My first outing of the New Year was a blues night at Hugh's Room Live organized and hosted by Quisha Wint (who will be hosting the Maple Blues Awards) with guest vocalists Garnetta Cromwell and Sandra Bouza You hear just a bit of Quisha nailing ab Aretha classic then bandleader Michael Occhipinti and organist Joel Visentin het into “trading fours”. That night got lift-off a few times even though the rhythm section were all new to me. I told organist Visentin he bore an uncanny resemblance to the dearly departed Rod Phillips (who he had not heard of) …the look, the rig, the wild abandon in his playing… Take a look at this 1998 video of me with Rod Phillips (on piano - the organ couldn't fit into that tiny club in Barrie) and (mostly) jazz drummer Don Vickery. When I told Rod Don would be subbing in on that gig he was concerned that he was not a blues drummer. I said he's played with Jay McShann, Big Joe Williams and many other blues greats. Rod was still a little grumpy anout it because he already had somebody in mind for the gig but by the time we were halfway into the first tune I looked over and he had a big grin on his face.
