News

JOE LOUIS WALKER TO PERFORM AT THE KENNEDY CENTER AS PART OF THE "WOMEN, MUSIC AND DIPLOMACY" ALL-STAR GALA CONCERT HONORING FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT

Legendary bluesman and master guitarist Joe Louis Walker will perform in Washington, DC at The Kennedy Center on Sunday, September 23 as part of the "Women, Music And Diplomacy" concert hosted by the Thelonious Monk Institute Of Jazz. The gala event will honor former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and will feature Walker along with other artists including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, George Duke, Patti Austin, and will also include special guests Aretha Franklin and Chris Botti.

The event will highlight the contributions of women in jazz over the past century. The multi-generational group of all-stars will pay tribute to artists including Lena Horne, Anita O'Day, Mary Lou Williams and Ella Fitzgerald.

Walker, who last played the Kennedy Center in 1995 when B.B. King received his Kennedy Center honors, is thrilled to be included, saying, "I am very excited to be part of this historic event. It is an honor and privilege to be back at the Kennedy Center, and I look forward to being a part of a positive musical presentation that accentuates the very influential music that America has given to the world."

Released earlier this year, Walker's latest CD, Hellfire, has been hailed as the best of his long career. NPR Music says Joe is "a legendary icon of modern blues" who plays "powerful, gritty blues rock. Hellfire is a fierce album expertly incorporating intense solos into blues, spirituals and crashing rock jams."

The Wall Street Journal states, "Mr. Walker's raspy, powerhouse voice is out front while his stinging guitar cuts through the uncluttered arrangements."

In August, Walker was inducted into the New York City Blues Hall Of Fame, receiving the Legendary Blues Artist award.

CURTIS SALGADO RECEIVES THREE MUDDY AWARD NOMINATIONS FROM THE CASCADE BLUES ASSOCIATION

RICK ESTRIN & THE NIGHTCATS AND MICHAEL "IRON MAN" BURKS EACH RECEIVE ONE

 

R&B and blues singer Curtis Salgado received three nominations for the 2012 Muddy Awards given annually by Oregon's Cascade Blues Association. Rick Estrin & The Nightcats and Michael "Iron Man" Burks each received one nomination.The awards ceremony takes place November 1 in Portland, Oregon at The Melody Ballroom.

Salgado recently underwent surgery to remove a cancerous growth from his lung. Expected to make a full recovery, he is already back on the road, supporting his Alligator Records debut CD, Soul Shot.

Salgado was nominated for Best R&B Act, Best Northwest Recording, and Best National Recording. Rick Estrin & The Nightcats' One Wrong Turn and Michael "Iron Man" Burks' Show Of Strength both received nominations in the Best National Recording category.

 

13TH ANNUAL PINETOP PERKINS HOMECOMING CELEBRATION DEDICATED TO MICHAEL "IRON MAN" BURKS

The 13th Annual Pinetop Perkins Homecoming Celebration, held on October 7th in Clarksdale, Mississippi, will be dedicated to the late blues master Michael "Iron Man" Burks. The event attracts over 1000 fans to three stages of music, with proceeds going directly to scholarships for youth to attend the Pinetop Perkins Master class workshops in June. Burks, whose new CD Iron Man was completed just prior to his passing in May 2012, was recently highlighted by USA Today.

Burks was a modern-day blues hero. His "Iron Man" moniker was born from his hours-long, intensely physical performances, his fearsome guitar attack and his tough, smoky vocals. It also came from the thousands of miles a year he personally logged behind the wheel of his touring van. His fiery music was driven by an intense, blue collar work ethic that won him a rabid worldwide fan base. Between his blistering guitar sound -- which could at any moment become sweetly melodic -- and his live charisma, Burks earned four Blues Music Award nominations, including, most recently, the 2012 nomination for Guitarist Of The Year. He won the 2004 Living Blues magazine Critics' Award for Best Guitarist. GuitarOne named his Alligator Records debut album, Make It Rain, one of the Top 200 greatest guitar recordings of all time. According to Living Blues, "Burks burns his own signature onto almost everything he touches...he has the ability and the imagination to fuse the best of the old and the new."

JANIVA MAGNESS WINS THREE BLUES BLAST MAGAZINE AWARDS

Singing sensation Janiva Magness received three 2012 Blues Blast Music Awards (presented by Blues Blast Magazine), making her the most decorated artist among this year's winners. Magness won the awards for Female Blues Artist Of The Year, Contemporary Blues CD Of The Year for her acclaimed new release, Stronger For It, and Song Of The Year for her original composition (co-written with Dave Darling), I Won't Cry.

Janiva is thrilled by the recognition, saying, "I never expected to win, especially up against this pool of talent. All the same I am humbled and very grateful."

Magness is among the premier blues and R&B singers in the world today. Her voice possesses an earthy, raw honesty born from her life experience. Through her passionate vocals and through her own original songs, Magness, with Stronger For It, delivers the most moving and intimate album of her career. On these performances, she lays her soul bare. Blues Revue says Magness has "a powerfully soulful voice that's made for the blues...original, fearless, and irresistible." Living Blues adds that Magness is "a bonafide blues powerhouse with incredibly rich and soulful vocals" whose music is filled with "infectious, vibrant grooves."

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CURTIS SALGADO RECOVERING SUCCESSFULLY FROM CANCER SURGERY

WILL APPEAR ON ELWOOD'S BLUESMOBILE BEFORE RESTARTING TOUR IN AUGUST

Soul singer Curtis Salgado is well on his way to recovery from his successful surgery on July 18 to remove a cancerous growth from his lung. According to Salgado, everything is progressing ahead of schedule. "I feel myself growing stronger with each passing day and my spirits are high. In the next couple of weeks I will look forward to getting back on stage to perform my music. Thanks to everyone for their love and support during my recovery."

Salgado will appear on the nationally syndicated radio program Elwood's Bluesmobile the weekend of August 25 and 26. Specific stations and showtimes may be found here: http://www.thebluesmobile.com/. He will begin a lengthy U.S. tour on August 18, playing over 30 dates through the end of November. Curtis' full tour schedule is here: http://www.alligator.com/on-tour/artist.cfm/aid/172/t/Curtis-Salgado/.

Winner of the 2012 Blues Music Award for Soul/Blues Artist of the Year, Salgado has recorded eight critically acclaimed solo albums. He performs internationally with his own band and has also toured as vocalist with the Robert Cray Band, Roomful of Blues and Santana. Salgado is also credited with being the inspiration for John Belushi's character of Joliet Jake in The Blues Brothers. Salgado's new CD, Soul Shot is being hailed as his greatest album to date and continues to receive rave reviews and radio airplay worldwide. Blues Revue calls Soul Shot, "A joyous celebration of life. Soul Shot is this millennium's finest soul blues record...deep, commanding, and essential."

Alligator Records will release 180 gram vinyl reissues of Buddy Guy's Stone Crazy!

and Professor Longhair's Crawfish Fiesta on October 16, 2012. Both titles have been out of print on vinyl for 20 years and have been painstakingly remastered. The remastered versions will also be available through all major download services.

Stone Crazy! contains some of the most ferocious guitar playing of Guy's storied career. Rolling Stone says Stone Crazy! features "the artist at his frantic and frenzied best...savage guitar and fiery vocals."

Crawfish Fiesta, featuring some of the best recorded performances of Fess' long and storied career, contains a previously unreleased rehearsal track (Percy Mayfield's River's Invitation). The Village Voice calls Crawfish Fiesta "a masterpiece."

Blues legend Joe Louis Walker contributed two new songs to The Music Of Cars Land, a CD available exclusively at Disney's California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California. The CD is the soundtrack to the Cars Land themed area at the park, with all songs inspired by the movie Cars. Other artists on the compilation album are Woody Guthrie, Chuck Berry, The Supremes, War, Rosemary Clooney and Larry The Cable Guy.

Walker's latest CD (and Alligator Records debut), Hellfire, has been hailed as the best of his career. NPR Music says Walker plays "boundary-pushing blues rock. Joe Louis Walker is a legendary icon of modern blues. Hellfire is a fierce album expertly incorporating his intense, racing solos into blues, spirituals and crashing rock jams."

Guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Anders Osborne's Lean On Me/Believe In You, the second single from his acclaimed new CD, Black Eye Galaxy, will be released to radio on August 20. The first single, When Will I See You Again?, was the #1 Most Added record overall on FMQB's AAA (Adult Rock) Chart the week of its release. It also garnered the #2 Most Added single the week of its release on the R&R/BDS Adult Rock Chart.

Since the April 2012 release of Black Eye Galaxy, critics and fans have been heaping on praise, both for the album and for Anders' live performances. Osborne has toured non-stop, performing with his own band as well as with artists Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Luther Dickinson, Stanton Moore, Galactic, .moe, as well as members of Little Feat and The Dead. USA Today calls Anders, "one of New Orleans' reigning rock guitar heroes...fiery and penetrating."

In July, Anders appeared on the nationally syndicated NPR program World Cafe for a riveting performance and interview. He also performed an equally compelling live session on Sirius/XM's Jam On. He's slated to appear with Robert Cray on the renowned nationally syndicated program E-Town in September.

On September 12, 13 and 14, Osborne will open shows for Gov't Mule in Englewood, Denver and Vail, Colorado respectively. Then, from November 2 through 5, Osborne and Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk will join forces on the HeadCount Participation Tour at The Highline Ballroom in New York City. HeadCount registers voters at close to 1,000 concerts nationwide. For additional information, go to http://www.headcount.org/ivan-nevilles-dumpstaphunk-and-anders-osborne-getting-down-with-democracy.

Living Blues magazine has announced its winners for the 2012 Living Blues Readers' Awards. Marcia Ball won for Blues Artist Of The Year (Female), Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard) and Best Blues Album Of 2011 for her Grammy-nominated CD, Roadside Attractions. Ball previously won the 2011 Living Blues Readers' Awards for both Blues Artist Of The Year and Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard).

Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials, who have recently released their new Alligator album, Jump Start, received the Readers' Award for Best Live Performer. The band won that same distinction in the 2011 Living Blues Critics' Poll.

MARCIA BALL

Blues Artist Of The Year (Female)
Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard)
Best Blues Album Of 2012 (New Recordings): Roadside Attractions

More fun than a barrel of funky monkeys. Spicy, Texas-Louisiana blues, boogie-woogie and rock 'n' roll...awesome piano.
--NPR

 

LIL' ED & THE BLUES IMPERIALS

Best Live Performer

Joyous and vibrant...raucous slide, scorching and soulful boogie blues.
--Living Blues

 

Award-winning soul blues singer/harmonica master Curtis Salgado underwent successful surgery on July 18 in Portland, Oregon, to remove a cancerous growth from his lung, according to his manager Shane Tappendorf.

Doctors removed the entire lower lobe of his left lung where a metastasized mass was found. Salgado will return home within a week, and will require a recovery time of up to four weeks. Doctors anticipate a complete recovery. Salgado had a similar mass removed from his lung in 2008.

Winner of the 2012 Blues Music Award for Soul/Blues Artist of the Year, Curtis Salgado has recorded eight critically acclaimed solo albums. He tours internationally with his own band and has also toured as vocalist with the Robert Cray Band, Roomful of Blues and Santana. Salgado is also credited with being the inspiration for John Belushi's character of Joliet Jake in The Blues Brothers. Salgado's new CD, Soul Shot, on Alligator Records, is being hailed as his greatest album to date and continues to receive rave reviews and radio airplay worldwide. Blues Revue calls Soul Shot, "A joyous celebration of life. Soul Shot is this millennium's finest soul blues record...deep, commanding, and essential."

"I am extremely grateful for the overwhelming support of my family, friends and fans and the courageous people that have faced this fight before me," the 58-year-old Salgado wrote from his home this week. "I also want to thank the promoters and venues for their understanding regarding my medical situation. We will do our best to reschedule all of our performances affected by my surgery."

Salgado, who was diagnosed with liver cancer on March 23, 2006, underwent successful liver transplant surgery on September 30, 2006 at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

Donations to help with Curtis's expenses can be made online at: http://curtissalgado.chipin.com/curtis-salgado-medical-fund. Donations can also be made to the Curtis Salgado Fund c/o Odaglas LLC Donation Account at all US Banks or by mail to US Bancorp, 2550 NW 188th Avenue, Hillsboro, OR 97124. For additional information please visit www.curtissalgado.com and www.facebook.com/CurtisSalgado.

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RICK ESTRIN & THE NIGHTCATS'
ONE WRONG TURN OUT NOW!

Sacramento-based rocking blues masters Rick Estrin & The Nightcats' new Alligator CD, One Wrong Turn (AL 4950), released on July 3, 2012, is out now. Harmonica icon/vocalist/songwriter Rick Estrin, along with The Nightcats -- jaw-dropping guitarist Chris "Kid" Andersen, singing drummer (who plays standing up) J. Hansen and dynamic multi-instrumentalist Lorenzo Farrell (electric and acoustic bass, organ and piano) -- serve up fresh and modern original blues injected with a solid dose of gritty roadhouse rock 'n' roll. Since the 2009 release of their celebrated Alligator Records debut, Twisted, the band has toured non-stop, honing their creative synergy to a razor's edge. Night after night, the band blazes their own innovative musical path while still remaining true to the blues.

The results of all of this natural chemistry can be heard on One Wrong Turn, an up-to-the-minute and totally accessible slice of original blues with a simmering, funky rock edge. The album features 12 new songs, most written by Estrin, with all the band members also contributing originals. One listen makes it clear that this is a group comprised of four world-class musicians, who together form one of the tightest and most original bands in any genre.

In addition to his harmonica and vocal skills, Rick Estrin is a songwriter of unparalleled talent. Critics have compared his original songs to the work of Cab Calloway, Louis Jordan, Willie Dixon and Leiber and Stoller. And his hipster, street-smart vocals are the perfect vehicle for driving those songs home. Blues Revue says, "Estrin has created some of the finest blues songs of any artist on the planet. His carefully wrought lyrics penetrate human weakness with the precision of a boxer, though more often than not, he chooses to leave you laughing after the blow's been struck."

For more than 30 years and nine albums, Estrin fronted one of Alligator's most popular acts, Little Charlie & The Nightcats, featuring Little Charlie Baty's one-of-a-kind guitar acrobatics. The band won international acclaim and toured the world repeatedly. They were nominated four times for the prestigious Blues Music Award for Band Of The Year. With Charlie's retirement in 2008, Rick rededicated himself to his craft. Hansen and Farrell wanted to keep the band going. Estrin knew the only way to replace Baty's crazed and unique guitar style was to find someone with an equally insane and individual approach, and he knew that would be a tall order to fill.

As luck would have it, Kid Andersen, who had been working with another harp legend, Charlie Musselwhite, became available. "Kid's a fearless nut on the guitar," says Estrin. "He's really the only guy who could fit in with us." With an unpredictable, no-holds-barred style that perfectly meshed with Estrin's wildly imaginative original songs, the new band charged out of the gate in 2009 with Twisted. Living Blues said, "Outstanding...most definitely twisted -- in the finest sense of the word." Blues Revue declared, "Rick Estrin & The Nightcats are one of modern blues' most versatile and original bands."

Live, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats take their ever-growing legion of fans on a seriously fun and musically memorable twisted ride. They have electrified crowds across the U.S., and on hugely successful tours of South America, Turkey, and cities all over Europe. As a testament to their talent, the audiences at their performances are always peppered with musicians wanting to glean a lick from these musical masters. Now, with One Wrong Turn and continued non-stop touring, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats continue to reinvent, redefine and revolutionize modern blues.

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Legendary harmonica master Charlie Musselwhite will appear in the upcoming Prodigy Films feature, Don't Shoot! I'm The Guitar Man. Musselwhite will play the part of Graves in the film, which also stars Eric Roberts. Musselwhite, whose most recent CD, The Well, received a Grammy nomination, previously appeared in the 2007 movie Pig Hunt.

The Chicago Tribune says, "The Well is among the best Charlie Musselwhite releases in a career that stretches back to the explosive Chicago blues scene of the 1960s. He is in top form...a formidable talent, he defines the cutting edge in contemporary blues, putting a Chicago accent on his rural Southern harmonica chops."