John’s Blues Picks is the monthly album review column originally launched by the late Toronto-based blues historian and broadcaster, John Valenteyn. Submission can be sent to the TBS office for consideration and will be circulated to a pool of journalists and others for review in the monthly Maple Blues newsletter and placed at the Spotify playlist.
“Little Magic” Sam Taylor is a party. His enthusiasm is unabashed. If he loves something he is going to share it, and then you’re going to love it too. That’s just how it goes. This record, true to its name, catches Sam and his band playing a gig at the Rivoli in Toronto. From the opening count of the blistering “When I’m Down,” to the soulful set closer “Kiss Me One More Time,” the blues is in the house.
Marriner’s latest recording project is Hear My Heart, with his current band Local Electric.
Charlie Musselwhite’s vocals haven’t sounded this robust and commanding in years. On Look Out Highway, the new album is mostly originals that adhere to tradition but have enough contemporary edge to keep it north of retro.
It never hurts to kick-start a soul/blues album with a certified classic. That’s how Tony Holiday’s Keep Your Head Up begins.
No matter how many times one listens to Crystal Shawanda, one will always taken with the many colours that make up her work. Although she’s considered one of the top blues vocalists on the scene today, her palette is broad and multi-hued.
The prestigious Alligator label out of Chicago is renowned for its blues roster. With the exception of Mavis Staples’ ’04 release on the label and the injection of strong elements of soul into the blues of some of their artists (Shemekia Copeland, the Holmes Brothers, Curtis Salgado), authentic Chicago blues remains its mainstay. Southern Avenue – named for the famous Memphis street that leads straight to the Stax Studios – is a marked foray into soul country. While elements of the blues are present (Southern soul is, by definition, a component of Memphis blues), this is a soul release underlining the notion of ‘family’: Tierinii, Tikyra (“T.K.”) and Ava Jackson are sisters, while the band’s fourth member, guitarist Ori Naftaly, married to Tierinii, is clearly part of the family.
David Toop is an Englishman who plays and writes about music. This is his thirteenth book. At close to 350 pages, it is a lot of writing for a 33-minute album. But it’s about right for a deep cultural examination of New Orleans and American music. The full title of the book is Two-Headed Doctor, with the subtitle Listening for Ghosts in Dr. John’s Gris-gris.
The seemingly secluded city of Edmonton never gets its due as a mecca for music. Oh, sure…k.d. made her massive mark as has Corb Lund and others. But the city’s rich diversity and those long, cold winters have also birthed a highly creative hotbed of musicians with time and space to woodshed until they get it right. Secondhand Dreamcar gets it more than right.
Vaneese Thomas is quite a singer! Her soul is deep, authentic and rooted.
Born in Memphis, TN, she is the daughter of the legendary Rufus Thomas, whose career spanned half a century and who was a major figure at Stax Records. She is also the younger sister of Carla Thomas, the Queen of Memphis Soul and of the highly respected keyboardist Marvell Thomas (R.I.P.).
Mississippi MacDonald is Oliver MacDonald —Olly to his friends. He’s an English singer and guitarist from London. His nickname, Mississippi, was given to him by his buddies when he was a student
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