May 2010

Bonjour tout le monde,

This month we have;

• David ‘Honey Boy’ Edwards, and,
• Joe Bonamassa

Also, in Brittany this month we have the Trieux Tonic Blues Festival being held in the seaside village of Lèzardrieux (22) in the Côtes d’Amor no less. It’s only on for two nights but is packed with good stuff. The amazing, and award winning, Connie Lush will be there with her Blues Shouter. Other acts will be the Cotton Belly’s – loads of fun, just brilliant and a not to miss are Blackberry’n mr Boo-hoo. In May, in Brittany, what could be better? Spend your days sampling the famous Breton galettes or some of the best seafood you will ever find, and wash it all down with Breton Coreff beer or the local cider. They even have their own whisky called Kornog!

Or, if you really want to spend mega euros Mr Slowhand himself is on tour with Mr Steve Winwood and will be at the Bercy Arena, Paris. I’ve seen Clapton and Winwood on the TV and the show looks and sounds everything it should be. If anyone out there has a spare ticket, let me know first!

Whats On?

May


13   Dr Pickup with Eric Larmier is at La Casa 28, Rueil Malmaison (92)


15   Connie Lush & Blues Shouter are at the Trieux Tonic Blues Festival, Lezardrieux (22)


15   Cotton Belly’s are at the Trieux Tonic Blues Festival, Lezardrieux (22)


15   Blackberry’n mr Boo-hoo are at the at the Trieux Tonic Blues Festival, Lezardrieux (22)


20   Amar Sundy is at Angoulême, Charente (16)

25   Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood are at Bercy Arena, Paris


June


09   Mark Knopfler is at POP Bercy, Paris


26   Eric Bibb is at Chambery, Savoie (73)


July


04   Stevie Wonder is at Arena de Nimes, Nimes, Gard (30)


09   Al Green is at L Olympia, Paris


10-17 Cahors Blues Festival, Cahors, Lot (46)


27-01 August   Cognac Blues Passions, Cognac, Charente (16)

Blues Note



In my March (2010) post I featured Mr Pinetop Perkins who, at 97, is still playing and touring. This month I want to talk about a younger bluesman, Mr David “Honeyboy” Edwards.




Just 95 years old Honeyboy Edwards is another of a very depleted club of the last of the true Mississippi Delta bluesmen.


On 11 March 2010, at B.B. King’s Blues Club, New York City, he was recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award from The National GUITAR Museum, the first such institution dedicated entirely to the instrument. In addition he has won the 2005 and the 2007 Handy Award for Acoustic Blues Artist.


Along with Pinetop Perkins these are the last of the links with legends like Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton, Memphis Minnie and many more.


His website calendar indicates that he no longer tours outside of the USA and Canada (can you blame him?) but he still manages about 20 shows a year. Perhaps more than anyone, this man is keeping the legend alive.

CD Review

A very good friend, known to me as Tank, recently gave me Joe Bonamassa’s “The Ballad of John Henry” which was released in 2009 on the Provogue label.

I must confess that up to now I have had mixed feelings about young Joe. I saw him at the Havana Club, Toulouse a couple of years ago and he definitely put on a great show. Without a doubt his guitar playing skills were impressive but, was it blues? Was it supposed to be blues? Certainly he created something very different to the old Delta Bluesemen I have written about over the past few months. Blues-rock I think it is called and I’m comfortable with that label. For me it fits this exciting, full on, evolution of music.

"The Ballad of John Henry" is Bonamassa’s seventh studio album and follows his 2007 release, Sloe Gin. This latest album includes seven of the twelve tracks written by Bonamassa himself and really do emphasise his growing songwriting skills.

The title track is somewhat psychedelic in style with a good solid beat that will get your foot pounding the boards. Setting the mood for the the more Claptonesque blues ballad “Stop”.


I particularly like “Lonesome Road Blues”. Its everything I like about Bonamassa. Good gritty vocals and skilful fretwork. The same applies to “Happier Times” but in a more sombre mood. A very powerful track that will compliment your high tech sound system. Turn the sound up and enjoy.


Up to now it would have been hard to surpass Nina Simone with her version of “Feeling Good” but Joe has recreated this 1964 classic with his own style but without losing any of the original flavour. Brilliant.


The “Great Flood” was not that great for me although a definite contender for weeping guitars and “From The Valley” is a short experiment with the orient.


Finally, the final track “As The Crow Flies” takes us firmly back into the rock genre.


The Ballad Of John Henry confirms Joe Bonamassa’s place as the most talented, and most exciting, guitarist, singer, song-writer of his generation. In his work one can hear strains of Santana, Beck, Rea, and Clapton, and now reaches for ‘Bonamassa is god’ status.


Thanks to friend Tank I can now add this great album to my collection but, had he not been so kind and generous to me, I would have bought Ballad of John Henry anyway.


Finally, if like me you don’t know, John Henry is an American folk hero who was supposed to be the strongest man alive (in 1840) and who raced against a steam powered hammer whilst working as a slave on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. He won his race but died still holding his 20 pound hammer. Excellent blues material don’t you think?

Bluesman Mississippi Slim



Sadly, Walter Horn, Jr. - "Bluesman Mississippi Slim" – passed away on 14 April 2010 at the age of 66 years.


Walter Horn was born and grew up in Greenville, Mississippi. As an adult, he worked on a plantation as a tractor driver during the day and sang the blues in local clubs at night. By 1968, he had decided to take a shot at blues music as a career, and moved to Chicago where he became known as "Mississippi Slim." In a city full of flamboyant, charismatic performers, Slim stood out with his brightly coloured hair, loud suits, and trademark mismatched, colourful socks.


The bluesman returned to Mississippi in 1994 to spend time with his ailing mother, but continued to sing the blues, performing at Delta juke-joints and at Southern festivals. Slim also took part in the "Blues In The Schools" program, speaking to schoolchildren about blues music. Mississippi Slim recorded sporadically through the years, releasing a few singles during the 1970s, finally issuing a full-length album, You Can't Lose The Blues, in 2008. Although he wasn't the best known of blues singers, Walter "Mississippi Slim" Horn, Jr. will be missed by family, friends, and fans of his unique soul-blues sound.






A Bientôt