NEW ‘MARTIN GUIGUI’ CD RELEASE FEATURES ALL-STAR PLAYERS!

 

The long awaited (10 years in the making) new CD release by Martin Guigui, appropriately titled A MOMENT IN TIME, was certainly worth the wait.  Along with its all-star musician line-up, Guigui has crafted a remarkable collection of songs that marks this effort with a landmark album that hovers above the pack so far in 2010 releases.

 

Master pianist and soulful vocalist Guigui serves up an eclectic platter of great original songwriting peppered with jammin’ blues and a poppy twist of catchy funkified tracks that stick like peanut butter.  Songs like “Funkyard” and “That’s The Way It’s Got To Be” are instant classics that will undoubtedly be covered for years to come, while the heart wrenching gospel based ballad “Say You Will” showcases Martin’s lyrical depth and extensive vocal range, filled with a deep emotional performance.  It’s songs like “Foggin’ Up The Sheets” and the feel good radio friendly “Get What You Give” that make this CD great driving music as well.  For keyboard lovers there’s lots of screaming Hammond B-3 and plenty of stompin’ piano licks on this one that gives even Dr. John a run!  A surprise highlight to watch out for is Gordon Stone’s brilliant and unorthodox extended funky banjo solo jam in the middle of the Steely Dan-esque “It’s Only Love”.    

 

The Argentinean born Guigui is a singer songwriter, composer, music producer and filmmaker who has worked with among others Smokey Robinson, James Cotton, Bo Didley and Joan Osborne. The new album was recorded in three different studios produced, engineered and mixed by Guigui himself, in his ‘Old School Records’ Studio and Duck Tape Studio, with a couple of tracks engineered by Gus Ziesing and Marc Kalbfleisch at Low Tech Studio in Burlington Vermont.

 

“A Moment In Time” is a timeless work.  In this refreshing collection of accomplished recorded material, Martin Guigui establishes himself as a timeless artist and an extraordinary talent with a pure love of words and music.

 

The illustrious cast of musicians and players assembled by Guigui on “A Moment In Time” include Jon Fishman (Phish), Michael Hateley (Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Beck, No Doubt, Goo Goo Dolls), Gordon Stone (Phish, Strangefolk, Jazz Mandolin Project), Chris Peterman (Neville Brothers, Phish), Russ Lawton (Trey Anastasio, Santana), John Carleton (Luther Guitar Johnson, Fabulous Thunderbirds), Aaron Hersey (Pork Tornado), Chad Hollister (Ben Harper, Blues Traveler, Spin Doctor’s), Ched Tolliver, Tom Smith, Dave Nerbak, Mike Rush, Thom Carvey and John Burk.

 

At 38 years old, Vincent Hayes has not only forged a reputation as a respected blues guitarist- he has also written articles for The Blues Festival Guide, and is a board member of Killer Blues, a non-profit devoted to raising money to purchase headstones for deceased blues artists.

 

In addition to being semi-finalists in the 2006 and 2007 IBC, and playing shows with Steve Miller Band and Joe Bonamassa, in the summer of 2007, The Vincent Hayes Project was invited by John Sinclair of the MC-5 to tour as his back-up band of “Blues Scholars”. At the referral of 2010 BMA nominee Greg Nagy, the band enlisted award winning producer/engineer Glenn Brown (Greg Nagy, Root Doctor, Spinal Tap) to help them record RECLAMATION. Glenn also owns the infamous “Muscle Shoals” 1978 8098 Neve mixing board, which is the very console used on recordings by Bob Dylan, The Allman Brothers, Clapton, and countless others. The result is a big, warm sound reminiscent of those early analogue Muscle Shoals recordings.

 

Known for years as a three piece power trio (David “The Butcher” Alves-bass, Donnie “The Guru” Hugley-drums), the Michigan-based blues band recently expanded to a five piece, including the piano wizardry of Steve “Doc” Yankee, and newcomer Christian VanAntwerpen on various organ duties. Released on Hayes’s independent label, North 61 Productions, RECLAMATION opens with “Hit Me High, Hit Me Low”, a BB King influenced swing about dysfunctional relationships, but it’s the second cut, “Insecurities” that showcases the raw power and creative groove style of Alves and Hugley, opening with a thumping bass line dripping with Memphis style funk, highlighted by VanAntwerpen’s frenzied melodic runs on the Clavinet. Hayes’ vocals are strong and soulful throughout the disc, and his ability on the fretboard is heard on cuts such as “I’ve Got A Right To Change My Mind”, a T-bone Walker influenced slow blues featuring tasty acoustic piano work by Steve Yankee, or the up tempo, “Thank You Baby”, featuring a groovy 12-bar highlighted by Hayes’s unique brand of lyricism. “Some Kind of Fool” is a bone-chilling minor blues supported by a haunting Hammond organ. Other tracks include, “I Just Want To Get You High Tonight”, with its Albert Collins style guitar and double entendre lyrics which are more about having a one night stand than the drug referenced title. “Double Talk” showcases the band’s fun side with a call and response between Hayes and his Telecaster, which he uses to mimic the voice of his cheating lover. Closing out the 11 song disc are the jazzy instrumental, “Sticky Thigh Jive” and the only shuffle, “You Can Take Your Troubles”, fueled by Hayes’s gritty Elmore James influenced slide guitar.

 

Combining fresh, imaginative songwriting with top notch musicianship and world class production, RECLAMATION has the raw ingredients which could very well catapult The Vincent Hayes Project to the national blues stage.

 

 

Midon, who lost his vision as a newborn when he was placed in a hospital incubator without proper eye protection, says making quality recordings at home is something he and other blind people have found to be impossible to do without assistance until now. Midon says, "This record sounds like what I heard in my mind's ear." Using SONAR with Caketalking, Raul is able to achieve a new kind of independence in the studio. Watch a video of Midon using Caketalking here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDRuj5Od4y8

He explains, "I've always loved with working with producers - and will in the future - but to be able to go into my own home studio and shape my artistic vision using these recording tools, gives me a great advantage as an artist." 

 

Caketalking was created by a Braille music technology company called Dancing Dots. Dancing Dots was founded by entrepreneur and programmer Bill McCann, who himself is a blind musician and has owned the company for over 18 years.

A number of individuals and organizations are working to ensure that Jeff Healey gets a "star" on Canada's Walk of Fame, in Toronto. If you want to support this posthumous honour for one of the greatest musicians Canada has produced, please complete the simple form on the following website.

 

>> Nominate Jeff Healey for Canada's Walk of Fame

(Baton Rouge, LA) -- The Baton Rouge Blues Foundation proudly brings the 2010 Baton Rouge Blues Festival to downtown Baton Rouge Saturday, April 24, 2010 from Noon to 10:00 p.m. in Repentance Park (located between the Old State Capitol and the River Center) and Galvez Plaza.

 

Free to the public, this festival will feature an impressive lineup of Blues legends and newcomers, including: 2009 Grammy Nominee Ruthie Foster (“The Truth According to Ruthie Foster” album nominated in the category of Best Contemporary Blues Album); local favorite and international Blues star, Chris Thomas King; Louisiana Blues-Rock legend Tony Joe White; Louisiana Blues Guitar giant Sonny Landreth; 2009 B.B. King Entertainer of the Year Janiva Magness; up-and-comer from the legendary Baton Rouge Blues family of Neals, Tyree Neal; Blues Guitarist Elvin Killerbee; Baton Rouge’s own Susan Owens; Central High Blues Band and the Dunham School Jazz Ensemble.

 

Beyond the music, festival attendees will enjoy good ol’ fashioned home cookin’ from beloved Neal family matriarch Shirley Neal; Ben Payne’s Jambalaya and Red Beans & Rice; Bluesman and local favorite Chicago Al’s world-famous hotdogs; Pimanyoli’s Tamales; Ronnie’s Ribs; and Cool Tiger Ice snow cones and nachos.

 

The 2010 Baton Rouge Blues Festival is presented by the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation as part of the Baton Rouge Blues Week, April 18-25, 2010. The Festival is produced by Pal Productions Co. and sponsored by: The City of Baton Rouge; Mockler Beverage; Budweiser; Coca-Cola; The Advocate; Louisiana Office of Tourism; Baton Rouge Convention & Visitors Bureau; Radisson; UnReal; Raisin’ Cane’s; WAFB-TV; Cox 4; Crowne Plaza; Republic Finance; Louisiana Lottery; MAPP Construction; Piccadilly; and WRKF 89.3 FM.

 

For more information on the 2010 Baton Rouge Blues Festival lineup, artists, merchandise and additional 2010 Blues Week music events, visit www.batonrougebluesfestival.org. Also, visit www.brbluesfoundation.org; the Baton Rouge Blues Festival page on Facebook; the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation page on Facebook; or follow the latest Blues News on www.twitter.com/brblues.

Bluesland: A Portrait in American Music is devoted to the history of one particular musical genre, the blues (surprised?). Also unlike the others in the series which run about an hour, Bluesland has a running time of about eighty five minutes. Finally, unlike the others in the newly released second set, it has an on screen host in the smooth toned and sometimes overly emphatic Keith David. What it has in common with the others in this excellent documentary series is a wealth of rare and exciting musical performances.

 

It traces the history of the blues from its Southern roots in the cotton fields of Mississippi and the honky tonks in New Orleans to Kansas City where night clubs flourished in an open city that was flouting the prohibition laws. Then, when mechanization in the Southern agricultural fields sent a flurry of job seekers up north, especially to Chicago, the blues followed with them, and from there traveled to the rest of the country and then the world. It traces this history through the men and women, some well known, others long forgotten, who were instrumental in creating it.

 

Bluesland is a documentary that belongs in the collection of every lover of blues, every lover of jazz, every lover of good music. It provides a window into what many believe is the only truly American art form.

 

Blind Pig Records has released a 45rpm record from R&B singing sensation John Németh, who continues to reinvigorate vintage American rhythm & blues.

 

The  "A" side of the record is "Name The Day," a rousing old school soul mover, backed with "Why Not Me," a gospel-tinged, spine-tingling ballad.    The analog recordings from this limited edition pressing feature jukebox mixes of two outstanding tunes from Németh's forthcoming CD release, Name The Day!, which will street on May 18, 2010.

 

Blind Pig decided to take the step because of the recent increased sales of vinyl product, particularly among younger music fans.   And Nemeth's uncanny ability to skillfully blend retro and modern blues and soul into compelling music that is simultaneously old and new naturally appeals to those same fans.  As the Philadelphia Inquirer put it, "Classic soul and R&B styles have been revitalized by artists such as James Hunter, Eli 'Paperboy' Reed, and Sharon Jones.  You can include John Németh on any list of the best of them."

 

As label head Edward Chmelewski explained, "This seemed like a good way to introduce John to fans of groups like Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, who appeal to people who love the authentic sound and feel of that cool retro soul style that John has perfected and does so well."

 

The Németh 45 is currently available to purchase only through Blind Pig (via their website or by calling their toll free customer line at 888-4PIGPEN).   The record will be available at retail outlets sometime in June.

 

Elwood hunkers with harmonica man Mark Hummel to talk about his record Retroactive, and about his annual Harmonica Blowout event. It’s all about the harp this week, with Magic Dick, Little Walter, Sonny Terry and more. Plus a live harmonica blowout from Mark, recorded in the blockhouse. You will also hear music from Sue Foley and Peter Karp, teaming up for their new CD, HE SAID SHE SAID. And, thanks to Concord Records, a chance for you to win PLAYING FOR CHANGE, great street musicians recorded live from around the world, featuring legendary New Orleans player Grandpa Elliott.

 

For a list of stations where you can find House of Blues Radio

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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