Smokin Joe Kubek And Bnois King - Have Blues Will Travel

Of all the blues legends the great state of Texas has produced, none sounds quite like Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King. The two Lone Star guitarists—one a hard-edged, hard rocking blues player and the other a jazzy, elegant rhythm player who delivers raw, spontaneous solos-—have taken their dual guitar attack from the heart of Texas to fans around the globe. Kubek and King’s twin-frontman lineup is unparalleled on the blues scene. Backed by their rock-solid rhythm section, Kubek’s fiery fretwork is perfectly matched by King’s sophisticated rhythm playing and rough-edged, down-home soloing and his soulfully conversational vocals. For more than 20 years and thousands of live shows, the duo’s scorching blues and telepathic interplay has been thrilling fans all around the world. Their new CD (their second for Alligator and the 14th of their careers), Have Blues, Will Travel, is a collection of fresh original songs played with passion, taste and a white-hot intensity. Billboard said the band plays “hard-hitting, original blues. Kubek is one of the fiercest Texas blues guitarists…his fiery leads are complemented by King’s adroit rhythm guitar and classic vocals.”
The band’s Alligator Records debut, 2008’s Blood Brothers, brought the long-time musicians to their largest audience yet and earned the band accolades all across the country. The Chicago Sun-Times declared, “Genuine houserockin’ blues…they boogie till the break of day.” Allmusic described the album as “tough, robust, soul-blues that is as hot as they’ve ever gotten in the studio. Impressive.”


With Have Blues, Will Travel, they take another giant step forward. Kubek and King wrote or co-wrote all twelve songs, and, along with their road-tested rhythm section, they ignite a blues fire with enough heat to fuel an all-night party. The chemistry between Kubek’s blistering fretwork and King’s savvy vocals and unpredictable, multifaceted guitar work creates a roadhouse blend of muscular blues-rock, hip-shaking shuffles and slow-burning blues that is simply impossible to resist. Each song is infused with deep, from-the-heart musicianship, carefully crafted, true-to-life lyrics and delivered with the occasional wry smile. King calls Have Blues, Will Travel the best record the band has ever made. “I’ve been listening to this album over and over again,” he says, “and I don’t get tired of it. In fact, I’ve become a big fan of it, and I start thinking, ‘man, I wish we had made this record.’ And then I remember we did.” Kubek agrees. “We challenged ourselves, went into new territory both musically and lyrically, and came out the other end with something we’re extremely proud of.”

On the surface, it would seem hard to imagine two of the most stylistically disparate guitarists joining forces and creating such a signature sound. Joe Kubek was born in Pennsylvania in 1956 but grew up just outside of Dallas. He was leading his own bands and gigging in clubs all around Dallas when he was only 14. Bowled over by the blues a short time after first hearing Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, Kubek soon discovered the music of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and other early blues masters including Freddie King, Johnny Copeland and Lightnin’ Hopkins. By the time he was 19, he was backing many famous blues players in the area, including legend Freddie King. In 1976, Kubek was about to head out on tour with King when King died suddenly of a heart attack. “I was in awe any time I was around him,” Kubek recalls. “I learned a lot about feeling and execution. He always came onto the stage hot. You have to entertain people from the second you start.”


Kubek next worked with R&B singer Al “TNT” Braggs and made a host of new friends, including Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan (with whom Kubek became close), B.B. King and many other blues icons. He often found himself jamming with these larger-than-life blues stars, while playing constantly around the Dallas area. He not only learned tips and techniques, but also soaked up stories and the lessons of being a professional touring musician. One night, he even had the chance to play B.B.’s guitar, Lucille. “B.B. admired my enthusiasm and he encouraged me, which really meant a lot. When times got hard, I always remembered how B.B. King had given me some encouragement.”


In 1989, Kubek met guitarist/vocalist Bnois King at a Monday night Dallas jam session. The two became fast friends, and melded their seemingly divergent styles—Kubek a rocking and fierce picker and slider, King a subtle, fat-chord rhythm player whose solos are spontaneous and unpredictable—into one of the most potent guitar combinations the Southwest had ever produced. Kubek explains the relationship succinctly: “Bnois fires me up. We are constantly pushing each other higher, complimenting each other’s solos. But it’s not planned. We never know what we’re going to do until it’s done. I pull the blues out of him, and he pulls the jazz out of me. Bnois knows so much about jazz it’s amazing.”


Bnois (pronounced Buh-noice) King was born in Delhi, LA in 1943. He was inspired to play guitar by his high school music teacher. Before long, Bnois was playing blues cover songs with a local band. On his own, he traveled through Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado, finding local bands to gig with and also performing with carnival tent show groups. King made his way to Dallas in 1979, gigging with jazz combos until he hooked up with Kubek ten years later. A master storyteller, King didn’t start writing and singing until he joined forces with Joe, when both duties fell on him. “We needed a singer so I sang,” King recalls, “and every time I did the crowds went wild. We needed songs so I wrote about things that happened to me, to people I knew. That’s what I still do today.” As for his guitar work, King is similarly modest. “Joe inspires me a lot,” King says. “When I solo, it’s a spur of the moment thing. I don’t have a plan. I react to what I hear on the bandstand.”


On the strength of their huge local following, Kubek and King signed to Bullseye Blues and released their debut CD, Stepping Out Texas Style, in 1991. After conquering the Dallas scene, the band began touring clubs, concert halls and festivals nationally and internationally. Following a successful series of eight Bullseye releases, they signed to Blind Pig Records in 2003. As their popularity continued to build on the strength of their recordings and the energy of their live shows, the band’s touring schedule grew to over 150 dates per year all across the United States, Canada and Europe (where they have toured more than a dozen times), solidifying their place in the blues world with one jaw-dropping show after another.


Kubek and King signed with Alligator in 2008 and released Blood Brothers. The fresh approach, the smoking hot playing and the original, lover’s slice-of-life lyrics all added up to a blues delight. The Dallas Observer said, “An electric blast of twelve-bar heaven…they blow the roof off.”
More than anything else, Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King love to perform live. With Have Blues, Will Travel and another massive tour planned, the band will hit the ground running as they gig from coast to coast, bringing their no-holds-barred brand of soul-charged, rockin’ Texas blues to old fans and newcomers night after night. Have Blues, Will Travel is not just the name of the new album. For Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King, it’s a way of life.

Watermelon Slim - Ringers

“A blues hero goes country....the country of the seventies, before the homogenization of the Garth ages, the sound owes as much to Lynyrd Skynyrd as to Merle, Hank, and Waylon.”
-Blues Revue

"Slim's vocals - grittier than a country dirt road, tender when they need to be - are framed by excellent Nashville musicians"
- MOJO Magazine

Watermelon Slim is Back ans He is back with another incredible batch of country blues as only Watermelon Slim can do. Recorded in Nashville with some of the best musicians alive this cd is an amazing experience. Great songs, incredible musicians an the teffific sound coming from Slim's harmonica, dobro and face made this cd something our of the ordinary.

A blues artist singing some of the best country around is something special. This time around, Slim is a bit more bluesy and a bit more rocky. What riches for everybody.

We are sure that we are holding in our hand a terrific package, great music, great songs , great artwork and we are sure that this cd will be listening to for decads to come.

Visit Also : Watermelon Slim - Escape From The Chicken coop

Musicians :

Watermelon Slim - Lead vocals & lead slide guitar.
Studio Electric Band
Gary Nicholson - Acoustic guitar.
Kenny Greenberg - Electric guitar.
Steven Mackey - Electric bass.
Lynn Williams - Drums.
Kevin McKendree – Grand piano & Hammond B-3 organ.
Paul Franklin - Steel guitar.

Studio Acoustic Band
Darrell Scott - Acoustic guitar & mandolin.
Kevin Malone - Drums.
Charlie Chadwick - Upright bass.

On Selected Cuts
Stuart Duncan - Twin fiddles.
Kristin Wilkinson - String arrangement & viola.
Pam Sixfin - Violin.
Lucas Leigh - Organ.

Additional Vocals
Rebecca Homans
Verlon Thompson
Jonell Mosser
Suzi Ragsdale
Vivkie Carrico
Miles Wilkinson

Track List

1. Good Old Boys Never Change 2:45 - William Homans, aka Watermelon Slim
2. Tight Fittin' Jeans 3:10 - Huffman
3. Truck Drivin Buddy 2:47 - Mary Wolfe & Brownie Wilder
4. He Went To Paris 3:54 - Jimmy Buffett
5. If There Is Any Heaven 3:54 - William Homans
6. Please Take This Cup 4:32 - William Homans
7. No Way To Reach Nirvana 5:45 - William Homans
8. End Of The Line 2:37 – William Homans
9. Cowboys Are Common As Sin 5:19 - Max Barnes
10. Soft Lights And Hard Country Music 2:50 – Shafer
11. I Appreciate That 3:58 - William Homans & Gary Nicholson
12. And So Our Song Ends 4:19 – William Homans
13. Living With A Lie 4:07 - William Homans & Gary Nicholson
14. Letter To Stoney 4:18 - William Homans

Moonlight News : Thorbjorn Risager - Magic Slim - Fred Chappelier with Billy Price

THORBJORN RISAGER - TRACK RECORD

The time has come for Thorbjorn Risager’s fifth CD. Ever since the debut, this great Danish vocalist and his equally outstanding band is delivering new albums with about a year’s interval, full of new compositions. How they find time for this – especially the composing – in spite of their intense touring, is a bit of a mystery. But life on the road is definitely a source of inspiration, which some of the songs, and even the cover photos, are reflecting – even though they don’t do so much of their travelling by train…

So far they have played live in 15 countries and their CD’s have been played and reviewed in 20 and they are getting enthusiastic reactions everywhere which proves that their music is truly convincing!


But the 38-year-old Dane had other plans for his life. He studied to be a school teacher, and worked in this profession for some years, before he decided to let the music take over. He studied at the Rhythmic Conservatory in Copenhagen, a quite unique education where many of the teachers are jazz or rock musicians, and where the emphasis is on Rhythmic music of all genres.
In 2003 he started his band, selected musicians he liked both musically and personally, and the fact that up until today only one of them left and was replaced, at an early stage of the band’s career, proves that the choice was excellent. But of course Thorbjørn’s musical interest started long before this. He played the saxophone from the age of 12, then guitar – but the singing was more of a coincidence at first. He was exposed to the blues through a neighbour, a middle-aged gentleman who was friends with his parents, and who started playing blues records to the young Thorbjørn. That’s how his life-long love story with the blues started, with B B King as his biggest hero. Ray Charles is one of his other obvious influences, but today, with almost 40 recorded songs from his own pen, he has definitely defined his own sound and style. His mixture of genres (blues, soul, gospel, rock, R&B and funk) is something that is sometimes mentioned by critics, who are looking for something of more homogenity. But this is Thorbjørn’s deliberate choice.


Track Record was recorded in Medley Studios in Copenhagen, which has an excellent reputation. And so does the producer, Lars Skjærbæk (and you thought that Thorbjørn had a strange name…? By the way, after having received many inquiries about the pronounciation of Thorbjørn’s name, we added a link on www.risager.info to an audio file where he pronounces his own name…)

As usual, nearly all the songs are written by Thorbjorn and/or the band. The only exception is a brilliant version of the classical « Baby Please Don’t Go ». As usual, Thorbjorn displays a wide range of blues styles, but the opening track, « Rock And Roll Ride », brings him into a heavier, more rootsy sound, which can also be found on « Let’s Go Down ». The soul influences are, as always, obvious, especially on the ballad « Stand Beside Me ». And the energetic « scorcher » type of songs are always present, here represented by tracks like « Eyes That Turned Away ».

Influences from many great blues, R&B and soul artists can be detected, but with each new CD, Thorbjorn is taking several steps towards defining a genre that’s completely his own. Well, many listeners would agree that he is already there, together with his fabulous band!

MAGIC SLIM - RAISING THE BAR

Magic Slim is the greatest living proponent of the intense, electrified, Mississippi-to-Chicago blues style that spawned much of the music played by modern blues artists and rockers. It’s no wonder that Magic Slim and the Teardrops, considered by many "the last real Chicago blues band," have become one of the busiest and best-loved blues bands around. As Blues Revue wrote, "Whoever the house band in blues heaven may be, even money says they’re wearing out Magic Slim albums trying to get that Teardrops sound down cold."

Magic Slim was born Morris Holt in Torrence, Mississippi, on August 7, 1937. He took an early interest in music, singing in the church choir, and fashioning a guitar for himself with baling wire from a broom, which he nailed to the wall. "Mama whooped me for that," recalls Slim. His first love was the piano, but having lost the little finger on his right hand in a cotton gin accident he found it difficult to play properly. Undaunted, he simply switched to guitar, working in the cotton fields during the week and playing the blues at house parties on weekends.

When he was 11, Holt moved to Grenada, Mississippi, where he met and became friends with Magic Sam, who gave him a few pointers on guitar. Slim recalls, "We used to sit up under the tree Sunday afternoons and play our little acoustic guitars. Magic Sam told me don’t try to play like him, don’t try to play like nobody. Get a sound of your own." And that he did - a trademark guitar tone, featuring the meanest vibrato in blues, coupled with the raw, earthy power in his vocals.

Years later the two would hook up again in Chicago, where Sam would have a major influence on Slim’s career. When Slim made his first trip to Chicago in 1955, Sam offered his friend encouragement, letting Slim play bass in his band and even giving the then lanky Magic Slim his nickname. But Slim found it rough going on the highly competitive blues scene and returned, discouraged, to Mississippi to perfect his craft. Demonstrating his characteristic determination, Slim spent the next five years practicing guitar and teaching his younger brothers, Nick and Douglas (Lee Baby) to play bass and drums respectively.

Confident in his abilities, Slim returned to Chicago and established himself as a formidable player on the scene. In 1967, Slim put his own band together called the Teardrops, which included his younger brothers. In 1972, he began playing regularly at a tiny South Side club called Florence’s, initially filling in for Hound Dog Taylor on occasion, and eventually taking over the gig when Hound Dog left the club for a safer and more lucrative career on the road. Slim’s aggressive, boisterous style was the perfect compliment to the often rowdy atmosphere at Florence’s.

In the mid-70’s Slim began to hit his stride as a guitarist, performer, bandleader, and recording artist, launching a career that has taken him across the country and overseas to national and international recognition and acclaim. He began touring Europe, where his rough and tumble authenticity was well appreciated. Today he’s one of the most sought-after headliners for festivals in the U.K., Poland, Scandinavia, France, Holland, Belgium, and Greece. By the late 80’s he was also touring Japan and South America. On his first trip to Brazil in 1989, he became an instant hero, appearing on television, in a dozen magazine articles and every major newspaper in the country. The press said he stole the show from the likes of Buddy Guy, Etta James, and Albert Collins. He’s returned several times to Brazil, easily selling out all venues. Slim’s live shows are so electrifying that Eddie Vetter invited Slim to open Pearl Jam’s concert in Chicago after catching the Teardrops’ performance at a local nightclub.

Slim’s recording career began with the 1966 recording of the song "Scufflin’," followed by a number of singles in the mid-70’s. He recorded his first album in 1977, Born Under A Bad Sign, for the French MCM label. During the 80’s, Slim released titles on Alligator, Rooster Blues and Wolf Records and won the first of his five W.C. Handy Awards. Critics often remark on the consistency of Slim’s performances, reflected in his band’s yearly nominations for W.C. Handy Award as "Blues Band of the Year."

Slim’s first album on Blind Pig Records, Gravel Road, was released in 1990. Its title track was one of the first tunes he learned to play on his baling wire guitar in Mississippi. The album was well received by the press, garnering a passel of glowing reviews and landing on several year-end Top 10 lists. Billboard magazine said, "The well-traveled Chicago blues singer/guitarist is near the top of his form on this delightful album, which comes close to capturing the late-night ambience of Slim’s live set."

In 1996, Slim’s career came full-circle with the release of Scufflin’ on Blind Pig, the title track being a remake of the song which began his recording career thirty years earlier. Living Blues said the album "should bring a smile to the face of even the most jaded listener." 1998’s Black Tornado was released to similar accolades in both the blues and mainstream press. An Associated Press review noted that "Magic Slim has never been better than on Black Tornado and that is a lot to say." Downbeat called Slim "a true all star; a guitarist of considerable authority whose lines snap like a crocodile’s mighty jaw and a singer with a persuasive capacity for wrenching every bit of emotion out of his lyrics."

Snakebite, Slim’s fourth album for Blind Pig Records, was released in 2000. Critical reaction was typified by this quote in Jazz & Blues Report: "Slim sings and plays at a level that makes this among the best albums in a career spanning over three decades" Perhaps Living Blues said it best: "A Magic Slim disc is the next best thing to a Saturday night in a backstreet juke along with a half-pint of whiskey, a pig-ear sandwich, and a sexy companion. It’s best if you can gather together as many of these accessories as possible - but the only indispensable one is the music, and this disc delivers it in force."

With the release of his newest CD, Raising The Bar, Magic Slim and his label Blind Pig (often represented by Dixiefrog in Europe) are celebrating their twenty year collaboration. The album proposes an outstanding collection of older and newer songs culled from Slim’s vast repertoire. From R&B gems like "Breaking Up Somebody’s Home" and Little Milton’s "4:59 A.M." to Roosevelt Sykes’ "Sunny Road Blues" and J.B. Lenoir’s "Mama Talk To Your Daughter" to his own perennial crowd favorites, "Shame", "Do You Mean It" and "Treat Me The Way You Do", Slim once again proves that when it comes to complete mastery of the blues in all its aspects and truly genre defining power of performance, he has few if any equals on the scene today. The title’smeaning is double-edged; over the last two decades, Slim and the Teardrops have been constantly raising the bar for other blues bands with their consistently incendiary performances, and whether it’s a college town tavern, out of the way roadhouse or international blues festival, patrons go home feeling like the joint was razed - Slim and the boys give their all every night.

FRED CHAPPELIER - BILLY PRICE - LIVE ON STAGE ( CD +DVD )

Billy Price was the featured vocalist with the Roy Buchanan band for many years, winning over audiences everywhere with his soul-drenched blues tenor. A studio album recently chronicled his encounter with Fred Chapellier, one of the top French guitarists today. Their music has now been captured live on this high-octane energy set. For the same price, you also get to see them in action on the free DVD!

Blue-eyed soul man Billy Price has been a high-profile singer on the Pittsburgh PA scene for the past three decades. Billy was the lead singer with the Roy Buchanan band for three years, appearing on the late Buchanan’s legendary Livestock set (recorded in New York City in 1975) and That’s What I’m Here For album. Price then went on to record several blues/soul sets under his own name, pocketing a handful of awards on the way.

Fred Chapellier is hardly an unknown in blues circles. One of the best guitar players on the French scene today, he was awarded the “Electric Guitar Player” Prize at the French Blues Trophies in 2004, and he has shared the stage with major stars at various festivals in the past. Many considered his recently published Tribute to Roy Buchanan CD the best French blues recording of 2007. In addition to a long list of celebrated guests (Tom Principato, Neal Black, Gib Wharton…), Fred insisted on the presence of Billy Price for this project.

This encounter led Fred and Billy to program concerts together in Europe and the US, especially after Billy toured France with Fred’s band following the release of Tribute to Roy Buchanan.

After the tour Billy and Fred decided to record an album together. After several months of writing for this new project, Fred Chapellier joined Billy Price and his band in June of 2008 at the Mojo Boneyard studio in Pittsburgh. Fred was back in Pennsylvania for the mixing sessions three months later, just before making the rounds of East Coast clubs with Billy. In the meantime, soul legend Otis Clay and Mark Wenner of the Nighthawks had made their own imprint on the record.

The resulting was Night Work. Now, here is “Live on stage” the live version of this fruitful collaboration and true friendship including the Night Work songs plus a lot of other little gems…!

Johnny Moeller - Bloogaloo

Johnny Moeller’s guitar playing is full of voodoo and lighting. The floating bent notes, delicately singing phrases, bursts of staccato picking, and ringing piano-like chords that he sculpts into vibrant solos bring all the beauty, power, and mystery of the blues to life. Yet he’s impossible to pigeonhole. Although Moeller’s the latest in a long line of six-string wizards to hail from Austin, he upholds the Texas music tradition not by imitating the licks of legendary Lone Star State players who’ve influenced him — like Albert Collins, Lightnin’ Hopkins, the Vaughan Brothers — but by being a maverick. “The truth of the matter is I’ve never really tried to emulate anybody else,” explains Moeller, who’s wrapping up a daring new solo album. “There are lots of great guitar players who inspired me, and singers and saxophone players, too. But I don’t like to limit myself to purely one style of music. I have my own thing, which is blues based, and then I like to mix in everything else I love: soul, jazz, funk and rock ‘n’ roll.” That amalgamation comes naturally to the Fort Worth native who grew up on his father’s blues and soul record collection, the classic rock he heard on radio and the albums by everybody from elegant jazz guitarist Grant Green to down ‘n’ dirty boogie architect John Lee Hooker that he bought in high school with his paychecks from the local Piggly Wiggly. But the blues is always Moeller’s compass. It’s been that way since he stumbled on an old Lightnin’ Hopkins album while he flipped through the bins at Record Town. “When I got that album home, the minute I played it I knew that was what I wanted to do,” he recounts. “It was so raw and wild and original that it totally blew my mind.” Since then Moeller’s developed into one of the genre’s most stunning and soulful six-string stylists with an uncanny ability to support heavy hitters. Although his most visible gig is backing Kim Wilson in the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Moeller’s also the Severn Records house guitarist. In that role, he’s lent artful licks to albums by stellar vocalists Darrell Nulisch and Lou Pride, harmonica ace Steve Guyger and others. He’s also been a long-time member of fellow Texan Nulisch’s band and has toured with the Severn Soul Revue backing singers Nulisch, Pride, and Tad Robinson. Moeller says the essential elements of his style — a blend of cool relaxed phrasing and greasy grooves balanced by razor-wire runs and howling tones — have been in place since the days when he landed his first professional gig backing Denton, Texas bluesman Pop Carter with a group that included his brother Jay, who is also in the Thunderbirds, and their lifelong pal Paul Size, another Austin-based guitar legend in the making. “My brother and I were visiting my father in Austin one summer and we went to Antone’s to see Little Charlie and the Nightcats, who we love. My brother told Clifford I played guitar, and before I knew it he was telling the band, ‘Hey, let’s get this kid up there.’ It was surreal, but Clifford was big-hearted. He helped so many musicians in Austin, from giving them gigs to flat-out paying their rent.” Moeller says his upcoming album represents an important step in his evolution. “It’s really an outgrowth of my learning how to be a better frontman,” he explains. “I’m blossoming as a singer, songwriter, and leader. Part of that’s just what I feel I need to do as an artist, and part of that’s inspired by working with the bandleaders I’ve worked with — especially Kim, who really knows how to run a show on stage.” The new Johnny Moeller Band album he’s been recording in bursts for the past four years is more fine-tuned than his previous two releases, 1996’s The Return of the Funky Worm and 2001’s Johnny Blues Aggregation. Those discs were off-the-cuff affairs, built around in-studio jams and produced by the Dallas Blues Society. “This album’s come together at a slower pace because I’ve really been concentrating on the songwriting and arranging, and not just rushing into the studio when I’m off the road,” says Moeller. “I also sing lead on four numbers, which is a whole ’nother world for me, but one I’m becoming more and more comfortable with. The CD’s got boogaloos and dirty blues, and half is originals including some funky instrumentals. The vibe of some of the songs is ‘James Brown meets Frankie Lee Sims’.”Funky Worm and Aggregation alums Jay Moeller and Paul Size appear, plus their fellow Texas bluesman Sean Pittman and the legendary Austin blues siren Lou Ann Barton. Miss Lou Ann’s lush voice pilots a version of Earl King’s “Everybody’s Got to Cry Sometime.” Moeller also leads a swampy boogaloo stomp through King’s classic “Trick Bag.” “On this album and in my live sets these days it feels like I’m really finding myself,” Moeller says. “So even I’m curious about what I’m going to do next.”

MUSICIANS:
Johnny Moeller: Vocals & Guitars
Steve Gomes: Bass & Guidance
Matt Farrell: Piano & Organ
Rob Stupka: Drums & Smiles
Kim Wilson: Vocals/Harmonica (4,9)
Louann Barton: Vocals (5,7)
Shawn Pittman: Vocals (2)
Gary Clark Jr: Background Vocals & horns (8)
James Bullard: Background Vocals (8)
Dave Finnell: Trumpet
Frank Mitchell: Saxophone
Mike Barfield: Maracas & Hollerin
J. Moeller: Bangin & Hollerin


TRACK LISTING
1. Bloogaloo
2. I'm Movin' On Up
3. Trick Bag
4. Got A Feelin'
5. I'm Stuck On You
6. Theme From The One Armed Swordsman
7. Everybody's Got To Cry Sometime
8. Raise Your Hands
9. Well Goodbye Baby
10. Shufflin' Around
11. Tease Me Baby

Janiva Magness - The Devil Is An Angel Too

Just in case you are someone who actually reads the liner notes…I am writing this for you. Turns out this is a collection of stories that deals in the duality of the human condition. Darkness and Light. Turns out we all have some of each—light and dark on the inside. I know I do.

I have been told that “Anyone who doesn’t believe in miracles is not a realist.” Well, you are looking at and listening to one of those very things—a Miracle. In part because of my love of this music and how it has lifted me up, and in part because someone was brave enough to stand for me when I was much younger, and a Foster Child at risk.

This CD is dedicated to all Foster Youth and Alumni. Kids who know far too much about the dark side of human beings and, in spite of that, are learning to do the right things and make that journey...from darkness into the light. Becoming Miracles.

To find out what you can do to change the lifetime of a child at risk, go to fostercaremonth.org and fostercarealumni.org. Support a Miracle.Thanks for tuning in and hopefully turning on…

Love, Janiva

“A superb, powerhouse R&B singer who delivers blues and soul with show-stopping authority” –Los Angeles Daily News



“Janiva Magness slow-burns and romps heart-first...she never injects contrived emotion, never puts a tear in her voice where one doesn’t belong. She simply sings heartbreak, hunger and humor—sings ‘em with equally great chops and feeling—and lets that speak for itself.” –No Depression

"Stunningly sung...Magness is a blues star" –USA Today

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 married musician and songwriter Jeff Turmes, with whom 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.

Fabrizio Poggi & Chicken Mambo - Spirit & Free

Spirit and Freedom are not only two distinct words. If you put them together they are a place of soul. Indeed, there is no spirituality without freedom and there is no freedom without spirituality. Many are the songs that have these two words in their essence; I chose to sing those which, for reasons not easily explained in a few lines, have mostly affected my sensibilities. Songs that have marked the evolution of my musical journey from early experiences to these days, songs by the increasingly significant, songs in their simplicity essential to address fundamental issues such as free spirits could only sing. Images, feelings, memories, hopes and dreams. I also wanted to remind people who are no longer with us but whose message of spirituality and freedom continues, and will always continue to cherish our souls, to witness a more genuine, more sincere, a better way of living life. Spirit & Freedom is something that we really need, more than we know. A REAL freedom. Freedom in our mind, hearts, souls and relationship. Free like the Angels that help us in the darkest hours of our lives. My wife Angelina, my band Mambo Chicken and the special guests and friends who wanted to share in this experience are with us on the way to Spirit & Freedom. Welcome aboard. We're leaving.

Accompanying Fabrizio and his band on the amazing Spirit & Freedom are a large number of great, even legendary, musicians: The Blind Boys Of Alabama, Flaco Jimenez, Garth Hudson (The Band), Charlie Musselwhite, Augie Meyers (Texas Tornados, Sir Douglas Quintet, John Hammond, Bob Dylan), Eric Bibb, Guy Davis, Billy Joe Shaver, Tish Hinojosa, Maud Hudson, Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson band), Kevin Welch, Debbi Walton, Nora Guthrie (Woody’s daughter), Mike Blakely, Donnie Price, Stefano Intelisano, Marco “Python” Fecchio, Erica Opizzi, Betti Verri, Ron Knuth, Brian Standefer, Melissa Weatherly, Mike Cross, Jimmy Davis, Bill Small, John M. Greenburg, Bryan Maldonado, BB Morse, Cindy Jon, Sally Brantley, Julie Sckittone, Tammy McPeters, Shawna "Bock" Riley, Kelley Mickwee, Annie Acton, Shan Kowert, Lavita Kerley Williams and Areasa Quinton.

Discography

”Mississippi Moon”
“Under The Southern Sky”
“Heroes & Friends”
“Nuther World” (recorded in USA)
“Song for Angelina: ten years on the road” (partially recorded in USA)
“Armonisiana” (partially recorded in USA)
“Still alive”
“The breath of soul”
“Mercy” (partially recorded in USA) BEST ITALIAN ALBUM OF THE YEAR (Buscadero magazine, Italy)

Essential Bio

Many years ago a young man from Voghera, Italy, decided it was time to bring to life a dream that he had carried safely in his heart for most of his life. With that decision, his band FABRIZIO POGGI & CHICKEN MAMBO was born.
FABRIZIO POGGI singer, Hohner Award harmonica player, traveller, musicologist, writer, journalist and amazing performer began to give birth, with music and words, to his musical inspiration: the blues and the amazing folk music of the Southern United States. From the delta blues of Mississippi to gospel and spirituals, to american folk ballads, his musical future was easily decided. Today that dream is not only still alive and well but is being loved by audiences in Italy, Europe and America. His wife Angelina is not only his companion, best friend, his mom, his sister, his daughter and his personal manager but she is also his “dream catcher”. She helped Fabrizio through the tuff times of his life.
FABRIZIO POGGI during his long career has played at the most prestigious clubs and festivals in Italy, Europe and USA (Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana) performing on stage or on his own recordings with legendary artists as: Garth Hudson of THE BAND and Bob Dylan (who appears on “Mercy” cd), Eric Bibb, Zachary Richard, Eamon McLoughlin (of The Greencards) (who appears on “Heroes & Friends” cd), Guy Davis, Jerry Jeff Walker (who appears on “Nuther World” cd), Otis Taylor, Ponty Bone of Joe Ely Band (who appears on “Mercy” and “Nuther World” cds), Bob Brozman, Mitch Woods, Eric Andersen, Richard Thompson, Merel Bregante of Loggins & Messina (who appears on “Nuther World” cd), Tom Russell, Jimmy LaFave (who appears on “Nuther World” cd), John Inmon of Omar & The Howlers (who appears on “Nuther World” cd), The Original Blues Brothers Band, Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd, Lou Marini, Alan Rubin, Rob Paparozzi of Blood, Sweat & Tears (who appears on “Mercy” cd), Seth Walker (who appears on “Mercy” cd), Bill “Howl ‘n’ Madd” Perry, Johnny Drummer, James Wheeler, Sonny “Sunshine” Payne of King Biscuit Time (who appears on “The breath of soul” cd), Tony McPhee of The Groundogs, Bill Abel, Lightnin’ Malcom, Robert Belfour and many others.
FABRIZIO POGGI has recorded twelve albums and has written two great books about blues and folk harmonica history. His latest works, a cd titled “Mercy” and a book titled “Il soffio dell’anima: armoniche e armonicisti blues” (The breath of soul: harmonica and blues harmonica players) have enjoyed tremendous critical acclaim all around the world.

Anders Osborne - American Patchwork

I’m in the promised land,” says proud American immigrant and Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/guitarist Anders Osborne. The Swedish-born, longtime New Orleans resident is among the most original and visionary musicians performing today. In a city overflowing with stellar artists, bands and performers, Osborne is one of the Big Easy’s favorite musical heroes. His Alligator Records debut, American Patchwork, is a moving collection of soul-baring rock, blues and ballads. Many of the songs on American Patchwork deal with healing and redemption, spirituality and acceptance. It is about rebuilding what has been destroyed, not only a ravaged city, but also a hollow man. Often compared to Townes Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteen and Van Morrison, Osborne is an exceptional and singular talent. Paste Magazine says, “Osborne has an impossibly great, soulful voice and the songs to match.” Living Blues adds, “Osborne is a songwriter of enormous depth and an incredibly passionate musician.”

Osborne and friend Stanton Moore (Galactic) produced American Patchwork, with co-production by Pepper Keenan (of Down and Corrosion Of Conformity). Osborne wrote all ten songs, all imbued with serious lyrical depth, unforgettable melodies and performed with soul muscle. The guitar work is simply spectacular. His vocals soar with natural, emotional power. With musical assistance from Moore on drums, Keenan on percussion and guitar, and Robert Walter on keyboards, American Patchwork is nothing short of a career-defining release for Osborne, and a bright new chapter in his remarkable journey. As far as Osborne is concerned, American Patchwork is a triumphant achievement. “Every note has a purpose, a serious focus. As I was writing it and recording it, everything fell right into place.”


Live, Osborne is a force to behold. His wildly energetic, physical live performances find him ripping notes out of his guitar, forcing out riveting steel-on-steel slide solos, pouring his entire soul into his vocals. His ability to ignite an audience is legendary. 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 even an appearance at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. He has toured North America and Europe extensively, and has performed with The Meters, Randy Newman, Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal and Little Feat among many others.

As a songwriter and singer, Osborne stands tall. Since his recording debut in 1989, he 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.

But it is not just his live performances and songwriting that make Osborne such a success. He is also revered for his jaw-dropping guitar playing. His piercing 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. Always an in-demand guitarist, Osborne has appeared on a host of recordings by Keb Mo, Tab Benoit, Mike Zito and others. Most recently, Anders lent his guitar talents to Dark Water, Galactic’s first single from their new Ya-Ka-May CD.

Osborne 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 popular American styles of 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 he landed in New Orleans, a place his grandfather, a sailor, had often told him vivid stories about. When he arrived, he instantly felt right at home. “My grandfather had a lot to do with me settling here,” recalls Osborne. “He would send me postcards and photographs of him in New Orleans. I just felt connected to his memories. Once I got here, everything I heard in my head—the music, the way people treated each other—was happening. I knew I was home.” He effortlessly incorporated the sounds of the Crescent City into his own music, and the city quickly became a large part of his soul.

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. Since then, Osborne has released a series of successful albums for Shanachie and MC Records, all to wide critical and popular acclaim.

With the release of American Patchwork, Osborne will hit the road hard. In April 2010, he will play three times at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (and make many more area appearances during the festival period). He will then start a six-week tour of the U.S. on a double bill with The Stanton Moore Trio, followed by further touring with his own band.

Blues Revue describes Osborne’s music as “an articulate and spellbinding tapestry of sorrow and joy.” New Orleans’ Times-Picayune says Osborne’s music is “genuine, focused and uplifting...guitar fireworks and a well-traveled voice.” The Newark Star-Ledger simply says, “This guy is in his own universe. Comparisons are meaningless.” Now, with a new label, a new recording, and a new appreciation of life itself, Anders Osborne is ready to fulfill his huge potential. As a youth he traveled the globe before settling in New Orleans. Now, he’ll travel from New Orleans, bringing his powerful original songs and soulful, blues-inspired, rock-fueled music to destinations all over the world.

anders osborne vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, piano, percussion
robert walter hammond b3, piano, moog, clavinet, keyboard bass
pepper keenan guitars, background vocals, percussion
stanton moore drums



DISCOGRAPHY

2010 American Patchwork (Alligator Records)
2007 Coming Down (MC Records)
2006 Tipitina’s Live 2006 (Shanachie)
2002 Bury the Hatchet with Big Chief Monk Boudreaux (Shanachie)
2001 Ash Wednesday Blues (Shanachie)
1999 Living Room (Shanachie)
1998 Live at Tipitina’s (Shanachie)
1995 Which Way to Here (Okeh)
1993 Break The Chain (Rabadash)
1989 Doin’ Fine (Rabadash)