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.
The lead guitarist for the Women’s Blues Revue Band and formerly filling that role for the now-defunct 24th Street Wailers, Emily Burgess has been working recently with Peterborough’s Weber Brothers. They are here with her for her first solo disc. Sam Weber plays guitar; Ryan Weber, bass; Ryan “Rico” Browne, keys and Marcus Browne, drums.
Born in Nanaimo and starting her career in BC, Layla Zoe moved here for a time and then on to Montreal. She found so much work in Europe that she moved there and now lives in Germany where she is also signed to its major blues label, Ruf Records. Her recent albums have been collaborations with a guitarist who is also a songwriting partner.
Mike “Mudfoot” McDonald has lived in Kitchener for quite a while now but he was a fixture of our scene before that. He played guitar in many of the bands you remember and occasionally led his own with Pat Rush. He led the Sunday Jam at Grossman’s for thirteen years and put together a couple of famous compilation LPs, Grossman’s Live! Vols. 1 & 2, that captured the scene in ’87 & ’88 in a way that no one else has ever done.
Named after a conservation area around Dundas ON, this new grouping of like-minded individuals was created at Lily’s Pad. Lily Sazz, the keyboard player in the Women’s Blues Revue Band lives nearby and her basement is the focal point of the group. Joining her are five veterans: Sue Leonard and Wayne Krawchuk on lead vocals supported by Mark Volkov on flute, sax and violin; Lily on keys; Amy Di Nino on drums and Ian Taylor on bass.
This Hamilton artist was part of the Toronto Blues Society presentation at the Hot & Spicy Festival at Harbourfront Centre this past Labour Day Weekend, making it one of the very few opportunities we’ve had to see this veteran performer. We have his albums, though, and they are all ambitious efforts, with good songs and large casts and this one is no exception, in fact some songs on Break feature twenty players.
Ronnie Earl’s Broadcasters have had one of the most consistent lineups over the years. As each new album arrived, Dave Limina was on B3, Lorne Entress, drums and Jim Mouradian was on bass. But after a performance this past January, Mouradian suddenly passed away. A new album would be an obvious way to deal with the loss. Earl calls it “A traditional blues album of remembrance, love, and unwavering resolve to live with faith and gratitude.
Jim Byrnes has found a modus operandi that continues to pay large dividends for him: songs he remembers from his formative years in St. Louis MO, newly written originals and new interpretations of solid classics. His ‘warm & weathered’ singing style has been recognized with many awards, including several Maple Blues Awards and the key really is his voice, it allows him to make almost any song his own.
You may have seen the stories in the papers recently about this hugely important and influential performer active here in the 60’s and who then disappeared. Jackie Shane was a transgender star in an era when this was most unlikely, perhaps especially in 60’s Toronto. Appearing regularly at the Big Bop, the Brass Rail and the Saphire Tavern with dual trumpeter Frank Motley and his Motley Crew, Shane drew huge crowds.
My Home, My Heart arrives after a little bit of a hiatus from recording for Jolene ‘Little Miss’ Higgins, brought about by her new arrival and that new son is the subject of several of the songs here. It builds on the Bison Ranch Recording Sessions in that it uses a large group of players, different ones this time, and the new songs are very good indeed.
In a first for this label, we get a fabulous collection of modern day harp performances from Electro-Fi’s back catalogue. In an era where it seems only guitar players get noticed, this collection is a welcome antidote. It’s also an indication of the breadth of traditional blues in the catalogue: from the opening solo live-in-the-studio flight of Paul Oscher on several harmonicas to the full out acrobatics of Mark Hummel’s “Harpoventilating”.
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TBS logo and WBR artwork by Barbara Klunder
The Toronto Blues Society acknowledges the annual support of the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council and the Department of Canadian Heritage, and project support from FACTOR< and the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage (Canada Music Fund) and of Canada’s Private Broadcasters, The Canada Council for the Arts, the SOCAN Foundation, SOCAN, the Ontario Media Development Corporation, and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.
