once-in-a-lifetime extravaganza will feature la creme de la creme of Canadian Blues talent. It will star Canada's all-time top blues band Downchild, and a cast of exceptional veteran players who make up the spanking new version of the "Sock It To You" All Star Band, with special guest star Jack de Keyzer! This show is guaranteed to shake up the entire lakefront. "Sockman " in his usual understated manner is calling it the "SHOW OF THE DECADE".

Voting members of the Toronto Blues Society are eligible to run for the 2007 Toronto Blues Society Board of Directors.

In order to run, you must be a member in good standing, and you must be nominated in writing by three voting members of the society. Deadline to receive nominations is 5pm November 17. The slate of candidates will be announced in the December issue of MapleBlues.

Elections will take place at the Annual General Meeting December 5, 2006 at the TBS office.

Get involved! The TBS is looking for volunteers for its upcoming events. Volunteers receive free admission to events and other perks. To find out how, call the office now!

Members, please send us your current email address to ensure that you receive all the latest blues news including information about very special deals for TBS members. Email to: info@torontobluessociety.com

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