THREE ALLIGATOR ARTISTS RECEIVE BLUES MUSIC AWARDS!

 

On May 10, 2007, The Blues Foundation announced the recipients of the annual Blues Music Awards (formerly the W.C. Handy Awards). Three Alligator recording artists received honors: Marcia Ball was named the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year, Guitar Shorty won the award for Contemporary Blues Album Of The Year for We The People, and Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials won the award for Blues Band Of The Year.

 

The Blues Music Awards ceremony and concert were held May 10, 2007 in Memphis, TN, at the Cook Convention Center. Alligator award recipients are as follows:

 

MARCIA BALL

+Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year - Marcia Ball

 

GUITAR SHORTY

+Contemporary Blues Album Of The Year – “We The People”

 

LIL’ ED AND THE BLUES IMPERIALS

+ Band Of The Year

 

 

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CHICAGO BLUES HARMONICA LEGEND CAREY BELL 1936 – 2007

Raucous and exuberant in the great Chicago tradition ... tender introspection, emotional complexity,

sensitivity and tonal control."
--LIVING BLUES

 

“             A blues harp master, Carey Bell has jaw-dropping technique…stunning intensity, elegantly lowdown.”
 --CHICAGO TRIBUNE

 

Blues harmonica master Carey Bell died on May 6, 2007 of heart failure in his hometown of Chicago, IL. He was 70. Bell – the 1998 winner of the Blues Music Award for Traditional Male Artist Of The Year – was a veteran of both Muddy Waters’ and Willie Dixon’s bands as well as an award-winning solo artist, and a guest artist on countless blues recordings. Bell's classic, funky and deeply soulful blues place him firmly on the short list of blues harmonica superstars.

Bell was one of the very few harmonica players who didn't learn his craft by listening to old records, but by studying directly under his teachers Big Walter Horton, Little Walter Jacobs and Sonny Boy Williamson II. It didn't take long for Bell to develop his signature "chopped" harmonica phrasing and deep-blues style.

Carey Bell Harrington was born in Macon, Mississippi on November 14, 1936. A fan of Louis Jordan, Bell originally wanted a saxophone, but economic realities forced his grandfather to buy him a harmonica instead. He taught himself to play by the time he was eight, and began playing professionally with his godfather, pianist Lovie Lee, when he was 13. In 1956, Lee convinced Carey that Chicago was the place to be for aspiring bluesmen, and on September 12, 1956 they arrived. Almost immediately, Bell went to see Little Walter perform at the Club Zanzibar at 14th and Ashland. The two became friends and Walter delighted in showing the youngster some of his tricks. Carey went on to meet and learn from Sonny Boy Williamson II, but it was Big Walter Horton who really inspired him and became his mentor.

Carey learned his lessons well but by the late 1950s and early 1960s the gigs were drying up for harp players as the electric guitar began to take over as the predominant instrument of Chicago blues. Bell decided to increase his worth by becoming a bass player (learning the ropes from Hound Dog Taylor). He quickly mastered the instrument and began getting gigs as a bassist with Honeyboy Edwards, Johnny Young, Eddie Taylor, Earl Hooker and Big Walter. While playing bass in Big Walter's band, Bell studied every harp trick in the book first-hand from one of the all-time great harmonica players.

Bell, back on harp full-time, recorded behind Earl Hooker in 1968 for Arhoolie. By 1969 Bell was fronting his own band. His friend, harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite brought him over to Bob Koester at Delmark Records in 1969, who promptly signed Bell and recorded CAREY BELL'S BLUES HARP. Bell spent 1971 traveling and recording with Muddy Waters (he can be heard on Muddy's THE LONDON SESSIONS and UNK IN FUNK albums on Chess). Willie Dixon chose Bell for the featured role in his Chicago Blues All-Stars, with whom Bell worked regularly throughout the 1970s, both touring and recording.

Even though Dixon kept Carey busy, Bell still found time for his own projects. In 1972 he teamed up with his friend Big Walter and recorded what was to be Alligator Records’ second-ever release, BIG WALTER HORTON WITH CAREY BELL. In 1973 he made a solo album, LAST NIGHT, for ABC Bluesway and was featured in 1978 on Alligator’s Grammy-nominated LIVING CHICAGO BLUES series (both with his own band and playing behind Lovie Lee).

By the 1980s Bell had established himself worldwide as a giant among blues harmonica players. He recorded albums as a leader and as a sideman for a variety of labels both in the United States and Europe, and was constantly playing live. In 1990 Bell, along with fellow harpslingers Junior Wells, James Cotton and Billy Branch, got together and recorded the Blues Music Award-winning Alligator album, HARP ATTACK!.

In 1995, Bell's very first full-length solo album on Alligator, DEEP DOWN, secured his reputation as modern blues legend. His follow-ups, 1997’s GOOD LUCK MAN (which received an Blues Music Award for Traditional Album of the Year), and 2004’s SECOND NATURE (an acoustic album recorded with his guitarist/vocalist son Lurrie Bell), pushed the blues farther out with Bell’s rich vocabulary of deep grooves and contemporary sounds. Most recently, in 2007, Delmark Records released GETTIN’ UP LIVE, a CD/DVD featuring Bell once again performing with his son Lurrie.

Bell fathered 15 children and is survived by 10.

 

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS AS FOLLOWS:

 

Friday, May 11, 2007

4:00pm – 7:00pm Visitation

Calahan Funeral Home

7030 S. Halsted

Chicago, IL

 

Saturday, May 12, 2007

10:00am – 11:00am Visitation

11:00am – Service

Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church

7023 S. Halsted

Chicago, IL

 

2:00pm – Burial

Mt. Hope Cemetery

11500 S Fairfield Ave. (115^th & Fairfield)

Chicago, IL

 

 

SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY

1969  Carey Bell's Blues Harp             Delmark

1973  Last Night                                 ABC Bluesway / One Way

1977  Heartaches and Pain                  Delmark

1982  Goin' on Main Street                  Evidence

*1983  Son of a Gun                           Rooster Blues

1988  Harpslinger                               JSP

*1990  Dynasty!                                 JSP

1990  Harp Attack!                            Alligator

1991  Mellow Down Easy                   Blind Pig

1994  Harpmaster                              JSP

1995  Deep Down                             Alligator

1997  Good Luck Man                       Alligator

*2004  Second Nature                       Alligator

*2007 Getting’ Up Live                      Delmark

 

*with Lurrie Bell

 

 

 

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(Memphis)--XM Satellite Radio will broadcast the 2007 Blues Music Awards live from Memphis’ Cook Convention Center on Thursday, May 10. Presented by The Blues Foundation, the BMAs are the premier award presented for blues artists and blues recordings worldwide. The show will be aired on XM’s Bluesville channel. Broadcast will begin at approximately 7:00p.m. CST and conclude around 1:00a.m. This is the first-ever national radio broadcast of the Blues Music Awards.

The broadcast will feature at least 25 live performances by dozens of BMA nominees, including Alligator recording artists Guitar Shorty, Marcia Ball, Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials and Eric Lindell. Other performing artists will include Otis Taylor’s banjo quartet, a soul blues revue featuring a five-nominee ensemble backed by the Steve Edmonson band, a once-in-a-lifetime harp blowout led by Mark Hummel and the full Bobby Rush Show.
  
Award presenters include British blues legend John Mayall, former Major League Baseball player and manager Dusty Baker and his long-time friend, bluesman Elvin Bishop.
 
Other nominees planning to attend (some of whom will also perform) include Barbara Blue, Big George Brock, Bill Stuve, Bob Stroger, Bobby Rush, Calvin "Fuzz" Jones, Calvin Owens, Charlie Musselwhite, Chicago Bob Nelson, Chris Thomas King, Dave Gross, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Deanna Bogart, Dion, Diunna Greenleaf, Doug James, Dr. John, Duke Robillard, Eddie Shaw, EG Kight, Fiona Boyes, Frankie Lee, Guy Davis, Irma Thomas, Jackie Payne & Steve Edmonson, Janiva Magness, Jimi Bott, John Long, John Mooney, Johnny Rawls, Kid Ramos, Kim Wilson, Larry Taylor, Magic Slim & the Teardrops, Mannish Boys, Michael Powers, Mitch Kashmar, Mitch Woods, Mookie Brill, Nick Moss & The Flip Tops, Nora Jean Bruso, Paul Oscher, Rich Del Grosso, Richard Innes, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Rory Block, Sam Carr, Slick Ballinger, Sugar Pie DeSanto, Tab Benoit, The Kilborn Alley Blues Band, Trudy Lynn, Watermelon Slim & the Workers,  Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Zora Young, as well as the widow of Robert Lockwood Jr. and the late Henry Townsend’s son.
  
Tables and tickets can still be purchased at https://www.blues.org/tickets/bma.php
or by calling 901.527.2583.
 
The presenting sponsor of the Blues Music Awards is The Gibson Foundation. Significant sponsorship is also provided by the BMI, Casey Family Programs on behalf of National Foster Care Month, FedEx, Greater Memphis Arts Council, Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.

ALLIGATOR ARTIST NOMINATIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

LIL’ ED AND THE BLUES IMPERIALS
B.B. King Entertainer of the Year (Lil’ Ed Williams)
Band of the Year (Lil’ Ed and The Blues Imperials)
Song of the year - Icicles In My Meatloaf, from Rattleshake

GUITAR SHORTY
Contemporary Blues Album of the Year:
We The People
Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year
Instrumentalist of the Year – Guitar

MARCIA BALL
Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year
Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year

CEPHAS & WIGGINS
Acoustic Album of the Year:
Shoulder To Shoulder
Acoustic Artist of the Year

SHEMEKIA COPELAND
Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year

ERIC LINDELL
Best New Artist Debut:
Change In The Weather

SAM LAY (THE SIEGEL-SCHWALL BLUES BAND)
Instrumentalist of the Year – Drums

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SONGS FROM ALLIGATOR ARTISTS LONNIE BROOKS
AND LITTLE CHARLIE & THE NIGHTCATS TO HIT THE SOPRANOS

Alligator recording artists Lonnie Brooks and Little Charlie & The Nightcats will each have a song played during an upcoming episode of the hit HBO series The Sopranos. Brooks' song It’s Your World from his Alligator CD, Roadhouse Rules, will be heard during the April 8 episode. And on April 29, Little Charlie & The Nightcats’ Slap Happy, from their latest CD, Nine Lives, will be heard on the show.

Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women, will soon be the subject of the upcoming documentary film, Hot Flash. The film chronicles the history of the band as told through new interviews with Gaye, Ann and Andra, as well as their families, Alligator Records president Bruce Iglauer, music critics and historians. The film will feature performances of the band singing some of theri most requested songs, played live at the historic Ram's Head and Wolf Trap theaters.

ALLIGATOR PREPARES NEW RELEASE FROM QUEEN OF THE BLUES, KOKO TAYLOR!

Alligator Records has set an April 3 release date for OLD SCHOOL, the first new CD in seven years from Grammy-winning Queen of the Blues, Koko Taylor. Inspired by the sound and spirit of the Chicago blues of the 1950s, Taylor wrote five new originals and carefully chose songs from Willie Dixon, Lefty Dizz, Magic Sam and others to create an album of tough, "old school" Chicago blues.

“Blues is my life,” says Taylor, Chicago’s—and the world’s—undisputed Queen Of The Blues. “It’s a true feeling that comes from the heart, not just something that comes out of my mouth. Blues is what I love, and singing the blues is what I always do.” And, in many ways, blues is what saved Koko Taylor’s life. Back in November of 2003, following emergency surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding, Taylor’s condition grew even more serious. She was struggling just to breathe. Family and friends feared the worst as she was placed on a ventilator. But her forceful will to live, and to sing the blues again, brought her back. Slowly but surely she recovered, and by the following spring she was performing live on stage. Her resurgence not only led her back to the stage, but also led her back to the recording studio.

With the aptly titled OLD SCHOOL, Taylor once again shows the world what she does so well. From foot-stomping barnburners to powerful slow blues, Koko proves in an instant that her blues are joyous and life-affirming, powerful and soul-stirring.

OLD SCHOOL brings it all back home, with Taylor supported by a band of veteran musicians and young revivalists. Singing like she did for Chess Records early in her career, Taylor belts out a set of material that could easily have topped the blues charts in the 1950s, and will certainly reach the top of the blues world today.

Koko Taylor, guitarist Criss Johnson and Alligator president Bruce Iglauer produced OLD SCHOOL. Recorded in Chicago, the 12 songs all hearken back to Taylor’s early years in the Windy City. They range from the humorous truth of Piece Of Man to the rocking blues advice of Better Watch Your Step to the tough street scene of Bad Avenue (done in classic Muddy Waters style), to Koko’s version of Memphis Minnie’s Black Rat, a song she used to sing as a teenager. “I put my heart and soul into everything that I do,” says Taylor. “I worked long and hard on OLD SCHOOL, and I want my fans to enjoy it as much as I do.”

Live, she simply cannot be matched in her power and raw talent. In fact, reviews of her 2006 live performances all rave about how “The Queen” is singing better than at any other time in her long, storied career—a career that includes singing with Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Robert Plant and every other imaginable legend. She’s performed in clubs, festivals and concert halls all over the world, played for two presidents, and even lent her voice and her likeness (as an animated bear) to the PBS children’s television program Arthur.

Over the course of her almost 50-year career, Taylor has received just about every award the blues world has to offer and then some. She’s received Grammy nominations for seven of her last eight Alligator albums, and she won a Grammy in 1984 for the live multi-artist album Blues Explosion on Atlantic Records. In 2004 she was presented with the coveted National Heritage Fellowship Award from the National Endowment For The Arts. She holds 25 Blues Music Awards (more than any other blues artist, male or female). A major feather in her cap came on March 3, 1993, when Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley honored Taylor with a Legend Of The Year Award, and declared “Koko Taylor Day” throughout Chicago. In 1998, Chicago Magazine named her “Chicagoan Of The Year,” and in 1999, Taylor was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Hall Of Fame. “There are many kings of the blues,” said The Boston Globe, “but only one queen. Koko’s voice is still capable of pinning a listener to the back wall.”

It is not easy being a woman succeeding in the male-dominated blues world, but Koko Taylor has done just that. She’s taken her music from the tiny clubs on the South Side of Chicago to giant festivals, and continues to perform all over the world. She’s appeared on national television numerous times and has even been the subject of a PBS documentary. Through good times and personal hardships, Koko Taylor has remained a major force in the blues. “It’s a challenge,” she says. “It’s tough being out here doing what I’m doing in what they call a man’s world. It’s not every woman that can hang in there and do what I am doing.” Without a doubt, Koko Taylor is the preeminent blues woman in the world today. She is—and will remain—the undisputed Queen Of The Blues.

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Celebrate President’s Day by watching American music masters The Holmes Brothers (Wendell Holmes, Sherman Holmes, Popsy Dixon) perform on NBC television’s Late Night With Conan O’Brien on Monday, February 19.

They’ll sing their soul-stirring version of Nick Lowe’s What’s So Funny (‘Bout Peace, Love and Understanding)? from their critically acclaimed new CD, STATE OF GRACE.

Since the January 16, 2007 release of STATE OF GRACE, The Holmes Brothers have received massive amounts of radio airplay and critical praise, with features and reviews running in Rolling Stone, USA Today, The New York Times, Harp, No Depression, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Relix, Time Out, Billboard, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Sun-Times and many other national and regional publications.

In other news, The Holmes Brothers will perform at Carnegie Hall in New York on April 5 as part of the tribute to Bruce Springsteen concert, with proceeds benefiting Music For Youth, a program supporting musical education for underpriviledged young people.

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To celebrate the release of his Alligator Records Debut, COUNTRY GHETTO, JJ Grey will be appearing at a number of his favorite local CD stores along the tour.  Be sure to come out and see these unique solo acoustic shows and say hello to JJ.  See below for confirmed appearances and stay tuned for more in - stores along the tour.

 

Friday, February 16th at 4 PM

CD Connection

1908 3rd Street South

Jacksonville Beach, FL  32250

(904) 246-0550

 

Saturday, February 17th at 4 PM

Park Ave

2916 Corrine Drive

Orlando, FL  32803

(407) 629-5293

 

Tuesday, February 20th at 6 PM

Vinyl Fever

2256 W. Pensacola Street, Suite 2

Tallahassee, FL  32304

(850) 580-3480

 

Friday, February 23rd at 7 PM

Criminal Records

466 Moreland Ave. NE

Atlanta, GA  30307

(404) 215-9511

 

More will be added along the tour, so stay tuned for updates.

 

 

ALLIGATOR RECORDS PREPARES LABEL DEBUT FROM
JJ GREY & MOFRO

 

"A glorious, soul-drenched delight...down-home blues and Dixie rock, unmistakably Southern, undeniably soulful.      -Billboard

Alligator Records has set a February 20, 2007 street date for down-home roots, rock and soul artist JJ Grey & his band MOFRO's new CD (and Alligator debut) COUNTRY GHETTO. Produced by Dan Prothero, COUNTRY GHETTO features 12 original JJ Grey compositions that come right out of the Southern musical and literary tradition. While his songwriting inspirations range from Bill Withers, Van Morrison, and Dan Penn, Grey's songs are always his own. JJ Grey and his band MOFRO exude rocking, funky, melodic, front porch realism in every song they play.
                                               
JJ Grey comes from a long tradition of Southern storytellers, and his songs oftentimes use the loss of his natural surroundings and the marginalization of the Southern culture he grew up in as a metaphor for universal truths. The band delivers his material with brilliant musicianship, resulting in music that is thought provoking, rhythmically dynamic and texturally mesmerizing.
 
Grey's ear for detail inhabits his songs, whether it is a story passed down to him from his grandmother or the tribulations of a childhood friend. His voice delivers them with an unflinching strength that makes the personal universal and paints a vivid portrait of an exact time or place with words and music. Like his songs, his rich, soulful vocals are forceful and commanding, seemingly old beyond his years. And the music, from smoldering soul ballads to gospel-fried funk to straight ahead rock 'n' roll, brings it all home with danceable grooves and a melodic freshness that will stay with you long after the album ends.
 
Grey's songwriting influences are widespread. "I listen to people who tell the story," he says, naming Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, R.L. Burnside, Tony Joe White, Jerry Reed, Otis Redding, Dr. John, Sly & The Family Stone, Van Morrison, Bill Withers and Dan Penn. What these writers and performers have in common is a love for simplicity, evoking complex emotions with a minimal number of words. 

As a performer, Grey is influenced by the sexually charged blues of Howlin' Wolf, the country soul of George Jones and the hard funk of James Brown, as well as local personalities like street preachers and old time radio DJs. From the beginning, Grey's songs have been connected to his ancestral Florida homestead 40 miles outside of Jacksonville, a landscape he writes about with passion and devotion. 

Back in 1986, Grey worked at an air conditioning company, where he befriended guitarist Daryl Hance. At the time Grey had a young, original band that needed a guitar player, so he gave Hance the call. Grey was immediately impressed with Daryl's minimalist approach. "Daryl plays like Curtis Mayfield or Peter Tosh. He plays like the older generation, with patience." Under the name of MOFRO (Grey's nod towards a lumberyard he worked at), they recorded a demo together, which drew the interest of a UK label. The two then flew to London in 1994 to record.
 
While in London, the deal collapsed. Deciding to stick it out for a while, Grey placed ads in Melody Maker for musicians and quickly put together a band to play in the local London music scene. They were courted by a number of record labels, but were not at all impressed by the seemingly false and unrealistic promises being offered. On his own, Grey researched and found Fog City Records, owned by Dan Prothero. The two hit it off instantly.

Returning stateside, Grey and the band - with Prothero producing - recorded Blackwater in 2001 (released on Fog City and named by Amazon.com as one of the best CDs of the decade). In 2004 - again with Prothero at the helm - they cut Lochloosa for Swampland Records.
 
JJ Grey & MOFRO's rabid following, through hard work, touring and undeniable musical prowess, grew quickly. A National Public Radio feature in 2001 brought JJ's music to more people than ever before. Doors at press, radio and venues opened across the country. JJ Grey & MOFRO performed at Bonnaroo, opened for Widespread Panic, Ben Harper, Galactic, B.B. King and Jeff Beck.
 
Word of their live show spread quickly, and bookings at festivals and concerts around the world increased, including jaw-dropping shows at The Austin City Limits Festival and The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The band continues to tour constantly, and will hit the road hard in support of COUNTRY GHETTO.
 
From gritty funk to juke joint romps to contemplative country soul to blistering rockers, JJ Grey & MOFRO occupy a distinctive space in the music world. And, like the best of the great Southern novelists, JJ Grey fills his stories and songs with details that are at once vivid and personal, political and universal. The songs and the music on COUNTRY GHETTO will make you smell the cypress trees, feel the hot breeze, taste the ho-cakes, and remind you that home is where the heart is.
 

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ALLIGATOR RECORDS ARTIST LEE ROCKER TO HOST
"RUMBLE & TWANG" ON XM SATELLITE RADIO!

 

Singer/songwriter/bassist (and Stray Cat) Lee Rocker is set to program and host his own radio show, Rumble & Twang, to air on XM Satellite Network's X-Country channel (XM-12). The show will air the first week of each month, starting on Monday, February 4, at 11:00am est. It will replay the following Thursday at 7:00pm est and Saturday at 11:00am est. The program is part of The Slip Stream Special series, where each week a different musician hosts his own show. The other artists hosting shows are Robert Earl Keen, Dave Alvin and Robbie Fulks. Complete programming information is available at http://xcountry.xmradio.com.

 

According to XM's Jessie Scott, program director for X-Country, "We are proud to welcome Lee to the XM family. Lee's vision of rockabilly with an Americana twist is a marvelous addition to The Slip Stream Special. The show acknowledges the fertile ground of all the musical styles that helped create rockabilly, mixing R&B and country to create something new."

 

And Rocker couldn't agree more, saying, "'Rumble and Twang is a labor of love for me, and it's something that in a way, I've always done.  Being a musician is all about sharing music and telling stories. Having my own radio show gives me another chance to share the American music that rumbles, twangs, echoes and slaps."

Rocker's latest CD, Black Cat Bone, has been hailed as the best of his career. Bass Player magazine said, "Rocker conjures up his best solo record...powerful, supercharged and refreshing." The Boston Herald said, "Lee Rocker keeps his stand-up bass pointed straight toward Sun Studios and rockabilly heaven."

XM Satellite Radio's Bluesville program (channel 74) interviews blues master Coco Montoya on Tuesday, January 16 at 3:30pm Eastern time, the street date for Coco's new cd, Dirty Deal.

Coco and Bluesville host Bill Wax track through the new CD and discuss Coco's career, his influences and nearly every song on the Dirty Deal.

The program will air again on Friday, January 26 at 4:00pm Eastern time, and again on Sunday, February 4 at 7:00pm Eastern time.

For more details go to: http://www.xmradio.com/onxm/channelguide.xmc?ch+74 .