Featuring the piano boogie woogie triumvirate: Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis and Pete Johnson in more 1939 Sherman Hotel (Chicago) recordings. The liner notes to Boogie Woogie Stomp (Delmark 705) said "Their blend of traditional blues and boogie with a good dose of swing created an impeccable drive, and there is more than just a hint of the rock `n' roll years to come...you can hear boogie woogie on the loose, played by the greatest masters at the time of their public `arrival' when everything was new and fresh". Also features the primitive genius of "Cripple" Clarence Lofton and Speckled Red.

 

The Blues Got Soul is a dynamic compilation of some of the hottest Blues-Rock / Soul material recorded on Jean Shy and her Band The Shy Guys, which was mostly performed “Live” at an Open Air Concert in Duisburg, Germany.

 

This classic CD, with a bombastic Re-Mastering of all Songs by "Big Bottom" Bob Lanzner, at Technovoice Mastering in Studio City, CA, is a timeless work of art which consists of original compositions, and covers performed in Jean Shy & The Shy Guys’ own unique style.

 

The CD includes Songs that many of their Fans identify Shy and her Shy Guys with, some of which have become their Trademark at live concerts for Years. i.e. One Day a Song that talks about the search of Peace, Love & Understanding, that Shy wrote after seeing many homeless people living in cardboard boxes on downtown Streets in Los Angeles; The Ray Charles and Joe Cocker Classic Unchain My Heart has been a much requested Song at Jean Shy concerts over the years; their rocking version of Muddy Waters’ Rock Me; and last but not least Amazing Grace which is almost celebrated like a “national anthem”, and has to be performed in every show.

 

Since the “Live” recordings originally were not made for a CD release, there were no Microphones set up in the Audience and therefore it is hardly audible. On those songs Jean Shy sacrificed any Studio editing to keep the pure, and powerful thriving Live-Sound which we think “especially” makes this CD of great quality. We hope you are of the same opinion!

 

Jean Shy & The Shy Guys have been performing to thousands of Fans at major Festivals, Concert Halls and Churches throughout Europe since 1986, and are still excited when Fans say: “Rock On”.

 

Please tune in to tonight's, broadcast of Hope for Haiti Now, the global telethon to benefit the Haitian people and aid workers. A very special performance of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" will be performed by Justin Timberlake and his friend Matt Morris in honor of the earthquake victims.

 

The telethon will be hosted by George Clooney in Los Angeles, Wyclef Jean in New York City and CNN's Anderson Cooper live from Haiti. Performances by some of the biggest names in music including Jay-Z, Shakira, Alicia Keys, Dave Matthews, John Legend and Sheryl Crow will be broadcast coast to coast to raise awareness and funds for the victims. The two-hour telethon will air on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, and CMT and more on Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT and 7:00 p.m. CT.

Starting Saturday, all performance recordings will be available for $.99 per song through iTunes with all proceeds benefiting Haiti relief funds managed by "Hope for Haiti Now" charities.

 

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Sudberry, Ontario - Help is needed for the victims of the recent Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, according to the regional director of an organization that has been working in the country for the past two decades.

 

A benefit concert is being organized for Jan. 29, 8 p.m. at the Fraser Auditorium, Laurentian University. Partners in the event include Laurentian University, the Rainbow District School Board, New Orleans Pizza on LaSalle Boulevard, several media partners and Mission of TEARS.

 

Guy Campeau, who is a special education teacher with the Rainbow District School Board, is also the regional director of Mission of TEARS, a non-profit federally registered charity that has been working in Haiti in the capital city, Port-au-Prince, since the mid 1990s.

 

TEARS stands for teaching, educating, advocating, resourcing and serving. He said the group is volunteer-based and has operated five orphanages, three schools and a weekly medical clinic in Haiti. Mission for TEARS also operates a shelter for the homeless in the evenings, he said.

 

“Two of our schools and two of our our orphanages have collapsed,” Campeau said. “Our director is fine, but we have lost two adults and seven children in the disaster. No Canadians have died at their sites.”

 

The aid organization is hosting 100 Haitians in the yard of its mission facility in Haiti. It was damaged but is still usable, he said.

 

“What is urgently needed is money for water, food, tents and fuel for our diesel truck that is transporting injured people to makeshift hospitals. This is what the benefit concert is for.”

 

The organization currently has enough food in Haiti for only nine days.He said in the longer term, there will be a need for funds for reconstruction.

 

Campeau said donations have already come into the organization’s website. “Donations over $10 are tax deductible.

 

There will be a table set up in the lobby of the Fraser Auditorium where people can also donate.”

 

Local musicians have already stepped up to help, Campeau noted. Performing will be Jeff Wiseman, Stéphane Paquette and Philip May and the Sudbury Saturday Night Orchestra — eight musicians employed by the Rainbow School Board playing vintage rhythm and blues. More are expected to join in, said Campeau.

 

Gerry Lougheed Jr. and Laurentian University president Dominic Giroux will be Masters of Ceremonies for the evening. An attempt is being made to have local Haitians at the event.

 

Admission is $20. Children 12 and under are admitted for $10. Tickets are available at Durham Natural Foods, KFM 95.5 Sudbury Radio Station, Prom Music, Guitar Clinic, Black Cat, Octave Music and at the door. For more information, visit www.missionoftears.ca.

 

Sales of the latest Rock Band game seem to be fueled less by Beatlemania and more by Beatlemildinterest. According to the L.A. Times, the NPD estimates that The Beatles: Rock Band moved 357,000 units in December, for a total of 1.18 million in the U.S. Worldwide, the game has sold 1.7 million, the same amount Rock Band 2 sold in the U.S. alone during its first four months. A spokesperson for MTV Games said the company was pleased with the holiday sales, though "some European markets performed below the company's expectations."

 

It's not terribly encouraging, but perhaps EA should be happy the news isn't worse: According to the NPD, the music genre is down 46% year-over-year to $1.06 billion. Though rock may be its stock-in-trade, it seems like music games spent most of 2009 singing the blues.

 

New high powered broadcast station at Tarleton State University.

Drew Slattery with KURT & KTRL radio is requesting to be sent new music asap. They still have the Rock format low power station 100.7 KURT, but now proudly introduce 90.5 KTRL which plays all Folk, Roots/Americana, Country, and World Music.

 

So please send them any new music you have for either station.

 

Send your music to:

Music Director

Drew Slattery

100.7 KURT & 90.5 KTRL

Box T-0095

Tarleton State University

Stephenville TX, 76402

Radio Station Website

 

For most Blues lovers, you may often find yourself at a Blues concert just chilling out, enjoying the show, listening to the band create sweet music to wash away the problems of the day. And where there is music, there is dancing. Some people hit the dance floor and just sway. Some do the shake-your-booty shimmy. But others may move together in unison as one totally connecting to the music. That is called Blues Dance!

 

 

Since Blues itself is not only a genre, but a feeling, a style, a noun, a verb, an expression. It is unlike any other dance style. Blues music itself dates back to the late 1800s historically deriving from work songs from the Southern states. Turning it into its own American folk music style with playing, singing, and dancing about the happenings of the times. Good or bad. Blues is a style of music that has tested the trials of time.

 

The roots of Blues Dance goes back to the African tribal rhythms and movements combined with modern techniques into the dance you see today. Blues Dance is a term used to describe a whole family of dance styles that has had over a century to be redeveloped, reformed, and reshaped into today's dance. It is also a reflection the listener's natural reaction to Blues music. It may just start with the tapping of a foot, clapping hands, or simply moving rhythmically by yourself. But Blues Dancers take that natural movement and express intensity, with their own musical and emotional interpretation by putting the body into motion.

 

 

The Swing dance revival prompted interest in other traditional Black vernacular dances of the early 1900s. And the current interest in Blues dancing is a result of this. Historically, Blues Dances were not considered a "social" dance or danced in public ballrooms mainly due to its sensuality and intimate ties to the dancers and the dances held at urban house, rent parties, and smoky juke joints. Thus, giving Blues Dance a more personal connection. Blues Dance still contains some of its original forms of improvisation, connection, rhythmic motion, and emotion.

 

Blues Dance techniques have strong ties to the Blues music itself. Combining simple features like the call & response conventions in the music composition, emotional intensity, and spirituality that is prevalent in Blues music. As long as there are variations of Blues music (Delta, jump, Dixie, folk, slow, fast, Chicago, Memphis, etc), there will be different styles of Blues dancing. Each conveying the feelings and rhythms each of region.

 

 

Blues music is a reflection of one's perception on life's experiences and feelings which has the ability to connect to pretty much every person listening. Experiences ranging from love lost & found, financial hardships, spirituality, sadness, celebration, dreams, and aspirations. Each one of us can connect to some part of Blues. Blues Dance puts these experiences into the dance. Dancers often demonstrate the entire range of human emotions each one of us experience in life. These expressions range across musical styles and tempos also.

 

When you see Blues Dancers on the dance floor, it is much more than just dancing a set pattern. It is the connection between the dancers to each other, and also the connection to the music which is what the dancers are trying to achieve. Blues Dance allows one a chance to delve into our emotional history and to connect with people from all walks of life, to interact and to share a part of ourselves. Blues can express or release what one is feeling at the moment. More important, it’s what the music is says to each person. Some hear happiness, some sadness, some passion, and some joy. But most important, Blues Dance is a dynamic partnership between the dancers and to the music.

 

 

Social Dancing in general is a fun form of exercise that allows you to get out of the house, meet other people, spend some time doing fun exercise, and make new friends. But Blues Dancing is totally unlike other dance styles out there. Dancing to Blues Music is all about real life - the good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between. Blues Dancing is the ultimate expression of one's being.

In today’s Blues dancing communities, there are various notions about what constitutes true "Blues Dancing". Blues Dancing today may range from traditional Blues dances to the shake your booty. But each has been adapted to suit the needs and interests of contemporary dancers.

 

One thing is for certain, Blues Dance is a natural expression when listening to Blues music. As long as there is Blues music, there is Blues Dancing.

 

 

Instructors and dancers that not only have been bitten by the Blues dancing bug, but also formed Blues dancing clubs and organizations across the country offering Blues dancing lessons, workshops, exchanges, and festivals. We encourage all of you to find out how you can learn more on Blues Dancing by finding your local swing dance club and take a class or two.

 

Examples are Blues-Dance.com (San Francisco, CA), Dirt Cheap Blues (Virginia Beach, VA), BluesShout.com, Bluesalicious (Memphis, TN), Emerald City Blues (Seattle, OR), Sweet Molasses Blues (Boston, MA), Mile High Blues (Denver, CO), and many other events spread across the nation. We guarantee you'll get hooked and have a new appreciation for Dancing the Blues away.

See you on the dance floor.

 

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T-Mobile USA, Inc. has officially launched the T-Mobile myTouch 3G Fender Limited Edition with the help of legendary musician and Fender guitarist Eric Clapton.

 

As part of the myTouch 3G marketing campaign, which has featured a variety of iconic artists including comedians, musicians and sports figures, Clapton will showcase a personalized myTouch 3G Fender Limited Edition in a national television ad that will begin airing on the 20th.

 

The Fender Limited Edition puts a rock-and-roll spin on the original T-Mobile myTouch 3G with Google, offering a fresh design and enhanced features to create a unique mobile music experience. The device will ship with preloaded Clapton classics including “Layla,” “My Father’s Eyes,” “Rock ‘N’ Roll Heart,” and “Wonderful Tonight,” and T-Mobile is a proud supporter of Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival.

 

Designed in partnership with Fender, the new limited edition myTouch has a Fender guitar sunburst-finish inspired design. The Fender Limited Edition comes equipped with an array of features for an enhanced music experience — a 16GB microSD card to house thousands of songs/videos, a 3.5mm headset jack for headphones and an enhanced music player. The music player, developed by HTC, offers an intuitive user interface that allows for toggling between different views or for changing a song or album by simply touching the album art. It also allows customers to create ringtones from songs that are playing.

 

“In a modern culture that forms an essential bond between music, mobile devices and one’s individual lifestyle, Fender is very proud to partner with T-Mobile on the exclusive new T-Mobile myTouch 3G Fender Limited Edition,” said Mark Van Vleet, senior vice president of Business Affairs with Fender Musical Instruments. “This is an exciting and innovative way to connect people to their passion for great music wherever they go, and we are thrilled to share this news with our customers and fans.”

 

Content preloaded on the phone includes popular Android Market™ applications, Guitar: Solo and Music Light. Toaccompany the preloaded Clapton tunes, the device also will ship with songs from Avril Lavigne, Brad Paisley and Wyclef Jean. New accessories allow further customization and usability, including additional Fender-branded shells, a Fender carrying case, screen protector, and Rock Dock, a docking station equipped with speakers.

 

“The myTouch 3G, which runs on Android, gives us an open, highly customizable platform to create truly unique experiences that go beyond what’s possible on proprietary platforms,” said Andrew Sherrard, vice president of product development, T-Mobile USA. “The new limited edition myTouch is a perfect example of this personalization innovation, and we are excited to bring our customers this special limited edition, feature-rich, music-inspired device.”

 

With the myTouch 3G Fender Limited Edition, T-Mobile is introducing a customized multimedia sync solution in partnership with Silicon Valley startup doubleTwist™, allowing customers to easily take advantage of the phone’s advanced media features. doubleTwist is a free software application that enables users to easily manage and sync their music, videos and images from a Windows-based PC or Mac directly to a mobile device. An exclusive T-Mobile version of the software will be pre-loaded on the new limited edition, and customers can simply connect their device to their computer for a seamless installation experience. The software offers a sleek, intuitive interface for syncing and managing music and other media. T-Mobile also will offer the customized version of the software to customers using other T-Mobile Android devices.

 

The new limited edition myTouch also offers the popular features and same great technology as the original T-Mobile myTouch, including a highly personalized experience, with home screen customization and more than 16,000 applications available from Android Market. The device also offers customers one-touch access to the Google™ mobile services that millions use every day including Google Search™ by voice, Google Maps™ with Street View, YouTube™ and Picasa™. The Fender Limited Edition, which runs Android 1.6, is expected to be updated to Android 2.1 this spring.

 

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CHICAGO (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) -- The city of Chicago has taken over operation of the city's famous Maxwell Street Market after the city terminated their $850,000 a year management contract with Jam Productions.

 

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the city hopes to realize a cost-savings of 350,000 annually by managing the open air market place. This savings would include the salary of a full-time city employed manager as well as covering security and maintenance costs.

 

 

In recent years, the market had become a source of controversy for the city as vendors in the open-air market alleged that they were being and threatened with eviction and deportation from JAM. Special Events Director Megan McDonald told the Sun-Times that while the charges were "alarming", they were not the reason for the city's takeover.

 

Jam Production's Jerry Michelson categorically denied that vendors were harassed.

 

"Our employees never did that. That's not the way they operate," Mickelson told the Sun-Times. "We were following orders given to us by the city. I think we did an excellent job. It's a very tough job. It's a thankless job. You're dealing with so many vendors and trying to enforce the city's wishes."

 

Chicago city officials stated that they plan to be more lenient in their approach to vendors and said they plan to create more stages for musical events. The open-air Maxwell Street Market has long been a fixture in Chicago and is heralded as the birthplace of the Chicago Blues sound.

 

The State of Mississippi’s continuing “Birthplace of America’s Music” campaign gets a big boost next week with Mississippi Night at the GRAMMY Museum® in Los Angeles. The evening of Thursday, January 28th is a preamble to Sunday’s GRAMMY® Award ceremonies, and will be highlighted by a program featuring performances from some of the state’s brightest musical lights, a reflection of the great diversity of Mississippi music.  Earlier in the day, Mississippians will take part in an educational program for the benefit of visiting Los Angeles high school students.

 

For the past three years, Mississippi has presented performance galas, hosted by Governor Haley Barbour, that have underscored the fact that Mississippi artists have been disproportionately represented among GRAMMY nominees and winners spread out over a wide variety of categories. This year’s Mississippi Celebrates Its GRAMMY Legacy gala will take place May 27th at Biloxi’s Hard Rock Casino. Updates are posted regularly at www.msgrammy.com/

 

Peavey Electronics, based in Meridian, MS and The Mississippi Development Authority, have sponsored those events and are, similarly, supporting next week’s GRAMMY Museum program.

 

The artists participating in Mississippi Night at the GRAMMY Museum underscore the broad spectrum of Mississippi’s musical legacy. They include four-time GRAMMY nominee Dorothy Moore whose smash hit “Misty Blue” is today considered a standard of both the pop and R&B genres. Also appearing are The Williams Brothers who are 2010 GRAMMY nominees in the Best Traditional Gospel album category for The Journey Continues…, the fourth GRAMMY nomination in a career that spans 40 years. 

 

Mississippi’s blues heritage will be showcased with a performance by young Jackson-based blazing blues vocalist/guitarist Eddie Cotton who will be joined by the legendary Hubert Sumlin. Sumlin is the first generation Chicago electric blues guitarist who served in both the Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf bands. Born in Greenwood, MS Sumlin is considered a huge influence on a wide-range of guitarists, including Jimi Hendrix, and is a past GRAMMY nominee. Also part of the blues segment of the program is David “Honeyboy” Edwards, the 94-year-old blues icon from Shaw, MS who was first recorded by Alan Lomax in 1942 for the Library of Congress. Edwards is, in fact, a GRAMMY Award winner in his own right, having won in the Traditional Blues category in 2009. This year Honeyboy Edwards, along with Leonard Cohen, Bobby Darin, Michael Jackson, Loretta Lynn, André Previn and Clark Terry, will be the recipient of the Recording Academy’s® Lifetime Achievement Award.

Governor Barbour, commenting on his state’s campaign to highlight its musical contribution to the world, noted, ‘’From Elvis to B.B. King to Leontyne Price to Faith Hill, we cover the gamut: rock, gospel, country, blues, soul, opera; if it’s music, it’s Mississippi, and that’s a big source of pride for us.”

 

The evening’s events kick off at 6 PM with a reception followed by the musical performances in the Museum’s GRAMMY Sound Stage.  Earlier in the day, Los Angeles area high school students will spend time with Peavey Electronics founder Hartley Peavey to discuss career opportunities in music and allied industries.  Ward Emling, Director of Mississippi’s Film Office, and filmmaker Lynn Orman are slated to discuss filmmaking in Mississippi and will host screenings of Six Generations of The Blues, a documentary film produced by Front Row Music Television tracing the roots of Chicago blues back to Mississippi featuring Honeyboy Edwards, on both Tuesday, January 26th, and Thursday, January 28th.

 

Jon Hornyak, Senior Executive Director of The Recording Academy® Memphis Chapter that encompasses members residing in Mississippi commented, “With more than forty GRAMMY Award winners in a wide variety of genres, the state’s incredible influence is undeniable. Mississippi’s program at The GRAMMY Museum will, we’re sure, confirm this fact in a very real way.”

 

 

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -— The son of the late Mississippi bluesman Junior Kimbrough has agreed with a record company to dismiss a copyright lawsuit over songs performed by the father and son.

Court records show that U.S. District Judge W. Allen Pepper closed the case Tuesday after both sides agreed it should be dismissed. There was no indication if a financial settlement had been reached.

 

Junior Kimbrough was best known for songs like Sad Days Lonely Nights and Meet Me In The City. He died in 1998 at age 67 after gaining fame late in life.

 

His son, Kinney Lee Malone, sued in 2008, claiming Oxford. Miss.-based Fat Possum Records was using the songs without his permission. The lawsuit, which ended up in federal court, sought at least $1 million and royalties.

 

Doors will open at noon on February 6, for the"Zydeco, Country, Blues & Barbecue" family music festival at the Swiss Alp Dance Hall. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $5 for children 6-13. $8 Discount online tickets, Video from previous concerts, online tickets, maps, links, lodging suggestions and information on upcoming concerts is available.

 

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ATLANTA, GA – Linus Entertainment announces an April 6 release date for I Need a Hat, the new CD from legendary blues group Downchild, with U.S. distribution by E1 Entertainment. The new album marks Downchild’s 40^th anniversary and includes special guests film/TV star Dan Aykroyd (aka “Elwood Blues”) on harmonica, blues-rocker Colin James and roots music all-star Colin Linden on guitars, and Stax Records legend Wayne Jackson of The Memphis Horns on trumpet.   

 

Downchild remains a true blues force, 40 years after founder and guitarist Donnie Walsh first put the band together with his late brother, “Hock.” For Donnie, the epiphany to become a bluesman hit him hard in the early 1960s, when someone dropped a Jimmy Reed album onto the turntable at his girlfriend’s 16^th birthday party in suburban North Toronto.

 

I Need a Hat features 11 new original songs - edgier, darker, more caustically humorous than ever before – which Walsh produced over five days in Toronto’s famed Metalworks Studios.

 

Singer Chuck Jackson, tenor sax player Pat Carey, drummer Mike Fitzpatrick, bassist Gary Kendall, and pianist/organist Michael Fonfara – Walsh’s compadres in Downchild for the past decade and a half, and, he says, the “best musicians I’ve ever played with” – were soaking up the blues in their teenage years as well.

 

Their shared dedication has served them well. And with the release of their 16^th album,  I Need a Hat, on the independent Linus Entertainment label, Donnie Walsh and his buddies are celebrating their collective longevity big time.

  

To stream the entire album of I Need a Hat, click

 

 

It’s Grammy time once again. Elwood takes us on a tour of the blues nominees, including Mavis Staples, Mick Fleetwood, John Hammond, Duke Robillard, Robert Cray, Ruthie Foster, and more. Susan Tedeschi goes head to head with husband Derek Trucks for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Plus, new music from the great Canadian blues band, Downchild. And a chance for five listeners to win the latest album, MAGNOLIA LAND, from South Carolina bluesman, Davis Coen. 

 

RBA Publishing Inc is based in Reno, NV with a satellite office in Beverly Hills, Florida. We produce the annual Blues Festival Guide magazine (now in its 7th year), the top-ranking website: www.BluesFestivalGuide.com, and this weekly blues newsletter: The Blues Festival E-Guide with approximately 20,000 weekly subscribers. We look forward to your suggestions, critiques, questions, etc.

Reach the E-Guide editor, Gordon Bulcock, gordon@bluesfestivalguide.com

or contact our home office at 775-337-8626, eguide@bluesfestivalguide.com
 

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