Although she didn’t hear secular music until she was a teen, Valencia Bey always knew she wanted to be a blues/rock diva. She grew up in Chicago but her musical chops were formed in the Mississippi Delta, where she’d spend summers with her grandparents. There, she absorbed the intricacies of gospel music that would transform into blues once it left the church.

Appearing: Friday, April 16th at New Checkerboard Lounge in Chicago.

On her second CD, Coffee And Conversation (Brown Girl), the blues and several of its babies pump through the 12 tracks. From the driving blues of opener “Hello Sunshine,” to the jazz undertones of “Already Home,” and the rockin’ blues of “Steps To The Sun,” Coffee And Conversation showcases blues in its many forms. “My grandmother and mother referred to blues as ‘that raunchy music,’ but I realized that the structure of blues ands gospel were the same, just different lyrics.”

Still, her parents didn’t allow much secular music in the house. Bey heard mostly gospel mainstays like the Thompson Community Singers and Andrae Crouch and very little B.B. King and Z.Z. Hill. “We listened to a lot of gospel music. I heard it in church, on the radio, and at home. My uncle and his family had a musical gospel group in Mississippi and I’d travel with them to shows. I was surrounded by music and musicians and it all seeped in.”

By the time her older brother introduced the spectrum of popular music when she was 14, Bey had selected Tina Tuner, Patti LaBelle, and Nona Hendrix as singing influences and Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers, and Curtis Mayfield as songwriting mentors. “I liked reading liner notes and lyrics,” she says. “I had been writing songs since I was 8 and I learned to rewrite and rewrite. I listened to all of these artists to figure out how they did it.”

Her biggest problem wasn’t figuring out how to write songs. Bey comes from a family of educators and her mother insisted that she couldn’t make a living playing music. Instead, Bey was expected to get her education degree. She refused and moved out to attend Jackson State University, majoring in music. While in college deep in the Bible Belt, Bey considered being a gospel artist and wrote spirituals and a gospel opera. She won a Christian songwriting contest in 2002 and was recruited by a gospel label rep soon after. But the agent left the label after a few months and nobody else at the company stepped in to sign her.

Not getting signed by a gospel label proved to be a good thing for Bey because she had secretly longed to play the guitar and sing rock, blues, and soul. “I always wanted to play but I didn’t see a lot of black women with a guitar growing up. It was always the men,” she says. “I will never forget my uncle sitting down to play the guitar after a long day on the farm. He got so much joy from it.”

Eight years ago, shortly after her uncle passed away, she was drawn to an instrument retailer, bought a guitar, and promptly signed up for lessons. “Once I started playing guitar, I really left gospel music alone. Mainstream gospel and Christian music are too limited for me. I want to sing other types of music.”

And sing she does. Graced with a husky, sinuous voice that recalls Oleta Adams, Odetta, and a little Joan Armatrading, Bey tackles bluesy laments, rock anthems, and soul ballads with relish. On “Young And Beautiful,” a rock ode to female self-awareness, she belts out the chorus with all the power of Tina Turner; on “I’m Falling (Again)” she glides over the blues tune with a fire that recalls Koko Taylor herself.

“As a child and a teen, when I imagined myself singing on stage, I imagined singing with Patti LaBelle and Tina Turner, Nona Hendrix and Grace Jones. They were my wild idols. I guess that was the rock chick in me, screaming to get out.” On stage, Bey combines the style of many of her idols, channeling blues divas and rock chicks with cascading guitar riffs and vocals that flow from sultry to pounding.

The deep emotions that inspire Bey’s music also drive her to offer options for music fans. “I don’t feel like someone who appreciates real music has a lot of options,” she says. “Who’s talking about the issues I’m going through about marriage, divorce? I feel like there’s a void in songwriting from a female point of view.” Bey focuses on providing that point of view for her audience as well as songs that flow from her heart. “I think artistry and simplicity is sometimes lost in popular music. You don’t have to have a lot of noise and bells and whistles to touch people.”

NEW RELEASE: Nick Moss releases his eighth CD, Privileged (Blue Bella), on March 16th. The album showcases a solid collection of blues grooves, with Moss’ original “Georgia Redsnake” a catchy standout. The release party is set for the 20th at Buddy Guy’s Legends.

– Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

There was a time when Grammy-winning, blues harp master Sugar Blue believed there were only certain types of music appropriate for a blues musician to play. He came up listening to and being molded by icons like Memphis Slim, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, and Junior Wells. By the time he was in his late 20s, he had played with all these legends. The only kind of music he ever heard them play was straight-up blues. So that’s all Blue really played. That is, until the release of his latest CD, Threshold (Beeble), which aptly represents his pushing through a musical break point.

“There was a time when I said, ‘I can’t play this kind of music, I’m a blues man!’” he says. “I sort of pigeonholed myself. I grew up in the old school. I was always a rock fan and a Motown fan. I’d listen to Smokey Robinson and say, ‘I can’t do that kind of stuff.’ I was scared to venture out. The paintbrush hit me all over but when it came time to get to the canvas, it was only one hue, and that’s blue.” Even though he’s appeared on classic Rolling Stones’ albums Emotional Rescue and Tattoo You and played with jazz veteran Stan Getz, it never occurred to him to blend other genres into his blues. After decades of pumping out classic blues, Blue finally realized something. “Blues is the root and all the rest are the fruit, as Willie Dixon said so well. This is the time I decided to deal with the fruits,” he declares. “I’ve come to a place where I’ll dare to do anything.”

That includes tackling love songs and elements of funk, rock, and jazz. Threshold is Blue’s fifth release and stands as his most adventurous. The 11-track album features nine songs co-written by Blue and delivers a melodic demonstration of the various paths of the blues tradition. Backed by a tight band including noted guitarist Rico McFarland, Blue delivers a harp tour de force.

Opening with an uptempo tune with pop accents, “Living Your Love” sets the tone for the CD’s adventurous focus. There’s hot New Orleans funk on “Noel News,” smooth jazz guitar licks on the James Cotton tribute “Cotton Tree,” and a simmering ballad on “Tonight.” But the highlight is the biting ant-war commentary “Stop The War.” Opening with birds chirping and bombs exploding amid blistering guitar rhythms, the tune skillfully blends news commentary, Blue’s sharp harp notes, and blistering, gospel-tinged backup vocals urging, “Stop the war/kill no more.”

The anger floats through the lyrics and it’s clear Blue wrote the song from personal experience. “I lost a lot of friends in the Viet Nam War,” he says. “In this current war, I was playing at Rosa’s and this young soldier, all of 18-years old, came in. He had just graduated and was pumped up about going to war. I could see beyond the bravado and I saw the fear in his eyes. His girlfriend came up to me and said, ‘They’re going to kill him, they’re going to send home pieces of him,’ and she started to cry. That really affected me. I thought, ‘We have to work out a way to to solve our problems and not butcher each other.’”

Threshold showcases Blue’s experimentation with progressive blues and its variations, but it also serves up hard driving, straight-ahead blues. “Ramblin,” an old-fashioned instrumental, sizzles with an innovative harmonica duel between Blue and himself. The reverent Junior Wells cover “Messin’ With The Kid,” rollicks with the required amount of bravado.

Growing up with a mother who sang and danced at the legendary Apollo Theater and being surrounded by luminaries like Billie Holiday and Muddy Waters, Blue absorbed the necessary elements of becoming an accomplished musician at a young age. He devoted years to studying and playing with harp masters Big Walter Horton, Cotton, Carey Bell, and Wells. He is now generally considered one of the most accomplished blues harpists in the world, boasting fluidity, clarity of tone, and speed unlike any other. When asked about the difference between the old-school bluesman he worked with and new-millennium performers, he insists there’s not much difference.

“The new millennium bluesman is very much like the old bluesman,” he says. “Basically, you’re talking about what you feel and what’s going on around you. A bluesman is a descendent of the African griot. He has to take what’s important and what’s affecting us today and connect it to the future. Willie Dixon said that the most important part of a bluesman is the man. You can’t understand the blues until you’re a man. To be a blues man is to be a philosopher. You can’t understand life until you’ve lived life. There’s more to this music than the notes. It encompasses our humanity. That’s why the blues has been able to produce so many disparate forms, from Charlie Parker to The Wailers. There’s really nothing you can do that’s new. You can only try to make your own kind of strew. The ingredients are the same, it just depends on the cook.”

– Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

The blues flows through Fernando Jones‘ veins just as thickly as blood and, given the innate rhythms that stream from his Telecaster, perhaps more smoothly. Growing up on the South Side with Mississippi-born parents and a blues-playing brother, he was driven to pick up his sibling’s guitar and pluck a few blues chords at 4-years old. “I wanted to be like my brother,” says Jones. “Playing the blues looked cool. It sounded cool. It was fascinating to me to hear the sound come out of the amplifiers.”

Jones managed to carry that fascination throughout his life, becoming a blues musician, historian, educator, and author. His seminal Chicago blues text, I Was There When The Blues Was Red Hot, which examines the sociological importance of the blues, will be reissued with audio to mark the 20th anniversary of its publication next month. This month, Jones releases his fourth CD, American Blues Man (Mysoundworx), tours Memphis for club dates, and continues his load of seven lecture and blues-ensemble classes at Columbia College Chicago. Part troubadour, part renaissance man, Jones has erected a sturdy pathway to the blues for all who are interested in following.

“I’m one of the few people who have been in the blues all their lives just for the love of it,” says Jones. “I’m on a global mission to promote the blues. We have to make sure people know the history and respect it and value it.” Jones believes that blues awareness should start in childhood, so he created Blues Kids Of America in 1990. The program introduces blues history and instrumentation to elementary and high school students while also establishing literacy skills. He garnered a 2008 “Keeping The Blues Alive” award in the education category from the Blues Foundation for his efforts. “When I was a kid, I realized there weren’t any kids my age playing the blues,” recalls Jones. “I know how it feels to be young and not have anybody to play [music] with.”

That’s certainly not an issue now: Jones plays regular local and international gigs with his trio, playing guitar, bass, and harp as well as singing and composing. He pumps out traditional Chicago blues with a rockin’ edge and original songs. With Junior Wells as his godfather, Sugar Blue as his harp teacher, and the last to be mentored by Willie Dixon, Jones has little choice but to produce solid Chicago blues. The tunes on his latest album reflect his rarified blues foundation. “American Blues Man is almost a concept record,” he says. “I talk about what the blues is and my dad talks about his Mississippi blues experience. There’s some acoustic blues, contemporary blues, and rockin’ blues.”

Although he plays contemporary blues, Jones isn’t crazy about the lack of community he sees in many contemporary blues musicians. “Most of the musicians are so selfish, self-centered, and ego-maniacal, they want the music all to themselves and they feel the world owes them something,” he says. “The people from Muddy Waters’ generation, you still see all the people that they helped and the people who are still working because of the association. That mentorship and passing the torch along isn’t happening anymore.”

For his part, Jones makes sure his students benefit from his knowledge and understand the importance of giving back. “I’m training my students to keep it going, to love the craft, and love each other. They also have to help somebody,” he says. “My students are starting to make a name for themselves. Nate Graham is 19 and plays at all the local blues clubs. Paige Fernandez has a deal with Fender guitar and will play on “The Today Show” in a couple of months. They are seeing some success but they know that they have to reach back and show someone else the way.”

After expending so much energy spreading the blues gospel, Jones has formulated an interesting perspective on how the genre can remain relevant. “The playing field can be leveled if blues folk start to think like rappers,” he says. “The key is to be autonomous, producing our own music, distributing our own music. We have to take ownership in our craft and ourselves. It’s a business. No club has ever sat a musician down and said, ‘I got rich from you, here’s a few thousand.’ There is no allegiance; it’s a business and they want to sell product.”

Other Blues News: On January 16th, Blues University hosts the 20th annual Chicago Winter Blues Tour, featuring eight blues clubs including Rosa’s Lounge, Lee’s Unleaded Blues, and Checkerboard Lounge and 10 live bands for $45. Go to www.chicagobluestour.com for tickets . . . The International Blues Challenge kicks off in Memphis January 20th to 23rd for the world’s largest gathering of blues acts. Go to www.blues.org for info.

– Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

Chicago’s connection to the blues runs about as deep as the Mississippi. From Chess Records to the legendary clubs that line the 47th Street blues district, Chicago has played a significant role in the development of the blues. The Chicago Blues Museum exhibit “The Soul Of Bronzeville: The Regal, Club Delisa And The Blues,” at the DuSable Museum, documents the elements that helped create blues and jazz history.

Before you can even step into the exhibit, you’re presented with a tantalizing array of historical photos and posters that demand closer inspection. A black-and-white photo labeled “The Blues Kings” shows B.B. King and Muddy Waters commiserating backstage at the Regal Theater in 1965. A Checkerboard Lounge poster advertises the unbelievable lineup of Waters, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, and The Rolling Stones on an electric blue background. Another poster promotes King, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Little Milton, Albert King, and Junior Parker live at the Regal. It’s enough to drive any blues fan insane with the images of blues legends playing in their heads.

“We have over 7,000 photos,” says Gregg Parker, founder of the Chicago Blues Museum, explaining the depth of the museum’s memorabilia collection. We couldn’t even get half of our stuff in the space,” he says. While there’s talk of a second part to the exhaustive display, the current exhibit acts as a lively blues and jazz primer.

The neighborhood of Bronzeville stretched seven miles long and a half mile wide, from 22nd Street to 63rd between Wentworth and Cottage Grove during the 1940s. It was a city within a city and the second largest concentration of black people in the country. As more and more fled the South during the Great Migration North, they brought along the music and traditions that would expand the blues onto another, electrified, level.

During the ’30s through the late ’50s, the cultural hub of Bronzeville was the area around 47th and South Parkway, which would later be dubbed “the blues district.” It hosted pivotal jazz and blues clubs such as the Savoy Ballroom, The Regal Theater, and Club Delisa. The Savoy was the most elegant and elaborate, with a three-story entertainment complex that included the theater, ballroom, a department store, drug store, bowling alley, billiard rooms, and offices. The Savoy showcased jazz greats like Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Louis Jordan, and Ella Fitzgerald.

The Regal was built with a blend of Moorish, Spanish, and Middle Eastern motifs, including a ceiling designed to look like a huge canopy supported by gilded poles. The theater held 12 to 15 shows a year, usually lasting seven days, which featured live music, a dance act, sometimes a gospel act, and always a comedian. Regular performers included Billie Holiday, B.B. King, T Bone Walker, Etta James, Ray Charles, Little Walter, Big Maybelle, and the Queen Of The Blues, Dinah Washington, who was discovered during a Regal amateur contest.

Club Delisa boasted 1,000 auditorium seats, a reputation for prestigious acts, and a façade of glazed white bricks offset by red fluorescent light bulbs on the inside. Swing master Fletcher Henderson directed the in-house orchestra and the dancefloor was hydraulically raised to the bandstand at the start of the floor show. Joe Williams, Sun Ra, and LaVern Baker regularly headlined the Delisa.

The exhibit highlights terra cotta blocks from the Regal Theater façade as well as red upholstered seats from the ’50s and a microphone from the ’40s. Towards the end of the exhibit, a cavalcade of choice blues artifacts beckons. A booth from the Checkerboard Lounge, complete with stables and worn chairs, fills a corner. A sign urging “absolutely no profanity of any kind. If the above rules are not followed, you will be fined” hangs to the side. Busts of B.B. King and Honeyboy Edwards fill glass showcases. A wall of Chicago blues legends displays Sonny Boy Williamson tipping his hat, Howlin’ Wolf in front of the mic at Chess Records, and Big Bill Broonzy posed with his guitar on his lap.

An old RCA TV plays archival footage from the Checkerboard and other Chicago blues clubs from the 1940s through 2003. A showcase features Howlin’ Wolf’s guitar with his Moanin’ In The Moonlight album and on the other side rests Little Walter’s butterfly harmonica and Junior Wells’ Green Bullet mic. One of the most insightful layouts reveals Jimmy Rogers‘ Gibson ES stereo guitar along with his blue rhinestone cuff links, dice, and a lighter resembling a clock.

Topping everything off, a curtained film room plays footage from ’40s jazz bands, ’50s blues acts, and ’60s Motown performances. The exhibit explores five decades of blues and jazz history and it requires approximately three hours just to view the offerings casually. According to Parker, who founded the museum in 1991, there’s more to come. “We’ve got B.B.’s Lucille, we’ve got Jimmy Reed’s guitar, we’ve got Michael Jackson’s audition tape from the Regal,” he says. “We’re also planning a blues museum restaurant with old TVs and jukeboxes so you can eat and see blues performances. That’s scheduled to open in Bucktown next year.”

“The Soul Of Bronzeville: The Regal, Club Delisa And The Blues” exhibit runs at the DuSable Museum, 740 E. 56th Place, through December 13th. Call (773) 947-0600 for hours and visit www.dusablemuseum.org and www.chicagobluesmuseum.com for more info.

– Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

The new-millennium blues experience typically only offers glimpses of the genre’s 100-year-old recorded history. The old masters are passing on and their apprentices have been exposed to global influences that often stray from the original blues root. Earwig Music plans to fix that. On November 27th, an unprecedented opportunity to hear the breadth of pre-WWII blues arrives with “Earwig Music Presents: Six Generations Of The Blues,” broadcast on WYCC channel 20 at 8 and 11 p.m. The two-hour special promises to highlight contemporary Chicago blues and trace its rich, rural Mississippi roots. The show captures blues greats such as David “Honeyboy” Edwards, Big Jack Johnson, John Primer, Johnny Drummer, and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith.

“For Earwig’s 30th anniversary in 2008,” says Michael Frank, Earwig foun-der and president, “I decided that the whole year I wanted to celebrate the label and the music. It just became this big thing and it’s taken on a life of its own.” That “big thing” includes performance footage from the 2nd Annual Blues On The North Shore concert, an NPR interview in November, a “Today Show” segment, a feature on “NBC Nightly News” on Novem-ber 8th, and a special broadcast on Sirius XM Radio, also in November. That’s pretty major exposure for an independent Chic-ago blues label.

Formed in 1978, Frank created Earwig Music to release and reissue music by musicians rooted in the African -American blues, folk, and jazz tradition. The label has released 38 blues recordings, including historical albums by Honeyboy Edwards – the last living Delta bluesman – and guitarist Willie Johnson, who played with the legendary early Howlin’ Wolf Band. In fact, it was Frank’s relationship with Edwards that guided him into the blues recording business. “When I first moved to Chicago in 1972, I started getting Honey-boy jobs and taking him around,” says Frank. “I was just a fan, doing stuff for Honeyboy and Blind Jim Brewer.”

As a rabid fan bitten by the blues bug, Frank discovered the essence of the blues in the Mississippi Delta and conveys it to listeners. “Spiritually, the blues is in my soul,” he says. “Blues and jazz is so personal, it’s the way they communicate the universal feelings of life.” Singular communications, like Big Jack Johnson’s scor-ching performance of “Catfish Blues” on the broadcast special, underscore the importance of the blues as a way of connecting. A formidable giant in a chair, Big Jack commands the stage laying down gut-wrenching blues with a voice that calls up the Delta and all its history. Roaring out, “Well if I was a catfish/swimming the deep blue sea/I’d have all you big leg women/pushing down on me/pushing down on me/Oh lawd!/lawd!” His playing rips through the air, echoing his authority and supplying more nuances to his story and the passion it inspires.

“I feel that Big Jack John-son is the greatest electric guitarist that’s ever come out of anywhere, he’s just never got the recognition,” says Frank. “Anybody that sees him enough will recognize that in terms of technique, power, emotion, singing, and songwriting, he is right up there with the greatest.”

Besides Johnson, viewers will be treated to a show hosted by Bill Wax of XM’s “Bluesville” program, in-depth interviews with performers including Edwards and Johnson with historians and images of the Delta and the blues trail leading to Chicago. Performances dem-onstrate the generations of the blues starting from Edwards to the next generation represented by Johnson and John Primer, the middle generation of Chris James and Patrick Rynn, and on down.

“Being able to pass on the blues, to young people, there’s nothing more exciting than that,” says Lynn Orman, founder of Blues On The North Shore and co-creator along with Frank and producer Scott Schuman, of the “Six Generations” broadcast special. I have a great passion for music from Mississippi and when I saw the lineup for the Earwig anniversary, I thought, we’ve got to broadcast this!” The production team of www.frontrowmusic. tv filmed the performances and will list all of the joint events and dates.

“The ‘Six Generations Of The Blues’ is a great opportunity to hear many different styles of the blues all on one night,” says Frank. It shows the development of the blues over the generations, all in one place. You can’t help but be moved by this music. If you’re not, you’re dead.”

NEW RELEASES: Corey Harris‘ blu.black (Telarc), while not technically a blues record as only the last track displays an authentic blues sound, intriguingly explores how elements of the blues run through reggae, soul, and rock . . . John Mayall delivers a solid collection of blues rock on Tough (Eagle). He doesn’t stray much from his familiar rockin’ blues formula except to declare that he “hates rap with a passion” on “That Good Old Rockin’ Blues.”

Chicago remains a blues mecca, even in the face of distracting new-millennium antics of Chi-town musicians like Kanye West and R. Kelly. Despite this and a lengthy gospel, R&B, and jazz legacy, Chicago’s blues heritage towers over them all. It Ain’t Over (Delmark) showcases exactly why this is, a DVD packed with Chicago blues masters celebrating Delmark Records’ 55th anniversary.

Opening with Zora Young belting “Til The Fat Lady Sings” over funky thumping blues, the 79-minute film manages to display the intricate variations in the Chicago blues genre during a live celebration at Buddy Guy’s Legends. Young served up a fitting start with commanding vocals and blaze of guitar licks supplied by Lurrie Bell. “Lurrie Bell is his name – guitar, that’s his game,” she boasts.

The disc highlights the label’s notable stars including Young, Bell, Jimmy Johnson, Eddie Shaw, Shirley Johnson, James “Tail Dragger” Jones, and the last recorded performance by the late Little Arthur Duncan. It’s a primer of contemporary Chicago blues greats as well as a must-have for experts and novices. Eighty-year-old Jimmy Johnson serving up brooding guitar on “Cold, Cold Feeling,” closeups of Aaron Johnson gliding over piano keys and conjuring up juke-joint blues on “Wading In Deep Water,” and the harpist Duncan rocking his hips to “Pretty Girls Everywhere” are some memorable scenes.

There’s also a presentation of the mayoral proclamation declaring March 7th, 2008 “Delmark Records Day” and commentary by Bob Koester on how he founded Delmark. Show-stopping bits include Lurrie Bell wailing on his guitar in a scorching solo underscoring Shirley Johnson’s husky vocals on “As The Years Go Passing By,” and Tail Dragger resplendent in black cowboy hat, suit, and string tie, growling and pleading “My Woman Is Gone” while Billy Branch blows harder than the hawk.

The only downsides about It Ain’t Over! are that the lighting is so dark at times you can’t see the crowd’s reaction, and that Zora Young and Shirley Johnson as the only women on the DVD, and limited to one tune each while the men each get two.

Hearing Koester’s intriguing journey as a jazz and blues fan turned record producer and store owner is worth the price of the DVD alone. He grew up collecting vintage blues and jazz records, prompting him to open a small record store in St. Louis in 1953. Lured to Chicago at the prospect of collecting masters of recordings by the likes of Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson, Koester soon opened the Jazz Record Mart and founded Delmark Records. Originally focusing on traditional blues, Delmark has developed over more than half a century to help define the contemporary Chicago blues sound.

MORE DELMARK: Another recent Delmark release is Eddie C. Campbell’s Tear This World Up. “The king of the West Side funk blues” shows off his skill with 14 tracks of distinctive blues guitar. The CD opens with the percolating guitar riffs of “Making Popcorn,” revealing a catchy groove and lyrical wit with “If you makin’ popcorn/you gotta make it slow/If you make it fast/there ain’t no place to go.”

Campbell’s humor and masterful playing are really what makes the album. From the unusual bluesman twist (although not for a 70-year-old) of sleep conquering lust on “Big World,” to the keening lament poured through his emotional playing on the cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “My Last Affair,” he clearly demonstrates his talents. Although he knows how to turn a phrase, singing is not Campbell’s main forte and that’s obvious when he manages to communicate just as elegantly on the standout instrumental tracks, “It’s So Easy” and “All Nite.” It’s the test of a great blues guitarist that he can speak as passionately with his instrument as with his vocals and Campbell accomplishes this like no other.

Upcoming Chicago Blues Events: Suite Chicago Blues explores the musical heritage of Bronzeville and blues music featuring Spirit Wing Dance Ensemble, October 10th at 7 p.m. at DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Place. Admission is $20 . . . “The Soul Of Bronzeville, The Regal, Club Delisa And The Blues,” an exhibit by the Blues Museum, displays Chicago blues legends including Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Buddy Guy, along with personal memorabilia, music, and moving footage chronicling the contributions of Bronzeville to the artistic legacy of the blues. The exhibit runs through December 15th at DuSable.

– Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

August and September brings a cavalcade of activities for blues fans. From a rare Pinetop Perkins appearance, to a Chicago blues challenge and classic record reissues, blues lovers can enjoy a blues blowout over the coming weeks.

Perkins, the 96-year-old piano master who represents the last great, traditional Delta bluesmen, played at Rosa’s Blues Lounge in August. Born Joe Willie Perkins in Belzoni, Mississippi, he started playing guitar and piano in honky-tonks at 12. After a fateful encounter with a knife-wielding chorus girl, he sustained severed tendons in his left arm, wiping out his guitar skills and leading to a piano focus from the ’40s on. Perkins built his skills with Sonny Boy Williamson on the “King Biscuit Time” radio show and touring with slide-guitar master Robert Nighthawk. After working with B.B. King and Earl Hooker throughout the South, he recorded his seminal version of Pinetop Smith’s “Pinteop’s Boogies Woogie” at Sun Records in 1953.

When Perkins replaced Otis Spann in Muddy Waters’ Band in 1969, he gained the acclaim for commanding the ivories that would increase with each decade. It wasn’t until he was in his 80s that Perkins decided to ditch his sideman label and go solo. For more than six decades, he has been the master blues and boogie pianist, garnering Grammy nominations, a lifetime-achievement award ,and a National Endowment For The Arts National Heritage Fellowship.

The artist represents the last living link to the golden age of post-war American blues, a time when the Delta acoustic and the Chicago electric met and merged. Any chance to hear a piece of this living history should never be missed. “Pinetop is one of the architects of the Chicago blues,” says Rosa’s owner Tony Manguillo. “He was behind the scenes creating the foundation and he helped set the standard for the Chicago blues sound. When it comes to Chicago blues, you can’t get any deeper than Pinetop.”

As far as the Chicago blues legacy goes, the Windy City will finally make its mark on the International Blues Challenge. The 26th-annual, Memphis-based competition between blues musicians from around the world has not included Chicago representation for more than a decade. Over the years, the contest has included acts from Nepal, Taiwan, Finland, and Croatia, but not one from the home of the blues. That’s mainly because musicians must be sponsored by a local blues foundation and, until last year, Chicago didn’t have one.

Now we have The Windy City Blues Society (www.windycityblues.org) and a shot at demonstrating Chicago blues power. The second leg of the Chicago Blues Challenge will unfold at Rosa’s on September 10th, when the winner from the first will square off against fresh competition. The final International Blues Challenge contest will kick off in Memphis, January 20th.

The WCBS will also sponsor monthly meet-ups for blues fans to gather and listen to their favorite music. According to society member Black Jack, the gatherings will solve several issues. “There are a lot of blues fans that are solo and don’t always have someone that they can go to the clubs with, so this gives them the opportunity to make and meet new blues friends and see some great shows,” he says. “We’re also trying to get more people to go to the shows especially since attendance at some clubs is thin or down at times.” New members can also join the Blues Society at meet-ups. Visit it online for times and locations.

Rabid blues-guitar fans like me will rejoice with two recent releases, but music lovers in general are bound to be happy. I attended Stevie Ray Vaughan’s last concert at Alpine Valley in 1990 and the energy and emotion from his performance will always haunt me. Traces of the same magical riffs echo throughout In Session (Stax), a 1983 reissue of a live recording of Albert King with SRV. King was one of Vaughn’s idols, as anyone who has listened to the Texas slinger’s first two albums can clearly discern.

In 1983, King was a towering blues legend and Vaughan was just breaking into the mainstream with a blistering turn on David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” and the release of his acclaimed debut, Texas Flood. But King wasn’t even sure who Vaughan was until he walked into the studio and recognized him as “Little Stevie,” the skinny kid who hovered around every time King passed through Austin. The resulting recording is a demonstration of the mutual respect and fiery interplay. Fittingly, it is mostly King’s album, with Vaughan restraining his legendary showmanship for nuanced fretwork on “Call It Stormy Monday,” “Blues At Sunrise,” and “Don’t Lie To Me.” The only time Vaughan leads a song is on his signature “Pride & Joy,” when his fiery shuffle meets King’s thundering Flying V. This is supposed to be the only known recording of the two together and represents the master and star student well.

Tommy Castro released his 12th album, Hard Believer (Alligator), in August. A reliable mix of blues, rock, and R&B, the dozen tracks offer some solid grooves including the soulful title track and the retro “Monkey’s Paradise.”

– Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

The bright spot in an otherwise drab and dreary spring is the group of high-quality new releases that have crossed my desk for review. I am especially pleased to see that Chicago labels are recording local talent — a trend I hope continues. As I have said many times before in this column, there is such a wealth of great musicianship lying fallow recording-wise in this town.

Right Here Right Now (Blind Pig) is the premiere release of blues, R&B, soul and funk meisters Big James And The Chicago Playboys (Appearing: Saturday, July 18th at Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago). The Playboys, led by trombonist Big James Montgomery, are a hard-driving horn band that stays forever in the groove. The Playboys made a name for themselves in Chicago as the original the back-up band for late blues and soul singer Johnny Christian. After he passed away in 1993, the Playboys kept the flame burning in tribute. Throughout the ’90s, they toured the world, backing Buddy Guy, Phil Guy, Nellie “Tiger” Travis, and Otis Rush. As their reputation grew, this tight unit began to tour and record on their own, emerging as one of the most sought-after blues, soul, and R&B bands in the business. The current lineup includes Charles Kimble (saxophone), Kenny Anderson (trumpet), Joe Blocker (keyboards), Mike Wheeler (guitar and vocals), Larry Williams (bass), and Cleo Cole (drums). This is one aggregate of masterful musicians who collectively and individually bring impressive chops and years of experience.

Montgomery is a remarkable songwriter who has penned eight of the 11 songs on the CD. The title track is incisive, uptempo modern blues that explores the world we find ourselves in now: “See the world has really changed/Oh my God, it’s insane.” He touches on current and especially vicious societal ills, punctuating each with the refrain, “Right here, right now, some way, some how . . .” urging us to come together to make a positive change. Montgomery lends a funky jazz-inspired trombone solo to “A Mama Like Mine,” a heartfelt tribute to his mother. “On The Grind,” about staying on his challenging musical path, includes a rap by Derrick “D-Mose” Moseberry. The frontman sings his blues with a soulful, gritty voice that is reminiscent of the late Luther Allison, especially on soulful and funky covers by Bobby Bland, Tyrone Davis, Parliament, and The O’Jays.

MORE NEW RELEASES: Brand New Blues (MC) is the first solo release for Neville Brother Cyril Neville in eight years. Another artist who always makes sure to keep it real, Neville is the most outspoken of the brothers, and the one who seems to revel the most in the rich traditions of his New Orleans musical heritage. Brand New Blues contains a heady mix of blues, funk, and soul. His husky, soulful voice burns through original material and cover tunes with the same intensity that he has brought to The Meters and The Nevilles. Guest appearances include brother Art (organ), nephew Ivan Neville (organ), Ian Neville (guitar), Tab Benoit (guitar), Waylon Thibodeaux (washboard), and Jumpin’ Johnny Sansone (harmonica). Comprising equal parts original material and covers, Neville’s vocals are positively chilling on Bobby Bland’s “I’ll Take Care Of You.” (Appearing: Saturday, July 18th at Space in Evanston.)

Pentatonic Wars And Love Songs (Telarc) is singer/composer/multi-instrumentalist Otis Taylor’s latest outing for Telarc. Taylor writes compelling songs about love in all its triumph and tragedy, from the pensive opener “Looking For Some Heat,” about a man looking for some love and sunshine, to the tragic “Lost My Guitar,” a song based on a true story about a woman whose preschool daughter was tragically killed in a car accident. The guitar is a metaphor for the lost child.

The album sends Taylor in a new direction. He has put the banjo down, preferring to explore a different musical tapestry woven with the inclusion of Spanish flamenco guitar (performed masterfully by guest guitarist Gary Moore on “Sunday Morning”), and odjembe drumming (by percussionist Fara Tolno on “Mama’s Best Friend”). Daughter Cassie Taylor’s sweet and haunting lead and background vocals enhance the mystery throughout. Taylor’s unique way of telling the many stories of love reminds me of abstract painters such as Pollack, Kandinsky, and Picasso. Words and music blend into a mélange of sound, poetry, and color.

Lay Your Burden Down (Alligator) also finds R&B and zydeco master Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural Jr. heading in a new musical direction. The uptempo, “bon-ton roulette” tunes that originally defined his band, Buckwheat Zydeco, are still here (“Throw Me Something Mister” and “Ninth Place”), but overall the songs are less about partying and more about love and introspection. It is evident that Hurricane Katrina is much on Louisianan Dural’s mind. He opens with a rocked out version of Memphis Minnie’s “When The Levee Breaks,” featuring guest guitarist Sonny Landreth, and closes with an original and poignant instrumental, “Finding My Way Back Home.” Dural mixes his original material with covers by J.J. Grey, Jimmy Cliff, Bruce Springsteen, Captain Beefheart, and Warren Haynes, who wrote the title track and also guests.

Socalist Zora Young’s Sunnyland (Airway) is her all-star tribute to late, great barrelhouser Sunnyland Slim. Produced by former band member, Sunnyland devotee, and sax player Sam Burckhardt, it stars legendary guitarist Hubert Sumlin, Sunnyland alums Steve Freund (guitar), Bob Stroger (bass), and Kenny Smith on drums, and Barrelhouse Chuck on piano. This solid, Chicago blues outing romps from beginning to end and is a fitting tribute to the old master and a much welcome showcase for Young’s ever-soulful vocals.

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer

On June 9th, 1989, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells performed a memorable set of acoustic blues at the Front Porch stage during the Chicago Blues Festival. This writer was there, MCing that particular stage. Once the show was over, I was directed to announce to the lingering crowd that they should make it down to Buddy’s Guy’s Legends, Guy’s new club at 754 S. Wabash. Now 20 years later, I urge you to make it down to Legends during Blues Fest weekend, June 12th to 14th (the fun at Legends actually runs the 10th through the official 20th-anniversary party on the 16th) to celebrate the man, his music, and the success of what has become a Chicago landmark.

Back then, fans of the Checkerboard Lounge, Guy’s famous club on 43rd and King Drive, were concerned that some of the flavor would be lost in the move from the South Side to the South Loop. But that concern proved to be unfounded. Although the new location could never duplicate the corner-bar atmosphere of the Checkerboard, it still had that welcoming, unpretentious vibe, which made the Checkerboard a hangout for neighborhood regulars, tourists, and students from nearby University Of Chicago. Though the audience for blues has changed, with tourists and suburbanites embracing the blues aura (and at Legends, blues celebrity), the down-home quality of the club remains the same.

Acts performing during Blues Fest week at Legends include Chicago stalwarts Lurrie Bell, Big James & The Chicago Playboys (whose new CD arrives June 2nd), Jimmy Johnson, John Primer, Magic Slim, Carl Weathersby, and Lil’ Ed And The Blues Imperials. Out of towners include hot, hot guitarists Larry McCray and Ana Popovic. You might want to stop by Legends nightly to rev your engines after the more traditional fare offered at the festival.

And speaking of the Fest, just like it was 20 years ago, the format has returned to a three-day event as opposed to the four days of fun over the past few years. The theme is taken from the excellent Maxwell St. documentary that was re-released on Shanachie Entertainment in 2008 entitled And This Is Free. Headliners include deep blue guitarist Eddy C. Campbell, who will be celebrating his 70th birthday, on Friday night, soulful diva Bettye LaVette on Saturday, and James Brown-inspired funk-and-soul band Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings on Sunday.

The festival this year is actually a nice mix of traditional and contemporary blues and soul sounds with many surprises. Harmonica great Charlie Musselwhite headlines the Front Porch stage on Friday, while guitarist John Primer appears at the Mississippi Juke Joint stage on Saturday. Maxwell Street is revisited on Friday featuring performances by Dancin’ Perkins, Iceman Robinson, Smilin’ Bobby, Bobby Too Tough, and Frank “Lil Sonny” Scott Jr. For a complete Blues Fest lineup, visit www.cityofchicago.org.

MAMA SAYS: Etta James & The Roots Band played to an adoring crowd at House Of Blues on April 30th. A slimmed-down James was escorted to the stage looking pretty in a mid-length blond wig, black pants, a gold sequined top, and black floral jacket. With her small face and husky speaking voice, she reminded me of a kewpie doll with the voice of Marlene Dietrich.

Despite that fact that she sat throughout most of the show, James rocked and rolled through some of her most famous tunes, such as “Tell Mama,” “I’d Rather Go Blind,” “Damn Your Eyes,” and a teasingly salacious version of her old friend Johnny “Guitar” Watson’s “I Want To Ta Ta You, Baby.” A singer who has always expanded her musical parameters, James included the jazzy ballad “Love Is Forever” (complete with scatting vocals), Janis Joplin’s rockin’ “Piece Of My Heart,” and, for her encore, Jimmy Reed’s bluesy “Baby What You Want Me To Do.”

No doubt many of the young people who were in attendance were there because of the publicity generated by the Cadillac Records movie, and the controversy she generated over Beyoncé singing her signature “At Last” to the Obamas at the inauguration. When she began her brief introduction with “This is one of my favorite songs,” the audience knew where she was going, and cheered wildly. “Someone else sang this song,” she continued, “but that’s all I’m gonna say about that.” James often uses her hands when she is talking to the crowd, often making little symbols of affection with her fingers. Her gesture when she introduced “At Last” was anything but affectionate. But that’s O.K. James is outspoken and outrageous, and we all know that.

IN MEMORIAM: Singer, MC, and comedian Manuel Arrington passed away on April 16th, one week before his 64th birthday. Manuel was a well-known figure on the Chicago scene, having hosted the Chicago Blues Festival in its early years and many shows around town. Manuel was my colleague for a number of years on the Chicago Blues Festival Advisory Committee. My lasting memory involves a night at the Majestic Lounge on the West Side in the late ’80s. Mine was the only white face in the audience, and Manuel acknowledged that fact with gentle humor. I recently ran into him at the Monday jam session at Legends in March, and we reminisced about our years on the committee. May he rest in peace.

NEXT: The following new releases have arrived at “Sweet Home” and will get their due in July: Cyril Neville’s Brand New Blues (MC), Zora Young’s Sunnyland (Airway), Big James & The Chicago Playboys’ Right Here Right Now (Blind Pig), Otis Taylor’s Pentatonic Wars And Love Songs (Telarc), and Buckwheat Zydeco’s Lay Your Burden Down (Alligator). See you then.

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer

If you have been out on the town over the past year or so, hanging out at premier blues and jazz clubs such as Andy’s, Buddy Guy’s Legends, or House Of Blues, you may have happened upon up-and-coming guitarist/ vocalist and songwriter Guy King. King is a young guitar master with limitless musical potential. Coloring outside the often rigid blues lines, he brings his organ duo to Andy’s once a week, plays the early acoustic set at Buddy Guy’s regularly, and frequently brings his band to the Back Porch Stage at HOB. A former road dog, King traveled the world for six years with bassist Willie Kent, who passed away in 2006. King decided to strike out on his own, and is building on the reputation he developed while with Kent both locally and around the world.

King went into the studio last July to record his first solo CD, Livin’ It (BF). The title track is an uptempo groove, with a socially conscious message. Guy takes on current ills, including war with incisive lines like “Talking about religion, talking about land/One brother’s fighting another/For reasons they don’t understand.” He makes the distinction between hearing about the conflict and enduring it with the refrain, “We read about it in the paper and we see it in the news/But we’re livin’ it/Lord knows we’re livin’ it.”
King’s songs combine jazz, blues, soul, and gospel licks, with sharp, soulful lyrics. The blue mood of the horn-driven “Alone In The City” has shades of Duke Ellington, coupled with a stinging, Albert King-inspired guitar solo. Kings’ expressive voice — with its echo of Robben Ford — is particularly suited to singing jazz, and brings a contemporary edge to more traditional material. The five original tunes on Livin’ It are interspersed with songs by T Bone Walker, Percy Mayfield, Little Johnny Taylor, and Big Maceo, reflecting King’s diverse musical tastes.

With Livin’ It, King is on his way. He is an uncompromising talent who brings a refreshing and original approach to well-worn musical forms. If you haven’t already done so, I suggest you check him out at his various gigs around town.

MR. G. AND THE MYSTERY BAND: It’s A Mystery is the title of the debut solo CD by Mr. G And The Mystery Band, which is led by harp man/vocalist/songwriter Chris “Mr. G” Gillock. “Investment banker by day, musician by night,” is how Gillock describes himself on his blog, “Mr. G’s Thoughts For Free.” The Mystery Band was born in impromptu fashion when Gillock offered to put a group together to perform at Bill’s Blues in Evanston on Thanksgiving night in 2003. It has undergone a number of transitions since then, but the core of the band has coalesced around a group of stellar musicians that include guitarist Anthony Palmer (full disclosure: my husband), bassist Greg “E.G.” McDaniel, guitarist Osee Anderson, and drummer James Carter.

The original concept of The Mystery Band was to bring Chicago’s finest blues musicians together to jam and have a good time. But you can’t keep a good band down. The sheer firepower in the band led to a local following at clubs like Morseland in Chicago and C.J. Arthur’s in Wilmette. The logical next step was to go into the studio, where It’s A Mystery was born.

Mr. G. is the harp-playing vocalist, songwriter, and impresario who holds it all together. He wrote the 11 tunes that comprise the CD, featuring blues, funk, reggae, and New Orleans soul. He is a cutting songwriter whose often humorous lyrics are reminiscent of musical satirist Tom Lehrer. On “Get Out And Walk,” a folksy tune with its Sonny Terry-inspired harmonic opening, he addresses the high price of gas and a public who don’t have a clue: “Well gas is $4.50 a gallon, gonna cost a lot more soon/You complain while you’re driving your big old Hummer/And man what the hell you doin’?/Get out and walk, ride a bike, get on the bus.” He bemoans being levied to death on the slow blues “Paying Taxes,” which includes a fierce, in-the-basement guitar solo by Palmer. The title track is a Junior Wells-inspired groove that explores the mystery behind human behavior of all kinds along the lines of “Why can’t we all just get along?” Anderson and Palmer wail on this one, complementing each other’s playing with their different but equally compelling blues approach. The rhythm section of McDaniel and Carter is solid throughout, especially on the funky “Me And My Dog,” a semi-humorous song about the pain of divorce: “When I first met my wife, I thought she was fine/But the longer I live with that woman, the more I love my canine . . . /but now she’s gone and I must confess I feel dead inside.” Despite the occasional foray into the serious, Mr. G And The Mystery Band are all about the fun. Their promo material should read, “For a good time, call. . . ”

IN MEMORIAM: West Side harmonica great Lester “Mad Dog” Davenport passed away on March 17th after a battle with prostate cancer. Davenport was a well-respected figure on the Chicago blues scene. He made fans and friends worldwide in his travels with Big Daddy Kinsey and The Kinsey Report, and Willie Kent And The Gents. Davenport achieved notoriety early in his career when he recorded with Bo Diddley on the 1955 records “Pretty Thing” and “Bring It To Jerome.” Davenport had success as a solo artist as well, recording two albums, When The Blues Hit You (Earwig) and I Smell A Rat (Delmark).

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer

Listening to Chicago Blues: A Living History (Raisin), a two-CD set that covers 1940 to the present and features an all-star band of blues traditionalists including Billy Boy Arnold, John Primer, Billy Branch, and Lurrie Bell, led me to think about Jimi Hendrix. A space-age bluesman, Hendrix took the genre in a new direction. He was the bridge between the old and new, the ultimate trajectory for the blues in the 21st century. Hendrix opened the door, but the huddled blues brigades were hesitant to follow.

But I digress. Chicago Blues: A Living History is a well-conceived collection of material, thanks to producer Larry Skoller’s idea to let a contemporary group of traditionalists mine the past. Arnold, Primer, Branch and Bell are backed by the Living History Band, which features Skoller’s brother Matthew (harmonica), guitarist Billy Flynn Felton Crews (bass), Kenny Smith (drums), and keyboardist Johnny Iguana. Special guests include guitarist Carlos Johnson and vocalist Mike Avery.

Disc One chronicles the heyday of early Chicago blues, featuring songs by harmonica great John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson I (“My Little Machine”), Tampa Red (“She’s Love Crazy”), Big Bill Broonzy (“Night Watchman Blues”), Big Maceo (“Chicago Breakdown”), Muddy Waters (“Feel Like Going Home”), and others.

Disc Two covers 1955 onward, beginning with Mel London’s “Sugar Sweet” and including songs by Jimmy Reed (“I Can’t Stand To See You Go”), Sonny Boy Williamson II (“Your Imagination”), Junior Wells (“Hoodoo Man Blues”), Earl Hooker (“Hooking It”), Magic Sam (“Out Of Bad Luck”), and more. Disc Two ends with Buddy Guy’s “Damn Right, I’ve Got The Blues.”

Unlike most compilations, Chicago Blues: A Living History blends the present and the past in a unique fashion. Folks new to the music can take a trip back in time, guided by a legendary group of musicians who are keeping the tradition alive.

BOXED SET: The Jeff Healey Band’s Legacy: Volume One (Arbor/Castle Hill) is a two-CD-plus-DVD retrospective of the guitarist/vocalist, who passed away a year ago at age 41. And speaking of Hendrix, Healey was an underrated torchbearer who carried the legacy in the most creative, passionate, and distinctive way.

Disc One, subtitled “The Video,” is a DVD featuring a wealth of live footage, from Healey’s early years playing at the legendary Grossman’s Tavern in Toronto to scenes from the band’s last music video, “I Tried.” Healey’s popularity skyrocketed in the 1990s as evidenced in footage of his “Late Night” appearance with Paul Shaffer and jamming with The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The interview footage is one of the documentary’s most compelling parts (the performance footage needed some editing, as some of the same songs are featured at different venues). Healey comes across as a very down-to-earth, intelligent, and humble person. Blindness was a fact of life for him, and thus something he dealt with. It was the press who sought to sensationalize it. One British rock critic wrote that Healey’s blindness was a “public relations man’s dream.” Healey’s frustration at the whole thing is evident when he talks about interview questions relating to his blindness: “So-me questions that come out of nowhere are, ‘When did you did you discover you were blind?’”

Or the extre-mely callous ob-servation by one writer, who rather stupidly intoned, “So, I guess you can’t appreciate the films you’ve done [Healey appeared in Roadhouse] seeing you can’t see it.”

“Idiotic people,” Healey says, asking “ignorant questions.”

Disc Two, “Singles,” is an 18-song compilation of Healey’s greatest hits, such as “See The Light,” “Confidence Man,” and “Angel Eyes.” Disc Three collects unreleased live tracks, and songs from Discs One and Two are duplicated, which gives the entire package a somewhat thrown-together feel, as if the folks at Arbor said “Let’s get everything we can on Jeff Healey and just put it out there.” Standouts on the live CD include “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” featuring a guest appearance by George Harrison, and “I Think I Love You” with Mark Knopfler. It would have been sufficient to release a two-disc compilation, with the DVD and the live CD. “Singles” is redundant.

Remembering John Cephas: Guitarist and singer “Bowling Green” John Cephas of the acoustic duo Cephas And Wiggins passed away March 4th of a pulmonary embolism at his home in Woodford, Virginia. He was 78-years old.

Cephas and his partner Phil Wiggins are the leading exponents of Piedmont Blues, a gentle thumb-and-finger picking style created by musical forbearers Rev. Gary Davis, Blind Willie McTell, Tampa Red, and others in the Piedmont region of Virginia. Unlike the often stark and haunting blues from the Delta, Piedmont blues is rhythmic and melodic, with the thumb creating a steady, loping bass as the melody is simultaneously picked out on the treble strings. Cephas’ propulsive basslines, complex picking, and mellow gospel-inspired baritone voice was the perfect complement to Wiggins’ blues- and gospel-inspired harmonica. They rocked the Chicago Blues Festival on many occasions – I never missed a performance. I met Cephas when I worked at Flying Fish Records in the ’90s, and he was an intelligent and humorous man. I will miss his playing immeasurably.

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer

“There hasn’t been a lot of growing in the blues. I don’t see any reason why it cannot grow. So many blues artists were innovative. Muddy Waters, he plugged in.” Shemekia Copeland

Never Going Back (Telarc) reflects the ongoing evolution in the life and music of contemporary soulful blues diva Shemekia Copeland. Produced by guitarist/songwriter Oliver Wood (The Wood Brothers), Never Going Back brings the blues into now.

Mindful of her pedigree as the daughter of the late, legendary Texas bluesman Johnny Copeland, Shemekia’s music is organic. Not content to rehash the genre, she channels her blues roots to explore contemporary themes. She chose Wood after being introduced to him by her manager, songwriter John Hahn. “When me and Oliver got together for the first time, it was magic,” Copeland says. “We basically just talked about personal stuff . . . we made a connection right away. It is easier for me to make records with people who I have a spiritual connection with.”

Never Going Back is also Copeland’s most personal album to date (she previously recorded four records for Alligator: The Soul Truth, Talking To Strangers, Wicked, and Turn The Heat Up). “This album is different,” Copeland says. “In the past I didn’t talk about politics and religion. I purposely stayed away from it. People don’t want to hear all that negative stuff. They want to be entertained. But these days it is impossible not to talk about it.”

A recent trip to Iraq, as part of a 12-day Bluzapalooza tour, created even more urgency for the singer. Deeply moved by what she saw, Copeland felt the need to open up: “For the first time I’m trying to get people to look into my soul,” she admits.

Copeland gets right to it on the opening track, “Sounds Like The Devil,” co-written with Hahn. Wood’s swampy slide guitar sets the tone in a song that takes lying politicians and phony televangelists to task. “Love is tumblin’, dreams are crumblin’/We all looking for a place to hide/People are hurtin’, politicians certain, they got God on their side/And they’re sayin’ that he is talkin’ to ‘em personally/But it sounds like the devil to me . . . Preacher told me the number’s toll free, God’s ready to wash away all my sins/I know what he’s sayin’, yeah he’s just prayin’ I’ll send all my dollars in/Lord forgive my suspicious personality, but it sounds like the devil to me.”

Copeland sings about social concerns again on the insightful “Broken World,” written by Hahn and Wood. Featuring John Medeski (Medeski Martin And Wood) on Hammond B3, the song has a catchy gospel feel, much like the best of The Staple Singers. “Broken World” is also personal for Copeland. In her wish to revolutionize the blues, she initially felt she could make an immediate impact. “For the longest time I was disappointed in myself, because I felt I hadn’t changed anything. I felt as though I was going to come out and change the world.” She came to realize she “wasn’t driving the bus,” but that she could “fix a small part of this broken world” creatively through her music.

In Wood, Copeland found a producer who captured the essence of what she’s all about. Taking her out of the “blues mama” box Alligator sought to put her in, he recognized her limitless vocal ability and willingness to expand her repertoire. He chose varied songs such as the gritty rocker “Dirty Water” by roots duo Buddy And Julie Miller and the jazzy, lilting “Black Crow” by Joni Mitchell. Copeland was initially intimidated about recording the Mitchell song, but she liked Wood’s arrangement and happily accepted the challenge.

Wood and Hahn co-wrote “Never Going Back To Memphis,” a brooding, Otis Taylor-inspired number with a rumba beat about a woman involved with a violent man, and “Born A Penny,” an autobiographical tune in which she takes a swipe at the “queen of the blues” throne, singing, “So hold that tiara, ’cause I don’t need to be queen/locked up in some castle, never was my dream/The fairy tale you wrote, wasn’t all that fair.”

Songs of female empowerment like the super-funky and menacing “Limousine” and the bluesy “Rise Up” brush against gospel tunes like “The Truth Is The Light” and the tongue-in-cheek “Big Brand New Religion.” Copeland gets bluesy with Percy Mayfield’s life-and-death battle with nature in “The River’s Invitation” and a heartfelt, acoustic version of her father’s “Circumstances.”

During our brief interview, Copeland speaks passionately about current social and political issues. Accustomed to keeping her opinions “close,” she explodes in indignation at the current financial crisis, brought on by selfish business types and politicians. “Why are people so greedy? I don’t have a million dollars to give away to charity, but I do my small part. I do look out for my family.” With President Obama in the White House, she is impelled to get involved in politics. “I’m at the age when I’m getting into politics. I was too young to vote for Clinton, and not interested in Bush. Now I feel the need. It is urgent. It means something to me now.”

She is equally passionate about the state of the music business. When asked if she was looking for crossover success, she says “Listen to the great genres of music. There shouldn’t have to be crossover to anything. If the music is good, they should play it.”

Copeland plays March 13th at the Old Town School Of Folk in Chicago.

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer

Odetta and Makeba both dedicated their lives to spreading the cause of freedom and fighting injustice in words and music. With her resonant voice and acoustic guitar, Odetta mesmerized audiences with tales of Southern brutality and the struggle to overcome. She created an American songbook of ballads, blues, work songs, prison songs, spirituals, and civil-rights anthems that inspired countless people, from activists such as Rosa Parks to then up-and-coming folk singers Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. Her songs, “I’m On My Way” and “Oh Freedom,” were sung as marchers made their way toward Washington D.C. on August 28th, 1963.

Makeba played a similar role in South Africa. Known as “Mama Afrika,” Makeba lived in exile for 30 years due to her outspoken stance on apartheid. She was allowed to return in 1990 when Nelson Mandela was released from prison. Makeba is known for the dance song “Pata Pata,” which became a worldwide hit in 1960.

Like Odetta, Makeba created a unique body of work that drew on regional folk idioms. She mined traditional African music from the past and mixed it with jazz, folk, and pop to create a contemporary sensibility. A controversial figure throughout her career, she was married several times, once to black-power activist Stokely Carmichael. Despite her immense popularity, she found herself blackballed from the American music industry for a time, due to the marriage.

Odetta and Makeba’s careers each spanned five decades, with a few minor lulls along the way. Both these exceptional women were distinctive performers who marshaled prodigious talents to make the world a better place. May they rest in peace.

NEW RELEASES: Cadillac Records: Music From The Motion Picture (Sony) is the soundtrack from the movie loosely based on Chicago’s legendary Chess Records. There’s no need to go into the movie here – it is a superficial telling of this gritty and important Chicago story. The focus of the movie is the soundtrack – the story is just a mish-mash of fact and fancy. The cast of characters who sing make the music work – Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, Beyoncé as Etta James, and Mos Def as Chuck Berry. The songs are sequenced to form a history of pop music with the Chess pieces as the forerunners. “I’m A Man,” “At Last,” “No Particular Place To Go,” and “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man” precede “Let’s Take A Walk” by Raphael Saadiq, “6 O’Clock Blues” by Solange, “The Sound” by Mary, Mary, and “Bridging The Gap” by Nas with Olu Dara. A bonus for hardcore blues fans is the inclusion of Little Walter’s version of “Last Night.”

There is a genuine Chicago connection to Cadillac Records: The producers actually went out and hired some local blues musicians. The band includes guitarists Billy Flynn (actually from Wisconsin but a great interpreter of Chicago blues), Eddie Taylor Jr., legendary Howlin’ Wolf guitarist Hubert Sumlin, and pianist Barrelhouse Chuck. Other bluesmen include Kim Wilson on harp, and Canned Heat’s Larry Taylor on bass.

More New Releases: Mark Hummel’s Blues Harmonica Blowouts: Still Here And Gone (Electro-Fi) is an ambitious two-disc set retrospective of Hummel and friends blowing at various clubs in the Bay Area from 1993 to 2007. Hummel has assembled some of his favorite performances throughout the years by fellow harpmen James Harman, Billy Boy Arnold, Rick Estrin, Magic Dick, Lee Oskar, Carey Bell, Lazy Lester, Sam Myers, and William Clarke. The title refers to those musicians who are still alive and playing and to those – Paul Delay, Clarke, Bell, and Myers – who have passed on.

REISSUE: Howlin’ Wolf: Rockin’ The Blues – Live in Germany 1964 (Acrobat) was originally released in the United Kingdom in 2003. Howlin’ Wolf and his band of top Chicago musicians – Hubert Sumlin (guitar), Sunnyland Slim (piano), Willie Dixon (bass), and Clifton James (drums) – were captured live in Bremen on the last leg of a European tour that began as part of the American Folk Blues Festival.

Rockin’ The Blues features Howlin’ Wolf and his quartet of stellar musicians stepping outside of the more familiar rough-and-tumble Chicago blues they are known for, and it works. The music has a laid-back, jazz feel to it. Wolf had already recorded his best sides for Chess, with their hair-raising intensity, but this night that intensity was more contained. Perhaps it’s the mono recording or perhaps it was the venue and the audience. Or perhaps Wolf and the band were taking the “Folk Blues” title to heart, seeking to pare the music down to its most essential element. There is no curtain-climbing fervor here, just some flawless, “small band” blues played and sung with feeling. Rockin’ The Blues is a must-have CD that swings from the opener, “Shake It For Me,” to the closer, Wolf’s infamous “Forty-Four.”

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer

The Chicago blues community gathered on Wednesday, December 10th at the West Side’s United Baptist Church to celebrate the life of one of their own. Guitarist/singer-songwriter Vernon “Chico” Banks, aged 46, passed away December 3rd of an apparent infection of a heart valve that was replaced more than a year ago.

The sanctuary was overflowing as fellow musicians, family, and friends came to pay respects to a young man taken too soon. Banks was a dynamic presence as both a man and musician (he was a master guitarist with a high-energy, deep-blues approach). As an urban bluesman, he brought soul, R&B, funk, and rock to the mix. Chico’s father, Jesse Banks, is an accomplished guitar player and an early influence. He played with the renowned Mighty Clouds Of Joy and instilled in his son a lifelong love of gospel music. It is no wonder Banks brought that gospel fervor to his blues. His brother, Stanley Banks, is a noted keyboard player, who is recovering from an injury sustained in a van accident with Koko Taylor’s Blues Machine.

Banks’ personality was as electric as his music. He was often seen at B.L.U.E.S. or Kingston Mines, surrounded by friends and fans, laughing and holding court: People gravitated toward him. He cared passionately about the music and about the plight of his generation of local musicians, who are generally unrecognized by the industry.

With his rock-star good looks, incendiary guitar playing, and outgoing personality, Banks seemed poised to become the next big thing.

He was preparing to release his self-produced CD, Stray Kitty Kat, a heady mix of blues, soul, funk, rock, and R&B. In the autobiographical opening track, the funky “Sacrifice,” Banks sings about his new direction – sacrificing the party life in order to get serious about music – “Now that I’ve got a lot older now, ain’t no time for fooling around/I’ve got to sacrifice, in order to get myself right . . . I’ve been putting things off for so very long/I begin to think that’s what’s going on.” Having struggled with heart problems, perhaps Banks sensed the urgency to step-up his career.

Banks’ unthinkable passing will leave a deafening silence for years to come, but ultimately, it might signal a call to action for those of us you struggling to take the blues in a new direction. I know it has awakened a sense of urgency in me to get out there and start interviewing like mad in order to bring the blues focus back to Chicago, where it belongs. May he rest in peace.

Buddy Guy’s Legends Celebrates 20th Anniversary: Five-time Grammy winner Buddy Guy will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of his world-famous club, Legends, this year, as he kicks off his annual residency January 8th. Guy will play 14 nights, four days a week, ending January 31st. As always, he’ll have the best of the best opening for him, including the NuBlu Band on January 10th, which features Guy’s daughter, vocalist Carlise Guy. Other openers include Larry McCray, Big James And The Chicago Playboys, Carl Weathersby, Billy Branch And The Sons Of Blues, and Lurrie Bell. Get your tickets early because these shows sell out fast, especially given the 20-year celebration factor.

When Guy opened Legends in the summer 1989, many wondered if it would be a fit successor to the Checker-board Lounge, the club he owned and made famous at 43rd and King Drive. As Buddy’s stature in the music business grew, so did the club’s reputation. Legends is world-renowned, and Buddy Guy is a bona fide superstar. This year alone, he was featured in the Martin Scorsese’s Rolling Stones biopic, Shine A Light, appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone for the first time, and received the first annual Great Performer Of Illinois award. Guy also released a successful CD, Skin Deep. I’m sure if Muddy Waters were alive he would be proud of the struggling musician he took under his wing in 1957, feeding him bologna sandwiches and giving him sage advice about the business. Stay tuned for a February feature as the Entertainer and “Sweet Home” celebrate 20 years of Buddy Guy’s Legends.

MY 2008 TOP TEN:
1. Buddy Guy, Skin Deep (Zomba/Silvertone)
2. Vince Agwada, Eyes Of The City (Rocketnoodle)
3. Elvin Bishop, The Blues Rolls On (Delta Groove)
4. B.B. King, One Kind Favor (Geffen)
5. Kenny Wayne, Can’t Stop Now (Electro-Fi)
6. Kenny Neal, Let Life Flow (Blind Pig)
7. Donald And Geraldine Gay, Soulful Sounds (The Sirens)
8. Willie Smith, Born In Arkansas (Big Eye)
9. Various, And This Is Free: The Life And Times of Chicago’s Legendary Maxwell Street (Shanachie)
10. Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm, 2 Man Wrecking Crew (Delta Groove)

IN MEMORIAM: Odetta, Miriam Makeba, Nappy Brown, Levi Stubbs, Bill Coday, Phil Guy, Little Arthur Duncan, Pete Allen, Bo Diddley, Ike Turner, Dave Jefferson, Norman Whitfield, Purvis Jackson, Willie Cobbs, Buddy Miles, and Jeff Healey. Rest in peace, all.

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer

While watching the celebration unfold in Grant Park last month on television, in which President–elect Barack Obama celebrated his victory with some 240,000 jubilant supporters, I felt as though I was watching another type of history in the making. Racial stereotypes were being shattered left and right as the major networks and cable channels sent reporters throughout the African-American community for reaction to this historic event. Enthusiastic Obama supporters were being interviewed in churches, barbershops, colleges, restaurants, and on the street. It was a welcome glimpse into black life rarely seen in the media (where the predominant images we are fed on nightly news and police-reality shows portray African Americans – and Latinos – as criminals) and one that may signal significant change in people’s perception of the world.

I think an Obama presidency has the power to alter perception of the blues, too, by focusing on what is current in the African-American blues world, and perhaps shattering the persistent stereotype of the old, broke-down, and illiterate blues musician. Singer Katherine Davis (pictured with Obama and her late husband, Dr. Caleb Dube, at a senate fundraiser in 2003 at Rosa’s Lounge) confirmed Obama is a blues fan (according to a You Tube clip and a Rolling Stone interview, the President-elect has “Wang Dang Doodle” (the London Howlin’ Wolf Sessions version) on his iPod). Like Bill Clinton before him, Obama will most likely be a “rock ‘n’ roll” president. As well as embracing the music of Bruce Springsteen, Obama is a devoted Stevie Wonder fan. I wouldn’t be surprised if Wonder played at the inaugural. If Obama chooses to represent Chicago musically, Buddy Guy, whose song “Skin Deep” is especially timely, would be the perfect choice in my estimation

NEW RELEASES – REVIEWAPALOOZA NO. 2: Back To The River (Verve) finds vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Susan Tedeschi returning to the bluesy roots she briefly abandoned for her soul-drenched 2005’s Hope And Desire. Tedeschi mixes it up with some funk on the original “Butterfly” and Alan Toussaint’s “Break In The Road.” Guests include Tedeschi’s guitar-playing husband Derek Trucks, guitarist Gary Louris of the Jayhawks, and Doyle Bramhall II . . . Chicago’s independent label Earwig released four new CDs in June. First up is Red Top, a rockin’, straightahead blues blazer by guitarist/songwriter/vocalist Liz Mandeville, who proves herself an ironic humorist with songs like “Scratch The Kitty” and the funky “My Baby Is Her Baby Too.” Venerable Chicago sax man Eddie Shaw guests on the slow ballad “Hold Me” and the booty shakin’ “Rockin’ All Night” . . . The Earwig keeps coming with vocalist/guitarist Chris James and bassist Patrick Rynn’s Stop And Think About It, a rollicking ode to post-war Chicago blues. Guests include drummers Sam Lay and Willie Hayes and pianist David Maxwell . . . Earwig’s third new release is Ice Storm by Scott Ellison, a prolific songwriter who enjoyed a stint in the 1980s playing rhythm guitar for Gatemouth Brown and other well-known bandleaders. Ellison’s mix of contemporary and post-war blues has some nice moments guitar wise, but ultimately Ice Storm comes off as clichéd . . . I probably shouldn’t have listened to the four Earwig releases during one sitting. By the time I got to Daylight At Midnight by guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Travis Haddix, I wanted to scream, “This is 2008, people!” With the exception of Mandeville, it’s as though I was listening to one overlong record. In fairness to Haddix, however, Daylight At Midnight includes some Bobby Bland- and B.B. King-inspired Southern soul with tunes such as “Who Could I Be,” and the title track . . . Blues/rock/pop heartthrob John Mayer released the two-disc Where The Light Is: John Mayer Live In Los Angeles (Columbia). Disc One includes a folk-based acoustic set, and a Hendrix-inspired trio set. Disc Two is a band set, featuring Mayer’s distinctive blend of pop, rock, and blues. Mayer may not ascend to the blues throne anytime soon, but his musical sensibilities place him in the trailblazing category, reworking the old to make it new . . . Get On Board (Telarc) is the latest release from singer-songwriter and self-proclaimed troubadour Eric Bibb. Get On Board is another timely release that finds Bibb searching for spiritual unity through music. The Telarc Web site quotes Bibb saying this about Get On Board’s message: “What I’m trying to convey with this record is a very simple but very direct message. I want people to get onboard, not only with me as an artist, but with the spirit of what drives this record – the spirit of unity.” Bibb mines the sprit with a rich blend of blues, folk, gospel, and soul. Bonnie Raitt adds heartfelt and haunting slide guitar to the gospel track, “If Our Hearts Ain’t In It,” and Texan Ruthie Foster duets on the “The Conversation.”

REISSUES: Sleepy John Estes: On 80 Highway (Delmark) is the latest gem dug from Delmark’s vaults. Harmonica player Hammie Nixon accompanies Estes on this vintage recording.

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer

Many CDs have been unreviewed during the past few months as I have focused more on the news side of the business. In a slight change of format, I will devote this entire column to playing catch up with pithy reviews of CDs from legends and newcomers alike, covering the gamut of traditional blues to soul, R&B, rock ‘n’ roll, swamp boogie, and Chicago blues.

B.B. King’s One Kind Favor (Geffen) is a tribute to the blues master’s rich musical past. With the help of producer T Bone Burnett, King created an album of traditional blues with a contemporary feel. He eschews the usual rock-star guests, preferring to revisit his past in intimate fashion and focus on the music and his interpretation of it. He augments his regular band with three special guests, drummer Jim Keltner, stand-up bassist Nathan East, and flawless pianist Dr. John. The title of the CD is a line from the album’s first track, Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean.”

One Kind Favor is King’s musical autobiography. Jefferson was an early influence, followed by Lonnie Johnson (“My Love Is Down” and “Tomorrow Night”), T-Bone Walker (“I Get So Weary”), The Mississippi Sheiks (“The World Is Gone Wrong” and “Sitting On Top Of The World”), Big Bill Broonzy (“Backwater Blues”), Howlin’ Wolf (“How Many More Years”), Oscar Lollie (“Waiting For Your Call”), John Lee Hooker (“Blues Before Sunrise”), Lee Vida Walker (“Get These Blues Off Me”), and Shifty Henry (“Midnight Blues”). By age 82 most folks have long retired, but King is still going strong. He can still shout the blues, and his guitar playing is as sweet and deeply affecting as ever.

Elvin Bishop takes a different tack than King on The Blues Rolls On (Delta Groove), looking backward toward his early inspirations and forward to the generation of musicians who will carry it on. He has some impressive help thanks to multigenerational guests including the aforementioned King, James Cotton, Derek Trucks, George Thorogood, Warren Haynes, Kim Wilson, Tommy Castro, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Angela Strehli, John Németh, The Homemade Jamz’ Blues Band, R.C. Carrier, and Andre Thierry. Blues Rolls On reflects Bishop’s delight in his 45-year-plus musical journey. In the album liner notes, he boasts he is probably the “only guy in the world who has played with Big Joe Williams, Little Walter, Jimi Hendrix, and Derek Trucks.” The Blues Rolls On rocks from start to finish, imbued with Bishop’s fun-loving spirit and impeccable blues, R&B, Zydeco, Southern soul, and rock ‘n’ roll credentials. Especially haunting is the autobiographical track “Oklahoma,” featuring Bishop’s gritty vocals, otherworldly wild slide guitar, and foot-stomping accompaniment.

Midnight Blues is Magic Slim & The Teardrops‘ eighth recording for Chicago’s Blind Pig Records. It finds the larger-than-life bluesman and his band up to their old tricks, creating danceable, gritty Chicago-style blues with a bit of country and R&B. This time out Slim is joined by special guests James Cotton, Elvin Bishop (quite an incestuous recording community, isn’t it?), Lil’ Ed, Lonnie Brooks, Otis Clay, Gene Barge, and the Chicago Rhythm And Blues Kings‘ horn section. Slim blasts out the gate with the original track “Let Me Love You,” in which he employs his best Howlin’ Wolf growl. He channels Muddy Waters on “You Can’t Lose What You Ain’t Never Had,” with spine-tingling accompaniment by Cotton, whose harmonica solo is one of the album’s highlights. Brooks offers a deep blues solo on “Spider In My Stew,” while Lil’ Ed channels the late Hound Dog Taylor on “Give Me Back My Wig.” Resident Teardrop guitarist Jon McDonald evokes a smoky bar circa 1950 with his solo on Little Milton’s “Lonely Man.” Slim’s gritty vocals and electrified Mississippi-blues guitar dominate throughout, as they should. He is especially soulful and sensuous on the original “What Is That You Got.”

2 Man Wrecking Crew (Delta Groove) is haunting, north Mississippi hill country blues from 30-something drummer/ vocalist Cedric Burnside and guitarist/vocalist Lightnin’ Malcolm. Burnside is the grandson of the late legendary R.L. Burnside and grew up surrounded by the music of rural Mississippi and the more contemporary sounds of funk and hip-hop. Malcolm was raised in rural Missouri where he was introduced to blues as a child. He eventually landed in north Mississippi where he discovered the eerie and compelling sounds of R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and other north Mississippi musicians. 2 Man Wrecking Crew is a thoroughly enjoyable meshing of the traditional and contemporary, couched in that unmistakable, spine-tingling swampy, rural-blues vernacular.

Vocalist/harmonica player Curtis Salgado is back with a new CD, Clean Getaway (Shanachie), and a new lease on life. Salgado survived a vicious battle with cancer, which, despite a successful liver transplant, metastasized into one of his lungs. With the help of famous friends Robert Cray, Steve Miller, Bonnie Raitt, and Taj Mahal, Salgado was able to survive and thrive, eventually returning to the studio and stage. Salgado is a soulful vocalist and harmonica player who spent six years touring and recording with the Robert Cray Band. He is joined on Clean Getaway by The Phantom Blues Band that backed Mahal on his Dancin’ The Blues CD. Highlights include the funky Johnny “Guitar” Watson-inspired title tracks, “Clean Getaway” and “My Confession,” as well as the obscure Little Richard rocker, “I Don’t Want To Discuss It.”

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer

The Chicago blues community lost part of its soul August 20th when guitarist/vocalist Phil Guy, 68, passed away from prostate cancer complications. Just a month earlier, Guy was onstage with other blues luminaries at the Pritzker Pavilion to watch his older brother, Buddy, receive the very first Great Performer Of Illinois Award. He was also at the celebration later that night at Legends looking frail but displaying that same warmth, affability, and sly wit that made him such a genuinely well-liked person. At Guy’s funeral, fellow musician Big James Montgomery said in all the years he had known Guy, he never heard anyone say a bad word about him.

Guy was a straight-ahead player and one of the last practitioners of modern Chicago blues. A native of Lettsworth, Louisiana, he was exposed to the region’s rich musical gumbo and could also throw down with some mean funk, R&B, and soul.

Phil learned to play on one of his brother’s old acoustics, left behind when Buddy moved to Baton Rouge. Whereas the elder Guy cites the wild and flamboyant Guitar Slim as an early influence, little brother was blown away when he first heard the amplified swamp blues of Lightnin’ Slim. “It was like a bomb went off for me,” he told the Chicago Tribune in 2004. Guy followed his brother to Baton Rouge, serving as his replacement in legendary harp player Raful Neal’s band when Buddy moved to Chicago. He stayed with Neal for 10 years, working odd jobs during the day and playing music at night.

He eventually moved to Chicago in 1969 and enjoyed a successful career during the next decade, touring the world with Buddy and backing Son Seals, Koko Taylor, John Lee Hooker, Byther Smith, Junior Wells, and Big Mama Thornton. Content to let others take the spotlight, Guy told the Tribune “I always wanted to be a sideman, not a leader.” He didn’t step up front until his first solo recording, Bad Luck Boy (JSP), in 1983. He went on to record seven more albums and tour the world to critical acclaim with his band Phil Guy And The Chicago Machine. On his last album, 2006’s He’s My Blues Brother (Black Eyed Sally), he teamed with his sibling on the title track. He wrote “Last Of The Blues Singers” for his peers who had passed on, leaving him to keep the tradition alive.

Guy’s August 26th funeral was an uplifting celebration of his life. The Chicago Horns led the family into the chapel in true New Orleans fashion and concluded the service with a rousing version of “When The Saints Go Marching In.” Between, family and friends spoke lovingly of Guy. His beautiful sister, Ms. Annie Mae Holmes, moved the crowd with a stirring version of gospel standard, “I Can’t Complain.” It was a fitting farewell to a much-beloved man and his music.

MORE AUGUST BLUES: West Side harmonica ace and club owner Little Arthur Duncan also passed away August 20th. Duncan entered Kindred Hospital in Northlake in April for emergency brain surgery and remained there until his death.

Duncan moved to Chicago in 1954 and was a part-time musician for much of his career, working construction by day and playing music at night. In 1980, he opened the popular Artesia Lounge on Lake St. and later the Backscratcher’s Social Club on Madison. When Backscratcher’s closed, he seized the opportunity to play music full time, recording two highly acclaimed Delmark albums, Live At Rosa’s Lounge (CD/DVD) and Singin’ With The Sun.

Duncan was another well-liked figure in the Chicago scene. Delmark’s Kevin Johnson paid tribute to him in an e-mail, writing “He was a great friend, a proud and very well-respected man, a wonderful storyteller with a great sense of humor, and one of the last of the down-home Chicago blues singers and harp players . . . we’ll miss you, Mr. Backscratcher” . . . South Side guitarist Albert “Pete” Allen passed away in early September from an asthma and diabetic-related heart attack. Allen was a blues stalwart who played with vocalist Zora Young for more than 30 years. He also played with many Chicago blues legends, including Magic Slim, Buddy Guy, Carey and Lurrie Bell, Artie White, and Piano C. Red.

SPEEDY RECOVERY AND BEST WISHES TO THE BLUES MACHINE: The Blues Machine, Koko Taylor’s band, was involved in a serious van accident near Black River Falls, Wisconsin on August 23rd; they were en route to Thief River Falls, Minnesota to meet Taylor for a concert.

Traveling were guitarist Calvin Louden, guitarist Shunsuke Kikuta, bassist Ricky Nelson, drummer Bryant Parker, keyboardist Stanley Banks, driver Jesse Hutson, and road manager Lee Threatt (who is also Taylor’s son in law).

When news reached the blues community, it was rumored the band members were near death or paralyzed. (Alligator did not issue a press release until two days later, and curiously, the mainstream media choose not to report the accident at all). Thankfully those rumors proved to be wrong, and though Louden, Kikuta, Nelson, and Parker all suffered broken bones that required surgery, they are expected to make full recoveries. You are in our thoughts, guys.

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer

On July 20th in front of an adoring crowd of roughly 4,000 fans, blues icon Buddy Guy took to the stage of Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion and received the first annual Great Performer Of Illinois Award. As Chicago Cultural Affairs Commissioner Lois Weisberg presented Guy with the award, the audience exploded into “Buddy! Buddy! Buddy!” shouts, wildly cheering and holding up the large cardboard polka dots cleverly designed for the event. (Guy’s black-and-white, polka-dotted guitars have become his signature, and Fender was on hand to present him with a special-edition polka-dotted Stratocaster). He accepted his award on behalf of his mentors and friends, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, and the late, great Junior Wells – “all the guys who helped make Chicago what it is today with the blues.”

The tribute concert that followed included special guests Otis Taylor, Artie “Blues Boy” White, Carl Weathersby, Eddy Clearwater, and 9-year-old guitarist Quinn Sullivan backed by Fernando Jones and his Columbia College students. Guy’s brother Phil, Lonnie Brooks, and Brooks’ sons Ronnie Baker and Wayne Baker were seated stage right but did not perform. Though he wasn’t scheduled to play (contractual agreement for his Ravinia concert in late August) Guy got caught in the moment and joined his fellow guitarists briefly, delighting the crowd with a burst of signature riffs.

The night could have ended then, but there was still an hour to go. Jimmie Vaughan and the Tilt-A-Whirl Band, featuring vocalist Lou Ann Barton, took the stage, and the energy level dropped considerably. Vaughan and Barton’s American Gothic demeanor seemed to irritate the crowd, who had been so psyched during the first hour. The duo barely acknowledged Guy, and their Texas roadhouse blues had little to do with Chicago. Guy was an influence on Jimmie and his brother, Stevie Ray, but Chicago, not Austin, was where his legacy evolved. The visual of the Austin group commandeering the stage in the presence of legendary Chicagoans the Guys, Clearwater, and the Brookses spoke volumes. Vaughan’s performance seemed less of a tribute to Buddy, and more of showcase for himself.

NEW RELEASE: Skin Deep (Zomba/ Silvertone), Guy’s latest CD, was released a few days after the ceremony. The album finds Guy in remarkable form as he mines the blues from funky opener, “Best Damn Fool,” with its wah-wah groove, to the Waters-inspired slide masterpiece “Out In The Woods,” featuring Robert Randolph on steel guitar. Guy duets with singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi “Too Many Tears,” which features her husband Derek Trucks on slide guitar and Guy on the haunting Jerry Jones sitar. “Lyin’ Like A Dog” is a sinuous slow blues reminiscent of Stevie Ray Vaughan (via Albert King) followed by “Show Me The Money,” a rousing shuffle featuring Bekka Bramlett on background vocals (Bramlett and her famous mother, Bonnie, appear on the title track). Eric Clapton and Guy trade fours on the midtempo, funky, B.B. King-inspired “Every Time I Sing The Blues.” Guy pays tribute to his Bayou roots on the traveling song, “That’s My Home,” featuring Randolph again and Nathan Williams on accordion. The title track is a timely gospel-inspired me-ditation on race (see August “Sweet Home”). “Who’s Gonna Fill Those Shoes” has Guy questioning who will carry on the blues legacy left by the pioneers; the aforementioned 9-year-old Sullivan appears on this one. Guy has found a sensitive producer in Tom Hambridge who co-wrote a number of songs and plays drums throughout.

NEW RELEASE PART 2 – CARRYING IT ON: The answer to Guy’s musical question above can be found in the new release Eyes Of The City (Rocket-noodle) by master guitarist/vocalist/songwriter/ producer Vince Agwada.

Agwada is an exceptional guitarist who combines technical prowess with soul. Eyes Of The City is a blast of modern and contemporary blues, blues rock, R&B, funk, jazz, and pop that will take you back to the 1975-90 hotbed of live blues in Chicago. From the opener, “It’s A Shame” (a funky groove featuring Agwada’s flawless fretwork and dead-on lyrics, including a rap), to the closer, the title track (a sophisticated jazz/pop tune reminiscent of a smoky ’70s film noir soundtrack), Agwada and company smoke and burn through 12 originals and one cover, John Hiatt’s “Confidence Man.”

I first heard Agwada play in Toronto in the early ’80s when he was on tour with Guy. Once a staple on the worldwide scene, Agwada retired from the road for a number of years to work in the studio, where he honed his technical chops at Chicago Trax. He has returned to performing with a vengeance on this, his first solo album, where he is accompanied by the best musicians of his generation. Harp guru Sugar Blue (who lives in Milan) guests on rocker “Rain,” and Bill McFarland And The Chicago Horns appear on the jazzy, “Does It Really Matter?”

Agwada is a fully realized musician who brings his creativity to whatever genre he plays. He came of age at heady time in American music, when various musical styles co-existed. Eyes Of The City is at once an homage to this musical potpourri and a welcome return to the present of this gifted artist.

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer

Skin Deep is as great as Guy’s previous Silvertone releases, and in my mind, on par with his groundbreaking Chess sides. Guy was inspired by childhood memories of racial prejudice in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to write the title track. “I used to play with this boy, ride horses, down close to where I was born,” he is quoted in the label’s press release. “Then, when we were 13, his parents made us stop. They used to say you had black blood or white blood, but we’d get a flashlight and hold it up to our skin and we’d just see red blood. That’s what I mean by ‘Skin Deep.’” With the possibility of a black president on the horizon, the song is especially relevant, with the refrain, “Skin deep, skin deep, underneath we are all the same.” Guy gets a little help from friends Robert Randolph, Eric Clapton, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, and Bekka Bramlett, but it is his show all the way.

Check out next month’s “Sweet Home” for my in-depth Skin Deep review, along with reports on both the award ceremony and Guy’s record-release party.

CHICAGO BLUES INDIE RELEASES: Born In Arkansas (Big Eye) is a bouncy, bluesy new release by Grammy-winning singer/ songwriter/harmonica Willie “Big Eyes” Smith. Smith made his reputation as Muddy Waters’ drummer in the ’70s at the height of his popularity. After Waters’ death in 1983, Smith cofounded the Legendary Blues Band, with the remaining sidemen, Pinetop Perkins, Jerry Portnoy, and Calvin Jones.

The quintessential Chicago blues drummer, Smith has moved out of the drum chair during the past few years, passing the sticks to his equally talented and in-demand son, Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith. Willie has been seen around town lately singing and playing the harmonica in tandem with guitarist Jimmy Burns, or as part of the Chicago Blues Round Robin, a group of veteran musicians who come together to jam on some traditional.

Smith revisits the heyday of Chicago blues on Born In Arkansas with a variety of original uptempo shuffles and slow blues reminiscent of Waters (“World In An Uproar”), Little Walter (“Dreamin’”), Otis Rush (“Rub My Back”), and others. A pleasing vocalist and an impassioned harmonica player, Smith keeps it rockin’. He is joined by his son on drums, Bob Stroger on bass, Billy Flynn and Little Frank Krakowski on guitars, and Barrelhouse Chuck on piano. The tradition of Chicago blues lives on in this heartfelt recording.

West Side Blues (Atomic H-2) is the new release by guitarist/vocalist Vernon Harrington and his Atomic Blues Band. Primarily a sideman throughout his 30-plus-year career, Harrington steps out on his own for the first time with an album that owes its spirit to his West Side roots and his guitar-playing hero, the late and very great Magic Sam. Harrington has a blues pedigree. Born and raised in Chicago’s Lawndale neighborhood, he is related to guitarists Eddy Clearwater, Lurrie Bell, and the late Carey Bell. His father, Rev. Houston H. Harrington, owned Atomic-H Records, a blues and gospel label that recorded local artists in the ’50s.

West Side Blues is a studio album with a live feel. Harrington has captured that after-hours, smoky-blues bar atmosphere. Harp master Billy Branch and Harrington’s band provide soulful backing on a variety of covers including “Cut You Loose,” “The Things That I Used To Do,” “Kiddeo,” and others. West Side Blues isn’t out until September, but you can preview tunes at www.myspace.com/vernonharringtontheatomicbluesband.

REISSUES: John Mayall: Live At The Marquee 1969 (Eagle Rock) is a quirky recording featuring Mayall in a subdued mood at the Marquee Club in London on June 30th, 1969. This drummer-less recording features British musicians Jon Mark on acoustic guitar, Steve Thompson on bass, and Johnny Almond on tenor and alto saxophones, flute, and mouth percussion. Sound quality is fuzzy, but this scaled-down Mayall group features some cool jazz grooves – courtesy of Almond – and the bluesy shuffle “I’m Gonna Fight For You JB,” a tribute to one of Mayall heroes’, J.B. Lenoir . . . And This Is Free: The Life And Times Of Chicago’s Legendary Maxwell Street (Shanachie) is an ambitious DVD/CD homage to this historic open-air market displaced by the City Of Chicago and the University Of Illinois At Chicago in 1994. The DVD contains the 1964 masterpiece And This Is Free, by the late filmmaker Mike Shea, and the equally compelling documentary, Maxwell Street: A Living Memory, Shuli Eshel’s film about the legendary market’s Jewish roots. A 30-page booklet accompanies the set and features excepts from a variety of writers who were either raised on Maxwell Street or who hung out there. The accompanying CD is a blues lover’s delight, recorded live and featuring songs by Floyd Jones, Robert Nighthawk, Big John Wrencher, and Daddy Stovepipe, among others. Check out the Baby Face Leroy Trio with Muddy Waters and Little Walter, providing some melismatic moaning to an uptempo “Rollin’ And Tumblin’ Pt. 2.”

Insights and information in this bittersweet package will leave you shaking your head about the destruction of a piece of Chicago’s vital ethnic heritage.

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer

The Byther Smith, Blues On The Moon: Live At Natural Rhythm Social Club (Delmark) DVD/CD is a false document – fiction, cooked up by writer David Whiteis and the Delmark Records folks desperate to return the “negro” to his natural habitat.

Legendary guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Byther “Smitty” Smith is a blues shouter whose raw vocals are replete with gospel fervor. Throughout his career he has played it all – country, jazz, gospel, rock ‘n’ roll, and blues. He began his career as a bassist, but switched to guitar in early 1962. He honed his chops during the ’60s club scene on the South and West sides. He played Peppers Lounge with Otis Rush and Howlin’ Wolf and toured with Albert King and John Lee Hooker. At age 75, Smith is still going strong and is a highly respected elder statesman who travels extensively in Europe and enjoys a type of cult status in the United States.

The band, featuring guitarist Anthony Palmer (full disclosure: Palmer is my husband), bassist E.G. McDaniel, drummer James Carter, and keyboardist Daryl Coutts, are veteran musicians who have toured and recorded extensively with legends such as Rush, Eric Clapton, Eddy Clearwater, and Willie Kent. When they are not playing their regular gig with Jimmy Burns, they can be heard live and on CD and DVD backing Smitty, Lurrie Bell, Eddie Taylor Jr., Katherine Davis, Mr. G., Aron Burton, and Ronnie Baker Brooks.

The Natural Rhythm Private Social Club (the name over the door, though “Private” is curiously missing in the title of the DVD/CD) is not a blues club. It is housed in a small, windowless building at 59th and Damen on Chicago’s South Side. There is no stage – the film crew had to move pool tables and furniture aside in order to create space for the band, who still didn’t have much elbow room. Food was being served on the pool table behind Coutts and next to Carter so club patrons were forced to weave their way between performers, and Palmer did a fine job of ducking and dodging to avoid being hit by the bathroom door. Toward the end of the evening tipsy patrons made their way “onstage” to attempt some singing. None of this appears on the DVD, but it was a distraction for the musicians. Smith cut the long session (3 p.m. to 4 a.m.) after driving from Mississippi, where he attended the funerals of his older brother and his sister-in-law (who died unexpectedly a few days after her husband). At one point, toward the end of the night, he passed out briefly from the heat, exhaustion, or both. The band cut one more tune, and Smith called the session.

Smitty is a very physical player. I have seen him many nights at the Kingston Mines, and, when the groove hits him, his muscular frame rocks in time to the music (he is an ex-boxer), and his feet seem to leave the floor. Sadly, that aspect is missing on the DVD because there was nowhere for him to move. Meaning no disrespect to the owner and patrons of the Natural Rhythm Social Club, this is the type of place that the assembled veteran musicians were playing when they first started out and were dreaming of playing to the multitudes.

Why would Delmark put veteran musicians in this type of venue? Perhaps the answer can be found in the liner notes. In the first paragraph writer David Whiteis, who scouted the place, laments the fact African- Americans prefer the “R&B inflected amalgam of styles known variously as ’soul-blues’ and ’southern soul.’” “The more traditional twelve-bar blues,” he opines, “has lost its ability to capture the minds and hearts of contemporary African-American listener[s].” Knowing this, wouldn’t it have been wiser to feature Byther at his regular Chicago haunts the Kingston Mines or Buddy Guy’s Legends? Delmark artists Dave Specter, Little Arthur Duncan, Lurrie Bell, Burns, and Mississippi Heat were offered garden spots at established blues clubs like Legends, Rosa’s, and B.L.U.E.S. I sense some kind of missionary zeal here.

Carping aside, Live At Natural Rhythm Club features Smith’s signature chunky rhythmic sensibilities, minor-key guitar mastery, and impassioned, gritty vocals. Smith has penned seven original tunes with themes ranging from the sacred to the profane (both are touched upon in “Love Of Honor,” where Byther sings, “Baby Jesus died” to “Lord I’m telling you all you people, don’t you ever make me mad/Well it give me the right to break your jaw with a left and right”), love, and longing. The title track is a quirky jam that blends the groove from Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” with some spare blues guitar and surrealistic lyrics: “I’m telling all my friends out there/you people all say Smitty’s lyin’ . . . I received $5 million/to play the blues standing on the moon/When I reach my destination/I’ll play the blues standing on the moon/I’ll play the beautiful melody/for the angels in heaven above.” “Monticello” (Smith is from Monticello, Mississippi) is an intensely moving minor-key blues about loneliness and lost love. One of nine children, his mother died during childbirth when he was a year old, and his father died shortly after.

Fans of Theresa’s and the original Checkerboard Lounge should stick to the DVD on this one. The ambience is reminiscent of these two legendary South Side clubs, though minus the raucous energy and give-and-take between patrons and musicians. Fans, who eschew preconceived notions about the blues, might prefer to groove with their iPods and imagine their own scenario.

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer

Can’t Stop Now (Electro-Fi) by Juno Award winning keyboardist/singer-songwriter Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne is a CD to get excited about. Recorded in various locations from St. Louis to Whitehorse, Canada, it is a pleasing gumbo of contemporary and traditional blues with a distinctive New Orleans flavor.

Wayne was born in Spokane, Washington in 1944 but spent his early years in New Orleans. A child-prodigy pianist, he was encouraged by his preacher father to play gospel music but was instead drawn to the exciting sounds of blues and boogie-woogie. A sobering experience at a nightclub in Los Angeles (where his family settled in the mid ’50s) put an end to his emerging blues career. Appearing with Jimmy Reed at the Alpha Bowling Club – his parents in attendance – a vicious fight broke out, and the 18-year-old Wayne was hustled unceremoniously from the club by his father. Wayne shifted his musical focus to the less dangerous world of soul and R&B. He became a staple in the L.A. scene, playing with Delaney & Bonnie, Billy Preston, Sly Stone, and the Doobie Brothers. Wayne eventually settled in Canada and established himself in the local scene.

Wayne is an original. He brings an authentic voice to tried-and-true musical forms; it’s refreshing to hear a musician playing in his style who is not derivative. The nine original songs on Can’t Stop Now are masterful mixes of boogie-woogie piano, New Orleans blues and jazz, Kansas City swing, and West Coast jump. The opener, “Boogie Woogie Mama,” is reminiscent of Louis Jordan (without the horns). It rocks. It jumps. You’ve got to be pretty damn good to put out this kind of stuff these days and make it sound real. Wayne pays tribute via two covers to a pair of his piano-playing heroes, Fats Domino and Johnnie Johnson, with “You Can Pack Your Suitcase” (a hit for Domino penned by Dave Bartholomew) and “Tanqueray” by Johnson. His own song, “Johnnie J. Was Good,” is a another Johnson tribute.

Wayne turns mellow on the poignant jazz ballad “You Cured My Blues,” which features a flawless, soulful guitar solo by the late Jeff Healey. Wayne changes tempo on “My Sweet Little Peach,” a funky tune featuring a rap by his son, Corey Spruell. “Ragin’ Storm” is his take on Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, in which he takes the government to task: “The system failed to do its job/Now the troops are down here trying to control the mob . . . where was the help, it came a little too late/We know the reason that you hesitate.” Wayne follows “Ragin’ Storm” with the rollin’ boogie woogie New Orleans jam “Don’t Cry.” The concluding track is the apropos rollicking jump tune “The Party Is Over.” Can’t Stop Now is one of the most solid and delightful recordings I have heard in quite some time.

NEW RELEASES: The Outsider (Provogue) is the latest from heavyweight guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Walter Trout. Profound lyrics, impassioned, high-energy guitar and vocals coupled with some mellow ballads and a kick-ass band including drummer Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp), bassist James “Hutch” Hutchinson, and pianist Jon Clearly (Bonnie Raitt) makes this a must-have for fans of the former Canned Heat and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers guitarist . . . Roamin’ And Ramblin’ is Grammy-winning legend David “Honeyboy” Edwards‘ fourth CD on Earwig Records, and an all-star affair featuring guest appearances by Bobby Rush, Johnny “Yard Dog” Jones, Billy Branch, and Sugar Blue. Label owner and harmonica player Michael Frank, who often sits in on live shows with Edwards, makes his recording debut on “Low Down Dog” and “Little Boy Blue” . . . Night Train To Nashville (Telarc) is guitarist/singer-songwriter Tab Benoit’s first live effort. Recorded in Nashville in 2007, Benoit is at his rootsy and impassioned best as he burns through the blues landscape backed by Louisiana’s LeRoux and guests Kim Wilson, Waylon Thibodeaux, Johnny Sansone, Jim Hall, and Jim Lauderdale . . . Dave Specter: Live in Chicago (Delmark) is the retro guitarist’s latest CD/DVD release on Delmark. Specter is caught live at Buddy’s Guy’s Legends and Rosa’s Blues Lounge, and his perfunctory guitar playing is enlivened by legendary guitarist/vocalist Jimmy Johnson, harp man Tad Robinson, and singer Sharon Lewis . . . Hattiesburg Blues (Delmark) just arrived from Delta-based Chicago blues unit Mississippi Heat. Led by harp player Pierre Lacocque and featuring vocalist Inetta Visor, the Heat goes uptown with guests Carl Weathersby, Lurrie Bell, Hank Ford, Bill McFarland, Willie Henderson, and others.

LIVE BLUES: The Chicago Blues Round Robin performed an intimate set of down-home acoustic blues at the Old Town School Of Folk Music in May. Led by guitarist/ soundman Dave Katzman, Round Robin features guitarists/vocalists Jimmy Burns, John Primer, and Carl Weathersby, singer/harp player Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Smith’s son and drummer Kenny “Beady Eyes” Smith, Steve Doyle on lap steel, and stand-up bassist Jimmy Sutton. This group of accomplished bandleaders and sidemen jammed together on blues standards and originals, trading licks, telling stories, joking with one another, and drawing the audience in on the fun.

If you missed the Round Robin, you can check them out at the Chicago Blues Festival performing at the Juke Joint Stage on Thursday, June 5th at noon.

IN TRIBUTE: Former Albert King and Willie Kent And The Gents drummer Dave Jefferson (real name Dave Harrison) passed away April 29th at Ingalls Hospital in Harvey. Jefferson continued to tour and play around town with the Gents after Kent’s 2006 death. May he rest in peace.

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer

“Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out/Here comes something, you never dreamed about/Life is so unpredictable, that’s the way it is.

It gets a little hard to bear sometime/Things out of nowhere to blow your mind/But one thing I know for sho’/You’ve got to let life flow.”

Kenny Neal – “Let Life Flow”

Contemporary American blues master and multi-instrumentalist Kenny Neal has traveled a rough road during the past four years. A year-and-a-half ago he was diagnosed with an undisclosed illness that forced him off the road and out of the studio. Neal spent much of his time away from music undergoing liver treatment and recuperating at his California home. In 2004-05, within 11 months, he lost his father (soulful Baton Rouge vocalist/harmonica player Raful Neal, Jr.), brother Ronnie, sister Jackie, and former drummer Kennard Johnson. Let Life Flow (Blind Pig) finds Neal back in the studio creatively attempting to make sense of it all.

It’s a mellow, bluesy CD, but the funk and soul are always there. “Blues, Leave Me Alone” is a funky, horn-driven track reminiscent of Albert Collins. “You’ve Got To Hurt Before You Heal,” a Southern soul ballad about the pain of lost love, mixes well with “Fly Away,” a poetic musing on death that features a lyrical guitar solo with stringed accompaniment. Neal’s meditations on death and loss are not maudlin – they are more of a searching kind, as he attempts to understand and release the pain.

Raised in Baton Rouge, Neal was one of 11 children and encouraged by his father to play music at a young age. Family friends included Baton Rouge natives Buddy Guy, Slim Harpo, and Lazy Lester, all of whom contributed to Neal’s musical development. Let Life Flow finds Neal revisiting his roots with his father’s tune, “Starlight Diamond,” a loping shuffle in which he channels his dad’s harp playing and Harpo’s distinctive vocals. “Bleeding Heart” is another Raful Neal composition. It has that unmistakable rolling New Orleans beat (a la Fats Domino’s “Blueberry Hill”) with a guitar solo reminiscent of early Guy, plus Neal’s signature gritty vocals. He rounds out Let Life Flow with Ivory Joe Hunter’s “Since I Met You Baby” and Willie Dixon’s Latin-tinged “It Don’t Make Sense You Can’t Make No Peace,” a socially conscious number that resonates with our current situation in Iraq.

Prior to his illness, Neal was an ubiquitous presence on the blues scene, traveling worldwide and recording regularly. He still found the energy while sick to host “Neal’s Place,” a 30-minute show on cable TV in the Bay area, where he now lives. “Neal’s Place” features Neal jamming and talking with national and international blues artists. With a book in the works and the May release of Let Life Flow, Neal is once more back at the forefront of the blues where he belongs.

NEW RELEASES: Iron Man is the latest red-hot CD by Arkansas guitarist/vocalist/ songwriter Michael Burks. His flying V puts him in Albert King mode, and in fact the first cut, “Love Disease,” is pure King. He even manages to sing like King, especially on the chilling original, “Icepick Through My Heart.” Burks’ soaring licks and searing guitar also bring to mind Freddie King and Luther Allison . . . Peace, Love & BBQ is pianist/vocalist/songwriter Marcia Ball’s fourth Alligator album and her first studio set in four years. The album is an uptempo romp through various hot Southern musical styles. Guests include piano-playing buddy Dr. John, accordionists Terrance Simien and Wayne Toups, and vocalist Tracy Nelson among others.

BLUES ALIVE: The Chicago Blues Reunion reconvened at Park West on March 22nd for a live recording to be released later this year on CD and DVD. Hosted by WXRT, a portion of the proceeds was earmarked for the Chicago Coalition For The Homeless. The supergroup includes Chicago blues stalwarts Barry Goldberg (keyboards), Corky Siegel (harmonica), Harvey Mandel (guitar), and Nick Gravenites (guitar/vocals). It was an all-star affair with guests Marcy Levy (vocals), Jimmy Vivino (guitar), and Dave Mason (guitar).

Members of the CBR were there at the inception of what became known as Chicago blues and were instrumental in exposing Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, and others to a wider audience. They are the survivors of their generation. When you see them, you are also feeling the spirit of their contemporaries like Mike Bloomfield, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Paul Butterfield, and other gifted musicians who died too young.

“HAND-WRINGING OUT-OF-CONTROL” COLUMNIST RESPONDS: As to my esteemed editor’s amusement at my non-exclusionary choices for IE’s “20 Greatest Chicago Guitarists” (that turned into top 35), I feel the need to explain myself thusly:

Back when I was at university, I did the radical thing and took a class in contemporary American literature. I had a healthy respect for the “classics,” but I also enjoyed what was new (back then it was Kurt Vonnegut, John Barth, etc.). I have come to feel the same way about music, especially the blues. While I am happy to give the pioneers their due, I want to see new names and new faces at the forefront of the blues. Many of the familiar faces that kept clubs like B.L.U.E.S. and Kingston Mines thriving (during the Chicago blues renaissance throughout the mid ’70s to the late ’90s) have passed away. The clubs remain open, however, offering blues seven nights a week. Who’s playing them? When I get too down about the situation I remind myself that after all, Mozart was buried in a pauper’s grave.

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer

Buddy Miles is best known for teaming up with Jimi Hendrix in the Band Of Gypsys (a seminal project that signaled a new musical direction for Hendrix), and co-founding The Electric Flag with guitarist Mike Bloomfield. During the mid ’80s Miles was the lead singer for the California Raisins quartet, singing Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” on a series of commercials sponsored by the California Raisin Advisory Board. The popular commercials led to a million-selling album of the Raisins singing classic rock and soul oldies. Miles was also a hit songwriter, writing “Them Changes” – his signature tune – from the live Band Of Gypsys album and on his own Buddy Miles Express album.

George Allen “Buddy” Miles was born in Omaha in 1947. He was a musical prodigy who began playing drums as a child and was nicknamed “Buddy” because of his love for drummer Buddy Rich. Miles played with The Ink Spots and The Delfonics as a teenager and was playing with Wilson Pickett at 14. It was while he was playing with Pickett that Bloomfield heard him and snatched him away for The Electric Flag.

Miles was a hard-hitting, funky, soulful drummer and vocalist. Detroit bassist, singer, and songwriter James Cloyd, who played with Miles in Chicago says, “Buddy had a distinctive groove. You couldn’t mistake it for anyone else. He was heavy duty on the two and four.”

I had the pleasure of seeing Miles a couple of times at Kingston Mines. He generated pure energy and excitement with his rock-solid groove, taking the wildly dancing crowd higher and higher. The last time I saw him in Chicago, he was playing the Double Door with Junior Brown.

Healey was also a musical prodigy. Blinded at 8-months-old by a rare form of cancer, he picked up a guitar (urged by his father) as a 3-year-old. Not knowing you weren’t supposed to, he placed the guitar flat across his lap, resulting in a revolutionary approach that became his signature style.

By the time he was in his early teens, Healey had absorbed various musical styles. “I progressed through so many different styles of music through my teen years, both as a player and a vocalist, particularly the jazz and pop of the early 20th century,” he said in his Jeffhealeyband.com bio. “I always knew that in some way, I’d be connected to, and involved in, the music business.”

By 14, Healey was playing Toronto clubs and leading his own band, Blues Direction. In the early ’80s he shared a bill with Albert Collins at Albert’s Hall in Toronto, and jammed with B.B. King in Vancouver. Around that time Healey met longtime bassist Joe Rockman and drummer Tom Stephen at the infamous Grossman’s Tavern’s Sunday-night jam session. They formed The Jeff Healey Trio and were soon signed to Arista Records, who released the Grammy-nominated See The Light, featuring the Billboard top-5 hit “Angel Eyes,” in 1988. That same year Healey received critical acclaim for his appearance in the movie Roadhouse with Patrick Swayze, which helped propel him to rock-star status.

And Healey lived the rock-star life in the ’90s, touring extensively with ZZ Top, Little Feat, Bonnie Raitt, and Bob Dylan, and appearing on David Lette-rman and “The Tonight Show.” Having had enough by the end of the ’90s, Healey and band quit the road, and decided to go in another musical direction.

Healey put the blues on the back burner for awhile to learn the trumpet, modeling himself after his all-time hero, Louis Armstrong. In 2002 he formed Jeff Healey And The Jazz Wizards and recorded two albums. The band played regularly at Healey’s club in Toronto. He never put the blues down, however. Mess Of Blues (Ruf/Stony Plain), his first blues/rock album in eight years, is scheduled for a U.S. release in April.

NEW RELEASES: Blood Brothers is hard-rocking Texas blues duo Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King’s Alligator Records debut. Kubek and King rock through 13 originals and one memorable Lightnin’ Hopkins tune, “Stop Drinking,” in their inimitable Texas fashion . . . Chicagoan Eddy Clearwater pays tribute to his roots with West Side Strut (Alligator). Produced by guitarist Ronnie Baker Brooks, West Side Strut harkens back to the golden days of Chicago blues. Brooks adds funky, high-energy guitar on “Hypnotized” and “Do Unto Others” and guests include harmonica great Billy Branch adding a high-energy and fun version of Muddy Waters’ “Walking Through The Park.” Ronnie’s dad, Lonnie Brooks, is featured on the Chuck Berry-inspired “Too Old To Get Married,” and Otis Clay and Jimmy Johnson share vocals on the “message” song, “Do Unto Others.”

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer

Honeydripper is the latest film by independent filmmaker John Sayles (The Brother From Another Planet, Return Of The Secaucus Seven, Sunshine State). Sayles has created a musical fable – a compelling mixture of blues, myth, and history woven beautifully by a novel-like script, surrealistic camera angles, and a stellar ensemble cast.

The film is set in the rural town of Harmony, Alabama in 1950. The all-star cast includes Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Stacy Keach, Mary Steenburgen, Dr. Mable John, Eddie Shaw (first film role for the legendary sax man!), Keb’ Mo’, and newcomer Gary Clark Jr.

Glover stars as Tyrone “Pine Top” Purvis, a piano player and owner of Honeydripper Lounge, which is struggling and lo-sing business to its more upscale competition, Touissant’s, across the road. The cotton harvest is in full swing, there is an army base in town, and Purvis is desperate for customers. He fires his regular singer, Berta Mae (Dr. Mable John), and tells his sidekick Maceo (play-ed brilliantly by Dutton) he has hired an electric guitar player na-med Guitar Sam for a special one nighter. While all this is going on, a young stranger named Sonny Blake (Clark Jr.) hops off a freight train with a guitar on his back and, through no fault of his own, runs afoul of the corrupt sheriff (Keach).

According to notes accompanying the DVD, Honeydripper grew out of Sayles’ fascination with the genesis of rock ‘n’ roll. He is true to the history of the genre as he depicts small-town Southern life and the twin styles of blues and gospel (the profane and the sacred) that generated rock. The film opens with two young boys creating homemade instruments – a “guitar” made of broom wire nailed to the wall played with a bottle and a “piano” made by drawing the keys on a slab of wood. Guitar Sam is a composite of Chuck Berry and perhaps legendary New Orleans showman Guitar Slim. Glover’s wife, Delilah (Hamilton) is a former dancer who is struggling to find religion. She attends church, uplifted by the music and hoping to find salvation. Keb’ Mo’ appears as the phantom blind itinerant guitarist. He is the embodiment of Robert Johnson, the devil-at-the-crossroads myth, and the African griot.

With the musical backdrop in place, Sayles created a film that is primarily about the relationships and interrelationships of the folks in Harmony. The pacing is slow and masterful; the characters are fully drawn. Honeydripper is a charming picture. It may not be playing in Chicago by the time this review comes out, but hopefully it will be released on DVD soon. You can pick up the soundtrack, which has gems like “Why Don’t You Do Right” by Lil Green, “Bertha Mae” by Memphis Slim, and “Things About Coming My Way” by Ruth Brown.

RECENT RELEASE: Looking through my stack of CDs I’ve received during the past year, I recently came across an important release that slipped through the cracks. Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter & James Cotton: Breakin’ It Up, Breakin’ It Down (Epic/Legacy) was released last June. After recording their Grammy-wining album, Hard Again, in 1977, Winter joined Waters and his illustrious band of musicians on tour. Breakin’ It Up, Breakin’ It Down, presents the best of three concerts from this special tour. Waters, Winter, and Cotton tear it up as bandleaders and in an ensemble setting. The three legends team for rousing versions of “I Can’t Be Satisfied,” “Black Cat Bone,” and “Got My Mojo Workin’.” Cotton takes the vocals on “Rocket 88,” and Winter is featured on “I Done Got Over You.” Breakin’ is a nice historical document and a complement to the popular Grammy-winning Muddy “Mississippi” Waters Live (Legacy) produced by Winter.

LIVE AT LEGENDS: Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee and Grammy winner Buddy Guy tore through his annual January stint at Legends with a series of sold-out concerts. Guy wowed the crowds with his usual high-energy guitar playing, tight band, and performance art that harkened back to the days of one of his idols, Guitar Slim. On the night I saw him, he waded into the crowd, serenaded one or two lucky women, then charged into the cold January night, playing all the while. Guy is one of the few showmen left in blues. He can play it slow and pretty, and switch to frantic in a heartbeat.

Some of Chicago’s finest opened for Buddy including soulful vocalist Nellie Travis, up-and-coming jazz/blues guitarist and vocalist Guy King, Wayne Baker Brooks, Matthew Skoller, The Jimmy Burns Band, John Primer, and Big James And The Chicago Playboys. Guy invited Skoller to jam with him, and together they went on an odyssey throughout the club and out onto the street. Pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph sat in one night, and blues storyteller/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Otis Taylor was spotted in the crowd one Sunday night.

SOME NEWS: Vocalist and Chicago native Deitra Farr was married and moved to Norway. We wish her the best . . . Drummer Lenny White, son of vocalist/keyboard player Willie White, has joined Magic Slim And The Teardrops . . . Stay tuned for upcoming CD reviews by Big James, Nellie Travis, Chico Banks, and other Chicago stalwarts.

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer

In the liner notes to the Little Arthur Duncan: Live At Rosa’s Blues Lounge DVD/CD set (Delmark), writer, producer, radio personality, and all-around blues maven Scott Dirks, referring to the band on the stand, says “This is exactly the kind of music that made Chicago famous a half century ago.” I beg to differ. Although the songs on the CD are recognizable as blues, the overall feel has very little to do with the music of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, and the seething cauldron of hot South and West Side clubs that bred Chicago blues.

Harmonica player/vocalist Little Arthur Duncan moved to Chicago from Indianola, Mississippi in the 1950s, after a stop in Key West, Florida, where he met up with legendary guitarist Earl Hooker, who accompanied Duncan to Illinois. In Chicago, Duncan found himself living in a basement apartment on the West Side in the same building as harmonica great Little Walter. The two became friends, and Walter became a mentor. Duncan worked a day job, but in the evenings he sat in and hung out at the clubs. He eventually teamed with guitar-playing brothers Hip and Jug Linkchain to form a band that played throughout the city.

A construction worker by trade, Duncan opened his own club in the early ’80s when he couldn’t work during the cold Chicago winter. His Artesia Lounge on Lake Street played host to some of the West Side’s best, including Tail Dragger, Johnny Dollar, Johnny B. Moore, Milton Houston, Little Smokey Smothers, John Littlejohn, and others. When Artesia folded, Duncan opened Backscratcher’s Lounge on West Madison. He would occasionally come from behind the bar to sit in but was mostly content to run the club. It wasn’t until Backscratcher’s went under that Duncan jumped into performing full-time.

Duncan is a blues shouter and a competent harmonica player with a charismatic personality. His band, The Backscratchers, comprises veteran musicians Rick Kreher (guitar), Twist Turner (drums), Illinois Slim (guitar), and Michael Azzi (bass). Live At Rosa’s Blues Lounge reprises chestnuts such as Willie Dixon’s “Little Red Rooster” and “Young Fashioned Ways,” Howlin’ Wolf’s “How Many More Years” (re-titled “No Place To Go”), Slim Harpo’s “Scratch My Back,” mentor Little Walter’s “Blues With A Feeling” and “I Got To Go,” Roosevelt Sykes’ “44 Blues,” and Arthur Crudup’s “Mean Old Frisco Blues.” Vocalist Little Al Thomas is featured on Dr. Clayton’s “I Got To Find My Baby.” Duncan contributes four uptempo originals; his “Bad Reputation” is reminiscent of Howlin’ Wolf’s classic, “Killing Floor.”

Despite its stab at authenticity, Live At Rosa’s has little to do with Chicago blues’ heyday. The songs are there, the notes are there, but the soul, the spark that made Chicago blues so compelling (especially the West Side blues of Wolf, Magic Sam, and Rush) is sorely lacking. Little Arthur has it somewhat, but The Backscratchers’ emotionless stage presence (on the DVD) negates what the blues is mostly about: feeling. If you are going to play it real, then you’ve got to really play it!

NEW RELEASES: Soulful Sounds (The Sirens) is a traditional gospel recording by brother and sister Donald and Geraldine Gay. Geraldine was part of The Gay Sisters Trio along with sisters Evelyn and Mildred. The Gay Sisters were key players in Chicago’s Golden Age Of Gospel during the ’50s. Younger brother Donald began appearing with his sisters when he was 6-years old, and his first show with them was at Carnegie Hall! Another brother, Robert, was a jazz trumpet player.

Pianist Geraldine and vocalist Donald are the surviving members keeping the family musical legacy alive. Soulful Sounds is a beautiful, low-key recording, featuring Geraldine’s jazz-inflected gospel piano (she was dubbed the “Errol Gardner of gospel” by writer Anthony Heilbut) and Donald’s stirring, rich, and powerful vocals (he is currently pastor at the Prayer Center Church Of God In Christ on Chicago’s South Side). Drummer Curtis Fondren and bassists Anderson Edwards and Yosef Ben Israel accompany the Gays throughout, but Soulful Sounds is also a family affair: Geraldine’s son, Donald “Bozie” Hambric, plays guitar on “Just Another Day,” and Donald’s son, Gregory Gray, duets with his father on “There Is A Fountain.” Especially moving is Geraldine’s extended piano solo on the closing track, “God Has Been Good To Me” . . . Low On Cash, Rich In Love (Alligator) by guitarist/vocalist/harmonicist/songwriter Eric Lindell represents a new direction in Alligator’s arsenal. Lindell’s 11 originals mine New Orleans soul, funk, rock, and folk. A highlight is the funky Gil Scott-Heron tune, “Lady Day And John Coltrane” . . . Raisin’ A Ruckus (Alligator) is the third label release for East Coast jump blues band Roomful Of Blues. Roomful have changed personnel through the years, but their sound remains remarkably fresh. Gritty vocalist Dave Howard joins long-standing members Rich Lataille (alto and tenor sax) and guitarist Chris Vachon.

REISSUES: Stevie Ray Vaughan & Friends: Solos, Sessions & Encores (Epic/Legacy) should have been reviewed along with Pride And Joy in my November column, but I didn’t realize it was in the same envelope until I nearly threw it away. Anyway, it’s a great historical document featuring live and studio performances by Vaughan and friends such as Albert King, B.B. King, Paul Butterfield, Marcia Ball, Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, A.C. Reed, Bonnie Raitt, Jeff Beck, Dick Dale, brother Jimmie Vaughan, and David Bowie. Some performances are previously unreleased, which makes this a must have for Vaughan fans. Stellar tracks include Collins’ “Albert’s Shuffle,” “Don’t Stop By The Creek, Son” with Copeland, and “Miami Strut” with Reed.

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer