CHICAGO BLUES Helfer’s introspective, nuanced approach to the blues is intriguingly informed by...

BLUESFESTIVAL

CHICAGOThe Reader’s Guide to the 22nd Annual

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Erwin HelferErwin Helfer’s introspective, nuancedapproach to the blues is intriguinglyinformed by jazz, ragtime, and even classi-cal music—but the veteran Chicago pianistis just as familiar with Pine Top Smith as heis with Thelonious Monk, and he can poundout a joyous, insistent boogie or low-down12-bar grind with the best of them. Helferis also an educator, and has taught count-less aspiring blues musicians how to navi-gate the 88s. He plays solo here. BD

1 PM

Roosevelt PurifoyPianist Roosevelt Purifoy, aka “the MadHatter,” is one of the most accomplishedand versatile session musicians in Chicagoblues, with a resumé that includes workwith artists as varied as Otis Rush, Lurrieand Carey Bell, Jimmy Johnson, MavisStaples, and Koko Taylor. This solo set is arare opportunity to see him take centerstage. DW

2:30 PM

Fernando JonesAn author, playwright, and educator, Jonesis also a competent guitarist and harpist inthe postwar Chicago tradition, and this inti-mate setting should show off his gift for con-necting emotionally with an audience. DW

4 PM

RolandTchakounteCameroonian guitarist Roland Tchakounte,making his first visit to the States, has clear-ly been inspired by Ali Farka Toure’s fusionof Malian traditional music and Americanblues. Tchakounte’s usual range coverseverything from indigenous Cameroonian

styles to contemporary blues rock, buttoday he’ll be accompanied only by Frenchslide guitarist Mick Ravassat, not his band—expect to hear primarily traditional forms,both African and African-American. DW

5 PMChicago Blues PoetryShowcase featuring

Marvin Tate, Tara Betts, and

AvantRetro, with a poem by

Kim Berez; hosted by C.J. Laity

RNow that hip-hop is widely seenas a legitimate form of poetry—descended, like the blues, from

oral traditions like spirituals and worksongs—more and more spoken-word

artists are exploring updated takes onwhat might be called the “blues aesthet-ic.” Marvin Tate’s meditations on libera-tion and apocalypse have a righteous,spiritual soulfulness reminiscent of theLast Poets, and Tara Betts, well-known onthe local and national poetry-slam circuits,adds to this hard-edged fervor a postfemi-nist celebration of sexual freedom.AvantRetro—the duo of reedist AlDeGenova and percussionist CharlieRossiter—augment their Beat-inspiredpoetry with live music and flamboyantstagecraft designed to encourage audi-ence participation; art therapist andteacher Kim Berez, who organizedChicago’s first high school hip-hop poetryclub at Roberto Clemente, often adds visu-als to her readings. This afternoon’s host,C.J. Laity, was poetry coordinator for theBucktown Arts Festival until 2002, whenhe asked poets to boycott the fest afteraccusing its organizers of trying to stifleblack and Latino readers; he’s now thedriving force behind the Chicago PoetryFestival, held every August. DW

FRONT PORCH

1 PM

Blues in the SchoolsAs it has for years, the Front Porch stage kicks things off with performancesfrom schoolchildren in the city’s Blues inthe Schools program. A group from Stone Academy will be led by pianistErwin Helfer, vocalist Katherine Davis,and multi-instrumentalist Eric Noden,joined by Roland Tchakounte (see above); harpist and Blues in the Schoolscofounder Billy Branch will perform with students from Grant Academy; andkids from Reavis and Agassiz elementaryschools will be joined by Davis and guitarist Les Getrex. Guitarist RoyHytower, aka Doktu Rhute, will performwith children he’s been working with in a similar program run by the BluesHeaven Foundation. DW

3 PM

Nick Moss & the Flip TopsGuitarist and bassist Nick Moss was mentored by Chicago veterans like Jimmy Dawkins, Jimmy Rogers, andPinetop Perkins, from whom he learnedthe dying art of soloing with intelligenceand taste. Even at his most intense, Moss plays entire ideas, not just notes; his string of releases on the Blue Bellalabel showcase both this sophisticatedmusicianship and his evolving gifts as asongwriter (the latest disc, Sadie Mae, is due this week). DW

L ately the Chicago Blues Festival has been takingheat for booking so few big-name artists, andthe Mayor’s Office of Special Events seems to

have noticed: this year celebrities like Buddy Guy,John Mayall, Mavis Staples, and Koko Taylor areplaying the Petrillo Music Shell. Also at Petrillo are several less famous but equally important figures—former Howlin’ Wolf sideman HubertSumlin, neotraditionalists Billy Branch and ErwinHelfer, and still-vital Chicago veteran Jody Williams.

As usual, though, many of the festival’s most com-pelling bookings are on the smaller stages—andaren’t high-profile mainstream figures by anystretch. Guitarists Eddie Kirkland and Eddie Burns,both former John Lee Hooker sidemen, will repre-sent the postwar Detroit blues scene. NonagenarianRobert Lockwood Jr. is finally being showcased inthe role he prefers: not as a quaint “folk” blues pickerbut out in front of a brawny band with solid jazz andjump-blues credentials. And when Lurrie and CareyBell, recently reunited after years of professional andpersonal estrangement, take the stage together, thelove they display for each other—and for the blues—is almost as moving as their exquisite craftsmanship.

This year’s lineup is well stocked with artists whomanage to be remarkably versatile and creativewhile staying faithful to the blues as it was playedduring its postwar heyday, when it was nurtured incities along the path of the Great Migration—Memphis, Detroit, and Chicago among them. Thisfidelity is certainly preferable to a lazy bastardiza-tion of blues tradition, but by honoring it to such anextent the festival has created a problem for itself:its bookings don’t offer a representative sample ofthe music that many African-Americans in thoseparts of the country listen to today—the amalgam of12-bar blues, 60s deep soul, contemporary R & B,and neosoul that’s usually called “soul blues.”

Only Latimore, Jesi’ Terrell and Stan Mosley,and arguably Mavis Staples seem to have beenchosen to please those fans. Centennial tributesand scholarly debates on “authenticity” in theblues are all well and good, but most folks go tojuke joints and show lounges for a party, not a his-tory lesson. The blues has remained relevant inthe communities that birthed it by constantlyevolving, so that it remains a lively part of thepresent rather than an artifact from the past.

As in past years, the Petrillo Music Shell show-cases national acts and top-tier locals. The JukeJoint, on Columbus north of Jackson, emphasizesrelatively intimate presentations. The Crossroads,at Jackson and Lake Shore Drive, concentrates onelectric blues, while the Front Porch, south ofJackson and west of Columbus, focuses on acousticand traditional styles. The Best Buy Showcase, onColumbus south of Jackson, as usual features a sur-plus of ham-handed bar bands (a notable exceptionis pianist Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne, who plays onSunday). The Route 66 Roadhouse, which hostspanels and workshops, is on the north side ofJackson, just east of the Petrillo entrance. Allevents are free. DW

Rhighly recommended

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BLUESFESTIVAL

CHICAGOThe Reader’s Guide to the 22nd Annual

By Bill Dahl and David Whiteis

24 CHICAGO READER | BLUES FESTIVAL GUIDE | JUNE 10, 2005 | SECTION THREE

CHICAGO READER | BLUES FESTIVAL GUIDE | JUNE 10, 2005 | SECTION THREE 25

4:30 PMFrom Linda’s Lounge:

L-Roy & theBullet Proof Bandwith Lady D, LadyKat, and HollyMaxwellLinda’s Lounge, located on 51st Street, is one of the few remaining south-sideclubs that books blues acts weekly; thefeatured singer is often the Fantastic L-Roy, who delivers funky re-creations of R & B standards in a muscular voice thatcan go from a Brook Benton-like croon to a sanctified shout. Vocalists Lady Kat and Lady D pattern themselves after soul-blues queens like DeniseLaSalle, and what they lack in subtletythey make up for in hot-blooded intensi-ty. Holly Maxwell’s classically trainedsoprano is less supple and nuanced nowthan it was back in the 60s, when shemade a handful of notable singles here in

Chicago, but a recent live CD recorded atParis’s Maxwell Cafe (no relation) provesshe’s still flexible enough to cover theground between “Dr. Feelgood” and a lipstick-on-a-wineglass reading of “Since IFell for You.” DW

CROSSROADS

1:30 PM

TommyMcCracken & the Force ofHabit BandSinger Tommy McCracken, a favorite on thenorth-side circuit for his flamboyant stagepresence and supple voice, mostly sticks towell-worn standards—but as second-tiertroupers have done since time immemorial,he pours so much energy into every tunethat his audience usually leaves satisfied, orat least bludgeoned into submission. DW

2:45 PM

Grana’ Louise Vocalist Grana’ Louise has churchy chops, asoul-influenced style, and an admirablerepertoire—including standards both recentand vintage as well as originals like hersassy crowd pleaser “Big Annie’s Fanny.”Her phrasing leans toward the pedestrian,but her charismatic stage presence andfiery delivery make it hard to complain. DW

4:30 PM

Toronzo Cannon& the CannonballExpressAmong the current crop of young Hendrix-influenced guitarists, Toronzo Cannon isone of the more articulate: no matter howwild he gets, he’s always saying somethingin his solos, not just slinging notes aroundfor the sake of it. His vocals are equallyexpressive, whether he’s testifying on asoul-tinged number or braying a blues

anthem—further evidence of his profes-sionalism and focus. DW

BEST BUY SHOWCASE

2 PM

Planetary BluesBased in Valparaiso, Indiana, this group playsenergetic but undistinguished shuffle bluesand southern blues rock, occasionally wan-dering around in jam-band territory. DW

3:30 PM

After Midnight Blues This San Antonio band delivers the usualblues-bar fare—heavy on the postwar stan-dards, with a dash of post-70s guitar rock—but they do it with remarkable taste andemotional depth, perhaps because gui-tarist Lamar Spencer and guitarist-harpist

Richard Nitschke have each been playingfor about 30 years. DW

4:45 PM

Madman Blues Band This local bar band, with its boilerplaterepertoire of Chicago standards and south-ern-fried blues rock, probably won’t wearout its welcome before you decide it’s timefor another beer run. DW

6:15 PM

Steepwater BandOn the strength of its live shows and tworecent CDs, Brother to the Snake (2001) andDharmakaya (2004), this local group hasbecome one of the most popular bar bandsin the city. The Allman Brothers’ 70s albumsare the most obvious point of reference here,but the group adds new twists—melodic, har-monic, and especially rhythmic—to its time-

BLUES FEST


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tested mix of roadhouse-ready thunder boo-gie and soaring, trippy improvisation. DW

ROUTE 66 ROADHOUSE

NOONA British Perspectivefeaturing

Mike Rowe, BillGreensmith, and

Bob Hall, hosted by

Jim O’NealBritish authors have written several ground-breaking books on American blues, andMike Rowe’s Chicago Breakdown, an exhaus-tive 1973 survey of the postwar Windy Cityrecording scene, is an outstanding example.Also on this panel are photographer BillGreensmith, who now lives in Saint Louis,and former Savoy Brown pianist Bob Hall.Host Jim O’Neal, the only non-Brit partici-pant, cofounded Living Blues magazine. BD

2 PM

Blues in the Schoolsroundtable Educators who’ve participated in Blues in theSchools over the years discuss their work, theevolving philosophy of the program, and thelegacy they hope it will leave. Scheduled par-ticipants include Kay Jones (Grant Academy),Barbara Turkin (Stone Academy), and MaryHurt Wright (Spencer Academy), whosegrandfather was Mississippi John Hurt, amajor figure among the veteran southernbluesmen “rediscovered” in the 60s. DW

PETRILLO MUSIC SHELL

6 PM

David “Honeyboy”Edwards 90thBirthdayCelebration David “Honeyboy” Edwards has a hallowedplace among blues musicians—he’s one ofvery few still alive who’ve traded licks with

the legendary Robert Johnson (RobertLockwood Jr., who plays the fest on Friday, isanother). In past years he’s usually beenbooked on the Front Porch, but to celebratehis 90th birthday, coming up on June 28,he’s taking to the main stage. Edwards’s dex-terous guitar work and burnished baritonevividly evoke a bygone era of MississippiDelta blues, and he’s usually at his bestsolo—his whimsical timing sometimes baf-fles even the most well-meaning accompa-nists. For this set, though, the band ought tobe able to follow his every move: he’ll bejoined by his longtime harpist MichaelFrank, rock-solid bassist Aron Burton, andformer Howlin’ Wolf drummer Sam Lay. BD

7 PM

Kim Simmonds’sSavoy Brown 40thYear Celebration with Bob HallWhy throw a party for this long-lived butmiddling British blues-rock outfit when somany artists with more intriguing histo-ries have yet to receive their first festinvitation from the city? But here theyare: lead guitarist Kim Simmonds—Savoy

Brown’s guiding light since 1966, whenthe band cut its first 45 for producerMike Vernon—brings his latest lineupalong for a reunion with pianist Bob Hall,an integral part-time member during thegroup’s early years. BD

8:20 PM

John Mayall &the Bluesbreakers with Mick TaylorMore British blues rock—this time from the godfather of the movement,whose energetic keyboard antics, elasticharmonica riffing, and hearty vocals belie his 71 years. He’s mentored many arock icon in his day—Eric Clapton, JackBruce, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwoodall passed through the Bluesbreakersbefore going on to fame, and tonight’sguest guitarist, Mick Taylor, played inMayall’s band before replacing BrianJones in the Rolling Stones. BD

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Piano WillieMilwaukee-based Piano Willie, born WilliamOshawny, plays an amiable mix of vintageChicago blues and boogie. He’s especiallyimpressive on moody ballads in the style ofOtis Spann, one of his idols, but his up-tempo work can also catch fire thanks tohis aggressive, chiming upper-registertechnique. DW

1 PM

Eddie Taylor Jr.Eddie Taylor Jr. is a versatile bluesman, buthis heart’s in the Chicago sound his latefather helped codify in the 50s and early60s. On postwar tunes both well-knownand obscure, he updates his dad’s classicsolos, even playing one of the old man’svintage guitars—and his increasingly confi-dent vocals sound more and more like hisfather’s every year. DW

2 PM

Detroit JuniorChicago pianist Emery “Detroit Junior”Williams has a playful streak a mile wide: his best-known and most-coveredtune, “Call My Job,” praises the simplejoys of sleeping in after a long weekend of devilry, and the title of his rueful rock-er “If I Hadn’t Been High” pretty muchsays it all. Junior’s skills at the ivories are no joke, though—a natural showman,he’s been at it since moving here fromMichigan in the mid-50s. BD

3:30 PM

Hubert Sumlinand Steady Rollin’Bob Margolin Both these guitarists have played in the bands of Muddy Waters, albeit during different decades: Hubert Sumlinquit Howlin’ Wolf’s combo to join Muddyfor a brief stint in the mid-50s, thenreturned to his mentor and emerged asone of the most dazzling lead guitaristsof his era. Bob Margolin signed on withWaters in 1974, sharing fretboard dutywith Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson untilthe band defected en masse in 1980.Margolin’s sympathetic accompanimentshould temper Sumlin’s occasional unpredictability in this set. BD

BLUES FEST

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4:30 PM

Roy MeriwetherRoy Meriwether, a nephew of centennialhonoree Big Maceo, was raised in a strong-ly religious family in Dayton, Ohio—whichhelps explain the sanctified funk in his key-board work. His style updates what used tobe called “soul jazz”—a hybrid of blues andswinging R & B that’s infused with gospelfervor and postbop-influenced harmonicdaring. DW

FRONT PORCH

1 PMSunnyland Slim MemorialPiano Set featuring

BarrelhouseChuck and HenryGrayA tribute to piano patriarch Albert“Sunnyland Slim” Luandrew is a fest tradi-tion. This year’s elder statesman is HenryGray, a Louisiana native who spent the 50sand most of the 60s in Chicago, where hewas an essential member of Howlin’ Wolf’sband and provided crashing accompani-ment on classic sides by Bo Diddley andBilly Boy Arnold. Local pianist “Barrelhouse

Chuck” Goering is an equally muscular play-er, influenced by Little Brother Montgomeryand by Sunnyland Slim himself. BD

2:30 PM

Eddie TaylorremembranceGuitarist Eddie Taylor, who died onChristmas Day in 1985, was a pioneer of thepostwar Chicago style, but because he spentmost of his career as a sideman—notablywith Jimmy Reed—he’s undeservedlyobscure. Two of Taylor’s old compatriots,Little Arthur Duncan and vocalist JohnnieMae Dunson, anchor this tribute set; theband is the New Legends of Blues All Stars,fronted by Billy Flynn and Taylor’s son EddieJr., both on guitar. Taylor’s son Tim will sit inon drums, and stepson Larry and daughtersEdna, Demetria, and Brenda will each stepup for a few songs. DW

5 PM

Kim Simmondsand Bob Hall Guitarist Kim Simmonds has been the oneconstant in British blues-rock band SavoyBrown over the past four decades, andpianist Bob Hall—a fairly ubiquitous pres-ence at this fest—played in the group dur-

ing its formative years, when its repertoirestuck closest to electric blues. This duo setshould be more intimate than Thursday’sfull-band get-together at Petrillo. BD

CROSSROADS

1:30 PM

Robert LockwoodJr. Band

RNonagenarian Robert Lockwood Jr.was mentored in the 30s by Deltalegend Robert Johnson, who was

his mother’s boyfriend at the time. In theearly 40s he recorded a few seminal sidesfor the Bluebird label in Chicago, and afterreturning to Arkansas he starred on the leg-endary King Biscuit Time radio program,which aired on KFFA in Helena; after head-ing back north in 1950 he participated insome of the most important Chicago ses-sions at Chess Records. His performances ofacoustic Delta classics and 50s-era Chicago-style tunes are still heartfelt and remark-ably dexterous, but despite his monumentalstatus in those genres he’s long insistedthat his real loyalty is to jazz and jumpblues. The eight-piece band he’ll lead here,which he’s been playing with for a fewyears, consists of versatile jazz veteransfrom Cleveland, and they serve up jauntyswing, slow-rolling blues balladry, andrough-hewn, jubilant pop funk. Lockwooddigs in with gusto, spinning off spidery leadsa la T-Bone Walker one minute and layingdown chords in a supple, deep-swinginggroove the next. His voice is coarse butalways ebullient, and his stage presence—imperious and unsmiling, as befits a musi-cian who bends to no will but his own—isone of the most commanding in blues. DW

3:30 PM

Eddie Kirklandwith Eddie Burns

RNext to John Lee Hooker, thesetwo guitarists—who’ve bothworked and recorded as sidemen

to the Boogie Man—are probably the mostsignificant Detroit bluesmen of their gener-ation, with considerable legacies of theirown. At 76, Kirkland is still a pile driver,with enough energy to push a sweaty boogie riff over the line into absolutemania. Though less histrionic, Burns is justas riveting, deeply influenced by traditionand fond of propulsive shuffles. BD

BEST BUY SHOWCASE

2 PM

Pat Smillie Band The lung-pumping ballads, funky up-tempo burners, and boogie shuffles on1999’s I Got an Angel (Irochet) and 2003’sLetter to Hampton (Fat Bank) showcasethis Detroit transplant’s grainy, constrictedsoul vocals and refreshingly mature song-writing: his meditations on longing (“CanWe Make This Happen”) and loss(“Bittersweet”) avoid self-pity in favor ofsincere vulnerability. DW

3:15 PM

Scott BradburyHarpist Scott “Bad Boy Scotty” Bradburyhas picked his role models well: he has asqualling tone and high-energy stagepresence reminiscent of James Cotton,tempered with lithe warbles that recallBig Walter Horton and an impish sense ofhumor—off-time trills, dramatic swoops,

percussive tongue stops—in the spirit ofJunior Wells. DW

4:30 PM

Latvian Blues BandThis Latvian group, making its first statesideappearance, has ably accompanied Chicagoartists like Grana’ Louise, Deitra Farr, andSharon Lewis on overseas dates. DW

5:45 PM

Liz MandvilleGreeson Although she bills herself as a blues artist,Liz Mandville Greeson’s raucous theatricali-ty, three-octave vocal range, and taste forsultry pop ballads and over-the-top broken-heart numbers suggest there’s a torchsinger inside her struggling to get out. Herhot-blues-mama act ought to raise the tem-perature in Grant Park considerably. DW

BLUES FEST

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7 PM

PerpetratorsThough this Winnipeg power trio takes juke-joint primitivists like Hound Dog Taylor andR.L. Burnside as role models, it rarely dis-plays their command of dynamics. But theband’s headed in the right direction: on therecent self-released The Gas and the Clutch,drummer and singer Scotty Hills delivers asmoldering reading of Taj Mahal’s “Lovin’ inMy Baby’s Eyes” that proves these guysaren’t entirely deaf to nuance. DW

ROUTE 66 ROADHOUSE

NOON

Howlin’ Wolf ’sFamily BirthdayPartyWolf’s daughters Bettye Kelly and BarbraMarks join family and friends to celebratethe life and legacy of the Chicago bluesgiant, who would’ve turned 95 today. DW

2:30 PMCentennial celebrations:

Henry Gray, BobHall, RoyMeriwether, PeteCrawford, and JimO’Neal Pianists Gray, Hall, and Meriwether, gui-tarist Crawford, and Living Blues magazinecofounder Jim O’Neal discuss the fest’sthree centennial honorees: pianists BigMaceo, Meade Lux Lewis, and JimmyWalker, all born in 1905. DW


6 PM

Jody Williamswith the

Willie HendersonHorns

RIn the late 40s and early 50s, gui-tarist Jody Williams developed anunmistakable instrumental voice by

combining the elegance of smooth west-

coast stylists like Johnny Moore and T-BoneWalker, the advanced harmonic constructionof B.B. King’s leads—which King had adaptedfrom jazzmen like Django Reinhardt—and hisown piercing tone and aggressive attack,both solidly in the mold of the burgeoningChicago sound. Williams appeared on semi-nal recordings by the likes of Bo Diddley(“Who Do You Love”) and Howlin’ Wolf(“Evil,” “Forty-Four”), and appropriated ver-sions of his solos and themes turned up insongs by Otis Rush and Mickey & Sylvia,among others. Disenchanted with the musicbusiness, he retired in the mid-60s, not toreturn till 2000; since then he’s recordedthe acclaimed discs Return of a Legend andYou Left Me in the Dark (both on Evidence).Here he’s backed by his skintight workingband and a horn section led by Chicago bari-tone saxophonist Willie Henderson, anarranger and producer whose charts havebeen gracing Windy City blues, R & B, soul,and pop recordings for generations. DW

7:20 PM

Hubert Sumlin,Steady Rollin’Bob Margolin,Pinetop Perkins,Willie “Big Eyes”Smith, and

Mookie Brill Though guitarist Hubert Sumlin is reveredfor his snaky, darting leads on Howlin’Wolf’s Chess recordings, for this set he’s

surrounded by Muddy Waters alumni—anod to Sumlin’s latest album, About ThemShoes (Artemis/Tone-Cool), where thecapricious axeman plays a dozen Watersclassics behind guest vocalists of varyingcompetency. Perkins’s boogie-fired pianoanchored Muddy’s band throughout the70s, and guitarist Margolin and drummerSmith put in time during the same era(Perkins and Smith later helped found theLegendary Blues Band). Tom “Mookie” Brillis the odd man out; he’s Margolin’s regularbassist but never played with Waters. BD

8:40 PM

Koko Taylor &Her BluesMachine

RA series of ailments laid her low afew years back, but Koko Taylorhas happily resumed active duty

as Chicago’s queen of the blues. Born inMemphis, Taylor came to Chicago in 1953,and though she sat in wherever she could,it took her a decade to get noticed by pro-ducer-songwriter extraordinaire WillieDixon, who handed her “Wang DangDoodle”—a ribald party song that Howlin’Wolf had recorded in 1960. Taylor’s 1966version, issued by Checker, was one of thelast Chicago blues platters to become anational R & B hit, and it’s her signaturesong to this day—there’s still nobody whocan pitch a wang dang doodle the way shedoes. Since 1975 she’s been recording forChicago’s Alligator Records, and heralbums for the label have earned her a tro-phy case of W.C. Handy awards. She’s justas impressive onstage: left to its owndevices, her young band would play every-thing balls-out, leaving Koko little choicebut to belt as hard as she could, but hergruff, intimidating growl is usually enoughto keep the boys in line. BD

sat11JUKE JOINT

NOON

Don WashingtonA multi-instrumentalist and vocalist fromKent, New York, Washington was raised in areligious family where all the children wereexpected to learn musical instruments andplay them in church. These days he embell-ishes the sanctified sounds of his upbring-ing with touches of high-energy rock andfunk; he’s released a self-titled disc wherehe plays all the parts himself, but here he’llstick to piano. DW

1:30 PM

Waymon MeeksBorn in Fort Worth in 1965, Meeks holds adegree in geography and environmental

science from the University of North Texas,but he’s dedicated his life to exploring thevanishing terrain of traditional southernblues—he’s not only adept in a variety ofacoustic guitar styles but also performs acappella when tackling older genres likespirituals and work songs. DW

3 PM

Jon McDonaldThis local guitarist has worked with MagicSlim, Dave Myers, Honeyboy Edwards, andCasey Jones, among other, absorbing adazzling pastiche of traditional and neotra-ditional blues styles along the way. But“pastiche” is still the operative word: whenhe plays solo, with his less-than-command-ing vocals front and center, McDonaldtends to meander through his influenceswith more fealty than fire. DW

4:30 PM

Bob SeeleyAt a Detroit party in the mid-40s, ateenage Bob Seeley astounded boogie-woogie piano legend Meade Lux Lewis byplaying a note-perfect rendition of“Chicago Flyer,” one of Lewis’s most chal-lenging pieces. Fortunately Seeley went onto become a master improviser, not a slav-ish imitator: he adds fresh twists to classicsfrom the boogie-woogie canon and neverplays his own tunes the same way twice.He’s an institution in his hometown, butrarely appears in Chicago. DW

FRONT PORCH

1 PM

Aron Burton’ssalute to Jimmy Walkerfeaturing

Homesick James,Steve Freund,Tino Cortez, JakeCrosby, GlennDavis, and AaronMoore This tribute to Jimmy Walker marks what would’ve been the Chicago pianist’s 100th year on the planet. BassistAron Burton, best known for his stint inAlbert Collins’s Icebreakers, heads a crewthat includes ageless slide-guitar masterHomesick James, once a Windy City fix-ture; the ebullient Aaron Moore, whoserippling piano attack owes a debt toRoosevelt Sykes; and former ChicagoanSteve Freund, an alumnus of SunnylandSlim’s band whose crisp fretwork meshedseamlessly with Walker’s keys on theirgigs together. BD

3 PM

Carey Bell with

Lurrie Bell’sBlues Band

RTaught by Little Walter himself,harpist Carey Bell was a memberof Willie Dixon’s globe-trotting

group in the 70s, and since then he’s led hisown bands and recorded prolifically. His sonLurrie was hailed as a teenage guitar prodi-gy, and by the early 80s, when he was stillin his mid-20s, he’d put in time with boththe Sons of Blues and Koko Taylor. But hisapparently inevitable ascent to internation-al blues stardom was interrupted by mentalillness, and he wouldn’t begin a full-fledgedcomeback till the late 90s, when he recap-tured and refined the daunting blend ofrootsy traditionalism and post-70spyrotechnics that had distinguished him inhis early years. In 2004 Alligator releasedSecond Nature, a collection of acoustictracks Carey and Lurrie recorded in Finlandin 1991, and since then they’ve started per-forming together again—with an almostunearthly intensity of musical empathy thatmakes it sound like they never stopped. DW

5 PMChicago Blues HarmonicaProject 2005:

Dusty Brown,Larry Cox, RussGreen, LittleAddison, and

Omar Colemanfeaturing the ChicagoBluesmasters The Severn label has just released ChicagoBlues Harmonica Project 2005, a disc withalmost exactly the same lineup as this set—only Harmonica Khan, who’s died since it wasrecorded, is absent today. The Bluesmasters,anchored by drummer Twist Turner, includelongtime Chicago session men MarkBrumbach, Rick Kreher, and Pat McKeever on keyboards, guitar, and bass; everyone else,appropriately enough, is a harp player.Septuagenarians Dusty Brown and LittleAddison are known to collectors and historians for their 50s and 60s work withHenry Gray, Elmore James, and Freddie King,among others; though their voices havegrown a bit corrugated, their harmonicachops are intact. Larry Cox, born in Tennesseein 1937, spent much of his life as a profession-al pool player and only began focusing onmusic in the 70s, working the south-side cir-cuit and recording with Phil Guy. Green andColeman, both in their 30s, have evolvedstyles that are rooted in tradition but spikedwith tonal and rhythmic aggression, illustrat-ing the influence of R & B, rock, and even rapand hip-hop on modern blues. DW

CROSSROADS

1:30 PM

Linsey Alexanderwith JoanneGraham Vocalist Joanne Graham made uncreditedappearances on several recordings by theSteelers, an underrated Chicago vocalgroup of the 60s and 70s with roots instreet-corner doo-wop. She’s well-knownon the south and west sides for her multi-octave range, flexible timbre, and look-but-don’t-touch onstage sassiness; she’saccompanied here by local journeymanguitarist Linsey Alexander. DW

3:30 PM

Latimore

RBenny Latimore is sometimes billedas “the Miami Sex Machine,” butthat epithet only gets you halfway

BLUES FEST

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there: with his impeccable coiffure, sculptedphysique, and repertoire of caring-guy bal-lads, the veteran crooner and keyboardisthas built a career showing off the sensitiveside of sexy. Born in Charleston, Tennessee,in 1939, he went solo in the mid-60s afteryears supporting regional blues and R & Bacts; after cutting a few sides for the Miami-based Dade label, he broke out in 1973 with aswinging “Stormy Monday” on Glades and ayear later scored the hit that would definehis persona, “Let’s Straighten It Out.”Subsequent favorites have underlined theimportance of a man’s responsibility in arelationship (“Keep the Home Fire Burnin’,”“Dig a Little Deeper”) or advocated for a gen-tler kind of seduction (“Sunshine Lady,”“Tonight’s the Night”), and his softheartedimage has remained intact despite occasion-al raunchy numbers like 2000’s “I’m an OldDog.” Latimore hasn’t charted for some time,but his supple, insinuating voice and charis-matic stage presence—smoldering sensualityand good-humored grace combined with apeacock’s strut—are both undiminished.Given the shortage of soul-blues artists atthis year’s fest, why isn’t he at Petrillo? DW

BEST BUY SHOWCASE

1 PM

Diamond Jim GreeneAcoustic guitarist Diamond Jim Greene wasinspired to take up the blues in the 70s byBlind Arvella Gray, a Maxwell Street singerwho died in 1980. He’s since learned vin-tage styles ranging from Piedmont pickingto the percussive flailing and keening slidework associated with the Mississippi Delta;his playing is deft and heartfelt if not par-ticularly original. DW

2:30 PM

Michael PowersSinger and guitarist Michael Powers, bornin New Jersey in 1952, was still in highschool when he toured with the Ad Libs, agroup remembered mostly for the 1965 R & B hit “The Boy From New York City.” Helater fronted a poppy New York roots-bluesband called Moonbeam, and he’s beenplaying under his own name since the early80s. He professes a love for the postwarblues tradition, but his rococo fire-on-the-fretboard style is more Hendrix than old-school Chicago. DW

3:45 PM

Howard & theWhite Boys More boogie blooze from the long-sloggingChicago bar band and inexplicable festperennial, whose music crossed the lineinto self-parody long ago. DW

5:15 PM

NoahWotherspoonBandYoung guitarist Noah Wotherspoon hasgrown from a gifted wannabe in the fren-zied style of Hendrix or Page into a skilledand even artful student of styles rangingfrom modal “trance boogie” to roadhousecrunch and pop-jazz fusion. He and hisband recently released a solid disc, Reel toReal, but they’re at their best onstage. DW

7 PM

Vera LeeVeteran nightclub singer Vera Lee Holley,mother of songwriter and producer Jerry“Swamp Dogg” Williams, demonstrates asassy swing on her current collection ofshow tunes and torch songs, 83 and StillPlaying With the Boys (SDEG). DW

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11 AMSoul Cooking with

Marie Dixon,Koko Taylor, and

Katherine DavisMarie Dixon (widow of Willie) and two bluesdivas share their favorite soul-food recipesas part of the city’s summerlong “StirringThings Up” series, billed as “a delicious,exotic, eclectic mixture of the culinary, visu-al, performing and literary arts.” Cookingdemonstrations continue till 9 PM. DW

2:30 PM

CulturalTourism: TheAuthenticity ofthe Blues This writer will join David Grazian, author ofthe 2003 book Blue Chicago: The Search forAuthenticity in Urban Blues Clubs, and repre-

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Katherine Davis

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sentatives from the Mayor’s Office of SpecialEvents and the Mississippi Office of Tourismto discuss a growing trend: the marketing oflocal and regional blues history, music, andculture as a tourist attraction. DW


5 PM

Erwin Helfer &the ChicagoBoogie Ensemble For this set the pianist is joined by jazz-tinged saxist John Brumbach, a swingingrhythm section, and the effervescentKatherine Davis, an underappreciatedsinger with lusty pipes and a natural flairfor getting the crowd involved. Helfer willlikely supplement the requisite boogie-woogie action with a smattering of rags,blues, and even a stray pop standard. BD

6:25 PM

Billy Branch &the Sons of Blues with Pete Crawford,Lurrie Bell, andSteve Freund

RThe Sons of Blues evolved from agroup assembled in 1977 by JimO’Neal, then coeditor of Living

Blues magazine, at the behest of Swiss jazzpianist and composer George Gruntz, whowanted a roster of young Chicagoans toappear under the rubric “New Generation ofChicago Blues” at the Berlin Jazz Festivalthat year. Billy Branch was the featuredharpist, and when he returned to Chicago hecontinued playing with guitarist Lurrie Bell,bassist Freddie Dixon (Willie’s son), andsome of the group’s other members underthe name the Sons of Blues. They soondeveloped into one of the era’s premierblues bands, rootsy in philosophy but heed-less of genre distinctions in practice. This setreunites Branch with guitarist PeteCrawford, a member of the combo he playedhis first professional gigs with back in theearly 70s, and reconnects Bell with his firstfull-time working group. Rounding out thelineup is guitarist Steve Freund, anotherearly comrade and a longtime coleader ofSunnyland Slim’s band the Big Four. DW

8 PM

Buddy GuyAt least in the studio, Buddy Guy is still a virtuosic craftsman capable of emotionallyhonest performances: his 2001 album SweetTea was impressively executed, if a little overwrought, and his 2003 acoustic set BluesSinger (both on Jive) was downright spell-binding. But onstage he’s long been a parodyof himself, delivering hammy, self-indulgentrenditions of warhorses like “Mustang Sally”that make him seem almost contemptuous ofhis audience—a far cry from the flamboyant,crowd-pleasing showmanship he learnedfrom Guitar Slim back in Louisiana, regardlessof what he might claim. Guy may be a living

legend, but it’s hard to keep respecting himwhen he sullies his legacy pandering to thelowest common denominator. DW

sun12JUKE JOINT

NOON

Frank “LittleSonny” Scott Jr. and

Dancin’ Perkins Under the name Mr. Pitiful, bassist RobertPerkins led the original Teardrops before guitarist Magic Slim took over in the 60s;harpist Frank Scott Jr. has a tone like a hawk’sscreech and accompanies himself jangling ahomemade contraption he calls the “bluespercussive house keys.” Both are best knownfor their Sunday-morning performances atthe now-defunct Maxwell Street market. DW

1:30 PM

Eddie C.Campbell

RNot only is Campbell an imagina-tive lyricist (take “Santa’s Messin’With the Kid,” for example), the

Mississippi native is also a leading practi-

tioner of the stinging guitar style that west-side legend Magic Sam pioneered inthe late 50s. His repertoire includes severalof Sam’s classics, and his understatedvocals complement his concise guitarleads, which sizzle and pop with urgencybut never sound cluttered. BD

3 PM

Lucky PetersonSee below. Peterson will play a solo sethere.

4 PM

Carlos JohnsonChicago native Carlos Johnson got his starton the circuit with Billy Branch’s Sons ofBlues in the 70s, before Carl Weathersby’sreign as the band’s guitarist, and he’s beena local standout ever since. His melismaticvocals blend blues, soul, and gospel, and hebelongs to that minority of blues guitaristswho forgo picks and play solely with themeat of their fingers; he’s fashioned a fleet,cutting style that’s clearly influenced byB.B. King’s yet identifiable as his own. BD

FRONT PORCH

1 PM

Victory TravelersThis Chicago gospel group hasn’t recordedvery often over the years, but its output is

well respected: highlights include 60s sideson Glory and HOB, a 1983 album onRapture called He’s a God, and a 2002 discon Cumberland Valley, also called He’s aGod, that reprises the title tune of the ear-lier release. With the combination ofDeacon Reuben Burton’s choked screamand the group’s chocolate-rich harmonies,the Travelers can scare you off the road toperdition and welcome you into God’s gloryin the course of a single song. DW

2:30 PM

Geraldine &Donald Gay

RIn the 50s and 60s the Gay Sisters—Mildred, Evelyn, and Geraldine—toured the country playing gospel

radio programs, national TV shows, auditori-ums and churches small and large, even theAstrodome and Carnegie Hall. Often theyused their spirited singing and piano playingto set the tone for the sermons of theiryounger brother Donald, then known as the“Boy Preacher.” Geraldine, dubbed “the ErrollGarner of gospel” by writer Anthony Heilbut,helped transform gospel piano in much thesame way Sister Rosetta Tharpe updatedgospel guitar, infusing elements borrowedfrom jazz and R & B. The Gays’ recordingcareer essentially ended in the late 60s, butGeraldine never retired from music, and lastyear the Chicago label the Sirens released Inthe Right Hands, which featured Geraldinealongside gospel pianists Nash Shaffer Jr. andJessy Dixon, with Donald and the Gays’nephew Gregory Gay Jr. appearing as guestvocalists. Geraldine and Donald—who hadn’trecorded together since 1967—have been per-forming more frequently of late, encouraged

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by the disc’s success, and the undiminishedflexibility and passion in their performancesmake this historical comeback at least asinspiring as Jody Williams’s return to theblues a few years ago. DW

4 PM

Calvin CookeCalvin Cooke is an elder statesman of thegospel genre popularly known as “sacredsteel.” Proficient on both lap and pedalsteel guitar, he prefers material based on

traditional hymns and praise song, but he’sremained current, embellishing his playingwith modern effects like wah-wah andreverb and often choosing backing thatowes as much to funk, R & B, and pop as itdoes to old-school gospel. DW

6 PM

George StancellThis veteran Milwaukee vocalist and gui-tarist made his debut album, 1999’sGorgeous George (JSP), after more than 45years in the business. He’s a soul man,loyal to the pre-synth 60s sound, with acharismatic pleading delivery on balladsand enough ballsiness and conviction tosell his up-tempo testimonials. DW

CROSSROADS

1:30 PM

Sharrie Williams& the WiseguysSharrie Williams, who calls her music“rockin’ gospel blues,” often uses hernightclub act to tell the story of how herfaith helped her win a battle with drugsand alcohol. She’s never self-righteous, buteven her rawest material is infused withspiritual uplift, melding the sacred and thesensual in a way that recalls vintage MavisStaples. The recent Hard Drivin’ Woman(Crosscut) suffers from instrumental andvocal overkill, but Williams is capable ofnuance in the right setting. DW

3:30 PM

FernestArceneaux & theThundersZydeco accordionist Fernest Arceneauxwas born in 1940 in Carencro, Louisiana,and by his teens he was playing at houseparties and dances. In the 60s he fronted R & B bands as a guitarist, but in the late70s he picked up the squeezebox again;he’s been playing zydeco ever since, infusedwith elements of blues and R & B. DW

BEST BUY SHOWCASE

1 PM

Steve Arvey &Kraig KenningThese festival regulars play workmanlikeacoustic blues, distinguished principally bythe handful of original songs in each set,most penned by Kenning—he has an art-folk sensibility reminiscent of BruceCockburn’s. DW

2:30 PM

Big G & the Real DealFormer Pearl Handle Band front man GeorgeMillspaugh, aka Big G, plays the usual bar-band mix of blues-rock shuffles and south-ern-fried boogies with his current group. DW

3:45 PM

Kenny “BluesBoss” WayneA native of Spokane, Washington, Kenny“Blues Boss” Wayne is keeping the flame ofboogie piano burning. He attacks the ivorieswith crashing abandon, pounding out thun-dering bass lines with his left hand, and hehas a predilection for the repertoires ofpostwar jump-blues greats Amos Milburnand Memphis Slim—his new disc, Let ItLoose (Electro-Fi), pays tribute to both, andhis nickname comes from Milburn’s ’63album Return of the Blues Boss. BD

5 PM

Matt BeseyThis Saginaw-based singer and guitaristmixes modern rock-influenced blues andsparser postwar styles, with a bit of taste-ful Delta fingerpicking thrown in. DW

6:15 PM

Molly Nova& the HawkElectric violinist Molly Nova and drummerTurk E Krause (aka Wildturkeyhawk) playmusic with significantly more rhythmic andtextural variety than most bluesy jambands can manage, but the lyrics rarelyrise above the pedestrian. DW

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NOONSongwriters:

George Jackson,Bruce Bromberg,and Bob Jones, hosted

by Larry HoffmanThree composers discuss the bushels ofblues standards they’ve written. In additionto striking gold in the pop world with BobSeger’s “Old Time Rock & Roll” and theOsmonds’ “One Bad Apple,” Muscle Shoalssongwriter George Jackson is responsiblefor Z.Z. Hill’s bandstand perennial “DownHome Blues” and loads of southern soulgems. Bruce Bromberg helped mastermindRobert Cray’s rise to fame in the 80s, andChicagoan Bob Jones has been crankingout well-loved contemporary blues tunessince 1977, when he wrote Artie “BluesBoy” White’s “Leaning Tree.” BD

2:30 PMAn hour with

Al BellFormer gospel DJ Al Bell arrived atStax/Volt Records in 1965 as its new promoman, and three years later he was co-owner of the Memphis label. At the time itsroster included Sam & Dave, Albert King,and Rufus Thomas, and Bell produced hits

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for both Isaac Hayes and the StapleSingers. He was at Stax’s helm through itsgolden years in the late 60s and early 70sand was still in charge when the labeltanked in the mid-70s after a slew of badbusiness decisions—he should have somejuicy stories to tell. BD


5 PM

Howard Scott & His SouthsideReview featuring

Jesi’ Terrell and

Stan Mosley

RThe rubric for this program hasbeen provided by the city—the“Southside Review” is in fact

Howard Scott & the World Band joined bytwo extra vocalists. Scott’s ensemble isone of the tightest and most versatile inChicago blues, proficient in everythingfrom gutbucket 12-bar raunch to breezyneosoul; his punchy vocals are grittierthan a gravel road but surprisinglymelodic, and on guitar his brother Waltercan handle greasy funk and slow-burningblues with equal aplomb. Guest singerJesi’ Terrell has undergone a remarkabletransformation since her 2000 debut,Come Get This Love (Annie G): her tenta-tive, kittenish mewl has grown into a full-bodied soul-blues wail, and her confi-dence and sensuality onstage reflect thechange. Stan Mosley hit the soul-bluescircuit hard in 2000 with the Malaco sin-gle “Anybody Seen My Boo?,” but he’sstruggled to find a follow-up. I’ve heardtracks from an in-progress CD that heplans to release himself, and his grainy,Womack-influenced vocals are as rich andnuanced as ever, a match for his warmand inviting stage presence. DW

6:40 PM

Lucky PetersonBandSecond-generation bluesman LuckyPeterson, son of guitarist James, recordedhis first hit single at the tender age of six,chirping the tune “1-2-3-4” at a session pro-duced by Willie Dixon. Since then the mer-curial Peterson, who’s fluent on both guitarand keyboards, has ranged all over themap, from blues and gospel to soul andfunk—but though his extreme versatilitysometimes makes it hard to tell where hisreal strengths lie, it never obscures hisstratospheric energy level. BD

8:20 PM

Mavis Staples

RLast year Mavis Staples releasedHave a Little Faith (Alligator),her first album since a Mahalia

Jackson tribute with Lucky Peterson in1996 and her first solo effort since 1993’sThe Voice. She’s still in full command ofthe vocal instrument she developed onthe gospel highway in the 50s and 60swith the Staple Singers, with its fierceenunciations, dramatic segues betweensinging and speech, and thrilling ascentsfrom somber meditation into chokedecstasy—and if anything the coarseningof her voice over the years has lent iteven more depth and power. Onstage shesometimes inserts old secular favoriteslike the steamy 1975 number “Let’s Do ItAgain” between newer tunes and ver-sions of Staples standards like “RespectYourself” and “I’ll Take You There,” buther focus is overwhelmingly on the powerof the sacred. On songs like “God Is NotSleeping” (from Have a Little Faith) and“Blood Is Thicker Than Time” (from TheVoice) she gives herself over so fully tothe spirit that she seems completelyhelpless and completely transformed—ariveting, inspiring, and sometimes terrify-ing demonstration of faith. DW


CHICAGO BLUES Helfer’s introspective, nuanced approach to the blues is intriguingly informed by...

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Transcript of CHICAGO BLUES Helfer’s introspective, nuanced approach to the blues is intriguingly informed by...