MIDWEST BLUES BEAT

by Eric Steiner

HAPPY BLUES HOLIDAYS!

I’d like to wish the Midwest BEAT community a happy holiday season and welcome you to 2006 with a bang.

This year, I’m doing things a little differently in this annual double-shot of Midwest BEAT Blues. Let me tell you why.

Some people have told me that I stir things up. People I’ve profiled in these pages (and regular readers) have told me that I’m off-base, that I write about the same musicians all the time.

I disagree as I try to present a menu of blues options for Illiana readers that reflects the diversity of the local blues community.

This month, I’ll throw a curve ball at my critics by doing something new. That’s right, stir the blues pot up a little bit, and leave a few people guessing.

That said, let’s put another log on the fireplace, pull the cork on one of my favorite beverages (a 2001 Columbia Crest merlot), and celebrate five of my favorite local blues releases of 2005.

I usually profile my top national releases here, but I’ll close with some of them as I sprint to the deadline dash.

In 2005, I experienced several blues firsts. The Easter Blues Revue at Tommy’s Place in Blue(s) Island continued a South Side tradition, and the Chicago Blues Festival was a high point for me.

When my day job brings me back to the Midwest in 2006, I will make the blues my business by checking out homegrown blues talent whenever I can.

TOP LOCAL BLUES RELEASES

In no particular order, let’s celebrate my top local blues releases of 2005.

Mississippi Heat

Glad You’re Mine (Cross Cut Records).

Inetta Visor’s vocals shine through a dozen strong cuts of Chicago blues on the Heat’s third release on this small German label. I keep turning up “I’m A Woman” and “She Ain’t Your Toy” and hope you’ll discover one of my favorite local CDs of 2005.

Rabble Rousers Band

Live in Chicago (Self-Released)

I shouted about The Rabble Rousers Band in my October column. Their CD recorded before their 2004 Chicago Blues Festival show is a keeper, ‘specially when they’re “Messin’ with the Kid.” The Rabble Rousers Band was listed on www.isound.com as one of the Top 50 unsigned artists, and they are sponsored by music retailer Sam Ash.

Chicago Blues Reunion

Buried Alive in the Blues (Out the Box Records)

What do six friends do when they reconnect again after several decades apart as solo artists? They produce some of the best Chicago blues around. Join Nick Gravenites, Corky Siegel, Tracy Nelson, Sam Lay, Barry Goldberg, and Harvey Mandel for a special show captured at FitzGerald’s on CD and DVD.

Chicago Blues Harmonica Project

Chicago Blues Harmonica Project (Severn Records)

When I saw these guys last year, I knew I was seeing blues history in the making. Listen to Russell Green, Little Addison, Dusty Brown, Larry Cox, and Omar Coleman the late Harmonica Khan #1 stretch the boundaries of the “Mississippi Saxophone” as they take harmonica blues to the next level.

Siegel-Schwall Band

Flash Forward (Alligator).

This year –– Corky Siegel, Sam Lay, Rollo Radford and Jim Schwall –– recorded their first original CD in over 30 years. When I hear “Going Back to Alabama” or “Rumors of Long Tall Sally,” it rekindles the magic that this band made in the ‘70s.

TOP NATIONAL RELEASES

For me, 2005 offered many memorable blues CDs.

One of my favorite CDs of this year is a reissue of Blind Arvella Gray’s The Singing Drifter on Conjuroo Records, as it documents the legacy of what once was Maxwell Street.

Listen to Sonny Landreth’s Live at Grant Street on Sugar Hill to experience this slide guitar wizard.

When I think of psychedelic-influenced blues, I can’t go wrong with Eddie Turner’s debut on Northern Blues music, Rise. Eddie used to play with Otis Taylor, and Otis’ latest Telarc CD, Below the Fold, continues Taylor’s exploration of the dark side of the blues.

Tommy Castro’s return to Blind Pig, Soul Shaker, is worth celebrating, too. Debbie Davies’ Telarc release, All I Found, tells me that Davies is at the top of her game.

Next issue (February that is!), I am going to shout about Blues Guitar Women (Ruf Records), a two-disc compilation that includes: Sue Foley, Alice Stuart, Joanna Connor, and an incredible Finnish blueswoman whose name I can’t pronounce (yet).

I’ll close by wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season. When the Midwestern mercury dips into the single-digits, warm up to the blues from artists I’ve shouted about in 2005.

Stay warm by getting out to Star Plaza Theatre and supporting local original music on Saturday, January 14th at the Midwest BEAT’s 7th Annual Region Rumble!

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