STAR BLUES AWARDS SHOW on 27th December 2015 at 22:00 - marking the many highlights of our blues year

... and exactly one week ago I was snuggling down in a hotel in York, missing everyone but at least I was warm dry and fed. Tonight I see the good folks up there are flooded out and the city centre is cut off, what a difference a few days makes.

The annual awards process on STAR BLUES is our way of marking the ways blues has made our year special - we arbitrarily divide it into four categories:

ARTIST. Jontavious Willis has a rare combination of voice and guitar that rocked me on my heels the first time I heard it. His playing has the same attack I heard in Muddy's Plantation recordings and the phrasing in his singing seems to come from a much older man. His gifts are still evolving, he respects and appreciates what has gone before without artifice.

ALBUM. The high performance style of blues was typical of the James Cotton Band live, Slam Allen played guitar for him for eight years and he is now front and centre for a project in the same vein. "Feel These Blues" is the third album under his own name and it delivers in spades from first to last. The form is often badly played by axe migrants from rock: twenty hard years on the Chitlin circuit ensure Slam Allen can rise above that.

LABEL. With well regarded, and much played, albums from Mississippi Heat, Omar Coleman and Jimmy Burns the Delmark imprint this year enabled and inspired the artists on its roster. That it has done the same thing since 1953 is remarkable. Its canon of work is also treated with loving care and forms an ongoing reissue programme which recently put out JB Hutto's "Hawk Squat".

REISSUE. In an ever competitive arena, the Ace label clearly goes that bit further with its well-tended output. Their "By the Bayou" and Ric/Ron projects mark a historical document not previously attempted; recent anthologies on Wynonie Harris and Tampa Red are everything a fan could want and more: top notch research, rarities, memorobilia and session details. Their ethical treatment of royalties further sets them apart from many others.

track.title	track.artistsort	index	album.title	album.artistsort	label	duration	writercredit
V8 Ford	Eugene Hideaway Bridges	6	Hold on a Little Bit Longer	Eugene Hideaway Bridges		[ 3 mins 51 secs ]	Eugene Hideaway Bridges
hustle is on	T-Bone Walker	3	Get the Blues Off Me	T-Bone Walker	Jasmine	[ 0 mins 0 secs ]	T-Bone Walker
Dimples	D.C. Bellamy	8	Water to Wine	D.C. Bellamy	Rooster Blues Records	[ 4 mins 43 secs ]	D.C. Bellamy
alley cat blues	mississippi heat	2	warning shot	mississippi heat	delmark
Big Money Problem	Jimmy Burns	1	It Ain't Right	Jimmy Burns	DELMARK	[ 3 mins 27 secs ]	Jimmy Burns
Born and Raised	Omar Coleman	10	Born & Raised	Omar Coleman	DELMARK	[ 4 mins 5 secs ]	Omar Coleman
Too Much Pride	J. B Hutto	3	Hawk Squat	J. B Hutto	DELMARK	[ 3 mins 54 secs ]	J. B Hutto
Jump Jack, Jump!	Wynona Carr	5	Ain't Gonna Hush: the Queens of Rhythm & Blues	Various Artists	Fantastic Voyage	[ 2 mins 17 secs ]	Wynona Carr
Tough Lover	Etta James	17	Ain't Gonna Hush: the Queens of Rhythm & Blues	Various Artists	Fantastic Voyage	[ 2 mins 12 secs ]	Etta James
The Madison Shuffle	Buster Brown	4	I'm Going But I'll Be Back	Buster Brown	Jasmine	[ 0 mins 0 secs ]	Buster Brown
Lookin' for My Baby	Little Milton	6	Chicago Blues and Soul Via Memphis and St. Louis, His Early Years 1953 - 1962	Little Milton	Jasmine Records	[ 2 mins 53 secs ]	Little Milton
Ain't it the Truth Now	Eddie Bo	9	Baby I'm Wise	Eddie Bo	ACE	[ 2 mins 18 secs ]	Eddie Bo
Lollipop Mama	Wynonie Harris	10	Don't You Want to Rock? The Acetate Masters	Wynonie Harris	ACE	[ 2 mins 48 secs ]	Wynonie Harris
So Crazy About You, Baby	Tampa Red	5	Dynamite! the Unsung King of the Blues	Tampa Red	ACE	[ 3 mins 3 secs ]	Tampa Red
Too Proud	Mighty Sam McClain	2	Give it Up to Love	Mighty Sam McClain	AUDIOQUEST	[ 4 mins 38 secs ]	Mighty Sam McClain
YOU UPSET ME BABY	B B KING	1-2	BLUES IN TRANSITION	B B KING	JASMINE
Outskirts of Love	Shemekia Copeland	1	Outskirts of Love	Shemekia Copeland	Alligator Records	[ 4 mins 5 secs ]	Shemekia Copeland
MISSISSIPPI	Eddie Cotton	10	One at a Time	Eddie Cotton	DEChamp	[ 4 mins 42 secs ]	Eddie Cotton
Pick a Bale of Cotton	Eric Bibb And Jean-Jacques Milteau	9	Lead Belly's Gold	Eric Bibb And Jean-Jacques Milteau		[ 2 mins 56 secs ]	Eric Bibb And Jean-Jacques Milteau
Have You Ever Loved a Woman	Guy Davis	10	Kokomo Kidd	Guy Davis		[ 4 mins 8 secs ]	Guy Davis
When the Blues Come Around	Slam Allen	9	Feel These Blues	Slam Allen	AMERICAN SHOWPLACE	[ 3 mins 55 secs ]	Slam Allen
The Blues is Back	Slam Allen	4	Feel These Blues	Slam Allen	americN SHOWPLACE	[ 3 mins 27 secs ]	Slam Allen
Ain't No Tellin'	Brownie McGhee	3	The Complete Brownie Mcghee	Brownie McGhee	COLUMBIA	[ 2 mins 53 secs ]	Brownie McGhee
Big Bill Blues	Duke Robillard	2	The Acoustic Blues & Roots of Duke Robillard	Duke Robillard	Vizztone	[ 3 mins 35 secs ]	Duke Robillard
Crow Jane	Jontavious Willis	2	Jontavious Willis	Jontavious Willis		[ 3 mins 8 secs ]	Jontavious Willis
LUCY MAE	Jontavious Willis	1	Jontavious Willis	Jontavious Willis		[ 3 mins 22 secs ]	Jontavious Willis

Created: 27/12/2015 23:56:04