The Blues Blogger

As many of you are already aware, I grew up listening to a lot of music. My earliest memories are of my father spinning his vast collection of jazz records. It was his appreciation of jazz that introduced me to the music of Duke Ellington and so many other jazz greats… My love of music carried over into my late teens and throughout high school. Most of my friends were musicians and I could always be found hanging out in the music room. Even though I’m not a musician, I still enjoyed the atmosphere in the room as the school band rehearsed for a concert. I found it cool to witness a group of musicians come together and capture a piece of music inspired through the minds of legends like Duke Ellington and others influenced by him…

Chops Just Released

This documentary directed by Bruce Broder made me think of those high school years and also some neat memories of my dad. For all jazz lovers, but especially the younger generation, the movie will be very inspiring indeed!

SYNOPSIS as seen on their official website.

CHOPS tells the story of a group of kids with extraordinary musical ability who learn to make the most of their gifts in an acclaimed public school jazz program in Jacksonville, FL.

From their early, squeaky scales to soaring, improvisational solos, we have a front row seat for their fascinating transformation. We’re with them as they stick together and as they fall apart. And we see up close how the events of their daily lives are expressed in their music. We follow their musical journey from Florida to New York City, where they compete against the top high school jazz bands in the nation at the prestigious Essentially Ellington Festival.

Win or lose, the Essentially Ellington experience puts them at the threshold of their dream, and reveals the incredible growth they’ve experienced personally and musically

Host Your Own Screening of Chops

The movie has been endorsed and screened by Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. The screening program opened on June 26th, 2009 and gives jazz related organizations a great fundraising opportunity. It’s a unique screening process by B-Side that allows the host to keep 100% of the proceeds. For more information you can go to their site directly from here. Or you can also go to their Facebook page by clicking here.

Are you familiar with the Essentially Ellington High School jazz competition? The passion and dedication of these young artists is hard to overlook. What do you think? Your comments are welcome below.

TheBluesBlogger

Tags: Jazz, Jazz News, Jazz Reflections by The Blues Blogger
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Father’s Day Weekend 2009

Now that summer has definitely arrived, it was time to work on some long overdue yardwork. My deck was starting to rot and was in need of a slight overhaul. So Friday night I got all the necessities for the job and setup delivery for the following afternoon. So my plan was to wake up early enough on Saturday morning, take apart the deck and then hopefully by Sunday morning, have it back together again… Of course in order for this job to even have a chance of taking place, I needed the proper music for inspiration.

Earlier in the week I was asked to take a look at Hill Country Revue’s debut release Make a Move. So I loaded the album on my MP3 player and had a quick listen. I liked what I heard and found an energy that made it hard to keep still. So I decided to save it for the weekend where I could utilize its verve. The music on this album packs a punch and would become the driving force that motivated the work that was ahead.

Saturday Morning

The weather was perfect; a light cool breeze and a clear blue sky. I put on my Bluetooth headset and slowly began to take my old deck apart while listening to Hill Country Revue’s debut release. Later that morning, my wife and son decided to take off for the rest of the day because I scare them when I use power tools. And coming off my recent accident they couldn’t bear to watch. But being the stubborn guy I am, I forged ahead as I continued to listen several times to the raw gritty blues/rock riffs that would drive me forward throughout the course of my day.

Hill Country Revue

was formed in 2008 by Cody Dickinson and Chris Chew from The North Mississippi Allstars.The band also features Kirk Smithhart, Ed “Hot” Cleveland and Dixie Dan Coburn. Released last May by Razor and Tie Records, most of the material on Make A Move was written by the youngest of R.L and Alice Mae Burnside’s fourteen children Garry.

Cody Dickinson has shared the stage with artists such as Kid Rock, Dave Matthews Band and Mavis Staples. He’s toured all over the world consistently since 1996 and has built a following along the way. While older brother Luther went off to tour with The Black Crowes, HCR took shape and gave the younger Dickinson the opportunity to step out from behind the drum kit, strap on the axe and front his own band.

“The North Mississippi Allstars haven’t broken up,” Cody Dickinson says. “We’re just off doing different things. Hill Country Revue, for Chris and me, is like a big jolt of adrenaline. It changes our blood chemistry and has us firing on a whole different set of synapses. Also the input from the other guys in the band, both as musicians and friends, is amazing. So everybody gains!”

The idea that shaped Hill Country Revue was a show that the North Mississippi Allstars did at the Bonnaroo Festival in 2004. At the time they were joined by brothers Duwayne and Garry Burnside, their father R.L, Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes and Cody’s father Jim. (Cody’s father had produced artists ranging from the Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, The Replacements, Alvin Youngblood Hart and The Radiators.) The show in 2004 would also be R.L. Burnside’s last public performance before he passed away in 2005. Make a Move was recorded at Jim Dickinson’s Zebra Ranch Studio, as well as at Young Avenue Sound in Memphis, with Cody producing and his father Jim acting as director.

It all starts off with the tune “Alice Mae,” which I’ve included below. Some of the stand out songs I found myself replaying were “Let Me Love You,” “Highway Blues” and “Ramblin.” In addition to “Georgia Women,” which the opening riff I’ve adopted as my personal theme for this Father’s Day.

 

 Alice Mae [5:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

Now as you can tell, I’m not your usual music reviewer. I won’t dissect or criticize every note. Not interested in that. If the tunes inspire the type of adrenaline that shaped my weekend, then its all good to me. I’ve found that there’s enough energy on Hill Country Revue’s Make a Move to light up a small city. They’re loaded with lots of talent, good chemistry and experience. If you’re looking for a solid dose of energetic raw edgy blues and southern rock, then this release aims to please.

In The Backyard

Now that my yardwork work is complete, I sit on my newly reinforced deck writing this. It all worked out really well… One thing for sure, I can now say that I’ve recovered from my dirt bike accident from a few weeks back. And I can now enjoy Father’s Day and relax knowing it was a very productive weekend indeed… So how about you? Are you familiar with Hill Country Revue? Did you do anything interesting this Father’s Day?

For more info, tour schedules and all the latest news you can go directly to HCR’s site from here… You can also follow the band on Twitter.

TheBluesBlogger

Tags: Blues News, New Releases, Reviews by The Blues Blogger
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I feel a whole lot better this weekend! It’s funny, every time I get sick or injured, I always seem to trip back to the sixties. I guess forced relaxation can do that to some people… On that note, I’m going to take it easy this weekend. In the meantime, here’s a post from last year you may enjoy if you missed it the first time around.
~tbb

It Was The Year 1966

My brother knew his cue… Late at night when he heard our father snoring; he would grab his guitar from underneath the bunk bed and begin to play… On most nights I would only pretend I was sleeping. I would listen as he would re-create the sounds he had earlier spun on our console stereo system. It always sounded perfect to me… Not too shabby for a 14 year old guitar player! I was only six years old.

I remember three volumes of an LP called Chicago The Blues Today! My first recollection of Otis Rush is from that album. Along with many others, Otis will always be a part of my earliest musical memories. Chicago The Blues Today! represented the first time that many people were introduced to the sounds of Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, James Cotton, Otis Spann, Buddy Guy and of course Otis Rush… He pioneered what was known as The West Side Sound and this album is a perfect example of that era.

One of the tunes I recall my brother playing in the middle of the night was from that LP. The song in particular was called “I Can’t Quit You Baby.” It was the first single and a vehicle for arranger/producer Willie Dixon to launch both Otis Rush’s career and Cobra Records.

“I Can’t Quit You Baby.” was originally released in 1956 and reached number 6 on the Billboard R&B charts… In Willie Dixon’s biography he explains that the song was written about a relationship that Otis was in at the time. Dixon drew from Rush’s experience and captured an emotional performance. The version of the song on 1966’s Chicago The Blues Today! was a little different than the original. However it ended up being the most covered version of the song…

Led Zeppelin did their take on the song on their 1969 debut self entitled album. Zeppelin regularly performed the song at concerts around 1968 to 1970… As well as so many other performers such as Buddy Guy & B.B.King, and Gary Moore.

Otis Rush

was born one of seven children in April 29, 1934, in Philadelphia, Mississippi …He sang occasionally in the church choir, but remained drawn to the country blues sounds of Tommy McClennan and Lightnin’ Hopkins.

In the winter of 1948 Rush went to Chicago and stayed with this sister. While working in the Chicago stockyards, he played harmonica and was inspired by watching Muddy Waters and Jimmy Rogers perform. Rush then began to study the guitar in 1953. A year later, he fronted a band under the name of “Little Otis.” He played his first job with Arkansas-born guitarist Bob Woodfolk. Otis was self taught and plays his right handed axe left handed and upside down without restringing it. It certainly contributed to his unique sound.

Rush combined his Mississippi roots with modern urban styles of the time. He produced a solid soulful sound with vocals that were capable of really wild falsetto shouts. During the sixties blues revival, Otis emerged as a guru to many well known musicians.

Even though it was his original version in 1956 that got inducted in the blues hall of fame in 1994, for me it was Otis’ sixties take of his song that I commonly remember. And how my brother was able to capture that energy; solo on the bunk bed below… One thing for sure, it’s a great memory for me.

If you are not familiar with Otis Rush, you can get more information regarding this amazing artist on his website. I think if you asked the question… What do Clapton, Hendrix, Bloomfield, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Peter Green all have in common? The answer is they were all influenced by Otis Rush.

Well I hoped you enjoyed another one of my little trips down memory lane? I could go on and on, but the idea is to get the readers of this blog involved in the discussion. So many of you have your own stories to tell… Please make sure you comment below.

Have a good one. I’ll be back soon…

The Blues Blogger

Tags: Blues Reflections, Reflections, The Sixties by The Blues Blogger
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