Anders Osborne - Black Eye Galaxy

Abbiamo avuto di fronte uno dei più grandi talenti della scena Usa per più di un ventennio ed ha rischiato di passare inosservato. Ad onor del vero, non è che le sue gesta non siano state debitamente enfatizzate. Il vichingo approdato a Crescent City ha una dozzina di album alle spalle. Nominato per il secondo anno consecutivo “Best roots rock artist da Guitar player, questo “poet laureate of Louisiana’s fertile roots music scene” è da quasi un ventennio al centro della scena musicale di New Orleans, senza raccogliere in proporzione ai propri meriti. Le sue collaborazioni si sprecano: Keb Mo, Stanton Moore Trio, Karl Denson Tiny Universe, Voice of Wetland all Stars, Galactics, Chief Monk Boudreaux, Luther Dickinson. Ha lasciato sempre il segno: come solista, come produttore, ed anche come autore, (sua è “Watch The Wind Blow By,” country hit per Tim McGraw). “Black Eye Galaxy”, secondo album targato Alligator, è il suo disco più rock e fruibile e gli permette di incassare, con tanto di interessi, gli investimenti fatti sulla scena musicale di New Orleans. “American Patchwork” non poteva avere miglior seguito!

Between the sheer force and potent lyricism of his guitar playing, the riveting depth of his songwriting and the straight-from-the-soul conviction of his vocals, New Orleans’ Anders Osborne is among the most original and visionary musicians writing and performing today. Relix says Osborne plays “hard-hitting songs” featuring his “raging, expressive guitar and soulful singing…from scorched-earth rock to sweet, tender ballads.” OffBeat magazine recently named Osborne the Crescent City’s Best Guitarist for the second straight year, and also awarded him with the Best Roots Rock Artist title. Guitar Player called him, “The poet laureate of Louisiana’s fertile roots music scene.” Since the release of his 2010 Alligator Records debut, American Patchwork, Osborne has toured virtually non-stop, performing with his own band, solo with Keb Mo, with The Stanton Moore Trio, alongside Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe and with Luther Dickinson as well as with The Voice Of The Wetlands All-Stars. He appears on Galactic’s song “Dark Water” from their Ya-Ka-May album, and in 2011 produced and played on critically acclaimed albums by Tab Benoit, Johnny Sansone and Mike Zito. Along the way, he also found time to write and record the next chapter in his still-unfolding career, Black Eye Galaxy.Recorded at the famed Dockside Studio in Maurice, Louisiana, Black Eye Galaxy was produced by Anders along with engineer Warren Riker and Galactic’s Stanton Moore. Sounds on the album range from heavy electric mayhem to joyous acoustic melodicism, lyrics move from the darkest depths to the healing power of love. Black Eye Galaxy is a personal record for Osborne, but one with universal themes. “It’s about being on the other side of chaos and putting things back together,” he says. The title is an unambiguous metaphor for Osborne’s life as a traveler, a musician, an immigrant, a recovering addict, and as a husband and father. The album is a journey of sorts, following the main character (based on Anders’ own life experiences) from the uncontrolled, primal chaos of “Send Me A Friend”to the inner peace of “Higher Ground.” The disjointed and brutally honest “Mind Of A Junkie” leads into the warm and hopeful “Lean On Me/Believe In You.” The gentle “When Will I See You Again?” finds Anders rebuilding broken relations, while the feral and confrontational “Black Tar” (co-written with Little Feat’s Paul Barrere) says farewell to a dark past. The final four songs — “Tracking My Roots,” “Louisiana Gold,” “Dancing In The Wind,” and “Higher Ground” — bring an almost ecstatic tranquility after the intense stress and turbulence of the beginning of the album. From ultra-heavy and challenging to sweetly soul-soothing and melodic, Osborne’s guitar work, like his vocals, is simply mesmerizing. Black Eye Galaxy is a harrowing but ultimately uplifting cycle of richly detailed songs that are musically and lyrically thought-provoking, exhilarating and completely engaging.

Live, Osborne is a force to behold. His wildly energetic, physical performances find him ripping notes out of his guitar, forcing out intense steel-on-steel slide solos, pouring his entire soul into his vocals. His piercing guitar playing, slide work and fluid finger picking (oftentimes happening simultaneously) are simply unmatched. His use of Open D tuning (a rare choice for a guitar virtuoso) gives his fretwork a signature sound and feel. “I first heard Open D on Joni Mitchell’s Blue,” he says, “and my fingers just fit the tuning.” His influences range from Ry Cooder and Robert Johnson to the great horn players like Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Past gigs include repeated appearances at The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, stops at Bonnaroo, The High Sierra Festival, The Telluride Blues Festival, The Hollowbaloo Music & Arts Festival in Honolulu, The Voice Of The Wetlands and an appearance at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. He has toured North America and Europe extensively, and is constantly in demand as a guitarist, songwriter and producer. Since his recording debut in 1989, Osborne has written virtually all of his own material and contributed memorable songs to a wide variety of artists. Two tunes co-written by Osborne appear on blues great Keb Mo’s Grammy-winning 1999 release Slow Down. Country superstar Tim McGraw scored a #1 hit with Anders’ song “Watch The Wind Blow By.” Osborne’s compositions have been covered by artists as diverse as Brad Paisley, Tab Benoit, Jonny Lang and Kim Carnes. His song “What’s Going On Here” appeared in the 1996 feature film Fled, and Osborne, along with Ivan Neville, wrote and recorded the title track for the 2010 Kate Hudson film Earthbound. He can also be seen performing in a recent episode of HBO’s New Orleans-based drama, Treme. Osborne was destined to live in New Orleans, and it’s no surprise he’s become one of the city’s favorite sons. His path home, however, was a long and winding one. He was born in Uddevalla, Sweden in 1966. His father was a professional touring jazz drummer who played all over Europe and was exposed to a lot of styles of popular American music. He brought home reel-to-reel recordings of jazz, R&B and early rock ‘n’ roll from artists as diverse as Little Richard, Fats Domino, Bill Haley, Art Pepper and Miles Davis. As a teen, Anders started playing guitar and listening to Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, and Joni Mitchell records. He fell in love with the vocal styles of Ray Charles, Van Morrison and Lowell George. Then he heard the blues of Robert Johnson and recordings of African drumming, and suddenly, everything clicked. “Blues connected everything together for me,” Osborne recalls. “The early rock, the R&B, the jazz, the singer-songwriters. Blues was like a thread running through everything.” With a serious case of wanderlust, Anders began traveling on his own at 16. For the next four years, he hitchhiked across Europe, North Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, earning money by doing odd jobs and performing on the street or in bars at every opportunity. He worked assembly lines in Israel and dug ditches in Greece. He picked fruits and vegetables in many locales, following the harvest seasons across Europe. He wrote constantly, soaking up the life experience and honing his craft. In 1985, after landing in New York with only $5.00 in his pocket, Osborne hitchhiked to New Orleans to meet up with a friend. “Once I got to New Orleans, everything I heard in my head — the music, the way people treated each other — was happening. I knew I was home.” He naturally absorbed the spirit of the Crescent City into his soul, as he was fully embraced by the city’s vibrant music community. Shortly after moving there, he found out that his grandfather, a sailor, had lived in New Orleans for many years. His grandfather then began telling him vivid stories of the city, and sharing old photographs. “I just felt connected to his memories,” Osborne says, “and I knew I was where I was supposed to be.” Anders spent his first few years in New Orleans writing and developing his sound and style, all the while continuing to soak up the music of the city. He cut his first two albums for the independent New Orleans-based Rabadash Records in 1989 and 1993. The excitement surrounding those releases led to a major label deal with Sony’s Okeh imprint in 1995. Osborne released a series of successful albums for Shanachie and MC Records, all to wide critical and popular acclaim, before joining forces with Alligator Records. With the 2010 release of American Patchwork, Osborne’s fame suddenly reached a whole new level. Critics went wild, with OffBeat saying, “American Patchwork is the album Osborne fans have been waiting for. The record is a focused and tuneful triumph. Osborne’s gifts as a guitar player are significant. His voice is so emotionally intense it feels like an explosion. He writes with remarkable eloquence…this is the living definition of great art.”

Danny Bryant - Night Life

Il Blues inglese è stato un movimento sotterraneo che ha scosso e forse rivoluzionato la musica rock molto piu' di quanto non si pensi. Lontano dal Delta oltremanica gli accordi della solitudine e del riscatto vengono contaminati dal rock and roll e dai poeti della musica che trovano in questo genere un volano unico per esprimere i loro sentimenti. Mischiate tutti questi ingredienti con la passione per la chitarra blues e tanto ma tanto sudore da palco e otterrete il sound di Danny Bryant...... Steve Ray Vaughan sarebbe sicuramente un suo grande fan.

Danny Bryant was born in Hertfordshire England in July 1980. First hailed as a ‘young guitar prodigy’ Danny began playing guitar aged 15, turning professional just three years later, and in the last decade has paid his dues clocking up endless miles of traveling and approximately two thousand shows in many countries around the world. After a decade of hard toil he now gets the recognition he so well deserves, being acknowledged by those in the business as one of the cream of the crop of this generation of blues artists, ably backed by his rhythm section of his father Ken on bass and Trevor Barr on drums.

In a career already littered with highlights including many sold out club tours across Europe and numerous major festival appearances that have seen the power trio perform on the same bill as such names as Joe Cocker, Carlos Santana, Buddy Guy and Peter Green to mention a few; Danny and his band have steadily carved a huge and loyal fan base around the world. So far the band have released seven internationally acclaimed CDs, in 2007 they signed with Rounder Records and released three highly successful albums with this Label which all topped the itunes and Amazon blues charts in several countries. In 2009 Danny signed a licensing deal with Virgin/EMI Asia and track from their 2007 release, ‘Live’, was included on a compilation CD entitled ”The Best Blues Album In The World Ever”. Danny was featured alongside many giants of Blues, including Johnny Winter, Gary Moore, Albert Collins and ZZ Top. February 2010 saw the release of the bands critically acclaimed studio album “Just As I Am’, hitting Blues charts all across the continent and receiving glowing reviews from the international music press. The album caught the ear of German based label Jazzhaus records leading Danny to ink a deal with the dynamic new label. March 2012 will see the release of “Night Life”, a live CD/DVD recorded last summer in the Netherlands and capturing the band doing what they do best – playing explosive blues rock with passion.

Ruthie Foster - Let It Burn

January 31 release on Blue Corn Music features Blind Boys of Alabama, Soul legend William Bell, and songs by Adele, Black Keys, Los Lobos, Johnny Cash, The Band, Pete Seeger, Crosby, Stills & Nash and more. Those who have followed Ruthie Foster's eclectic musical history know that she can burn down any stage with her combustible blend of soul, blues, rock, folk and gospel. And when Grammy Award-winning producer John Chelew suggested she record an album in New Orleans - with support handpicked from the Crescent City's overflowing pool of talent - it was an opportunity for Ruthie to infuse fresh spices into her already rich sonic gumbo. The result is Let It Burn - slated for January 31, 2012 release on Blue Corn Music - a recording that smolders, sizzles and ignites with an intensity born from her vibrant voice and indelible presence. Ruthie's astonishing voice has taken her on an amazing ride. She came from humble church choir beginnings in rural Texas, followed by a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy Band, and ended up in New York City with a major-label development deal that went sour. After she moved back to Texas to care for her ailing mother, Foster took a break from singing professionally for a couple of years. When she resumed her music career in Austin, she became a regular nominee at the Austin Music Awards, winning Best Folk Artist in 2004-05 and Best Female Vocalist in 2007-08. Broadening her sound by blending blues and soul aspects into her folk roots, Ruthie added a Grammy nomination to her list of achievements (Best Contemporary Blues Album for her last studio release, 2009's The Truth According to Ruthie Foster). And, in a nod to her astounding range, she then won seemingly contradictory Blues Music Association awards for both Best Traditional and Best Contemporary Female Blues Artist in back-to-back years.

In addition to leading her own band and touring it around the world, Foster has also collaborated on stage and recordings with a diverse list of artists including Warren Haynes, Big Head Todd, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Bibb and Paul Thorn. She's a regular favorite at an equally diverse list of festivals such as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Monterey Blues Festival, Merlefest and the Kate Wolf Festival. The ingredients for Let It Burn, recorded at New Orleans' Piety Street Studios, start with some of that city's most respected players: The Funky Meters' rhythm section of bassist George Porter Jr. and drummer Russell Batiste, guitarist Dave Easley, and renowned saxophonist James Rivers collectively infuse the tracks with the groove-based, in-the-pocket vibe that comes naturally to New Orleans-bred musicians. The addition of Hammond B3 wizard Ike Stubblefield, who has toured and recorded with everyone from Curtis Mayfield to Eric Clapton, gives the album a jazzy organ-combo feel. Finally, legendary gospel singers the Blind Boys of Alabama and Soul icon William Bell add extra depth to the project's surprisingly eclectic collection of cover songs and fresh originals. Besides the New Orleans location, there was another significant "first" associated with these sessions. "This is the only album I've done where I don't play an instrument, which is really different. It gave me a lot more freedom vocally. Without a guitar, all I did was concentrate on singing," Foster explains. "Sometimes I tried to channel Mavis Staples vocally, but I also wanted to bring a kind of Cassandra Wilson/Sade sultriness to some of the songs." The results are powerful, defining performances of Adele's anthemic "Set Fire to the Rain," John Martyn's poignant and sensual "Don't Want to Know," and Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," all of which take on new vibrancy with distinctive musical arrangements and Ruthie's commanding presence. The achingly beautiful, atmospheric ballad version of "Ring of Fire" is at the heart of thisalbum, and potently showcases Foster as one of the finest interpretive singers of our time. "When it comes to songs, often older ones, I love it when they find me and that's what happened with 'Ring of Fire.' I put myself inside of that song, which speaks to the passion of a new relationship," she says. Ruthie mines other tunes from a variety of sources such as the Black Keys ("Everlasting Light," given a sparkling and righteous treatment), Pete Seeger (a dynamic, ominous swamp/jazz reimagining of "If I Had a Hammer") and Los Lobos (the rambling, haunting "This Time"). The church is never far from anything Foster touches as her spiritual original "Lord Remember Me" with the Blind Boys, featuring a sanctified slide solo from guitarist Easley, makes clear. The album's opening and closing tracks also spotlight the Blind Boys and bookend the project with a devotional approach. "I haven't lost my gospel in the way I approach a song," explains Ruthie. Another new Foster song is "Aim for the Heart" (a co-write with Jon & Sally Tiven), which works Porter's funky bass, Stubblefield's expressive organ and Easley's snake-like guitar into a groove which supports the deeply personal motto ("Aim for the heart/And you'll never go wrong") that Foster has exhibited in both her life and music. Rounding out this smoldering collection of tunes are covers of The Band's melancholic "It Makes No Difference," David Crosby's politically charged "Long Time Gone" and William Bell's classic "You Don't Miss Your Water" (with Bell dueting on a slow, jazz/blues version of the standard, augmented by a stunning Rivers solo), all of which further display Ruthie's uncanny knack for finding the simmering essence of any song. On Let It Burn, Ruthie Foster takes the listener on her most personal journey yet, sounding like she is pouring her heart out late at night, and her deeply soulful vocals create a spiritual soundscape to support her testimony. This is the album her fans have been waiting for - and that the rest of the world will listen to in wonder.

B. B. King, nome d'arte di Riley B. King (Itta Bena, 16 settembre 1925), è un chitarrista e cantante statunitense. Con una lunghissima carriera alle spalle, oggi è uno dei più importanti esponenti del blues viventi. Con la sua "Lucille", una chitarra Gibson ES-355 custom, è diventato un'icona stessa del genere musicale già a partire dagli anni cinquanta. Ha avuto una così grande carriera che ancora oggi è riconosciuto come il re del blues. Ha vinto 14 volte il Grammy. Nella rivista Rolling Stone è posto come sesto chitarrista più bravo del mondo (Lista dei 100 migliori chitarristi secondo Rolling Stone). Il suo sound è caratterizzato da suoni caldi e piacevoli che danno vita ad un blues elegante che lo ha contraddistinto per tutta la sua carriera. Il suo stile chitarristico è noto a tutti per essere caratterizzato solo da parti soliste che si alternano al canto senza mai sfociare in parti di accompagnamento.King passò molta della sua infanzia vivendo con la madre e la nonna, lavorando come mezzadro. King ha detto che veniva pagato 35 centesimi per ogni 100 libbre (45 kg) di cotone che raccoglieva, prima di scoprire il suo talento. Da giovane, si appassionò ai cantanti neri come T-Bone Walker e Lonnie Johnson e artisti jazz come Charlie Christian e Django Reinhardt. Presto incominciò a esercitarsi cantando musica gospel in chiesa.

CD+DVD

BLUE RAY

Nel 1943 King si trasferì a Indianola, Mississippi e tre anni dopo a Memphis, Tennessee, dove affinò la sua tecnica di chitarrista con l'aiuto del cugino, il chitarrista country blues Bukka White. Alla fine, King incominciò a trasmettere la sua musica dal vivo sulla radio di Memphis WDI,A come disc-jokey, una stazione che aveva da poco cambiato la propria programmazione per trasmettere soltanto musica nera, cosa estremamente rara all'epoca. Alla radio King incominciò ad usare il nome The Pepticon Boy, che più tardi divenne "The Blues Boy from Beale Street" (il ragazzo del blues di Beale Street) o più semplicemente The Beale Street Blues Boy: il nome fu poi abbreviato a Blues Boy e, infine, a B.B. Nel 1949 King cominciò a registrare canzoni per la RPM Records di Los Angeles. Gran parte delle sue prime registrazioni furono prodotte da Sam Phillips che poi avrebbe fondato la leggendaria Sun Records. Negli anni cinquanta King divenne uno degli esponenti principali del panorama R&B collezionando una lunga lista di hits tra i quali You Know I Love You, Woke Up This Morning, Please Love Me, When My Heart Beats Like a Hammer, Whole Lotta' Love, You Upset Me Baby, Every Day I Have the Blues, Sneakin' Around, Ten Long Years, Bad Luck, Sweet Little Angel, On My Word of Honor, e Please Accept My Love. Nel 1962 King firmò per la ABC-Paramount Records. Nel novembre del 1964 King registrò al Regal Theater di Chicago l'album Live at the Regal che sarebbe ben presto entrato nella leggenda.

Il primo successo di King al di fuori del mercato blues fu una riedizione di The Thrill Is Gone di Roy Hawkins che nel 1969 scalò le classifiche sia pop che R&B, evento molto raro ancora oggi. L'elenco dei successi di King continuò per tutti gli anni settanta con canzoni quali To Know You Is to Love You e I Like to Live the Love. Dal 1951 al 1985 King è apparso sulle classifiche R&B di Billboard ben 74 volte. Nei decenni successivi King ha registrato sempre meno senza perdere in popolarità grazie alla partecipazione a film e show televisivi (tra cui una puntata de I Robinson dove interpreta se stesso) e tenendo annualmente circa 300 serate. Nel 1988 ha conquistato una nuova generazione di fan grazie al singolo When Love Comes to Town, suonata insieme agli U2. Nel 2000 ha invece registrato Riding with the King in coppia con Eric Clapton. Nella sua carriera ha suonato insieme a moltissimi artisti e gruppi, tra cui Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, David Gilmour, Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield, Luciano Pavarotti, Richie Sambora, Phil Collins, Billy Ocean, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Etta James, Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Albert King, Gary Moore, Diane Shuur, Slash, U2, John Mayer, Jeff Beck, Gloria Estefan, Roger Daltrey, Bobby Bland, Zucchero, Tracy Chapman, Sheryl Crow, Billy Preston, Elton John, Mark Knopfler, Van Morrison, Billy Gibbons, e Willie Nelson,(( Brad Paisley )) e la sua partecipazione, nel 1990, al Pistoia Blues con Jeff Healy ed Edoardo Bennato dove interpretano alcuni brani tra cui quello di Edoardo, Signor censore . Singolare è inoltre una sua esibizione insieme all'attore Bruce Willis, suo grandissimo fan, e Anthony Jacobson, amico d'infanzia. È indubbio che King sia stato fonte di ispirazione per moltissimi musicisti, da almeno cinquant'anni, e che la sua fama nel mondo musicale non sia diminuita nemmeno oggi. Nel 2004 King è stato insignito di una laurea ad honorem presso la University of Mississippi. Nel 2005 per festeggiare i suoi 80 anni, pubblica un album pieno di ospiti illustri: Van Morrison, Billy Gibbons, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, Darryl Hall & John Oates, John Mayer, Mark Knopfler, Glenn Frey, Gloria Estefan, Roger Daltrey, Bobby Bland ed Elton John. King ha inoltre donato la sua grande collezione blues all'Ole Miss Center for Southern Studies.Nell'inverno del 1949, King stava suonando in una sala da ballo nell'Arkansas. Per riscaldare il locale era stato acceso un barile contenente del kerosene, una pratica non troppo insolita. Due uomini incominciarono a litigare, facendo cadere il barile contenente il kerosene infuocato sul pavimento. Questo scatenò un incendio e conseguente evacuazione. Una volta fuori, King si rese conto di aver lasciato la sua chitarra, una Gibson semi acustica, nell'edificio in fiamme e rientrò per recuperarla. Il giorno dopo, King scoprì che i due uomini avevano combattuto per una donna chiamata Lucille e decise di chiamare Lucille la sua prima chitarra, così come tutte le chitarre che ha posseduto da quell'esperienza quasi fatale, «per ricordarmi di non fare mai più una cosa del genere».Oggi abbiamo il piacere di ascoltarlo in questo fantastico live che riassume una carriera intera
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Curtis Salgado - Soul Shot

Cantante-armonicista di Portland, Oregon, Curtis Salgado approda con “Soul Shot” all’Alligator dopo essersi messo in luce negli anni come front-man nella band di Robert Cray per proseguire con i Blues Brothers, come vocalist di Santana negli anni ’90 il tutto alternato da una discreta carriera solista (Curtis Salgado & The Stilettos).Headliner dei piu' importanti festival blues made in Usa questo nuovo album, un’impeccabile produzione Alligator diretta dal funk e R&B guitar-wizard Marlon McClain, con il batterista Tony Braunage, e co-prodotto dallo stesso Salgado, arriva dopo prestigiosi riconoscimenti tra i piu' importanti dei quali spicca la vittoria nei Blues Award del 2010 come "Soul Blues Male Artist Of the Year. E proprio seguendo questa strada Curtis ci regala un lavoro che si rivolge al pubblico del soul e del blues contemporaneo alternando brani originali a ben scelte covers di classici firmati da Johnny "Guitar" Watson, George Clinton, Otis Redding e Bobby Womack. Da lente e brucianti ballads a folgoranti brani blues-rock oriented, lascia trasparire forza e passione da ogni sua performance. Un bianco che, dopo aver sconfitto un cancro al fegato ed ai polmoni, firma una delle più belle e convincenti produzioni della blues label per eccellenza.

Award-winning vocalist/songwriter/harmonica icon Curtis Salgado sings and plays with soulful authority, never giving less than 100 percent. He plays each and every show like it's the most important gig of his career. He recalls the time when his friend, the great chitlin' circuit singer Buddy Ace, put on the show of his life, singing his heart out, making three costume changes, all while playing at a casual house party. Salgado was floored. "I was just there playing with my band, hanging out in cut-offs and a t-shirt, and there's Buddy treating the gig the same as if he was performing at the Apollo," he says. From that moment on, Curtis vowed that every time he got on stage he would deliver his very best shot. Salgado's been perfecting his craft since he first began playing professionally in the late 1960s. He fronted his own group, The Nighthawks, inspired John Belushi to create The Blues Brothers, was co-star of The Robert Cray Band and sang and toured with Roomful Of Blues. He released his first of eight solo albums in 1991, hitting the road hard year after year. Salgado and his band toured with The Steve Miller Band and Curtis spent a summer singing with Santana before being sidelined by serious health issues in 2006. He's battled all the way back, and, after a full and complete recovery, has been tearing up concert stages all over the country. Winner of the 2010 Blues Music Award for Soul Blues Artist Of The Year, Salgado effortlessly mixes blues, funk and R&B with a delivery that is raw and heartfelt. He moves with ease from the tenderest ballads to the most full-throated stompers. Blues Revue says, "Salgado is one of the most down-to-earth, soulful, honest singers ever, and his harmonica work is smoking and thoroughly invigorating...rollicking, funky and electrifying." With his Alligator Records debut, Soul Shot, Salgado is set to reach the largest audience of his career. Soul Shot was produced by funk and R&B guitarist Marlon McClain, drummer Tony Braunagel and co-produced by Salgado. "I wanted to make a soul record that you can listen to and dance to," says Salgado. And that's just what he and members of The Phantom Blues Band, along with additional guest musicians, did. Soul Shot speaks loud and clear to contemporary audiences, carrying on the timeless spirit of 1960s and '70s R&B. The album features four Salgado originals and seven carefully chosen covers. "I don't care who writes the songs," Salgado says, "as long as I can make them my own." Songs by Johnny "Guitar" Watson, George Clinton, Otis Redding and Bobby Womack flow into and out of Salgado's own compositions. Each track-the slow-burning ballads and the driving rockers-is delivered with the vocal power and passion of a musical master. "Soul Shot was the most challenging recording of my career," he says, "and it's the solid best thing I've ever done. That's a fact." Born February 4, 1954 in Everett, Washington, Salgado grew up in Eugene, Oregon. His parents were "hip," according to Salgado, and his house was always filled with music. His parents' collection included everything from Count Basie to Fats Waller, and his older brother and sister turned him on to the soul and blues of Wilson Pickett and Muddy Waters. His father liked to sing, and would point out specific passages in a Count Basie or Ray Charles recording for Curtis to pay close attention to, and the youngster soaked it all up. He attended a Count Basie performance when he was 13 and decided then and there that music was his calling. Curtis began devouring the blues of Little Walter and Paul Butterfield, fell in love with the harmonica and taught himself to play. As a hungry-to-learn teenager, his musical abilities grew by leaps and bounds. He played his first professional gigs when he was 16, and by 18 he was already making a name for himself in Eugene's bar scene. Salgado quickly developed into a player and singer of remarkable depth, with vocal and musical influences including Otis Redding to O.V. Wright, Johnnie Taylor, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson I and II, Lightnin' Hopkins, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Spann and Magic Sam. With his band The Nighthawks, he became a must-see act in Eugene and throughout the Northwest. Salgado earned a reputation for high-intensity performances and a repertoire that was informed by his encyclopedic knowledge of blues, soul and R&B music. In 1973, Salgado met Robert Cray and the two became fast friends. They jammed often, sometimes sitting in with each other's bands, often playing double bills. In 1975, Salgado had the idea to start a blues festival in Eugene in order to meet and play with as many established blues stars as possible. The festival became an annual event, allowing Curtis to back up, befriend and occasionally house legends including Floyd Dixon, Frankie Lee, Luther Tucker, Otis Rush, Clifton Chenier, Sonny Rhodes and Albert Collins. In fact, it was Salgado-whose Nighthawks backed Collins locally-who crowned the blues legend with the title he would carry for the rest of his career: "The Master Of The Telecaster." In 1977, comedian/actor John Belushi was in Eugene filming Animal House. During downtime from filming, Belushi caught a typically balls-out Salgado performance. Afterwards the two got to talking and a friendship grew. Before long Salgado began playing old records for Belushi, teaching him about blues and R&B. Belushi soaked up the music like a sponge and soon developed his idea for The Blues Brothers, first as a skit on Saturday Night Live and then as a major motion picture and a best-selling record album and concert tour. The album, Briefcase Full Of Blues, is dedicated to Curtis Salgado, and, as a nod to Salgado, Cab Calloway's character in the film is named Curtis. The Blues Brothers' set list was strikingly similar to the shows Salgado was delivering on a nightly basis. As Salgado was getting more serious about his career, he realized some of his band mates were not. It was then that Salgado joined forces with Cray and formed a new, more forceful Robert Cray Band. As the stature of the group grew, Salgado found himself sharing stages with blues icons like Muddy Waters, Bobby Bland and Bonnie Raitt. The band performed a transcendent set at The 1977 San Francisco Blues Festival to thunderous ovation before backing up the great Albert Collins. After Salgado and Cray parted ways in 1982, Curtis went on to front Roomful Of Blues, singing and touring with them from 1984 through 1986. Back home in Oregon, he formed a new band, Curtis Salgado & The Stilettos, and was once again tearing it up on the club scene. He wrote many new songs, and honed his band to a razor's edge before releasing his first solo album in 1991 on the fledgling JRS label. The group toured the country and began developing a strong following. His friend and fan Steve Miller invited Curtis and his band to open for him on a summer shed tour in 1992. Two years later, Salgado spent the summer on the road singing with Santana. In 1997 he toured with Miller again and performed in front of an audience of millions on NBC television's Late Night With Conan O'Brien. Salgado then joined forces with Shanachie Records in 1999, putting out four critically acclaimed albums over the next nine years and finding his biggest audience yet. In 2006 Salgado was sidelined when he underwent a successful liver transplant and then shortly afterwards was diagnosed with and then beat lung cancer. Like so many musicians, Curtis had no health insurance. His medical expenses were paid for in part by a huge outpouring of love and money from his fellow musicians and his huge Northwest fan base. He bounced back with a perfect bill of health in 2008, releasing Clean Getaway. Billboard said the album was a "tour-de-force, showcasing Salgado's range and power as a vocalist" and that it featured "hard-nosed blues, beautifully nuanced phat and funky R&B." Blues Revue called it "one of the best records of the year." Curtis tours heavily, leaving fans excited and hungry for more everywhere he plays. He has performed at festivals all over the world, including The San Francisco Blues Festival, The Chicago Blues Festival, Memphis' Beale Street Music Festival, The Tampa Bay Blues Festival, Denver's Mile High Blues Festival, Toronto's Waterfront Blues Festival, Thailand's Phuket International Blues Festival and Poland's Blues Alive Festival. Now, with Soul Shot, Salgado is ready for more, tougher and more focused than ever. He will again hit the road hard, proving his reputation as a fire-breathing live performer night after night. And that's just how he likes it. "Always give it your best," he says. "Be honest and be real. Treat every show like it's the biggest night of your life." With Soul Shot and a long list of tour dates already planned, the biggest performances of Curtis Salgado's life are surely yet to come.

Janiva Magness - Stronger For It

Janiva
Magness può essere senza dubbio considerata una delle piu' belle voci
blues dell'odierno panorama musicale. Nella sua voce potente e interiore
si rispecchia tutto il suo mondo passato e presente, dannazione e
redenzione in un mix di emozioni che solo una vita vissuta può creare.
Non c'è finzione in questo personaggio, la vita non  lo ha
consentito, ma tanta onesta' musicale, tanta forza che si rispecchia nel
carisma di questa nuova signora del blues. A conferma di quanto scritto è
testimone la vittoria al r B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year , premio che
prima di lei solo un'altra grande donna del blues ha avuto il piacere di
vincere : la grande Koko Taylor. Di lei il  Los Angeles Daily News
scrive  “A superb, powerhouse R&B singer who delivers blues and soul with show-stopping authority”
e USA Today rilancia "Stunningly sung...Magness is a blues star" .
Nonostante questa tarda notorieta' la Magness non è nuova del giro visto
che ha alle sue spalle 3 decadi di concerti live con all'attivo 150 date
all'anno.... attivita' live che le ha permesso di affrontare questi ultimi
cd, i primi della sua lunga carriera, con la stessa sicurezza e potenza di
una veterana ma con l'entusiasmo e la forza di una esordiente. Il mix che
ne risulta è puro Blues.... Ascoltare Per Credere.


Award-winning vocalist Janiva Magness is among the premier blues and R&B singers in the world today. Her voice possesses an earthy, raw honesty and beauty born from her life experience. A charismatic performer known for her electrifying live shows, Magness is a gutsy and dynamic musical powerhouse. She received the coveted 2009 Blues Music Awards for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year (she is only the second woman to ever win this award, Koko Taylor being the first) and for Contemporary Blues Female Artist Of The Year, an honor she also received in 2006 and 2007. She has received eleven previous Blues Music Award nominations. USA Today declared, “Magness is a blues star,” and The Philadelphia Inquirer said, “Magness sings superb, potent soul-blues with a scorching intensity."

Magness has been performing for almost three decades, logging thousands of miles on the road and appearing 150 nights a year at clubs, theatres and festivals all over the world. Her longest road trip yet was to Iraq and Kuwait in April 2008, as a co-headliner of Bluzapalooza, the first-ever blues concert tour to perform for American troops. The tour was an incredibly profound experience for Magness. “My job is a gift. It’s about human connection, to remind people they are not alone. I can’t think of anyone in greater need of a break than these soldiers. Those kids came up to me and said, ‘You made me forget where I was for two hours. Thank you!’ That was beyond priceless.”
Magness released a series of independent albums, including two on the Northern Blues label, prior to her extraordinary 2008 Alligator Records debut, What Love Will Do. Her new CD, The Devil Is An Angel Too, co-produced by Magness and Dave Darling (Brian Setzer, Meredith Brooks, Dan Hicks), is a hard-hitting collection of material that explores the depths of good and evil, with Magness’ glorious, soul-baring vocals burning their way through twelve powerful songs. “All of us have a light and a dark side. Human beings are capable of the most incredible acts of kindness and absolute wretchedness. This record explores both sides,” Magness explains. She wraps her huge, soulful voice around original material written especially for her, and songs from Julie Miller, Graham Parker, Nick Lowe, Joe Tex, Gladys Knight, Nina Simone, Ann Peebles and James Carr. From the haunting, seductive title track that explores evil masquerading as good to the spiritual awakening of “Walkin’ In The Sun” to the revenge tale of “I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down” and the joyful proclamation of “I Want To Do Everything For You,” Magness cuts to the heart and soul of each song with grit, heart and fierce passion, making The Devil Is An Angel Too her most compelling release yet.



Although Magness is now a bona fide blues star, her rise to the top was far from easy. Born in Detroit, Magness was inspired by the blues and country she heard listening to her father’s record collection, and by the vibrant music of the city’s classic Motown sound. By her teenage years, though, her life was in chaos. She lost both parents to suicide by the age of 16 and lived on the streets, bouncing from one foster home to another. At 17, she became a teenage mother who gave up her baby daughter for adoption. One night in Minneapolis, an underage Magness sneaked into a club to see blues great Otis Rush, and it was there that she found her salvation and decided that the blues were her calling. Magness recalls, “Otis played as if his life depended on it. There was a completely desperate, absolute intensity. I knew, whatever it was, I needed more of it.” She began going to as many blues shows as possible, soaking up the sounds of her favorite artists, including Johnny Copeland and Albert Collins. She immersed herself in records by James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, and all the other R&B greats.



Listening to these blues and soul artists, and watching them live, sparked Janiva and gave her life direction. Her first break came several years later, while working as an intern at a recording studio. She was approached by her boss to sing some supporting vocals on a track. Finding her voice, she soon began working regularly as a background singer. By the early 1980s, Magness made her way to Phoenix and befriended Bob Tate, the musical director for the great Sam Cooke. With Tate’s mentoring, she formed her first band, Janiva Magness And The Mojomatics, in 1985 and before long the influential Phoenix New Times named her group the city’s Best Blues Band. She moved to Los Angeles in 1986 and slowly began finding work. She recorded her second studio album, It Takes One To Know One, in 1997 (her debut was the cassette-only release, More Than Live). After three more independent releases, Janiva signed with Northern Blues and recorded Bury Him At The Crossroads in 2004 and Do I Move You? in 2006. Both CDs were co-produced by Magness along with Canadian roots star Colin Linden, and both garnered Magness a tremendous amount of critical and popular attention. Magness and Linden won the prestigious Canadian Maple Blues Award for Producers Of The Year for Bury Him At The Crossroads in 2004. Do I Move You? debuted at #8 on the Billboard Blues Chart and was the #1 Blues CD Of The Year in 2006 on Living Blues magazine’s radio chart. Blues Revue said, “Magness is a bold and potent artist with a powerful, soulful voice… impossible to forget.”



Magness signed with Alligator in 2008 and released her stunning label debut, What Love Will Do, to massive critical acclaim. The Chicago Sun-Times raved, “Her songs run the gamut of emotions from sorrow to joy. A master of the lowdown blues who is equally at ease surrounded by funk or soul sounds, Magness invigorates every song with a brutal honesty,” while Blues Revue called her “a blues interpreter of the highest rank…punchy and tough…swaggering, incendiary vocal performances.” Allmusic declared, “rollicking blues, swampy soul and R&B…stark, gritty, emotional material…terrific, magnificent voice. She rips into ballads with moving and riveting tenacity…she burns through these songs like she’s got everything to prove.” Fueled by all the positive press, Magness was profiled on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition, putting her in front of an audience of millions and expanding her ever-growing fan base.



In addition to her musical accomplishments, Magness is reaching out to help others. She is a National Spokesperson for Casey Family Programs (her fourth consecutive year), promoting National Foster Care Month. “It is a huge honor and a daunting responsibility. But I am very excited to be a part of it, and I look forward to carrying the message of hope for youth in the foster care system,” says Magness. “Casey Family Programs does groundbreaking work, and I am deeply honored to work with them again.” Magness has also reconnected with her daughter, and is now the proud grandmother of an eight-year-old boy. “Our fate doesn’t have to be our destiny,” she says. “I’m living proof of that. And I’m so very grateful.”



Magness is also incredibly grateful for her Blues Music Award for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year. “Winning Entertainer Of The Year is overwhelming to me,” she says. “Being the only woman besides Koko Taylor to win this award is just staggering. I adored and worshipped Koko for so long that it’s really hard for me to wrap myself around it, but I couldn’t be prouder of that award. It’s very humbling, because I still can’t believe that people find me worthy to stand in her company.”



Janiva Magness’ deeply emotional music, sung with passion, conviction and soul, and her telepathic ability to connect with an audience, assures her place among the blues elite. “We need real music now more than ever because it gives us strength to pull through tough times,” says Magness. “We need it in a real bad way. Blues is a ray of hope. It articulates what’s lacking in people’s lives.” With The Devil Is An Angel Too and her explosive live shows hitting cities across North America and Europe, Janiva Magness continues to spread her empowering message of hope through music.

Eric Bibb - Deeper In The Well

“…Music is more than the expert’s description - Don’t care if it’s French, Hawaiian or Egyptian, If I feel it, that’s good enough for me!” E.B.

Vi sono luoghi incontaminati dove ne eventi naturali catastrofici ne l'irrazionale sentimento umano di onnipotenza possono intaccarne la bellezza e la cultura. Uno di questi luoghi magici è la Louisiana, un luogo dove mille culture si sono ritrovate e anzichè scontrarsi si sono arricchite a vicenda dando luogo a ritmi , suoni e suggetioni davvero unici. Ed è un bene che nella "palude" sia finalmente arrivato anche il nostro Eric. Lo abbiamo visto lo scorso anno in tour in Italia e ne abbiamo potuto provare di persona non solo l'indiscussa conoscenza del blues, la capacita' scenica e la buona tecnica di esecuzione chiatarristica , ma soprattutto la grande umanita' e umilta' che ne fanno un vero blues man. L'arrivo in Louisiana ha fatto sicuramente bene al nostro dando nuova linfa alla sua musica che da un Blues piu' roots e tradizionale del delta passa a un suono piu' contaminato da altri stili propri di quelle parti dove anche i Blues Brothers hanno dovuto vincere per sopravvivere. Buon Ascolto a tutti e non perdetevi questo bellissimo album di uno dei grandi blues man ancora in circolazione.



Anyone with an avid interest in the traditional folk music of North America knows that Louisiana has long been, and still is, a place where the old styles survive and thrive and new sounds are born. Its rich history of African, French, Spanish, Caribbean and Native- American influences has gifted the world with a unique culture that no catastrophe, natural or man-made, can ever destroy.

Arriving, mid-September, at Dirk Powell’s Cypress House Studio in Pont Breaux, Louisiana, with a satchel of new songs, I felt the thrill of great expectations. The last time I’d met up with Dirk was back in January when we both had been invited to be a part of the BBC’s “Celtic Connections”- filmed in the Scottish countryside. That was the first time we’d had the opportunity to play music together and we really hit it off.

The original idea to record in Louisiana was hatched even earlier during a meeting with Matt Greenhill from Folklore Productions. His many talents include getting like-minded musicians together in interesting combinations. Anyway, knowing that I was looking for a versatile multi-instrumentalist to record with alongside harmonica virtuoso Grant Dermody, he suggested Dirk, an amazing musicianer who also has a wonderful studio. Matt also later came up with the idea of calling in the fabulous Cedric Watson, a young lion of the new Creole music evolving in and around Lafayette. Also on hand was the sublimely groovy Danny DeVillier, on drums, and Michael Bishop, sound engineer extraordinaire, who flew in from Ohio with his gear and million-dollar ears.

Thusly assembled, in beautiful, not-too-hot, bayou weather, the six of us, brothers of varying hue, came to record a celebration of our shared Americana heritage – “Deeper In The Well”.

Eric Bibb - October, 2011