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.
Montreal’s Jim Zeller is a harmonica ace, a forty-year man with eight albums under his belt and a long list of session credits, principally with Nanette Workman, Boule Noire and the rock band Mahogany Rush. Known for his wild stage show, his albums reflect his taste for the unusual and unpredictable.
Kevin Breit’s mastery of anything with strings is legendary. A first-call session player when he chooses to be, he also continues to release albums that reflect his eccentric and unclassifiable musical tastes.
This is Sunday Wilde’s eighth album and the first one since the passing of her partner Reno Jack. It also continues her practice of re-working some blues standards all featuring her ‘one-of-a kind’ vocals & barrelhouse piano.
Out of the Blue is a very apt title for this album. Jack de Keyzer was just starting out in Hamilton and Pat Finochio was a fellow student of the blues. They lost touch and only recently reconnected when Finochio asked if he would produce an album on him.
It’s been too long between albums for Chicago-based, Mississippi-born Fruteland Jackson but he has been busy.
Paul DesLauriers is one of our most inventive guitarists. Firmly anchored by his rhythm section, DesLauriers’ multi-tracked guitars (often featuring his slide) form the backbone of a stunning new batch of songs for one of the hottest live bands around.
Calgary’s piano ace and powerhouse vocalist Debra Power released Even Redheads Get the Blues in 2016. It was her first album after many years of performing locally. It was intended to bring her wider exposure and it did just that, leading to the semi-finals at the IBCs and to her nomination to the New Artist category at the Maple Blues Awards.
Nelson, BC’s Holly Hyatt has been performing as half of a duo with her husband and guitarist Jon Burden. They released four albums, the last one, Shufflin’ the Blues, charting strongly.
Sherbrooke native Mike Goudreau used his last album to provide us with a selection of the blues songs he wrote for various TV & movie soundtracks.
Ottawa’s Lucas Haneman Express took their last album, Tearing Up the Rails, to the final five of the Maple Blues Awards in 2017 as Best New Artist. They also made the semi-finals at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis the previous year. They have not stood still.
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