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New York Times article August 10th
The Du-Rite Aces features
guitarist and bandleader Greg “Junior” Demchuk, best known in these parts
for his work in The Twisters and The Rockin’ Highliners.
The “Aces” draw the best players
from Edmonton and Calgary to make this one five card hand that is a real
“Alberta” supergroup. Calgary’s multiple Maple Blues Award nominee,
saxophonist Mike Clark and percussionist Andy Graffitti are joined by
Edmonton’s keyboard ace Graham Guest and doghouse bass expert Pete
Turland. Between them, they have played with the best in the blues over
the years and combine for well over a century of blues playing experience
and excellence.
The group played Edmonton’s
Labatt Blues Festival Volunteer Party last year and nearly tore the roof
off the place. Bodies flew onto the dance floor and the place was rockin’
‘til the wee hours. After that, we knew they had to be on stage to kick
off this year’s festival with a huge bang.
Friday 5:30
Born in 1960, Mitch was still in
high School when he began sneaking into bars with his brother’s I.D. and
playing with local bands in his native Santa Barbara. He formed his own
band, The Pontiax, in 1980 and started playing Santa Barbara and Ventura
before moving to L.A. in ‘85. The band quickly became a favourite on the
Southern California scene, and recorded the acclaimed “100 Miles to Go”
for the Blue Sting records out of Belgium. The Pontiax toured festivals in
Europe, Canada, The South Pacific and the United States, drawing on
musical style ranging from traditional Chicago, to Boogie, to Swamp funk
and Texas guitar blues. They also became a sought after back up band,
working with Big Joe Turner, Lowell Fulson, Eddie Vinson, Johnny Adams,
John Lee Hooker and many more.
Currently Mitch has 2 recordings
out on the Delta Groove Record label. “Nickels and Dimes” was released in
2005 and the follow up “Wake up and Worry” was released last year to
critical acclaim. Mitch has been nominated as “Harmonica Player of the
Year” at this year’s Blues Awards in Memphis.
Joining Mitch for his performance
at Edmonton’s Labatt Blues Festival will be some of the cream of the
Southern California scene, including Pontiax drummer Tom Lackner and
bassist Steve Nelson. Boogie, jump, and swing piano player Jimmy Calire
will be pounding the 88’s while former William Clarke guitarist John Marx
will provide the perfect foil to Mitch’s dynamic harmonica playing and
forceful vocals.
“Unbelievable. A great singer,
and up there with the best harp players I’ve ever heard. I’m knocked out!”
– John Hammond
Friday 6:55
He became, along with Michael
Bloomfield, one of the founding members of the Paul Butterfield Blues
Band. He jammed with Buddy Guy and Otis Rush and his mentor for most of
that time was Little Smokey Smothers. As part of a group of young,
white, blues men and women he adopted the music of such Chicago masters
Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, made it his own, and then introduced
electric Chicago blues to a rock audience for the first time. In the late
‘60s’ he relocated to the San Francisco area. He became a regular at the
Fillmore jam sessions, playing alongside Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, B.B.
King and others. You can hear him on the seminal “Live at the Fillmore”
recording by the Allman Brothers, singing “Drunken Hearted Boy”. He recorded for Epic and
Capricorn, where his career soared with such hits as “Travelin’ Shoes” and
“Fooled Around and Fell in Love”. Since 1988, Elvin has put out 6
acclaimed recordings on the Alligator record label. 2005 saw him switch to
Blind Pig with the release of “Getting’ My Groove Back”, his first new
albumn in 7 years. The disc was nominated as “Best Contemporary Blues
Recording” at last year’s Blues Awards in Memphis and marked the
triumphant return of Elvin Bishop to the recording scene. Elvin played Edmonton’s Labatt
Blues Festival our first year, 1999, and is the first artist to make a
return engagement. As Rolling Stone magazine says,
his music is “A good time romp…raucous blues with high energy soloing,
mixtures of careening slide and razor edged bursts, all delivered with
unflagging enthusiasm and wit.” Lloyd Jones has been digging the
blues since his older brother took him to see James Brown in 1964. Then,
in rapid succession he saw shows by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Buddy
Guy and BB King. At the same time he was recruited into his brother’s band
to play the drums. He was 13. He got deep into the blues and
lead Brown Sugar, one of the most popular blues bands in the Portland area
in the ‘70s. The group backed Charlie Musselwhite, George “Harmonica”
Smith, Johnny Otis, Big Mama Thornton and a host of others. The Lloyd Jones Struggle started
in 1985 primarily as a vehicle for his songwriting. He was being
noticed…Gatemouth Brown and Joe Louis Walker covered his songs, while a
series of recordings for Criminal Records, Burnside and Audio Quest met
with critical acclaim. His “Trouble Monkey” recording on Audio Quest was
named by Blues Revue as “not only one of the best albums of 1995, it is
one of the best albums of the ‘90s”. Vintage Guitar Magazine said, “Jones
offers vocals that would make Sam and Dave smile and guitar work Steve
Cropper would be proud of”. The band has won the “Best R&B Band” award
from the Cascade Blues Association 12 times, Jones has won “Vocalist of
the Year” 5 times and twice has been voted “Guitarist of the Year”. As Blues Revue has said, “Jones
is certainly worthy of greater recognition” and we’re going to do our part
to introduce this incredible talent and his 6-piece band to Edmonton
audiences this year. Fiona Boyes is a fair haired,
hard pickin’, down home country blues master who just happens to have
lived all her life down under. Geographic origins aside, Fiona knows her
blues just as surely as if she had been raised on Hopkins Plantation
outside Clarksdale Mississippi. After 14 years of performing in
Australia with her band, The Mojos, and winning just about every award
there is to win in Australia, including 2001 “Female Blues Artist of the
Year”, “2001 APRA Song of the Year”, and 2002 “Blues Performer of the
Year” awards. She set her sights on Memphis Tennessee and the 2003
International Blues Challenge. She became the first woman, and first
Australian, to win the acoustic section of the event; up against over 75
of the best emerging acts in the world. She performed at the WC Handy
Awards that year and returned to the States that summer, working 75 dates
in 90 days at festivals, concerts and clubs across America to universal
acclaim. The legendary Pinetop Perkins
said, “I ain’t never heard a woman finger pick a guitar like that since
Memphis Minnie. She’s the best gal guitar player I heard in more than 35
years.” Her newest recording, “Lucky 13”,
has been nominated as “Contemporary Blues Album of the Year” at the 2007
Blues Awards. The disc showcases her incredible ability as a songwriter,
singer, acoustic performer and bandleader. Blues Revue calls Lucky 13 “One
of the years standout albums”, while Relix declares “One of the most
sizzling blues albums – by anyone – in years”. Fiona is even better live than
she is on record, as we witnessed at a number of her performances over the
past two years. He took a nearly 30 year break
from being a full time musician, beginning in the mid-‘70s. The Mensa
member earned degrees in History and Journalism and made a living driving
truck. His last job driving truck was hauling industrial waste around
Oklahoma and a few years back he decided to haul around his band mates
instead and make a living making music. Since then, he has been creating
an incredible stir in the blues world. A consummate songwriter, his tales
have, “three themes…Work, frustrated expectations (in relationships of
course, but not limited to them), and consciousness of personal mortality.
I’m gonna die. I have a trucker’s face and hands. I may yet die a trucker.
You might say I’m a musical journalist. I sing what I have lived, in the
blues.” He delivers those songs with
fire, through his slide guitar, harp and distinctive, raspy vocals. The
first time Fred Litwin of Northern Blues Records saw Slim play he knew he
had to sign and Slim has since released two highly acclaimed discs on that
label. The first netted him a 2004 Blues
Award nomination as “Best New Artist”, and this year Slim is nominated in
no less than 6 categories at the Blues Awards. He’s up for “Album of the
Year”, “Entertainer of the Year”, “Band of the Year”, “Song of the Year”,
“Traditional Blues Album of the
Year”, and “Traditional Blues Artist of the Year”. We’ve seen him perform at various
festivals and clubs and the result is always the same. He tears the joint
up, packs the dance floor, commands the attention of blues fans
everywhere, and always, just like the truck driver he is, he delivers. His
first performance in Edmonton is… Chicago blues is now also
synonymous with guitarist Nick Moss. Though the golden era of Chicago
blues is long past with many of its key players deceased or retired, this
young Chicagoan stands tallest in the current generation of blues
performers that honor the letter and spirit of the great urban
African-American music. No less than Jimmy Rogers saw Nick as a protégé, a
torchbearer, and a colleague. Leading Chicago-style guitarist Buddy Guy
sanctions his talent: “Nick Moss is one of the local favorites at my club,
Legends. I always enjoy the way he plays and works hard to please our
audience.” Noted Chicago-based music journalist Bill Dahl, never one for
gratuitous praise, has raved over Nick’s guitar playing, saying he
possesses “mastery of the classic Chicago sound,” while acclaimed blues
producer Dick Shurman numbers himself among Nick’s ever-growing legion of
admirers, calling his Windy City neighbor “an increasingly centered artist
who can rightly be called a master.” To his credit, Nick’s no
imitator. He has his own distinct voice on the guitar, what all musicians
in all genres strive for yet very few achieve. “I’ve listened to just
about every blues guitar player from the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s and ’70s,
especially the Chicago guys, and tried to take in all of it,” he offers,
“but I don’t consider myself a note-to-note copier. I absorbed their style
and feel and timing. I try to listen and capture the essence of what they
were doing.” It’s working for him. Nick is up
for four Blues Awards this year: “Album of the Year”, “Band of the Year”,
“Guitarist of the Year”, and “Traditional Blues Album of the Year”. The
future of Chicago blues…on stage in Edmonton for the first time at
Edmonton’s Labatt Blues Festival. Jon Cleary is a triple
threat—with a salty-sweet voice, masterful piano skills, and a knack for
coupling infectious grooves with melodic hooks and sharp lyrics. Born in Kent, England, Cleary has
educated himself in the musical culture and life of New Orleans for the
past 20 years. His deft piano style and unmistakable vocals are heard on
recordings by Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, B.B. King, Ryan Adams, and Eric
Burdon. Cleary’s original compositions have been recorded by Taj Mahal on
“Phantom Blues” and Bonnie Raitt’s most recent albums, “Souls Alike” and
“Silver Lining”. Cleary does double duty performing as full-time
keyboardist for Grammy Winner Bonnie Raitt when not touring with his own
band, The Absolute Monster Gentlemen. You probably noticed the keyboard
ace and singer last spring at the Bonnie Raitt show here in Edmonton. His own live shows are an
explosive party, mixing old school soul with the rhythms of New Orleans.
Cleary has produced 4 recordings over the past 10 years. While Cleary is
the prime motivator throughout, his Absolute Monster Gentlemen do their
fair share of the work to bring Cleary’s musical vision to life in
concert. “They work together very powerfully,” Cleary says emphatically.
“There’s a very high standard of technical musicianship, but the key thing
is that they also play with a lot of soul and spirit. These guys dig in
and play with a lot of passion, and I think it’s that intangible element
that seems to successfully move audiences everywhere we play.” Where did they come from? “One
night, on my way home from a gig, I stumbled across the Friendly
Travelers—a gospel band—playing for tips in a coffee bar. I dug them, and
went back to their gigs many times, sitting in sometimes, and ultimately
we became friends. In 1994, Cleary was invited to perform for the first
time at the famed New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Instead of
hiring all-star session musicians, he decided to try hiring guitarist
Derwin “Big D” Perkins and bassist Cornell C. Williams, of the Friendly
Travelers. “I called them, and they said, ‘What took you so long? Of
course we want to do it!’” As a review in The Washington
Post by Pamela Murray Winters exclaimed, “Cleary plays piano as if he's
revving up an engine and sings as if a line drawing of his behatted self
were next to "soul" in Webster's.” Jon Cleary and The Absolute
Monster Gentlemen hang their hats in Edmonton for the first time Saturday
at 8:30.
He’s not a blues player, he’s a Bluesman, with a capital B. Long has the uncanny ability to create and perform original material that sounds as if it came from a long-lost cache of vintage recordings by one of the classic bluesmen. It’s music completely unique and new, while at the same time hauntingly familiar. Long’s songs contain all the darkness and light, the humor and the pathos, and the fully realized musicality of the very best blues from the heyday of the genre. It’s a heyday that’s long gone, but in Long’s hands – in his world – it’s no gimmick, no pale imitation. This is the music that John Long has lived his whole life to create. His complete recorded works up until now consist of a few deeply obscure backing appearances on other people’s sessions, a cut on a sampler released by the host of an NPR radio program, and a small handful of home-made demo recordings. One of those found its way into the hands of Delta Groove head Randy Chortkoff, who was blown away by the intensity and purity of Long’s music. John was quickly booked into a studio to record his first CD. With a 40 year backlog of original material from which to draw, the results are stunning. His debut recording, “Lost & Found”, is a 2007 blues award nominee as “Acoustic Album of the Year” for good reason. Sunday 2:30
His dad, Dutch Mason, stopped playing guitar before Garrett was born due to crippling arthritis in his hands. Although he was not able to teach his son to play, he has certainly taught Garrett the structure of the blues and imparted his deep feeling for the music. Surrounded by his father’s peers, Garrett has had the benefit of hearing and learning from a wide variety of musical talents. The late Rick Jeffery was a great inspiration to Garrett; they would talk and play for hours together. Garrett would be the first to tell you that riding the coat tails of others won’t take you very far in this business, but striving to be truly original is the secret to longevity and lasting success. Garrett launched his debut CD, “I’M Just a Man”, at the 2004 Harvest Jazz and Blues festival in Fredericton, NB, to a sold out crowd. The debut showcases Garrett’s original songs, strong vocals, and fluid, rockin’ guitar style. The 2005 release was unanimously praised by the critics and won the Juno for Best Blues Album. At the tender age of 23 Garrett Mason is poised to be one of the brightest stars to emerge from the East Coast Blues scene in years, and he makes his Edmonton debut as part of his first tour of Alberta at Edmonton’s Labatt Blues Festival. Sunday 4:00
Prior to 1995, EG's exposure to the blues consisted mainly of BB King, Bobby Blue Band, Sonny James, and Elvis Presley. That year, she heard an astonishing voice that would leave a lasting impression. A window was thrown open and Koko Taylor's voice flew in like a hurricane. As a result EG's music took a dramatic turn towards the blues. According to Kight, the blues has become the backbone of her music. And her idol, Koko Taylor, has now recorded two of her songs. EG Kight was honored with three prestigious W.C. Handy nominations in 2004. Her song, "Let the Healing Begin," was selected in the final round of the International Songwriting Competition (ISC). EG's songs were chosen for two successful NARM/BMA compilations (Get the Blues! and Get the Blues 2!), each maintaining Billboard chart positions for more than a year. This year she has been nominated as the “Contemporary Female Blues Artist of the Year” at the Blues Awards. In addition to her own live performances EG has shared the stage with Taj Mahal, Delbert McClinton, Phoebe Snow, Merle Haggard, and Little Feat. Performing in Edmonton for the first time with her own band, EG Kight will surely set the stage on fire. Sunday 5:30
Mitch’s pile drivin’ piano licks and energetic stage persona combine with the Rocket 88’s swingin’ horns, thumpin’ bass, rockin’ guitar, and jungle drums to send a crowd into dancing delight. They are one of the first bands on the West Coast to reach back to an earlier time in American music using humor, style, musicianship, and showmanship to forge their own swinging brand of music, which they coined rock-a-boogie. Mitch & the 88’s have distilled the essence of jump, swing, boogie woogie, made it their own, and deliver it to the present. Mitch Woods was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. He moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1971and began performing as Mitch Woods & His Red Hot Mama, featuring his boogie woogie piano and the sultry voice of the Red Hot Mama (Susan Savoy) on tunes by Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, and Fats Waller. The band broke up as Mitch moved to Hawaii to embark on a solo career in the late 70’s. He returned in 1981 to form the first incarnation of the Rocket 88’s with former members of the David Bromberg Band. Mitch and the 88’s recorded their first of five albums for the Blind Pig in 1984. Mitch’s latest release on Blind Pig Records, “Jump For Joy”, sees the bluesman, long known for his showmanship and flair onstage, finally realizing a long-running dream; to get back to the jump blues sound of the great big-band Forties. “This is really my full-on jump blues album. We did it with a big band, it’s all original tunes written as they were back in the Forties.” This jumpin’ and swingin’ album will appeal to blues lovers and rock and rollers as well as dance fans. Mitch is nominated this year as the “Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year” at the Blues Awards, and rightly so. He’s got the goods, and he delivers. Sunday 7:00
Eclectic in the best sense of the word, they draw equally from rock, blues, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music, their music never sounds forced or self-conscious. Instead, all of their influences become one graceful, gritty sound. From their very first recordings, their rich musicality was apparent; on nearly every subsequent record, they have found ways to redefine and expand their sound, without ever straying from the musical traditions that form the heart and soul of the band. After releasing an independent EP in the late '70s and an EP in 1983, Los Lobos delivered their first major-label album, “How Will the Wolf Survive?”, in 1984; it received an enormous amount of critical acclaim, as well as a dedicated following of fans. The band took returned with “The Neighborhood” in 1990; the album was a varied and powerful rock & roll record that was better than anything they had released in six years. Kiko, released in 1992, brought the band into more experimental territory, without ever abandoning their graceful songwriting. The band celebrated their 20-year anniversary with Just Another Band from East L.A., a modestly titled two-CD set that featured most of their biggest singles and recognized songs. It also had rare tracks from their first album, outtakes, and live tracks that fans had been waiting for. They also scored the film Desperado and contributed tracks to several other soundtracks and tribute albums. In 2004, as Los Lobos celebrated 30 years in the music business, they recorded a pair of sold-out shows in San Francisco, which became the basis for a live album and DVD, “Live at the Fillmore”, remarkably the veteran group's first "live" set. “Wolf Tracks: The Best of Los Lobos” and the all-new “The Town and the City” arrived in 2006. In the summer of 2001, just a few weeks after John Lee Hooker passed, the band renamed themselves The Los Lobos Blues Band in his honour and laid down a blistering 90 minute set of pure blues at the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland Oregon. That’s what they’re bringing to close the 9th edition of Edmonton’s Labatt Blues Festival. Sunday 8:30
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