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Two intimate concerts jam-packed with enthusiastic fans: frontrow seats for two powerful, very different blues legends. more... |
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A top-drawer tour of the musical worlds touched by the blues, hand-picked
from the riches of the Mapleshade archive.
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These guys take me back to my roots in the DC music scene. They
play real-deal soul jazz, the stuff that was bubbling out of the
clubs on Rhode Island Ave. where I taught myself to record in the
’70s. more... |
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Eight years in the making, this follow-up was worth the wait. Ben
Andrew’s voice has gained that seared-by-life bluesiness;
Mark Wenner’s harmonica cuts even deeper; and Jeff
Sarli’s bass adds layers of subtlety to his knock-you-down
drive. more... |
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Willoughby’s piano has the most soulful, blues-drenched swing
I’ve ever heard. And his singing matches—a gravelly, boozey
voice right smack between Tom Waits and Dr. John.
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How could I resist a chance to showcase the godfather of the down-and-dirty
R&B sax of the ’50s and ’60s? Joe raised the bar-walking
sax style to a high art—and toured with Marvin Gaye and led
the great R&B hit-making Bill Black Combo (Elvis’ backup
band). more... |
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These guys take a gritty approach to that magic moment when the
blues turned into rock ’n‘ roll. Whop Frazier sings Motown-steeped,
bluesy vocals on classics from Wilson Pickett, Buddy Guy, Jimmy
Reed. more... |
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This is butt-shakin’, tassel-twirlin’ Texas strip joint
blues. Sweetman’s raw, in-your-face tenor sax leads a down-and-dirty
Austin R&B band (including veterans of the Fabulous Thunderbirds).
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Do you love ’60s R&B, Ray Charles, Percy Mayfield? Do you
love Muddy and T-Bone, the “straight and nach’l”
blues? If so, Big Joe and his Big Blue sextet are your meat. Big
Joe’s a natural-born blues shouter, as irresistibly laid back
as Albert King.
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Hailing from Bishopville, South Carolina, Drink Small has the biggest,
deepest bass voice in the blues. His amazingly expressive sound
falls right in between B.B. King and Bo Diddley. But Drink’s
got a little something extra..
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This is real-deal Piedmont blues, the kind you'd hear in a tin shack
juke joint up in the Carolina hills. Actually, we recorded this
live set at the LBJ Lounge, a basement club behind the Capitol in
DC. more... |
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Authentic Piedmont and Delta blues from Robert Johnson, Mississippi
John Hurt, Blind Willie McTell, Leadbelly, plus a handful of tasty
originals.
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As Archie put it "I play what they call the old Piedmont style,
but I call it East Virginia blues ’cause that’s where
I learned it." I’m entranced by his amiable, sitting-on-the-porch
vocals and his relaxed steel and slide guitars.
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