Spring has sprung and brought several blues items of interest. There were special shows, news events, upcoming dates, new entertainers, and recently issued CDs. So let’s check this all out.

• SPECIAL SHOWS

Mark Hummel’s Blues Harmonica Blowout is in its seventeenth year. More top- notch harp players were showcased. Mark always starts the year off with this show and travels up and down the state, performing ten shows in seven venues in about 10 days. Some of the artists, like Kim Wilson, Rick Estrin, and Paul Oscher, played only in some of the venues. Mark’s band, The Blues Survivors, backed most of the players.

All of the performers are virtuoso harp players and have gained international fame. Wilson was awarded the Contemporary Blues Male Artist for the 2006 year at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis, given by The Blues Foundation. At the same ceremony, Oscher was awarded both the Best Acoustic Album and the Acoustic Artist of the Year. Estrin is the frontman, harp player, and songwriter for Little Charlie and the Nightcats. Rusty Zinn was guest guitarist for many of the performances.

Each show featured four or five key harp blowers. The Santa Rosa evening had Dave Barrett and his teacher, Gary Smith, as openers. Of course Mark Hummel performed at every gig. He put his heart and soul into his playing and really made the harmonica sing. Even though he sounds laid back, he puts a lot of improvisations in his music. The charismatic Paul Oscher played a solo acoustic set which included some country delta music with just his guitar, harmonicas, and vocals. One of his harps was huge, impressive, and bassy sounding.

There was even more to come in the evening.  Chicago-based Billy Boy Arnold blew a strong and forceful harp. Since he first worked with Bo Diddley, his related Diddley sound had the crowd on their feet and dancing. The husband-wife team, Rod and Honey Piazza, always put on an exciting show. Rod was dramatic in his harp playing, and Honey was energized with her keyboard playing. There was a jam with all the performers at the end of the evening which got a standing ovation. All of Mark’s blowouts have great harp talent!

The Sacramento Heritage Festival had another show in February. This time their theme was “S.O.B.’s-Sons of Blues.”Lucky Peterson, son of James Peterson; Ronnie Baker Brooks, son of Lonnie Brooks; and John Lee Hooker, Jr.,son of John Lee Hooker, all performed. Special kudos went to Ronnie Brooks, who is a wonderfully talented musician. He delivered a sizzling show.

The West Coast Blues Hall of Fame & Awards Winners 2007,which is sponsored by the Bay Area Blues Society, was held in March to an overflow audience. There were 34 “Best of the Year” categories, 14 “West Coast Blues Hall of Fame Inductees,” and 2 “Bob Geddins Lifetime Achievement Awards.”

Obviously, the list is too long to discuss in detail. Several of the inductees were local performers. That included Little Stanley and the Five Brooks and Teddy “Blues Master” Watson. Stanley Lippitt gave an emotional acceptance speech. He has a fine band of his own and plus he is the husband and musical partner of pianest, Lady Bianca. Watson has an infectious style and has been on the local music scene for over fifty years. He also gave an outstanding vocal performance of his signature tune, “Don’t Want No Woman Telling Me What To Do.” There was various other musical entertainment during the evening.

Some of the “Best of the Year” musicians included keyboardist, Kenny Winters, comeback artist;  Bobby Cochran, drummer for Elvin Bishop; Ricardo Scales, keyboard player; Robert “Hollywood” Jenkins, new artist; Tia Carroll, female vocalist; Lil Wolf, a.k.a. Malik, male vocalist; Julien Vaught, saxaphone player; and his wife, Ella Pennywell, R&B female vocalist; and Ernie Johnson, R&B male vocalist. Several of the inductees and best categories people were from out of the area, which seemed to distract from the idea of giving awards to West Coast Blues musicians. For a complete winner list, go to: www.bayareabluessociety.net and click on 2007 Awardees List.

• NEWS EVENTS

Biscuits & Blues, a San Francisco nightclub, celebrated their twelfth anniversary of bringing the blues to the Bay Area at the end of February. They had a free VIP evening, which included complementary appetizers and drinks. Layce Baker and The Black Diamond Band entertained in their second floor venue, The Down Beat Lounge, during cocktail hour. Then The Mofo Party Band played for the rest of the evening in their basement supper club. A good time was had by all.

A West Coast Blues Summit & Seminar, sponsored by the Bay Area Blues Society and an East Bay Law School, was also held the end of February. It was a six--hour event, and featured a keynote speaker and six panel discussions. The speaker was Erroll Jackson, concert promoter and entertainment consultant. The panelists led discussions on press kits for getting jobs; website marketing; publishing & marketing; photography; producing your own CD; and dressing for success.

A news blues site has surfaced on the web. Check it out at: www.bluessource.com . 
They state that this website is “a giant repository of blues information for fans and artists alike.” They have updated news every day, CD & DVD reviews, plus. It is free to sign up which allows you to browse through members only content as well as the general information.

• SPOTLIGHT ON MUSICIANS

The dapper, seventy-three year- young vocalist, Curtis Lawson, and his wife, Linda, celebrated their February birthdays with a gala celebration which was open to the public. Carlos and Myrna Zialcita got down singing their dramatic version of “Happy Birthday” to them. Curtis and his band performed, as did a lot of guest artists. The place was packed and the event was a big success. Curtis said it was the best party he’d ever been to.

One of the Texas touring entertainers, Bugs Henderson and The Shuffle Kings, put on a mesmerizing show in the area in March. His Shuffle Kings consisted of bassist, Keith Jones and drummer, Linda Waring. Bugs exuded a lot of heartfelt power in his versatile guitar playing and singing during the evening when he interspersed blues tunes with the gentle rock, pop and funk tunes which had a bluesy influence. His first set was particularly exciting.

Tommy Castro was voted Blues Artist of 2006 by the readers of the Blues Wax ezine, which is the largest subscribed Blues publication in the world. Castro also won this award in 2002. After nominations by the readers, a final ballot of 6 artists, comprised of Joe Bonamassa, Tommy Castro, Anthony Gomes, Jason Ricci, Reba Russell and Watermelon Slim was created. After a record voting session, Tommy won, and was only slightly ahead of Ricci and Gomes. Tommy said, “I like these kind of awards best because it is folks that support the music.”

There were tributes to three musicians who passed away last year. One was for guitarist, Leonard Gill who played with B.B. King at least five years and also nine years with a local group, Tee Fee Swamp Boogie Band. He was honored by musical performances on February 18, which would have been his 55^th birthday. Another Celebration of Life was for harpist and vocalist, Red Archibald. It included eulogies and short performances for him. The third one was for vocalist and drummer, Alvin Sykes. Guitarists, Alvon Johnson and David Landon, dedicated a performance to him at the West Coast Blues Awards.

• FUTURE EVENTS

Several future events may be of interest. The 15^th annual Santa Cruz Blues Festival will be May 26& 27, 2007. Their lineup is already posted at: www.santacruzbluesfestival.com. The 13^th annual California Blues Festival will be held at the bandshell at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on May 28. Jimmy McCracklin will headline. Call 415-810-1867 or email: bobbiespiderwebb@yahoo.com for details. The Russian River Blues Festival, now owned by Omega Events, will be June 16 & 17, 2007 in Guerneville, about two hours north of San Francisco. Their website is: www.russianriverfestivals.com/blues . The Monterey Bay Area Blues Festival will be June 22-24, 2007. Their three-stage lineup can be found at www.montereyblues.com.

More happenings include Curtis Lawson’s Celebration of 50 Years of Singing. That will be in San Francisco on September 1, 2007. That website is: www.curtislawson.net . The 35^th anniversary of The San Francisco Blues Festival will be September 28-30, 2007. Their website is: www.sfblues.com . Two Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruises are coming up, and both will have 19 bands with 70+shows. The first one goes from San Diego, California to The Mexican Riveriera and is October 13-20, 2007. The second one is January 13-20, 2008 and goes from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to the Eastern Caribbean. Both are popular cruises and sell out early. Check out their website: www.bluescruise.com .

• ENTERTAINERS

• NEW CDs

Blind Pig Records issued 3 CDs: guitarist and vocalist, Tommy Castro, “Painkiller;” the roots band, The Rounders, “Wish I Had You;” and vocalist and harpist, John Nemeth, “Magic Touch.” As an indication of the hardship independent labels are having, due to the ease  of music downloads from the computer, among other things, these CDs arrived just in a plastic wrap without a jewel cover. Their website is: www.blindpigrecords.com .

Ron Thompson’s new acoustic CD, “Resonator” came out as scheduled in January. Joe Louis Walker’s new CD is “Playing Around.” on the English JSP label. Harvey Mandel has a lot of guest artists on his CD, which is called, “ Harvey Mandel and The Snake Crew.” “The Lost Legends,” is a demo at this point with 5 songs. The CD has Freddie Roulette, Michael Warren, Michael Borbridge, Eugene Huggins, and Chris Planas on it. “Maybe down the road we will put a full CD together”, says Borbridge, who has several roles like drummer, promoter, and producer.

Perhaps Barbara Gainer has a similar feeling with the release of her single, “Don’t Go There.” She said,” Later I might add 9 more songs for a CD.” Pat Wilder has her 2^nd CD out called, “Lay Down Daddy.” Check out her CD at www.patwilderlive.com. Lady Bianca has a new CD out entitled, “Through A Woman’s Eyes.” It is available on
www.cdbaby.com or www.amazon.com .

Jackie Payne and Steve Edmonson Band have a new CD, “Master of the Game,” on the Delta Groove label. Robert Cray’s CD, “Live From Across the Pond,” on the Nozzle Records was recorded live in London’s Royal Albert Hall last year. For more information on Charlie Musselwhite’s album, “Delta Hardware,” check out www.Realworldrecords.com/musselwhite . Mark Hummel’s CD, “ Ain’t Easy No More,” is on the Electo-Fi label. And speaking of Mark, he produced the recent Electro Fi Records debut album, “Consolidated Mojo,” for  Billy Boy Arnold.

That’s about it for now. I’ll leave you with some blues thoughts from a Blues Festival Guide contest to learn why people love the blues. One winner was “Sweet” Suzi Smith who said, “I love the blues because it bores into my heart and mind and it gets my entire being flowing with emotion.”

>>>>> Maria Bainer