drum solo – Page 2 – the delta review

June 21, 2015

Celebrating the Life of B. B. King in Indianola

Each year in B. B. King’s hometown of Indianola, Mississippi, deep in the historic Delta region, the great bluesman returned in late May for an event called the Homecoming, where he performed for the people of his original hometown, and on the occasion of the 2014 Homecoming, he stated that that year’s event would be his last. The old man’s health was fading, and the travel was hard on him. But none of us could have imagined that he would not live to see the next one. This year’s Homecoming, coming a week or so after B. B. King’s death, was a sad occasion, and yet an opportunity for many great blues musicians to come together and honor King’s life and legacy on the grounds of the museum that bears his name. Just as the occasion was both joyful and sorrowful, the day was alternated by periods of heat and sunshine and downpours of rain, but in between the showers came a diverse array of performers, including Greenville blues diva Eden Brent, youthful St. Louis blues star Marquise Knox, Lil Ray, son of the Louisiana blues star Raful Neal, and the North Mississippi All-Stars, with Cody and Luther Dickinson, featuring Sharde Thomas on the keyboards and fife, and Lightning Malcolm on the guitar. The crowd ebbed and flowed due to the weather, but at its strongest seemed to be about 200 or so, equipped with lawn chairs, blankets and picnic baskets, and even sparklers. The North Mississippi All-Stars had barely finished their outdoor set, when the rains came a final time, more decisively, and some of the crowd headed around to the Club Ebony for the indoor evening performance. There really couldn’t have been a better way to honor B. B. King.

Keep up with Eden Brent:
http://www.edenbrent.com
https://www.facebook.com/edenbrent
http://yellowdogrecords.com/eden/
https://edenbrent.bandcamp.com

Keep up with Marquise Knox:
http://marquiseknoxblues.com
https://www.facebook.com/marquise.knox
https://myspace.com/marquiseknox

Keep up with the North Mississippi All-Stars:
http://www.nmallstars.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/nmallstarsmusic
https://www.facebook.com/nmallstars
Tweets by nmallstars
https://myspace.com/nmallstars
http://www.nmorecords.com

April 13, 2015

An All-Star Gala of Hill Country Blues at Leo Bud Welch’s Album Release Party

Perhaps Easter doesn’t bring thoughts of blues to many people, but this Easter evening was the occasion for an amazing event at Foxfire Ranch celebrating the release of a new album by 84-year-old bluesman Leo “Bud” Welch. Welch’s story is amazing, for he is an authentic traditional bluesman who remained undiscovered until 2013 at the age of 82, when he began recording his first record. He signed with Fat Possum’s Big Legal Mess subsidiary the same year, and released his debut album Sabougla Voices, which was a gospel record. (“Sabougla” is a hamlet in Calhoun County, Mississippi where Welch is from). Gospel is Leo’s preferred music, but his young audiences love to hear him play blues, and he does so on his sophomore album, which is aptly entitled I Don’t Prefer No Blues. But to celebrate its release, rather than a typical release party, a full evening of live Hill Country blues was scheduled at the Hill Country Pavilion at Foxfire near Waterford, Mississippi. Although the sun was out, the day was chilly, but a decent crowd showed up at 5 PM for the opening act, Jason Carter, who performed acoustically with another guitar player. Right behind him came Cedric Burnside and Trenton Ayres, collectively known as the Cedric Burnside Project, who got things crunk with the heavy, rock-inflected brand of blues they play, including one of Cedric’s trademark extended drum solos. Several members of the legendary Burnside family were in the audience, including Duwayne and Garry Burnside. The next act up was something a little different. Jimbo Mathus and the Tri-State Coalition are also on the Fat Possum label, and are more of a strange but winsome amalgam of indie rock, traditional country, blues and funk, which Jimbo whimsically calls “catfish music”. Although he maintains a different sound than Hill Country blues, the influence of blues can be heard through much of his work. Robert “Bilbo” Walker is 76 years old nowadays, and is a former Mississippi bluesman who currently lives in California. Although he is originally from Mississippi, his music has considerable Louisiana and swamp influences, which came to the forefront in his reading of the classic blues/soul song “Staggerlee”. Finally, at the end of the night, Leo “Bud” Welch came up with his three-piece band and performed a collection of songs from the new album, which he had available for sale there at the pavilion. When things finally came to an end around 10 PM, there was still a decent crowd.

Keep Up With Jason Carter & The Healers:
https://www.facebook.com/jasoncarterandthehealers/info?tab=page_info

Tweets by skydogj

Keep Up With Cedric Burnside:
http://cedricburnside.com
https://www.facebook.com/cedric.burnside.5

Keep up with Jimbo Mathus:
http://jimbomathus.com
https://www.facebook.com/jimbomathus
https://www.youtube.com/user/jimbomathusvideo
Tweets by JimboMathus
https://myspace.com/jimbomathus

Keep up with Robert “Bilbo” Walker:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Robert-Bilbo-Walker/144881378903373

Keep up with Leo “Bud” Welch:
http://www.leobudwelch.com
https://www.facebook.com/leobud.welch

Keep up with Foxfire Ranch:
http://www.foxfireranch.com
https://www.facebook.com/foxfireranch2008

Keep up with Fat Possum Records & Big Legal Mess Music:

Home

https://www.facebook.com/FatPossumRecords
Tweets by FatPossum

https://vimeo.com/fatpossum
https://fatpossumrecords.bandcamp.com
http://biglegalmessrecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Legal-Mess-Records/134672929932373

March 16, 2015

Soul Lives In Memphis at The Plexx

On a rainy Friday night, after I had eaten dinner at AC’s Steakhouse in Hernando, Mississippi, I was driving back into Memphis looking for some live music, preferably blues or soul. Coming in on Elvis Presley Boulevard, I had stopped briefly at Club Superior in South Memphis, a place that at least in the past has sometimes featured live blues on weekends, but seeing three young teenagers coming out of the door just as I pulled up convinced me to look elsewhere, at least on this particular night. So I decided to head down Crump Boulevard and check on a place called The Plexx, a venue owned by a local doctor, Dr. Alfred Brown, where my friend Larry Chambers from Ecko Records told me that sometimes I could find live music. Since he told me that, I had periodically checked the place out on Friday nights, but invariably found it dark and locked up. I almost didn’t check it on this particular night either, but I finally did, and for the first time, found the parking lot absolutely loaded with cars. Better yet, when I got out, I could hear the boom of the bass drum and the thump of the electric bass out on the parking lot. Admission was $5, and I soon saw that not only was there a live band, the Juke Joint All-Stars, but a large horn section as well, and a man named Melvino was fronting the band and singing when I got there. The occasion turned out to be his birthday/anniversary party, and the joint was filled with his friends and area musicians, including legendary Memphis drummer Willie “Too Big” Hall, famous for his work with the Bar-Kays, Isaac Hayes and the Blues Brothers. After the Juke Joint All-Stars performed, a man named Anthony Turner performed with his band as well, and then a group who billed themselves as Gerard and Friends performed two funk tunes with Willie Hall on drums. Randy “Wildman” Stewart, a DJ from WMPR in Jackson, Mississippi had also come up, and performed a version of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me”, and Bertha Payne, Butch Mudbone and an amazing singer named Joyce Henderson all performed. Payne’s song “It’s Friday Night” was appropriate for the occasion as far as mood, although by the time she performed it, it was Saturday morning, and Joyce Henderson’s 1 AM reading of “Wang Dang Dula” brought down the house. After her performance, the horns left, and I did as well, although I could hear that things were continuing inside. Out on the parking lot, another club down the shopping center was just getting started, and a group of teenagers was starting to argue in the line waiting to be admitted, and I figured it was time to go. Still, it was an amazing night of of the best Memphis soul and blues in an out-of-the-way spot that isn’t always open, but is always worth investigating on Friday nights.

The Plexx
380 E E. H. Crump Blvd
Memphis, TN 38126
(901) 744-2225

November 11, 2014

Memphis R & B Group Offici8l Rehearsal with 4 Soul Band @Offici8l

My homeboy Otis Logan invited me to a 4 Soul Band rehearsal that was being held on a Tuesday night in downtown Memphis in the upstairs of an old warehouse. As it turned out, the 4 Soul Band was backing up an up-and-coming R & B group called Offici8l, which had been featured on the TV show the X-Factor. They were getting ready for an out-of-town show on the weekend, and I was able to get some good video footage of Otis Logan on drums, the 4 Soul band, and Offici8l as well.

Keep up with Official:
https://www.youtube.com/user/offici8l
https://www.facebook.com/Offici8lFans
Tweets by Offici8l

http://instagram.com/offici8l