Saturday 29 August 2015

STAR BLUES on 30th August 2015 at 22:00 (BST) celebrating the fine music from New Orleans

.. while marking ten years since the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina

Everything had a connection to the Crescent City in a slightly shortened show due to some technical gremlins during Neil's rock show. Two gracious and generous guests spoke about their stories to us: Joe 'Survival' Caruso and Sybil Gage. They both told how they - and their families - had been affected by those storms ten years ago. The unquenchable spirit of the city came through loudly in the telling and both shared their personal details and some of their music exclusively with STAR BLUES.

Bryan Lee has played at a Bourbon Street residency since 1982 and we thought his Katrina album worthy of starting the party on our show. Wolfman Washington embodies the distinctive funk feel found so often in New Orleans music, nice to able to report he is still a big draw in town. James Booker was one of those special, unique guys who hard hard to classify: Dr John called him "the best gay, one-eyed piano player in New Orleans", elsewhere he was known as "the Black Liberace" but we just prefer his playing without  needing a definition. Similarly keyboard kings Prof. Longhair, Champion Jack Dupree Fats Domino and Dr. John himself have strong identities ties to the city.

We heard their roots too from a terrific four disc survey which yielded Larry Darnell and Joe Google-Eyes' August for us. Our time dilation meant we had to leave Edgar Blanchard and Dave Batholomew until a further show. The work done by Cosimo Matassa at J&M studio was acknowledged, as was one MVP of his team: Earl Palmer. Those old jokes about "what do you call someone who hangs around with a band" are silly in the extreme when you listen to the wealth of music he helped create: Thurston Harris, Smiley Lewis, Roy Montrell and Amos Milburn each had him in the  engine room. Guitarists Guitar Slim and Earl King represented the Specialty label, forever associated with that regions output.

The current crop of artists issued some interesting projects after Hurricane Katrina - Dr John renamed his band after one of the worst affected wards in the city and was one of the high-profile "names" trying to draw attention to the plight of those with substantial loss. Chris Thomas King was right on the nose with his album, almost entirely self-written, played and produced. Irma Thomas lost a home and a club she'd run for 25 years. Though her "After The Rain" album was already in planning before the tumult, her magnificent performances gained extra poignancy and relevance. This album is virtually mandatory in her canon of work, showing why she is a major player.

Our show wouldn't  have been complete without Sybil Gage or Joe Caruso who kindly gave us their time to add a human context to what we wanted to do on STAR BLUES. Grateful thanks to them. I'm already planning to be back round your place at 10pm (BST) on Sunday if you'll have me. Until then take care of yourselves and take care of those that take care of you.

PS(1) - We did play Amos Milburn twice courtesy of the Neil Jones gremlin cohort.
PS(2) - If you want to know which track is guarding my socks for  the next seven days, look for me on Facebook.

track.titletrack.artistsortindexalbum.titlealbum.artistsortlabeldurationwritercredit
Flat Food SamBryan Lee1Katrina Was Her NameBryan Lee[ 2 mins 52 secs ]Bryan Lee
0n the prowlWalter 'Wolfman' Washington6rounder 25 yearsvarious artistsrounder[ 4 mins 06 secs ]Walter 'Wolfman' Washington
rockin' pneumoniaJames Booker4New Orleans Keyboard KingJames BookerORBIS BLUES COLLECTION[ 2 mins 50 secs ]James Booker
Chicken Shack BoogieAmos Milburn6BackbeatEarl PalmerACE[ 2 mins 31 secs ]Amos Milburn
We Gettin' There (City That Care Forgot)Dr. John & The Lower 91119Hans Theesink And Dr. John And More ...Various Artists[ 5 mins 14 secs ]Dr. John & The Lower 911
i've got to tell somebodyjoe caruso1i've got to tell somebodyjoe carusolakehouse records
(Ev'ry Time I Hear) That Mellow SaxophoneRoy Montrell3BackbeatEarl PalmerACE[ 2 mins 26 secs ]Roy Montrell
I Want To Walk You HomeFats Domino8Gumbo Ya Ya: The Cosimo Matassa Story Volume 2Various ArtistsPROPER[ 2 mins 24 secs ]Fats Domino
Shame, Shame, ShameSmiley Lewis4BackbeatEarl PalmerACE[ 1 mins 58 secs ]Smiley Lewis
just to be home with youjoe google-eyes august25gettin' funky - birth of new orleans r'n'bvarious artistsproper
for you my lovelarry darnell26gettin' funky - birth of new orleans r'n'bvarious artistsproper
Life Is Just A StruggleJohnny Adams11Soul City New Orleans: Big Easy Gems From The Dawn Of Soul MusicVarious ArtistsFantatsic Voyage[ 2 mins 40 secs ]Johnny Adams
catch new orleanssybil gage4NOLA Callingsybil gage
Flow Mississippi FlowChris Thomas King4RiseChris Thomas King21ST CENTURY[ 4 mins 10 secs ]Chris Thomas King
Katrina BluesRonnie Earl5Hope RadioRonnie EarlStony Plain Music[ 0 mins 0 secs ]Ronnie Earl
In The Middle Of It AllIrma Thomas1After The RainIrma ThomasRounder[ 4 mins 45 secs ]Irma Thomas
something you gotchris kenner5crackin the cosimo codevarious artistsace
(come on) let the good times rollearl king16kings of new orleans r'n'bvarious artistsmusic club
barefootinrobert parker19crackin the cosimo codevarious artistsace
don't you just know ithuey piano smith19kings of new orleans r'n'bvarious artistsmusic club
Ball The WallProfessor Longhair9Mardi Gras In New Orleans: Complete Recordings 1949-1962Professor LonghairJasmine Records (UK)[ 3 mins 20 secs ]Professor Longhair
Little Bitty Pretty OneThurston Harris & The Sharps18BackbeatEarl PalmerACE[ 2 mins 23 secs ]Thurston Harris & The Sharps
Trouble At MidnightRoy Brown6Hard Luck Blues Volume OneRoy Brown[ 2 mins 51 secs ]Roy Brown
sufferin' mindguitar slim1sufferin mindguitar slimblues encore[ 2 mins 50 secs ]
junkers bluesChampion Jack Dupree16New Orleans Barrelhouse BoogieChampion Jack DupreeCOLUMBIA[ 2 mins 10 secs ]Champion Jack Dupree
Created: 31/08/2015 00:01:38

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