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MBA
New Artist nominee Little Miss Higgins (left) will be performing at the Maple
Blues Awards gala on Monday, January 21 at the Mod Club.
Annual Gift Guide 2007
All of us at the Toronto Blues Society wish you and yours a happy holiday season and to assist you in keeping someone happy with an appropriate gift, we once again present some suggestions. Firstly, a national panel voted for the best Canadian albums this year. (We hope you voted). Another, more local, panel of those who hear a great deal of music through the course of their day have kindly made some additional recommendations. First the five Nominees for Recording of the Year:
Danny Brooks No Easy Way Out Rockin’ Camel (www.dannybrooksmusic.com)
“In the 21st Century, Brooks is a breath of fresh air. Wonderfully written songs...great production...will take you back to the glory days of Muscle Shoals. Southern Soul at it’s best.” John Donabie is a broadcaster on CFRB and a serious blues fan.
Downchild Live at the Palais Royale Linus/Universal (www.linusentertainment.com/dclive)
This one generated no less than eight nominations this year, for musicians who have a few already. Downchild has been performing at this level of excellence for nearly forty years - we await the anniversary celebration with great anticipation.
Colin James & The Little Big Band 3 MapleMusic/Universal (www.colinjames.com)
Holger Petersen’s feature article in Bob Mersereau’s “The Top 100 Canadian Albums” (Goose Lane Books) lists this as one the eleven best Canadian blues albums of all time.
Harry Manx & Kevin Breit In Good We Trust Stony Plain/Warner Music (www.stonyplainrecords.com)
This one is also on the short list for two American Grammy Awards. Those of us who have seen them perform together live know how accurately it captures two major artists at work (and play).
Johnny Max Band A Lesson I’ve Learned Pour Soul (www.johnnymaxband.com)
From Norman Darwen’s review in the Award-winning British blues magazine Blues & Rhythm: “Johnny has a convincing voice and writes a good tune, whilst his four-piece band is sympathetic and always tasteful. This one is gonna get a pass mark, no doubt about it”. ‘Nuff said.
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Here are more suggestions from our media experts.
Brad Wheeler, Entertainment writer for the Globe & Mail and winner of the Blues Booster Award this year. The Award is presented by the Board to honour industry members for their work in supporting Blues in Canada.
Tickets for Honeyboy Edwards at Hugh’s Room on Dec. 16 (hughesroom.com)
When the hell hounds were nipping at the heels of Robert Johnson, fellow Delta blueser Edwards was running right by his side. Check Honeyboy out at a rare Toronto appearance, and make a sweet old guy’s day. (By “sweet old guy,” I mean Richard Flohil. He’s the promoter, and he’s the codger that wants to see you at the show.)
Paul Reddick Revue NorthernBlues/Festival (northernblues.com)
Inspired tracks from the lowdown laureate survey a career that continues (new album to come soon). Compared to other blues poets, the others, well, they’re just semi-pros.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd 10 Days Out (Blues from the Backroads) Reprise (tendaysout.net)
A compelling DVD sees a young guitar gunner hitting the road with Double Trouble in tow, seeking out blues veterans like B.B. King, Etta Baker and others. By the time the film was completed, so were a few of the subjects – guys like Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown had died. Old people do that, die, which is all the more reason for you to check out Honeyboy at Hugh’s Room (see above).
Nathaniel Mayer Why Don’t You Give it Me? Alive (alivenergy.com)
Mind-blowing psychedelic soul comes from Detroit shouter Mayer and a crew of rust-belt rockers. You know your blues-heavy friends want this CD, so why don’t you just give to ‘em?
David Barnard, AKA Doctor Feelgood, alternating producer/host of Lowdown 2 Uptown, CKLN-FM
Little Miss Higgins Junction City Little Miss Higgins (www.littlemisshiggins.com)
Junction City, known now as Nokomis, Saskatchewan is the home of Jolene Higgins. Possessor of an expressive vocal style and playing a mean, swinging guitar, her second CD demonstrates she’s become an exciting old-time traditional blues/jazz practitioner. The majority of the songs are from her pen although you’d be forgiven for assuming the entire set was written more than 60 years ago.
Candye Kane Guitar’d and Feathered Ruf/Fusion III (www.rufrecords.de)
A contemporary version of Bessie Smith with a self-deprecating sense of humour and a merrily pansexual persona, Candice Louise Kane AKA Candye Kane has produced the finest recording of her career. Paired on each track with different guest guitarists, it’s her singing that’s the focal point – mature, rich and robust, flexible and delivering greater nuances in mood and atmosphere.
The Perpetrators Tow Truck Perps (www.perps.ca)
Winnipeg’s three-piece house wreckin’ unit captured the variety and quality of their live shows on their third CD. The songs, all co-written by the band, are deceptively clever tales about the simple things in life: relationships, life on the road, getting loaded.
The Soul of John Black The Good Girl Blues Yellow Dog (www.yellowdogrecords.com)
John “JB” Bigham AKA the Soul of John Black, composed all 12 songs, many of them featuring “traditional meets modern” themes. The Good Girl Blues is a late night seduction waiting to happen, a roots-y blend of blues, funk, soul and hip-hop featuring Bigham’s sweet tenor voice, crisp rhythm guitar playing and soloing.
Dave Riley & Bob Corritore Travelin’ The Dirt Road Blue Witch
Riley, a Mississippi born vocalist/guitarist, and Chicago born harpist Corritore, team up to create delta infused electric blues, closer to the classic Chicago blues style than the North Mississippi variant popularized by R.L. Burnside. What makes this a worthwhile purchase is its ability to transcend the genre’s limitations through spirited performances.
Blues Doctor Julie Hill, alternating producer/host of Lowdown 2 Uptown, CKLN-FM
Sue Foley, Deborah Coleman, Roxanne Potvin Time Bomb Ruf/Fusion III
Rock On! These three blues guitar women will get your gift recipient bopping with their groovin’ tunes. This is the third edition of the Blues Caravan tour, producing a disc with an exciting variety of songs, vocals, and solos. High energy for your holiday party!
Dawn Tyler Watson & Paul Deslauriers En Duo Justin Time/Fusion III (www.dawnandpaul.com)
Bluesy renditions of pop-rock-folk songs primarily outside the 12-bar idiom (think Led Zeppelin, Beatles, Steve Earle, The Miracles). Deslauriers is powerful on acoustic guitar, and enjoyable in his few lead vocals, but mostly he harmonizes with Watson’s dynamic singing, in a sibling-like compatibility. Just acoustic guitar and voice, but solid and genuine - listening, you join in on their fun.
The Sojourners Hold On Black Hen/Koch (blackhenmusic.com)
These 3 veteran Vancouver gospel singers combined to accompany Jim Byrnes on his Juno award-winning recording last year, and this year have released their vocal trio debut of 30s and 40s style gospel songs, with a turn or two by Byrnes as special guest, and expertly produced and accompanied by the always interesting Steve Dawson. Caution: Listening to the soulful harmony vocals may cause shivers.
Maria Muldaur Naughty Bawdy & Blue Stony Plain/WEA (stonyplainrecords.com)
An opportunity to use the word “sassy” - to describe Muladaur’s vocal delivery which so perfectly matches these well-chosen jazzy classics from Victoria Spivey, Sippie Wallace, Bessie Smith, and other urban blueswomen of the 20s and 30s. At the opposite end of the spectrum from the Sojourners, these songs live up to the recording’s title!
Peter Karp Shadows and Cracks Blind Pig/Stony Plain/WEA (peterkarp.com)
Americana roots and blues, with thoughtfully intelligent, insightful, and humourous lyrics, and a relieving mix of guitar and keyboard, both played by Karp. Fresh and diverse.
Zoe Chilco, host of Blue Canoe on CANOE-FM
We welcome a new contributor to the Gift Guide, Zoe Chilco host of Blue Canoe on Canoe-FM in Haliburton. By way of introduction, Zoe writes: "Well, I guess those early years of listening to radio stations that came across Lake Ontario from Buffalo, N.Y. (Howlin’ Wolf - ‘Howlin’ at the Moon’) influenced me a lot. In choosing my ‘picks’ I see that I like the same sound in all of them: gritty, tough, uncluttered and real. No fancy, overlong technical wizardry or guitar solos, no slick production, just lots of feeling coming through basic and sometimes distorting recording equipment, some down and dirty guitar and harp, and some rough but soulful vocals. If there is a piano, it’s got ring marks from the drink glasses on it. A couple of my choices are recent releases, the others between ‘91 and now; all are good replications of those sounds and times.
Watermelon Slim and the Workers The Wheel Man Northern Blues/Festival (www.watermelonslim.com)
I love this CD; a tight and tuneful collection of 14 works, all but five written by Slim, a man of diverse and interesting experience. Great vocals, instrumentation and honesty. I play it a lot and it gets me every time - on all the blues charts.
Hound Dog Taylor and the House-Rockers Deluxe Edition Alligator/Fusion III (www.alligator.com)
The CD insert says “ragged glory” and it’s true. Hound Dog gave his all with just two guitars and drums. Distorted, raw & rollicking Chicago-transported Delta blues, it’s a big, happy party. Recorded before his death in 1974.
Various Artists Chicago Blues Harmonicas Paula (1991) (www.emusic.com)
Starting in 1949 and going until 1956, a representation of blues men such as Baby Face Leroy, John Lee Henley, Little Willie Foster, Louie Meyers & the Aces, Arbee Stidham, Sonny Boy Williamson, and still more; then there are the musicians in the studio.... It’s a wonderful collection of rich roots.
Harpdog Brown and the Bloodhounds Once in a Howlin’ Moon VAT (www.harpdogbrown.com)
I haven’t actually got this CD, but I’ve heard their earlier recording “Beware of Dog”, and that one, on first hearing, made me want more (‘Dog’ doesn’t seem to be available). It brought back all those high school listening nights and it reminded me of the first mind-blowing exposure to the blues. Dancing music with feeling, gruff voice and great harp. It’s really someone talking to you in a very pretty but somehow dirty way. I like that.
Gary Moore Close As You Get Eagle (2007) (www.eaglerockent.com)
OK, I know Gary does do the occasional long guitar solo, but he’s so sweet at it, and he combines it with a voice that you know speaks from experience and has just the right amount of weary but hopeful soul. Originals with classics – Williamson, House, Berry, Mayall.
Floyd Lee and His Mean Blues Band Full Moon Lightnin’ Amogla (www.amoglarecords.com)
Recorded in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in a studio famous for blues radio in the fifties. Harlem bluesman Floyd, ‘rediscovered’ in his seventies by Sault Saint Marie’s Joel Poluck, went back home in 2003 and did it the old way – one mic in the middle of the room; plain, raw, powerful blues. Great.
John Valenteyn, Host of Let The Good Times Roll, CIUT-FM
Black Snake Moan Craig Brewer, Director Paramount DVD (www.moanmovie.com)
With Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci and Justin Timberlake, this is a far better blues movie than we might ever have expected from Hollywood. Jackson really impresses as a bluesman both solo and leading R.L. Burnside’s band in a jook. “A tale of loss, love, faith…and redemption” it says. Watch it anyway.
Paul Myers “It Ain’t Easy-Long John Baldry and the Birth of British Blues” Greystone Books (www.douglas-mcintyre.com)
This is a marvelously researched and beautifully written biography of the late blues legend, one that also details his life on this side of the pond. By the end of the book, I felt as though Mr. Baldry was an old friend, warts and all.
Bobby Rush Raw Deep Rush (deeprush.com)
He’s much better known for his innuendo-laden live show with its scantily clad dancers, but here it’s just him, distilling fifty years of blues recording into one acoustic CD. He’ll be bringing his Delta blues to you on Dec. 16 at Hugh’s Room, with Honeyboy Edwards. Be there or just put this magazine down, right now.
Saturday Nite Fish Fry Dirt Road Blues 7 Arts (myspace.com/saturdaynitefishfry)
Jazzers playing blues isn’t new but choosing recent Bob Dylan blues songs may be a stroke of genius. Vocalists Shakura S’Aida and Bill King bring out the best in each other, and that’s not to mention his fabulous barrelhouse piano playing.
Compiled by John Valenteyn
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