Rising Star: Kitchener guitarist Alex Tintinalli (left) is the recipient of the CBC Galaxie Rising Star/Prix Étoiles Galaxie de Radio-Canada that was presented at the Mt. Tremblant Blues Festival. Congratulations Alex! The prize includes $1000 cash and another $1000 towards the recording of his next album. Tremblant organizers were delighted, "The jury was made up of festival co-founder Trent Wilde, journalist and great blues connoisseur Claude Côté, and harmonica virtuoso Guy Bélanger. After a long period of deliberation, they announced the name of the winning team, the Alex Tintinalli Band, from Kitchener, Ontario, whose teenage lead Alex Tintinalli shows remarkable talent. His band, which includes his father Leo Tintinalli, experienced drummer Chris Flannigan, and Brian Voll, an extremely promising young keyboarder, won the attention of the audience who applauded the original and talented group loud and long."

Ratings King: Congratulations to Danny Marks for elevating Bluz.fm to the top of the blues radio charts in Canada. In radio-speak, the spring ratings book is in and gave them a 6.4% share of the market, which accounts for around 19,000 listeners on a given Saturday making Bluz.fm the "most listened to" blues radio show in Canada. The show will soon be celebrating its Seventh anniversary, but it has not slowed down Danny’s performing career. Fans can catch him at the Silver Dollar Room on Friday, August 8.

National Steel Tour Announced: Road warriors Doc MacLean and Michael Pickett are heading out on the road for nearly 60 back to back dates confirmed from coast to coast. This has proven to be one of the most ambitious and probably the largest Canadian blues-roots tour of the year. Featuring performances on vintage National steel guitars, it is expected that this all acoustic tour will roll over some 20,000 km of Canada’s blue highways. Independently, MacLean and Pickett are two of the country’s most travelled musicians, and are achieving increasing acclaim on the international scene. While both are based in southern Ontario, it has taken over two years to coordinate their schedules for this special joint tour. The combination was first suggested by a mutual friend, Oklahoma bluesman Watermelon Slim. Performances will be conducted in the round, with the artists taking turns sharing songs and stories, sometimes solo, sometimes duo. Maclean predicts that he and Pickett will achieve some “very, very, deep blues” over the course of the tour. The tour begins September 4th with a Toronto date to be announced soon.

New Blues Venue: Local bassist/blues lover/Reiki Master/graphic artist/holistic therapist Michael Ratt is starting up a series of Blues Nights here in Toronto at a new space in the west end of Toronto called DC Music. The first night is September 13. The DC Music Theatre is just that, a theatre/concert venue and as such, there is no walk-in traffic. This new project was inspired by a meeting with Mrs. Marie Dixon, the widow of the Hoochie Coochie Man himself, Mr. Willie Dixon. She is the head of an organization called the Blues Heaven Foundation. If you’re interested in knowing more or possibly playing there contact concerts@dcmusic.ca or rattbiter@hotmail.com.

Foul play suspected in death of Memphis DJ: Memphis homicide detectives are investigating the death of 74-year- old Dee “Cap’n Pete” Henderson, a longtime DJ on WEVL radio, in Southwest Memphis. WEVL program director Brian Craig confirmed that the victim was Henderson, who hosted the “Cap’n Pete’s Blues Cruise” program on Friday nights. Police got a call from a man who said he had found his grandfather lying in his backyard. Homicide investigators believe foul play was involved, but the official cause of death had not been determined. ”He’s one of our longest running programmers, doing shows since 1982. He’s from Clarksdale. He knew the blues first-hand,” Craig said. “Just the nicest guy. Just the finest guy in the world. It was his genuineness and realness that made him so beloved on the air.” (courtesy Memphis Commercial Appeal)

- Brian Blain

Tate's Vintage Gallery

Here's another in our ongoing series of revealing portraits of relatively obscure artists who dared to be different by Blues aficionado/reporter Gary Tate who also broadcasts an old-time Country show, Howdy Neighbor Howdy, every Saturday 12 noon - 1 pm & Wednesday 6-7 pm at www. whistleradio.com . Gary welcomes your feedback at gmtgt@yahoo.com

Hubert Sumlin: His distinctive instrumental voice was a natural adjunct to Howlin' Wolf's earth shattering groans, while adding brilliant layers in its own right, enticing the listener’s attention as forcefully as the Wolf’s assertions. Blues guitarists have swooned over the inventive bent notes Hubert Sumlin chose in response to Wolf’s volcanic eruptions.

Born 1931 in Greenwood MS, the call of the Wolf (already a well-established artist) beckoned in 1945 when Little Hubie sneaked a peak through a juke joint window and witnessed Chester Burnett holding court. That led to an unforgettable 30-year old artistic and “father/son” relationship until the Wolf’s 1976 death.

Wolf explained: “I come in possession of Hubert in West Memphis. See, by my playing around the country he fell in love with me and he wanted to stay with me so I just kept him.” The Wolf relocated to Chicago in 1950, followed by his various guitarists (Jody Williams, Willie Johnson), with Hubert migrating in 1953.

Chess sides featuring Sumlin that crossed the boundary line separating “impressive” from “legendary”, include “Hidden Charms”, “300 Pounds of Joy”, “Killing Floor”, “Wang Dang Doodle”, and “Louise”. After Wolf's passing, Hubert’s impeccable tone rested awhile in Eddie Shaw's Wolfpack. In 1987, guitarist Ronnie Earl arranged an all-star tribute, the result was the splendid “Hubert Sumlin's Blues Party”.

During a 60-year career, Sumlin has played with a wide array of artists, including Eric Clapton, James Cotton, Carl Perkins, Levon Helm, and Jimmie Vaughan. Hubert Sumlin's contribution to Blues guitar is enormous and everlasting.

- Gary Tate

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Tate's Vintage Gallery

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