Folk Alliance Conference Rundown

Harry Manx a video by Brian Blain on Flickr.

Missed Harry's Wednesday Showcase at Folk Alliance but luckily he played again on Friday (with a gig in Quebec City between).

Our Folk Alliance adventures began on Wednesday night, a night that was dedicated to showcasing all the Canadian Talent - all the Canadian roots record labels were showing off their favourite artists in 8 different rooms. We had a blues campfire going in one of the rooms but it was hard to compete with all the amazing music that was going on all around us. Hell, even I wanted to skip out and go see Harry Manx, but I stayed at my post and had some consolation when Harry's keyboard player Clayton Doley dropped in and got the joint jumping with some Boogie Woogie. I had my buddies Allan Fraser and Russ Kelley jamming with me then Michael Jerome Browne showed up and that was a delight. Sam Turton and Jane Lewis dropped in to lead a couple of gospel-flavoured numbers. I stepped out for a moment and saw Darcy Wickham wandering around so I lassoed him into the jam (and got him playing some bass, too). He is one of Toronto's best and busiest guitar teachers and now he's got a uke. Look out! Glen Hornblast had fun at our Winterfolk campfire and re-appeared at the Folk Alliance to sit in (his tune "Freedom Train" is destined to be a folk classic). A couple of english dudes sat in for a couple of tunes - a handsome young man who didn't play an instrument, didn't want to start a song and didn't really do blues. Still, he extemporized some lyrics on a couple of tunes and his buddy played some bass. At the end of the week-end I poked in on one of the last official showcases and saw him front and centre. His name is Sam Lee and he was one of the "not-to-be-missed" buzz acts at the Conference. Who knew?

Allan and Russ joined me the next day for a session where we got together with Sue Lothrop (who had worked with both of them) and we sang tunes that we had written back in the 60s and early 70s. I sang a couple of tunes that I had never performed in public - and announced that I probably would never sing them again, though one of the audience members (I think he was from Vermont Public Radio) shouted that they were great country songs and should be recorded. He said the same thing when he ran into me in the hallway later. There were a few people in the audience who remembered those days and others who were just thrilled to hear and meet Allan Fraser because Fraser & deBolt had been part of the soundtrack of their lives since back then. Allan and I did a couple of private showcases in a hotel room (Allan has been away from the music scene for awhile and was a little surprised at the new "pay-to-play" paradigm in the music business but we had a good time and several folks mentioned to me how thrilled they were to meet the guy who wrote "Dance Hall Girls." Allan has a new CD in the works with lots of great new material - and hopefully we'll be playing around town some more. At our last showcase (2:30 am on Saturday night - or as Allan insisted, Sunday morning) two German blues musicians dropped in and it was a delight playing with Georg Schroeter and Marc Breitfelder. Marc is an amazing harmonica player who takes Carlos' "over-blowing" technique to the next level. Hope I get to play with him again sometime (maybe in Germany…)

There was so much music to see and I'm now kicking myself that I missed some great artists, Bottine Souriante for one. I really enjoyed hearing Gurf Morlix for the first time. He's a living legend. Saw Catherine Maclellan for the first time and I can see why people are quite enamoured with her. I had seen Tony Furtado a few years ago when he was a banjo hero but he has now re-invented himself into a singer-songwriter - and great guitarist. Jim Kweskin was a howl (see clip below) and so were the Howling Brothers. Ken Whiteley was terrific, as always and I enjoyed hearing Baskery (three gorgeous gals from Sweden who really rock). It was great hearing Rose Cousins again, though I made the mistake of coughing while I was sitting next to her and she was out of there like a shot. Can't be too careful these days.




I would say my "discovery" was a couple of young guys called The Milk Carton Kids. Understated, just the way I like it, so they might slip under the radar but they are worth a listen. One memorable highlight was sitting back and listening to a long set from Judy Collins. I had never seen her live and it was quite magic. She had the whole room singing along, too, and of course just about everybody in that room was a singer. The show started with a strict advisory that no recording devices were permitted, but then after a tune where everybody had sung along in a million harmonies she said "I wish we had recorded that"…Oh well. And I got to meet and hear Del Rey, a great singer-guitarist who Daisy deBolt had always wanted me to meet and now I have. We talked a bit about Daisy, and Del said Toronto was not the same for her anymore without Daisy .

Jim Kweskin at Folk Alliance 2013

Jim Kweskin at Folk Alliance 2013 a video by Brian Blain on Flickr.

Here's a folk icon in action. Jim Kweskin singing "Blues in a Bottle"

Jammin' at Winterfolk

This is my favourite part of the Campfire, when I just start making up verses and try to get my Campfire pals to join in. Freestyle, as the young 'uns call it. As you see in this clip, I'm fumbling to rhyme a verse but Kim Doolittle jumps right in and creates a couple of verses from the woman's point of view. That's Michael Jerome Browne in the middle - what a fabulous musician!

This was shot last week-end at the Winterfolk Festival (thanks to Brian Gladstone for inviting me to bring my Campfire to his cozy little February function). The festival closed off with a beautiful tribute to Brent Titcomb with performances by many of his musical buddies including "moi."



Other highlights at Winterfolk this year were hearing Rick Taylor and a gathering of the Whiteley clan (there are clips from both of these on my streaming channel - click above on "Watch The Blaincast" and stay tuned because I will be streaming more from the Folk Alliance Conference.

Tip of the Day

There was a discussion on Maplepost about how to decide on the sequence the songs on a CD. Most would say put your best foot forward and put the best song first, but DJ Paul Corby had this suggestion:

Song one : Sonic Velcro
Song two : The Hit
Song Three : The Song Yr Mom Likes Best
Song Four : My Real Deal
Song Five : Let The Quirk Work
Song Six : I Can't Believe Wrote That One In Fifteen Minutes
Song Six : Buried Treasure
Song Seven : I Didn't Know I Could Dance
Song Eight : Still Rivers Run Deep
Song Eight : Didgereedoo / Ukulele / Accordion Attack
Song Nine : Old Time Religion / Good Enough For Me
Song Ten : The Burning-ness
Song Eleven : Walking Through The Underground Garage, Up The Elevator, On
The Street OMG I Can Still Hear That Song!!!!


(I always thought you've got to grab them in the first 30 seconds :-)

Schmoozing at the Summit

Here's a few clips from some Blues Summit showcases that I caught on the BriPhone, some from my faves and others from performers I've never seen live. Enjoy a taste of Julian Fauth, Michael Jerome Browne, Bill Durst, Shakura S'Aida, David Vest, Bill Johnson, Ike Stubblefield w/The Sugar Devils, J-W Jones and Steve Hill




The Blues Summit is a unique gathering of blues artists, DJs and presenters from across Canada and beyond. This year there must have been nearly 250 delegates (and a few party crashers) and for an artist who's looking for gig opportunities, all he has to do is hang around the hotel for 3 days and sooner or later he's bound to find himself facing the artistic director of the festival he wants to play across a table or in an elevator (time to try out your "elevator pitch." This year there was even a choreographed pitch session where you could sign up for 3 minutes one-on-one with any (or all) of the participating presenters. The artists I spoke to afterwards thought it was pretty stressful and one festival director was totally exhausted by the process. One artists told me she felt a little "dirty" after going through this dance.

speed-schmoozing at the Summit

I always thought it was pretty pointless to showcase until there were people (presenters) who already wanted to see you. If you don't have a "buzz" or some manager/agent pitching you, you probably won't be selected and if you are, it's not likely you'll get a prime showcase slot. As showcases go, the Blues Summit gives you a better shot because there's never more than 2 or 3 performances going on at the same time. But it's a sad state of affairs when I see those kids driving up from some southern state just to play for 40 minutes at Canadian Music Week or North by Northeast - usually to a mostly empty room. The music business has become a pay-to-play thang. Sometimes just the parking and gas makes the difference between a profit or a loss.

My Summit experience was bookended by a couple of piano players - the first music I heard on Friday night was Julian Fauth and he is a delight to hear (and I'm taking notes on some of those tunes in anticipation of the day when we play together again). We were looking for an opportunity to jam but alas it did not materialize. On opening day there was a "Songs and Stories" workshop and I grabbed a clip of Michael Jerome Browne, a master of the folk-blues (and any other kind of blues).

Next day I heard an amazing keyboard player from out west called David Vest and my new favourite guitar player Bill Johnson (who was operating on 2 hours sleep). Vest was a bit of a "buzz act." Who would have thought you could be a buzz act when you're almost 70 years old? I'm encouraged. He has a PHD from Vanderbilt and did some time as a speechwriter/spindoctor in the dark corridors of the military industrial complex but I guess music has redeemed him and "he's Back!" Then I saw Bill Durst play for the first time. In fact I don't think I'd even heard his music, but he was making a buzz in the Kitchener/Waterloo area and now I see why. He was part of a rock band called Thundermug but that was before my time in Toronto.

Speaking of PHD's, young Jesse Whiteley was intensely working on his laptop between sets with the J-W Jones band and when I asked what he was working on he said it was his Master's thesis for York University…and the topic is the Hammond Organ, worthy of a thesis if I do say so myself. And it was a beautiful thing seeing a Hammond B3 being rolled in to the Delta for the Sugar Devils showcase. They had brought in a couple of ringers from the States for some gigs and recording and the organist was Ike Stubblefield, who I had the chance to hang out with a bit. He is a monster on the B3, and I've heard all the greats and played with a few of them.

Steve Hill did a command performance from the coffee table in the Ottawa & Quebec Blues Societies hospitality suite






Steve got a last-minute "official" showcase when fellow Montrealer Ben Racine couldn't make it through the storm and I wonder if anyone was paying attention to his song about his first experience trying to break into the Toronto music scene (not unlike my own).

But now that I'm settled in Toronto, I like to be a bit of a welcoming committee to visiting musicians and my Friday night campfire jam at the Summit was a great occasion for visiting musicians to get to know each other as they pass the guitar back and forth. There wasn't much of an audience, but it was great seeing a veteran like Terry Gillespie sharing licks and stories with a couple of new kids on the block (aka the Axe Murderer and the Harpoonist). And in true campfire style, I even managed to lasso a couple of folks into playing although they never intended to. One turns out to be a festival director from Oregon (and a mighty fine picker) and the other was frequent contributor to the MapleBlues, Richard Barry (I think he's done some time as a speech-writer, too).

Jamming with Shawn Hall (aka "The Harpoonist") and Terry Gillespie (aka "Canada's King of Roots Music" at the Summit Campfire






Besides seeing a lot of old friends, I had some pleasant surprises such as seeing my face in a book called "A Portrait of Blues in Canada" that was launched at the Summit. It's a "coffee-table" book with hundreds of beautiful black & white photos of Canadian blues pioneers and journeymen musicians shot by Randy MacNeil. Then there was the gentleman who spotted my badge and said he plays my CD on his radio show in Berne, Switzerland. The best was when some guy next to me in the urinal starts singing "Saab Story."


But as the week-end wound down on Sunday night with a spontaneous jam around the grand piano on the mezzanine it was another piano player who left a not-so-pleasant taste in my mouth after he totally dominated the jam, even as other players tried to subtely suggest that he was playing so loud that you couldn't hear the guitars. At one point the (in)famous Quebec harp player Jim Zeller appeared and jumped right into the jam making up songs on the fly. The room was filled with amazing players, yet no-one was going to start playing while this kid was pounding that piano. When he stepped away for a moment, the mild-mannered Joe Murphy slipped on to the piano bench but even that did not deter this youngster. He insinuated himself back onto the bench and pushed Joe aside.

I propose at the next Summit there should be a workshop on "Jam Etiquette" (subtitled "or you'll never work in this town again). At 4am, we were shut down by a rather unpleasant security guard and I think most of us were glad to end it because that piano player was not going to quit. This after being evicted from the initial jam location by an another overly-officious security guard makes me think it does not bode well for any late night jamming at Winterfolk or the Folk Alliance Conference which are both coming up soon in the same hotel. Wait till those security guards have to deal with ten times as many musicians.

I wasn't the only one vlogging from the Blues Summit. Here Chris Martin of cbcmusic.ca is getting a harmonica lesson from Jerome Godboo - using TWO iphones



The icing on the cake was the Maple Blues Awards on Monday night and that was one classy event - I think I repeated the phrase "rose to the occasion" a few times as I discussed the performances and the hosting by Raoul Bhaneja. All the performances were stellar. And despite some grumbling about mixing politics and blues, I don't think it hurts that a city councillor and the Prime Minister's wife are presenting awards. There are blues lovers of all stripes. What a great night!


Steve Strongman performs at Maple Blues Awards gala at Koerner Hall January 21, 2013 after accepting awards for Songwriter of the Year, Guitar Player of the Year and Recording of the Year for his recent release "A Natural Fact"

Blues Summit - Day 1

The Blues Campfire has been a part of the Blues Summit since the beginning but this year it got moved from the mainstream activities and didn't really make it onto any of the marketing or the website so I did not hope for an audience per se but the idea was always to provide a musical setting for blues musicians from all across the country to meet and jam, and true to our purpose that's what happened last night. It was beautiful watching the faces of the young guys in The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer as Terry Gillespie related the first time he saw Muddy Waters in a small club (Detroit?) when he was only 16 but noticed how the name "Muddy Waters" was spelled out in black tape on the bass drum skin.

here's a short clip from the Campfire



Jamming on a Ponter Sisters hit with Wayne Stoute (on the left - bongos), Axe Murderer (on the right) and Darcy (our audience) with Terry Gillespie (singing off camera), the Harpoonist (playing harp off camera) and Brian Blain (resophonic guitar off camera)

Playin' With My Friends

Over the last couple of months, I have some great kitchen jams with some of my oldest musical friends. I actually played a couple of gigs and did some recording with Allan Fraser - Allan just posted one of the tunes on cdbaby - a beautiful tune called "What You Said Is True" Allan and Sue Lothrop, his original singing partner before Daisy DeBolt, were sitting around my kitchen table singing tunes they did together in the sixties.

Later into the seventies, Sue and Russ Kelley were in another Montreal-based group, Rings 'n Things, that was also on the U.S. college coffee house circuit. Sue's husband Bill Garrett was in another incarnation of the same band and I did a couple of tours with them myself. And now Russ is releasing a solo album and has invited me to sit in for a few tunes. We had a rehearsal with Russ's son Alan on bass and David Baxter (who produced half of my "Overqualified" album).We're doing the CD launch on Thursday, Jan 10 at C'est What

Bonnie Raitt on Jimmy Fallon

What I was watching on Christmas night (after too much turkey)




Bonnie Raitt: Used to Rule the World (12/4/12)

and playing the Paul Siebel classic, Louise



Quote of the day, Bonnie to Jimmy Fallon "Playing slide is so easy"

Quote of the Day

"They thought to pull in people off the street you had to play loud and fast"

- from an amazing documentary series http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFCT2P6uNw8

hmmm, that's what I used to say about getting attention at those music conferences/showcases

A rather young George Shearing has a great quote too - "I like abandon, yes, but lack of discipline, no." And great stuff from Hoagy Carmichael...and I'm not even halfway through...

Women's Blues Revue

The Women's Blues Revue is the biggest event of the year for the Toronto
Blues Society and it has a lot of history. I remember a few years back when Shelagh Rogers christened Rita Chiarelli Canada's "Goddess of the Blues". That label stuck to Rita like velcro. Last night Garvia Baily spontaneously coined the nickname Donna "Goddamn" Grantis and the audience was definitely in agreement at that moment. She had just ripped off another fiery solo, but other times she'd be playing a simple back up part and Suzie Vinnick would be doing a complimentary thang on her guitar and everything they did elevated the song.

The song selection, the worked-out,-thought-out arrangements, the impeccable musicianship, great back-up vocals, expecially by Lindsay Beaver - wow! It's impossible to pick a favourite of the six featured vocalists. I guess Kelly Lee Evans was the one that took me highest but each singer touched different sensors in my enjoyment of music. Tanika Charles kicked it off great and had the most intermission buzz and made a great first impression on a couple of thousand people. Sacha Williamson was a bit more cerebral but then kicked ass with a Koko Taylor song. I was thinking Sabrina Weeks was the only white girl in the group but of course she was not. Angel Forest from Quebec gave a real Performance (with a capital "P,") and Sabrina Weeks brought a lot of class and connected great with the audience. She's coming back to Toronto to be part of an Etta James Tribute...and while I think of it, Kellylee has a gig back at Massey Hall with Michael Kaeshammer in the near future).

I would think the biggest draw last night was Saida Baba Talibah who delivered a great blues set for the occasion but we all know she can take it into some very far out musical territory. All these singers brought something all their own to the event but I dare anyone to say there was "not enough blues" as we often heard after the WBR in the past.

I got a few comments as we left - one former participant who thought the sound sucked and a musical buddy who thought the drummer was rushing too much, but for those who didn't attend because they never heard of those singers, they really missed out this year. Doubly so, because this was the year that the CBC ended their long-standing arrangement to broadcast the event. It's the public's loss (and the musicians' too, since their paycheck was dramatically reduced).

Blainletter #57, November 23, 2012

Lots to talk about this month and none of it is about my upcoming gigs…because I don’t have any more this year. This works out well because after years and years of getting the nails of my right hand coated with some nasty (but very hard) goop, I am giving them a rest. I’ve got some great stories from the nail salon but I’ll spare you. Now I just have to be careful not to get carried away at some Christmas jam or I will be coming home with some shattered nails.

Happy American Thanksgiving and the Americans have plenty to be thankful for following that election. I happened to be in a hotel room at the Delta Chelsea with an American friend and he uttered an big sigh of relief when CNN called the election in favour of Obama. He runs a large arts organization which would have been crippled if not decimated by the cuts in arts & culture that Romney would have instituted (starting with Big Bird and PBS).

Welcome to some new Blainreaders and a special thanks to my 1000th Facebook friend, Steve Tennant of Perth, Ontario. It’s a significant milestone because unlike a lot of musicians, I actually know every single one of my Facebook friends. I’ve got a lot of friend requests from people I haven’t met – and I keep them in a holding pattern until the day I get to shake their hand. Call me old fashioned, as if anyone using social media is old fashioned…

I don’t send out a lot of friend requests myself, though today as I was looking through mutual friends on someone’s page, I saw Jane Lewis’ profile and impulsively sent a request and to my delight received an immediate confirmation. I don’t know her well but we’ve played together a couple of times and she has a beautiful voice and an other-worldly celestial quality that I recognize in many of the women friends in my life. I am surrounded by angels – I don’t know what I did to deserve it.

At the same time, I’m getting requests to my LinkedIn page from a lot of people I haven’t met and never will but I’m glad to connect with them and how nice to get a notification that Treasa Levasseur is “following” me on Twitter. And then another notification that a couple of musicianfriends are now following my music on something called Deezer. I’m not even sure what that is. I can’t keep up with this.



Playin’ with My Friends

I had a great time playing with my old cover band, Oliver Klaus, in Quebec on Halloween week-end. It was a reunion after nearly 40 years. Everybody dressed up like they did in the 70s – lots of tie-dye. And we played the same set list as we did in the 70s at the Terrace Inn. Lots of Beatle tunes, I Shot the Sheriff, Some Kind of Wonderful, Layla…had a lttle trouble remembering some of those tunes. Aqualung??

When I got home we had a little kitchen session at my place where Allan Fraser and Sue Lothrop sang together for the first time since they had the group Breakfast over 40 years ago. After Breakfast broke up, Allan hooked up with Daisy DeBolt and the rest is history – albeit a short chapter. But that carefree wild abandon that characterized F & DeB started with Allan and Sue. And here they were singing some of the same songs they sang back then. I wish I’d have called out a few of the old favourites – and those songs of Allan’s are so timeless, he’s still performing some of them to this day.

A few days later Russ Kelley showed up and we swapped songs around the kitchen table too – he’s having a CD release in Toronto on January 10 – venue to be confirmed. And the biggest thrill of all was doing a gig with my son the DJ (we call it BlainBlain). He was in town for a couple of weeks and we did a set (two laptops and a MIDI rig on my guitar) at his old dubstep haunt, Thymeless on College Street. It was fun but I hadn’t fired up the old Ableton Live in months and this re-energized me….and now he’s gone again but I’m trying to keep it going on the Ableton.



Maple Blues Awards

Voting for your favourite Canadian Blues artists is open until December 8 at www.mapleblues.ca. There is a very healthy roster of talent to choose from, so go support your favourites. I believe the JUNO awards also had a whole lot of submissions in the blues category this year so the Blues is alive and well in Canada – though you wouldn’t know it from the dearth of blues clubs in Toronto

One bright spot is the blues series at Dominion on Queen where I heard some fine music last month. Last Sat it was Dylan Wickens playing some solid blues and the week before I saw Robin Banks backed by Teddy Leonard – one of my favourite guitar players since I got to Toronto and my buddies Mike Fitzpatrick and Gary Kendall. It’s an overused expression but “it doesn’t get much better than that.” My friend Peter would agree and I had brought along my son Joel who was not previously inclined to go to a blues show but who was totally bowled over.



Sleepwalkin’

I also dragged Joel along to the Sleepwalk Guitar Festival where we saw some real guitar royalty including James Burton – who played with the King himself – and Albert Lee (who played with Eric Clapton (aka “God”). In fact, it was pointed out that the amazing final guitar solo on the live version of “Layla” was not EC but Albert. He had the quote of the day, too, when someone referred to how “fast” he played and he responded “I wasn’t trying to be the fastest guitarist, I was trying to be the cleanest guitarist” I think that’s what I was enjoying about Teddy Leonard – so clean, every note crystal clear, especially in the trimmed down 3-piece format.

There were lots of other great guitarists at Sleepwalk, not the least of which was our host & organizer Luke Doucet with his Gretch White Falcon. He was everywhere and there were even a few moments where he was a little out of his element like when he was interviewing James Burton and Burton started up one of the many hits he played on and after playing a chorus launched into a solo expecting Luke would know all the chord changes but when Luke stumbled a bit James just stopped the song. One more time around and I’m sure Luke would have got it but I guess that’s what it’s like in the big leagues. Not three chances, not two chances – you get it right the first time or you don’t get to play. That’s what it’s come to nowadays on the music scene – a flawless performance the first time around or leave the stage to someone who can (that ain’t me).

The pedal steel workshop was quite phenomenal. That many slides at one time is a recipe for a nightmare but when every player has an impeccable sense of pitch and timing it is a dreamy, surreal musical high. The star of the show, of course, was Cindy Cashdollar – a superstar of slide and she lived up to her reputation. Last time I saw her she was playing with Van Morrison and I remember watching her as she had to do a quick change of instruments and there was a little technical glitch and I never saw anyone move so fast – and Van Morrison waits for no man (or woman). I had a couple of friends on that stage, two local slidemeisters Burke Carrol and Bob Taillefer, and they held their own. Junior Brown was also on the bill and he puts on a great show. What a character. And I never thought guitarists of the caliber of Colin Linden and Kevin Breit would end up being mentioned last but they also played great…



More Out and About

Danny Brooks was up from his new home in Austin Texas to play the Gladstone and it was a delight hearing Danny. I remember one time playing on the same stage as him at the first Distillery Blues Festival. It was a mid-day set in scorching July sun on an uncovered stage and I was really sweating. Danny and his bass player Dennis found one of those big umbrellas and dragged it onto the stage between songs to give me a little cover. I think I suffered a little sunstroke that day, but at least I didn’t pass out on stage. Coming up in the Toronto Blues Society’s “First Thursdays” at the Gladstone are Harrison Kennedy (Dec 6), the Chuck Jackson Trio (Jan 3) and that great Montreal singer songwriter Rob Lutes (Feb 7).
Another notable show that I caught last month was a new artist called Whitney Rose. Michelle Josef plays on her new CD and asked me to come down to the Cameron House and check it out. Whitney’s got great energy and surrounds herself with some great players. In addition to Michelle she had Basil from Blue Rodeo on bass and Jim Cuddy’s son pounding on that old upright piano. And I musn’t forget there was some great blues played at Monarch’s Pub at a fundraiser for (another) one of my favourite guitarists, Kid Ramos, who has some serious health problems. The Canadian contingent came through and raised four grand to send to the “Kid.”



On Buying CDs

I can’t remember the last time I bought a CD…well, actually I do. It was probably ten years ago and it was a Gatemouth Brown CD – he’s my favourite blues guitarists and I bought this overpriced Japanese import…and it mostly him playing fiddle. Oh well… This time I was cashing in a gift certificate and I bought two CDs by a couple of other favourite guitarists, Magic Sam and Robben Ford. And this time I was not disappointed (and the CDs were half the price of Gatemouth)



Alice Brock’s Amazing Artwork

And as a special Thanksgiving treat, my friend Alice Brock went digging through her drawers and pulled out some great original pieces which she is offering for sale. Younger Blainreaders may not remember but Alice was the subject of a very long “Thanksgiving Story” called “Alice’s Restaurant” commemorated in song by Arlo Guthrie and in film by Arthur Penn. And you can hear my little ditty, “Another Song About Alice,” in the background when you play the slideshow of Alice’s original artwork. Check it out at http://alicebrock.phanfare.com/5844148. You can view her painted beach stones and prints as well as the original pieces at www.alicebrock.com



Cheesed about Mac & Cheese

I’ve always been the first to try every possible variation of my favourite comfort food, macaroni & cheese, and some have been excellent – though none compared with my mother’s which was made with Kraft slices and lots of milk – but the last couple of times I wasn’t reading the menu carefully and my beloved mac ‘n cheese came in blocks that were breaded and deep-fried. Sacrilege! (although serving in multiple cubes meant that it stayed hot till the last bite). But still…

As you can see, I’m running out of things to babble about so that’s all for tonight. Thanks for reading this far. Next time I’ll have a few gigs to report. BrianB

A Gathering of Folk

The OCFF (Ontario Council of Folk Festivals) Conference is a gathering of 600+ folkies, mostly young, earnest folksingers trying to get the attention of a handful of festival producers and a few other presenters. I didn't recognize hardly anybody on the list of "official" showcases but there are lots of other showcases, some sponsored by organizations like the Blues Society or Folk Music Canada and then many other "guerilla" showcases in hotel rooms, just a guy and a guitar with (maybe) a few people listening.I was parachuted in to host the Blues Society's official workshop when Danny Marks called in sick. I got to play a few tunes in between the showcasers and I believe I had a "moment" or two. As "band coach" Tom Jackson preaches at Music Week and/or NXNE, our job as artists is to "create moments" and it's true, that's what people take away with them.

The folk community's answer to Tom Jackson is Vance Gilbert and he's full of tips about how to stand and hold your guitar and he had the best quote of the week-end, "you'll get a lot richer selling guitars than playing guitars." I had never seen him in action - he's hilarious. I didn't get to take in much of the daytime activities since I was staying up so late and driving back and forth from Mississauga to TO. Friday night I didn't make it home till 6am.

I enjoyed playing bass at the 3am Campfire in HOTCHA's suite and didn't realize 'till after, that some of the folks that dropped in were big deals in their home territories (ie Australia). Bev was playing a solid snare and Howard had some great material that is not part of the usual HOTCHA repertoire. We rocked.

There were panels for first-timers, mentoring sessions, how to get your music into film & TV (don't bother, it's a closed shop) and getting an agent and manager (don't call us, we'll call you). One of the highlights was a photo exhibit from the golden age of coffee-houses. What a treat to see folks I knew looking so young and fresh (sort of like most of the attendees at the conference).

Here's me standing next to a pic of Allan Fraser & Sue Lothrop (aka Breakfast) who I managed in the 60s.

After the photo exhibit I slipped up to Russ Kelley's room with Sue and Bill Garrett and we had a wonderful session swapping songs from 40 years ago - one of which I didn't even remember writing (thank goodness Sue wrote it down)


The blues, neither the showcase nor the jam, were a big draw for the folkies, regrettable because it's such a big part of folk music - but maybe it's kinda like a poor cousin. No respect and not much interest. One of the official showcases was Sue Foley and Peter Karp and I got there in time to hear one acoustic tune and one electric tune. Karp did all the talking and most of the singing. Not very bluesy to my ears and short on the "Three E's" - Energy, Emotion and Engagement (hey, I just made this up).

Before them, I saw a tune by a singer-songwriter who looked good but sounded kinda generic to me. His name was Ian Sherwood and I mention him because a little bit later CBC honcho Ann MacKeigan came up and said "did you hear that guy?" I said I heard only one tune but she was admitedly quite touched by this guy's music. So there you go. If you ever get discouraged because there's only 20 people in a room that holds 200, remember one of them might be Ann MacKeigan. That's the nature of "industry showcases" like this.

I didn't apply for any showcase, never have, and it's my feeling that showcasing at this (and most) music conferences is not really worth it unless people already want to see you (I'll let you know when I get there). If you keep applying over and over you might eventually get accepted but then you will be put in a time slot that is not likely to have a lot of traffic It's up to you to bring your own traffic, like every other gig in the music business. A play at a big festival can look great in your press kit but what's the point if you're on the big stage at 11 in the morning before the audience gets there.

Following the event, I saw a lot of discussion on the internet about the "app" and I depended on it quite a bit because I didn't get my hands on a printed program book until Saturday when I collected my goodie bag. Many said last year's app was better - I can't compare because I didn't have a smartphone last year but I am a great admirer of Trevor Mills, who developed it. Both Trevor and Favequest, the quys who did this year's app, have created boilerplates so that they don't have to re-invent the wheel for every client. Of course, this means there will be limitations but it keeps the cost down. In the case of Favequest, they had 3 models and I think the one we used was the most basic (for which they charge $900/yr). The schedule was good but It had only bios for the "official" showcasers and in this age we expect every occurrence of an artist's name hot-linked to a bio/description. And while we're at it, each occurrence of a venue should be hot linked to a map/directions of how to get there. I got lost on the way to the conference centre and I got lost once I got there and was nearly late for my hosting duties.

Like all these events it's mostly musicians playing for musicians and what's wrong with that? It was a veritable love-in for the folk community.

Remembering Kathi McDonald

Kathi Mcdonald was one of the all-time great female vocalists in rock,blues and R&B. She passed away yesterday, apparently slipped into a coma and never came out.

She had an incredible resume, which you can see elsewhere, but there was a bit of a Canadian connection via Long John Baldry who toured with her for maybe 20 years. Baldry's band always had a few Canadians, Papa John King, Butch Coulter, Al Webster band many others including yours truly when I subbed for Papa John in Brampton or Brantford. Kathi & John made some classic recordings and the bands gave some unforgettable shows. I toured Germany with Kathi & Butch Coulter for 3 weeks in 09 and I could see in every venue we played there were framed pictures or posters of Baldry and Kathi was treated like royalty.

I must share my introduction to Kathi McDonald: I arrived in Frankfurt for this German tour a few hours before Kathi. I was settled in my hotel room and asked the desk to let me know when Miss McDonald arrived. I received a call later "There seems to be a problem. Miss McDonald says her bag has been stolen." She got on the phone, speaking so fast I could really understand what she was saying then she told me to meet her in room 3-something and when I got there, she had stuff spread all over the bed & floor and was sobbing "It's gone! It's all gone, my passport, my money, my jewelry, my pictures...my phone book!! All those numbers... Peter Frampton's fucking home number..."

I'm thinking "this tour is over before it even started" and "How are we going to tell Butch?" but then she says "Oh fuck it, let's go get a drink." We go around the block, she has a couple of Cuba Libre and I have a slice of pizza then we make our way back to the hotel. We get into the tiny cage elevator and I accidentally push the button for the second floor (she was on the third floor and I was on the fourth floor). The elevator door opens on the second floor and I see a small bag and a purse on the floor and say "Kathi, is that your stuff?" She's incredulous. Obviously as she was loading in her stuff (and she had many bags) she brought the two most important ones up to what she thought was her floor (in her jet-lagged state) and dropped them while she got the rest.

That was just the beginning of the adventure of a lifetime, with musical highs that I will cherish forever. I have have played alongside some great singers but never experienced anyone with a voice like that. I think I heard somewhere that she was Etta James' favourite singer. She was many singers' favourite singer. Another memory from that tour - on one of the last gigs, as I was basking in the applause after my little feature spot in the show, she leaned into my ear and said "you know it would be nice if you could learn a couple of words of German for moments like this..." Danke schön, Kathi

Blainletter #56, October 2, 2012

Over the past few weeks I have been taken back to my days with Fraser & DeBolt (60s & 70s). Last week I had the great joy to play with Allan Fraser a couple of times (he borrowed my guitar and I’ve still got his setlist taped to the side). On Thursday, Oct 4th, TOMORROW NIGHT, the Blues Campfire Jam at the Record Vault (7-11pm) will be dedicated to the memory of Daisy DeBolt who passed away exactly a year on that day. I’m hoping some musos who were inspired by Daisy will drop by. I just uploaded a music video she made in 1986. Dig it:

All Daisy’s friends, musical or otherwise are invited to Naomi Tyrell's on Sunday afternoon, October 21st (2-6pm), for a memorial pot-luck.

I’ve also been asked to host the Blues Campfire Jam at the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals conference in Mississauga on the week-end of October 12th. I’ve done this a few times before and I’ve met some fabulous musicians from all over Canada and beyond and we always have a great time. Unfortunately it’s only for the registered delegates.

The other half of Fraser & DeBolt, Allan Fraser has been spending a little more time in Toronto and we had a few opportunities to play together in the last couple of weeks. I just uploaded a tune from our impromptu appearance at Robert Priest’s regular Tranzac matinee. Impromptu for me, I’ll say, because when Allan starts playing you can watch my face as I’m trying to figure out what tune he just started. It was “This Storm Shall Surely Pass,” a tune I remembered because it was on the Fraser & DeBolt album I produced back in the 70s, but I don’t remember playing it in an awfully long time – and I don’t think I ever played bass on it.



But here you can watch me trying to sing along and it’s amazing that I remembered as many words as I did. It’s a testimony to Allan’s songwriting that his lyrics are so memorable. Twice in the last few months I’ve been in some casual song circles where somebody pulled out “Dance Hall Girls” and everybody knows the tune well enough to sing along. It’s a Canadian folk classic…it should be in the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. It’s on the new album by John Oates (of Hall & Oates) and that should give the tune a little international bumpf. Allan needs to get out and play more and if there’s anyone out there who can help, feel free to contact me. Allan is also looking for someone to help administer his catalogue and find an appropriate publisher. He’s got a whack of great songs.

Back to the Terrace Inn
Meanwhile, I’m preparing for the reunion concert with another pioneering group that I worked with in the 70s. Oliver Klaus was a “brother band” who had their own recording studio and record label back in the late 60s in the Eastern Townships. I wrote a song about my days with the Klaus and the bar where we played all summer, The Terrace Inn. The annual reunion concert will take place Saturday, October 27 at the Maison de La Culture in Waterloo, Quebec. Because it’s Halloween week, they’re making it a costume party and asking everyone to dress up like it was the 70s. I haven’t thought of my costume yet, but I’ve been running over some of the tunes. We’ll be playing all the same tunes we were doing back then, I Shot The Sheriff, Back in the USSR, Free Ride, Layla, Band on the Run….oh boy! And of course I’ll be singing “Terrace Inn.” Here’s a clip of me doing it at the last reunion – we’re going to try to rehearse it this time:



New Folk Blues 2.0
October 5 is exactly 2 years since we recorded “New Folk Blues.” It was just George Koller and moi, “live” at Reba’s Café. It is now becoming my “living” album and in the last few months we’ve made some great strides towards “New Folk Blues 2.0.” We’ve done a couple of “sweetening” sessions already and a couple more will happen in the next few months. You won’t recognize it! A big thank-you to those who have funded (and continue to fund) this recording project. I couldn’t do it without you.

Out and About
The Southside Shuffle is the last blues festival of the season around here and I was only able to catch the last day since I was gigging on the Friday and it was raining on the Saturday. They have definitely downsized as we noted with a drastically smaller programme and no big-ticket mainstage concerts. Still, I rather liked the new set-up in the park. They had two stages at one end of the park and two stages at the other end. Sound bleed was minimal and with the quick switch to the neighbouring stage, the music was pretty well continuous. They were charging $5 to get into the park. It is the harsh reality of the blues scene today that you can find world-class, award-winning artists playing to a handful of people. Harrison Kennedy is all the more authentic now that he’s playing a banjo and Michael Pickett had us believing he was on a chain gang in some southern cotton field with his soulful performance. But nothing could be more soulful than the Levy sisters backing up Ken Whiteley. He had a great new composition called “God is Bigger Than That.” Ken noted that at this time last year he was in a coma in the hospital and many of us wondered if he’d ever be back on stage (he must have wondered, too) but here he was sounding great and…well, inspiring. I also got to hear Bill Johnson again…one hard-working bluesman, and it will take a lot of hard work to make a buzz in this town even if you are a big deal out west. The unassuming Julian Fauth was pounding the keys in a restaurant patio and he was sounding great. Another great artist that we tend to take for granted (maybe because you can see him playing in this town just about any night of the week) I sure look forward to playing with him again. It was a lot of great home-grown blues for one Sunday afternoon.

Last Saturday I made it out to Nuit Blanche, a huge event that transforms downtown Toronto into one big art installation. I skipped last year, even though I really wanted to see Daniel Lanois’ project) so this year I made a special effort but I ran out of steam quite early and what I saw was...underwhelming. Walking up Bay street we were able to enjoy the free cotton candy – that was a good start, I guess. Projections on (and inside) City Hall were pretty amazing but the undergound Museum of the End of the World was downright lame. If it was meant to be dark and depressing, it worked. In fact the whole theme of the night seemed to be apocalyptic. I guess we’ll see on Dec 21st whether the Mayans were right about the end of the world. We cut the night short with cocktails in the Lobby Bar at the Ritz Carleton. Cotton candy and a $16 martini, that’s how I’m going to remember Nuit Blanche.

Thanks for reading this far. I’m trying to keep the Blainletter a little shorter but I’m adding pics & vids, which if they don’t display in this email, you can watch at www.brianblain.ca

Here’s the deets on the gigs:

Thursday, October 4, 7-11pm, The Record Vault, 2156 Queen St East (just east of Glen Manor Road). Brian’s Blues Campfire - special edition, dedicated to the memory of Daisy DeBolt. PWYC

Wednesday October 10, 5-8pm Gate 403, 403 Roncesvales. Toronto The Blain-Davis-Gould Blues Trio PWYC

Friday, October 12, 11:30-2am, hosting the Blues Campfire Jam at the OCFF Conference, Delta Meadowvale Resort and Conference Centre, Mississauga. Delegate badge required

Saturday, October 27, 8pm Maison de La Culture, 441, rue de la Cour, Waterloo, Quebec (450) 539-4764. Annual reunion of Oliver Klaus. It will also be a Halloween Party (dress like you did in the 70s) $29 (tax included)

Blainletter # 55, August 30, 2012

As usual, I’m scrambling to get out this Blainletter the day before a gig. It never fails...

Upcoming Shows

Friday, Aug 31 8pm Musideum at 401 Richmond. I'll be sitting in with guitarist Bob Cohen for his monthly "Bobpalooza." This is a gem of a venue, a tiny place full of musical instruments and a beautiful grand piano. $10 (or PWYC)i

Friday, Sept 7 8pm Moonshine Café, Kerr St, Oakville Brian’s Blues Campfire comes to Oakville. Robert Davis will be joining me and hopefully a few locals. All musicians welcome. $5 for non-players

Wednesday Sept 12, 5-8pm Gate 403, 403 Roncesvales. Toronto The Blain-Davis-Gould Blues Trio (also playing Oct 10) PWYC

Thursday, September 20, The Record Vault, Queen St East. Brian’s Blues Campfire. This new vinyl emporium wants to inject some live music into those walls and they’ve got the perfect back room for it. I’ll be bringing along a few friends and maybe a few Beaches musicians will come sit in. PWYC

Saturday, October 27, Maison de La Culture, 441, rue de la Cour, Waterloo, Quebec (450) 539-4764. This is the annual reunion concert for my old band in the Townships, Oliver Klaus. It will also be a Halloween Party (dress like you did in the 70s) $29 (tax included). Here I am with the Klaus at last year's reunion

So what else is going on?

Just back from Cape Cod where I had a wonderful time. There were some big ticket shows in the area (including the Newport Jazz Festival) but I just haven't been motivated enough to get out, even though I would have loved to see Tedeschi-Trucks again (btw, everywhere you go in Mass, there’s a Tedeschi grocery store or gas station). I did get to a couple of free park concerts by some locals. There was a top-notch bluegrass/country group called Toast & Jam and one was a trio of old geezers singing songs like “Roll Out the Doobie” (to the tune of “Roll Out the Barrel”) and “Why did they bust Willie Nelson?”

Musical highlight was jamming with my old buddy Scott Billington and a genuine guitar hero, Bill Kirchen (aka the Titan of the Telecaster). He plays with Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello and reacoded with many greats like Maria Muldaur. If you remember Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen, that was Bill). Scott, a great harmonica player as well as a prolific record producer led us in a version of "Baby Elephant Walk" by Henry Mancini (it's not that removed from a 12-bar blues).

The “lowlight” (if such a word exists) was a very rocky ride on the fast-boat from Boston harbour to P-town which immediately followed a bowl of “iffy” clam chowder – not a good combo. Now I’ve got a new blues moniker, “Seasick Blain.”

With my borrowed Gibson, I actually played for an hour or so outside one of the shops on Commercial Street in Provincetown (I hope this admission doesn’t get me in trouble with the US Homeland Security police). I believe that’s the first time in my nearly fifty-years of playing that I have ever “busked.” Hell, I spent ten years being a judge for the TTC Subway Musician Auditions and I’ve got the swag to prove it, but now I know what it feels like. It’s hard work. You can’t walk 100 feet down Commercial Street without running into a busker or a barker (the rule for buskers is that your sound must not travel more than 50 feet). Cops patrol on Segways. Oh yeah, I made 14 bucks – not enough to pay for the lobster dinner but it covered the appetizer.

The Cape Cod Blues



Here’s a little tune I wrote during my last couple of days on the Cape on a borrowed guitar (thank-you Jennifer). I made this clip in the backyard on a Sony Bloggie that they were giving away to guests at the casino. I started to write about the shark attack in Truro near Provincetown (It was headline news in Toronto) but I think I got a little carried away. I don’t think the Cape Cod tourism bureau will be using it in their marketing, but maybe it will become an anti-tourism anthem for the residents who wish people would stay away – Their narrow little Route 6 (which starts here and ends in California) is mostly clogged to gridlock and the main street in Provincetown is a crush of people with cars and bikes trying to snake their way through. There's a very different vibe in a town like this, where originally the only way to get there was by boat. There were no roads up the Cape all the way to Provincetown until long after it was settled. I just learned that Provincetown was the real landing place of the pilgrims, but when they got a closer look they just got back on the boat and continued across the bay to Plymouth Rock.

I had hoped to check out the Farnham Blues Festival in the Townships and then I found myself driving past Kingston on the opening night of the Limestone Blues Festival, but alas I wasn’t able to take in either of them.

Out and About

Upon my return to Toronto, I was intent on seeing the band that won the Blues Society’s Talent Search, Irene Torres and the Sugar Devils so Tuesday night I made it down to Lou Dawgs and I was not disappointed (well, I was a little disappointed in the fries!). This band is going places. I’ve played with drummer Andrew Austin a couple of times and he’s got the groove. Kudos to them and also to the musicians chosen to represent the Toronto Blues Society at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Suzie Vinnick and Paul Reddick (two folks I’ve enjoyed playing with in the past).

Just before heading to Mass, I took in the Beaches Jazz fest. I never miss this event (though this is the first time I missed the media launch) but I got down to Woodbine Park on the first week-end - it's just a short walk from my place. I didn't see a whole lot but David Rotundo with Enrico and Alberto, two killer Italian guitarists. Also caught Treasa Levasseur's set and was glad I did because I missed her when she opened for George Benson at Toronto Jazz (apparently she sold more CDs than anyone in the HMV tent). On the Thursday night, I took in the Streetfest - I do not usually venture onto the streetfest on the week-end when it's too much of a crush, but I did go back Saturday and stayed at the east end of Queen St. to hang out with the soulful Terry Gillespie and a solid stripped-down trio but with two very slick acts on either side of him. One was Sultans of String who have a great show and have now broken into the soft-seater market. On the other side was Jeannie Mackie (Sp?) who I never see out on the circuit but who had a first class production and an A-list of sidemen including Rob Gusevs and Gary Taylor. Their material was kinda generic but they played great. Terry on the other hand always takes you on a unique musical journey.

It seemed like there was an army of cops on the street, with four at every intersection, one or two at every stage and many more circulating. I was thinking the bill for off-duty cops must have been staggering but then I noticed that most of them had the uniform and lots of stuff on their belt - but no gun. Then I looked more carefully and saw that they had an "Auxiliary Police" badge on their shoulder - and many of them looked like they were still in high-school. I suppose their hourly rate is considerably less than off-duty cops with guns.

I had they feeling that there was some belt tightening at the Beaches: you could tell from the line-up - mostly local bands - and the hospitality backstage was not what it used to be. No more chicken...but I enjoyed a sausage and a slice of watermelon.

As I walked towards Queen and Woodbine I was hearing a caucophony of drums but when I got close up I realized it was Rick Lazar's Samba Squad and it was a trip to watch them. A real cross-section of society banging on drums, tambourines and cowbells with some pretty intricate arrangements. As I walked a little further there was a bigger crowd for a violinist and I figured out right away that this was the local legend, Dr Draw (??) who I had been told would consistently pack the street to the extent that it was impossible to get through his crowd. Further down I saw more of David Rotudo where I shot a little video clip of Enrico Crivallero playing on his back on the street - hope he didn't wreck that nice shirt.

There was a great photo exhibit in a tent and I'm happy to report that my friend "Dawk" McCarthy won first prize in the competition for his photo of Shrimp Daddy. Dawk has taken some great pics of me over the years and he's got a keen eye.

Sherrie Williams closed out the Saturday mainstage and I have to say I was kinda underwhelmed - maybe it's because her piano player didn't make it across the border and I imagine he was a big part of the show, especially the gospel-flavoured numbers where she starts to testify a bit. You needed that piano/organ noodling in the backgroud to really get the feeling that you're in church. She showed her irritation when she commented cynically "You Canadians can feel well protected from anyone who might have had a DUI conviction in his youth or got behind in his child-support payments"

On the other hand, Johnny Rawls, who closed out the Sunday show, was the consumate pro - grabbing the audience from the moment he hit the stage and right through to the end where he had to introduce the band members and obviously didn't know the names of the two Toronto ringers, Gary Kendall and Michael Fonfara who may or may not have been there because of border hassles. Once he figured out their first names, he introduced "Gary from Mobile, Alabama" and Mike from some place in Mississippi. Pretty funny but very professional, now that I think about it. He didn't want his audience to know they were getting anything less than the full blown Johnny Rawls show. And, of course, Gary and Michael pulled it off great. Very solid, entertaining set. I started out the Saturday afternoon in the beer area but with a PA that seemed a little underpowered, I couldn't hear a word that Bill King was saying as he talked about his guest vocalist.

Friday I missed the action because I played a solo gig at the Hockley Resort. I've played there a couple of times with Larry Kurtz and now I was subbing for him. My experience there has never been very fulfilling because you drive a long way to play for people who couldn't care less. This time it was a little better because most of the audience consisted of a huge family reunion and a few of them were right into the music. Once they had left, though, I had one table left at the back for the last half hour and I was getting pretty tired. There was a nice comfy couch right next to where I was playing and I toyed with the idea of moving over and playing from the couch but then I remembered this is the place where I got in trouble with the gal who booked me because one of the staff had reported to management that I had fallen asleep on stage :-) I tried to explain that I play with my eyes closed and I guess I might have been just noodling along with my looper because as I recall there was only one couple who were not remotely interested in the music and a bartender that just wanted to go home. Anyway, I wasn't about to stretch back on that couch and take a chance that I might get too comfortable...

Brian’s “Living Album” update

I know it’s moving pretty slowly, but we got into the studio last month (the wonderful Canterbury Sound). Clayton Doley (now back in Australia, boo-hoo) did some beautiful Hammond organ overdubs on a few tracks and next month we’ll be giving a couple of tunes the “bluesgrass” treatment. New Folk Blues 2.0 should be out for Christmas. You’ll be the first to know.

Thanks for reading this far, and a special thanks to those of you who come up to me on the street and say how much you enjoy the Blainletter. If it weren’t for you I probably wouldn’t bother. As I’ve whined previously, I am now semi-retired, which means I’ll come out and play if invited but I’m through groveling for gigs. That’s for the youngsters whose career is mostly ahead of them.

Beaches Jazz: I never miss this event (though this is the first time
I missed the media launch) but i got down to Woodbine Park on the
first week-end - it's just a short walk from my place. I didn't see a
whole lot but David Rotundo with Enrico and Alberto, two killer
Italian guitarists. Also caught Treasa Levasseur's set and was glad I
did because I missed her when she opened for George Benson at Toronto
Jazz (apparently she sold more CDs than anyone in the HMV tent).

On the Thursday night, I took in the Streetfest - I do not usually
venture onto the streetfest on the week-end when it's too much of a
crush, but I did go back Saturday but started at the east end of Queen
St. and stayed there to hang out with Terry Gillespie, who had to very
slick acts on either side of him. One was Sultans of String who have
a great show and have now broken into the soft-seater market. On the
other side was Jeannie Mackie (Sp?) who I never see out on the circuit
but who had a first class production and an A-list of sidemen
including Rob Gusevs and Gary Taylor. The material was kinda generic
but they played great. But Terry plays with so much heart and has
such an original take on the blues that even in a trimmed-down trio,
he takes you on a great musical journey.

It seemed like an army of cops on the street, with four at every
intersection, one or two at every stage and many more circulating. I
was thinking the bill for off-duty cops must have been staggering but
then I noticed that most of them had the uniform and lots of stuff on
their belt - but no gun. Then I looked more carefully and saw that
they had a "Auxiliary" on their shoulder badges - and many of them
looked like they were still in high-school. I suppose their hourly
rate is considerably less than off-duty cops with guns.

I had they feeling that there was some belt tightening at the Beaches:
you could tell from the line-up - mostly local bands - and the
hospitality backstage was not what it used to be. No more
chicken...but I enjoyed a sausage and a slice of watermelon.

As I walked towards Queen and Woodbine I was hearing a caucophony of
drums but when I got close up I realized it was Rick Lazar's Samba
Squad and it was a trip to watch them. A real cross-section of
society banging on drums, tambourines and cowbells with some pretty
intricate arrangements. As I walked a little further there was a
bigger crowd for a violinist and I figured out right away that this
was the local legend, Dr Draw (??) who I had been told would
consistently pack the street to the extent that it was impossible to
get through his crowd. Further down I saw more of David Rotudo where I
shot a little video clip of Enrico Crivallero playing on his back on
the street - hope he didn't wreck that nice shirt.

There was a great photo exhibit in a tent and I'm happy to report that
my friend "Dawk" McCarthy won first prize in the competition for his
photo of Shrimp Daddy. Dawk has taken some great pics of me over the
years and he's got a keen eye.

Sherrie Williams closed out the Saturday mainstage and I have to say I
was kinda underwhelmed - maybe it's because her piano player didn't
make it across the border and I imagine he was a big part of the show,
especially the gospel flavoured numbers where she starts to testify a
bit. You needed that piano/organ noodling in the backgroud to really
get the feeling that you're in church. She showed her irritation when
she commented cynically "You all can feel well protected from anyone
who might have had a DUI conviction in his youth or got behind in his
child-support payments"

On the other hand, Johnny Rawls who closed out the Sunday show, was
the consumate pro - grabbing the audience from the moment he hit the
stage and right through to the end where he had to introduce the band
members and obviously didn't know the names of the two Toronto
ringers, Gary Kendall and Michael Fonfara who may or may not have been
there because some of his band also had trouble getting into the
country. Once he figured out their first names at least he made up
their hometowns and introduced "Gary from Mobile, Alabama" and Mike
from some place in Mississippi. Pretty funny but very professional,
now that I think about it. He didn't want his audience to know they
were getting anything less than the full blown Johnny Rawls show.
And, of course, Gary and Michael pulled it off great. Very solid,
entertaining set. I started out the Saturday afternoon in the beer
area but with a PA that seemed a little underpowered, I couldn't hear
a word that Bill King was saying as he talked about his guest
vocalist, Stacy...

Friday I missed the action because I played a solo gig at the Hockley
Resort. I've played there a couple of times with Larry Kurtz and now
I was subbing for him. My experience there has never been very
fulfilling because you drive a long way to play for people who
couldn't care less. This time it was a little better because most of
the audience consisted of a huge family reunion and a few of them were
right into the music. Once they had left, though, I had one table
left at the back for the last half hour and I was getting pretty
tired. There was a nice comfy couch right next to where I was playing
and I toyed with the idea of moving over and playing there but then I
remembered this is the place where I got in trouble with the gal who
booked me because one of the staff had reported to management that I
had fallen asleep on stage :-) I tried to explain that I play with my
eyes closed and I guess I might have been just noodling along with my
looper because as I recall there was only one couple who were not
remotely interested in the music and a bartender that just wanted to
go home. Anyway, I wasn't about to stretch back on that couch and
take a chance that I might get too comfortable...

Blainletter 54, July 12, 2012

Music On At The Moment: Sugar Camp Music with Steve Fruitman. This was a live-in-studio session we recorded last month at CIUT. My oldest musical buddy, Allan Fraser was Steve Fruitman’s special guest on this one-hour special. They talked about Fraser & DeBolt and they sure talkied a lot about me… then Allan played a batch of tunes in the sweltering Map Room of Hart House at the University of Toronto accompanied by guitarist Bob Cohen, Joel Axler on piano and myself on bass. You can listen to the archived show here: http://www.backtothesugarcamp.com/sc21.html

Great to see (er, hear) live music sessions on the radio – last night I heard Danny Marks with Rita Chiarelli and Donnie Walsh live from the jazz.fm performance space. I don’t think Mother CBC is going to be doing as much live music recording with their budget cuts so it’s good that private and community radio are prepared to take the extra trouble of bringing real live musicians into the studio and letting them play.

When the Sugar Camp ended I heard Suzie Vinnick’s new CD on John Valenteyn’s radio show and it sounded great – in fact her little guitar, Mabel, never sounded so good. And it’s just her. If you’re reading this in Thurs 12 July, her CD launch is TONITE at Hugh’s Room. That’s where I’m headed later tonight.

Last weekend I did a lot of walking as Afrofest was in my neighbourhood and simultaneously the Festival of South Asia was in full flight at the foot of my street. Maybe there were some outstanding artists from the mother country but all I saw was more like a fashion show or Bollywood dancer exercises. And even Afrofest, where I usually discover some phenomenal music, was musically not to my liking – Mind you the stage caught fire when Madagascar Slim (as part of the African Guitar Summit) tore up the Woodbine Park with some searing blues guitar solos. That’s right, it wasn’t at Queen’s Park this year, and though they’ll never admit it, Woodbine might be a better home for this growing festival. It’s the first time I’ve seen this park working at capacity. It’s quite pathetic looking when there’s only a few hundred people in front of the stage.

Jazzfest redux: I already posted some daily blogs during the Toronto Jazz Festival but in case you don’t check in regularly at brianblain.ca, I’ll work my way backwards from the closing night with Tower of Power. They get the “blew my mind and I never expected” prize. I didn’t know much about the band but recently had seen a DVD on them. And also around the same time, I received the Tedechi-Trucks live double CD and I listened once but was not affected anywhere near what I experienced live with both of those bands. Tower of Power so tight because they’ve been together 42 years and the Tedeschi-Trucks because they put together a dream band of players who are all equal in virtuosity to the phenomenal Derek Trucks. The ticket price bore witness to the high cost of A-list sidemen and extra rehearsal time (I’m assuming). They have mastered the flow of energy from song to song just as every Derek Trucks solo builds and builds to the point where he’s got everybody on their feet.

In contrast with Tedeschi-Trucks who arrived with two tour buses and 2 semi-trailers of gear (which couldn’t even turn onto Nathan Phillips Square), next day Canadian blues buzz-act Matt Andersen arrived on the site by himself with his guitar and a Long & McQuade plastic bag with a set of strings and a Boss tuner. He then proceeded to change his strings 20-minutes before showtime – yikes! That’s something most of us guitar players would be very reluctant to do. He must have stretched them out pretty good because he didn’t have any tuning trouble and he tore through a great set for maybe 500 fans. He’s still a gentle, unassuming character for someone who’s now in the big leagues. Joan Osborne played first and did her hit (what if God….) but I didn’t really feel a connection with her music. Mind you, I loved what she did with the Funk Brothers.

I wanted to go back up to the Orbit Room to hear Donna Grantis. The previous night I went up with Clayton and Colleen Allen was the special guest. Colleen was playing great, with lots of sax/guitar doubling. Clay sat in for a tune and I tried to corner the very-busy Colleen for a recording session. Saida Baba Talibah and her other guitarist, Hill, arrived to jam but I just had to head home.

I was thrilled to hear Trombone Shorty again, since the last time they came to town (a show that Downtown Jazz presented at the Opera House) there was such a crowd in the place there was no oxygen and then after imbibing a little too much (and it doesn’t take much imbibing to get me over the edge) I felt the need to sit down and there were no chairs anywhere. I stepped outside and “when I regained consiousness…” I must have written about this in a previous blog, but the joke around the festival HQ now was that they brought back Shorty so I could get a chance to see the show. I’m sure there were some other factors...

Saida Baba Talibah did the opening set – I caught only the last couple of tunes (though I could hear the rumble from the media trailer). Turns out a lot of the low-end was coming from Tuba Joe, from NYC. We had a nice chat after and he was explaining his rig – how he gets a tuba to sound like a punchy Fender bass. We got talking so much that I never made it over to the Spectrum Road show at the Sound Academy. I heard that show rocked, though I must say that Jack Bruce is not a bass hero (at least not to other bass players). On the other hand, the glamorous, gorgeous and super-talented Esperanza Spalding would qualify as today’s bass “goddess.” Two of the top players in town were certainly entranced and I don’t think they would mind if I named them: David Woodhead and Henry Heilig. I found that Esperanza’s music kinda went over my head as did her opening artist Gretchen Palato (sp?). Her spontaneous duet with Esperanza at the encore was the highlight but her music also escaped me. I will remember her more for the delicious cookies she left behind in the media trailer

I caught some of the 5-o’clock show and it was a loving tribute to George Shearing played by some local musos who played with George a lot, Reg Schwager, Don Thomson, and Neil Swainson. The played perfect recreations of the “Shearing sound” with piano and vibes playing the same lines.

George Benson played amazing guitar and was positively chatty with the crowd, finally stopping himself “hey, I came here to play guitar!” I made my way out halfway through his set, but ended up talking with the Treasa Levasseur gang outside the tent (she opened the show) so I heard him changing gears into a more acoustic sound but I was trying to get down to the Opera House for Soul Rebels, a New Orleans horn band produced by my friend Scott Billington. They did great and made lots of new fans in Toronto. They’re getting the big push so you’ll be hearing more of them. Before Benson I was at the sold out show for guitar god Bill Frisell at Harbourfront and what grabbed my attention right away was the immense respect for him that the audience was radiating. Almost religious. Everybody felt like it was a privilege for them to be in this space about to be transported into another realm, and they were. It started out with spacey guitar sounds and special effects – not unlike some new-age mood music that jazz fans would typically dismiss – but then a Beatles melody would appear in the mix and he would take it to another place and of course the guitar playing was exquisite. Many years ago I walked out of a Bill Frisell show because it was just so atonal (and so loud) that I couldn’t take it. All is forgiven now, Bill.

I won’t dwell on Monday (aka Black Monday) when many artists who were supposed to be playing in Toronto were stranded at the airport in New York including the guitarist from Los Amigos Invisibles, Roberta Gambarini’s pianist (the amazing Dave Restivo filled in and saved the day) and Natalie Cole and her band (nobody could sub for her!). I had never heard of Los Amigos Invisibles, or Robert Glasper who played later that night but both shows were sold out (Glasper had a second show added and that was a good example of social media in action – they packed the house for a last-minute midnight show at the Wrongbar). And then there was my man, Roy Hargrove. He couldn’t give a bad show if he tried (and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s tried on occasion). I was standing right next to him as he was getting his horns out of the case to jump on stage and I wanted to say “Hey remember the time we jammed the blues together at the Rex?” but I restrained myself. He is always amazing and surrounds himself with the top players on the planet.

I dropped in to the after hours jam at the Now Lounge with organist Clayton Doley but there was no one there except myself, Clayton, one other table with two guys, and host Ken Skinner. Ken and bass player did a few tunes and then got the two fellows that were sitting there to play a couple of tunes. I asked the piano player his name but of course I’ve forgotten it – Patrick Hewen, maybe. I think they were from Montreal and they played some pretty “official” jazz. Ken is a helluva player – I hadn’t seen him play in a long time. He invited me to come back with my guitar and I did put my guitar in the car next day but never mad it back.

Somebody I didn’t want to miss was the extraordinary pianist Hiromi. Last time I saw her she was with bass guru Stanley Clarke and I remember him walking over to the piano with his electric bass guitar and trading riffs with her with their faces just inches apart. The intensity was unbelievable. The energy was still there this time, but did not get to the level I remember with Stanley (mind you, she had a wonderful 6-string bassist this time). I skipped out of Bad Plus to see nearly a whole show of Mike Stern – I’d only seen a song here and there and I was determined to get the whole experience this time. I was not disappointed – he is a guitar wizard, and like so many bands I’ve seen this week, he had a drummer that was phenomenal. I usually make my exit when there’s a long drum solo – you know it’s going to be a long one when all the other players leave the stage – but these drummers this week are so musical, you are captivated. You can’t go anywhere.

I started the day with a couple of matinees in clubs up north. Saw my old bandmate Roberta Hunt doing a great New Orleans tribute (with my new favourite female sax player, Alison Young) then up to Chalkers to hear Fern Linzdon, who I have met a couple of times but never seen. Rob Fogle was in the audience and said “don’t you get a nosebleed coming this far north?” It’s true, I don’t make my way past Eglinton very often).

The kick off concert with Janelle Monae was amazing - people loved it but it was a real torture test for the sound system. I never heard so much kick drum coming out of those speakers. Lots of bass (just the way my son the DJ likes it) - I went for ear plugs, which I rarely do (I rarely remember to bring them) - but this time I needed them if I was going to be standing in front of those speakers. She had her own guy doing the sound and he loved his kick drum. He made it the centerpiece of the sound. I think I saw a slightly pained look on Brad, our long-time front-of-house engineer. The jazz festival tent has always been renowned for a “natural” sound. The piano sounds like a big piano in a big living room. Vocals are clear and you never hear “the box.” Still, Janelle is a great artist – and she proved it (literally) when she did an instant canvas live on stage…I captured a little bit on my video camera (hope I don’t get in trouble). I wondered what an easel was doing in the production trailer... At the end of the show she asked who was having a birthday and when a young woman's ID was verified she became the proud and delighted owner of a Janelle Monae canvas. Now that's how you nurture fans!



The festival started with this (barely)managing editor and intermittent IT guy trying to get all these computers online. This time it was exasperated by the fact that all the logins and passwords started with the same name and the provider dropped the "i" in one of the logins but you had to look real carefully to see that an "i" was missing (between a "t" and a "1"). Anyway I finally noticed that, typed it in that way and "Halleluya!" the Box Office was open for business (and great business was done). In addition, the website crashed from more volume than it was used to and we had to get that back online. But when not putting out the occasional fire, I got to hear music played at the highest level – jaw dropping talent. Enough to make you want to put away your guitar for good (but I won’t). Some noticed that I didn’t get a play in the festival this year, but nobody can expect to play a festival every year – even when they work there!

On this day I think it cost me cost me more than the paying customers. I arrived in the morning with the intention of getting a printer up and running and put $3.50 in the meter (for 1 hour!) and of course, things took longer than I expected so when I got back to the car I had a ticket. So I figured I might as well leave the car where it is and wouldn't you know I get a second ticket three hours later. Then I put the car in the parking lot. Between the tickets and the paid parking it's nearly 80 bucks. Painful.

Toronto Jazz Festival - Day 6,7,8,9

I was thrilled to hear Trombone Shorty again, since the last time they came to town (a show that Downtown Jazz presented at the Opera House) there was such a crowd in the place there was no oxygen and then after imbibing a little too much (and it doesn’t take much to get me tipsy) I felt the need to sit down and there were no chairs anywhere. I stepped outside and “when I regained consiousness…” I must have written about this in a previous blog, but the joke around the festival HQ now was that they brought back Shorty so I could get a chance to see the show. I’m sure there were some other factors. Saida Baba Talibah did the opening set – I caught the last couple of tunes (though I could hear the rumble from the media trailer). Turns out a lot of the low-end was coming from Tuba Joe, from NYC. We had a nice chat after and he was explaining his rig – how he gets a tuba to sound like a punchy Fender bass. We got talking so much that I never made it over to the Spectrum Road show at the Sound Academy. I heard it rocked.

Next night was the most anticipated show of the festival (by many), Esperanza Spalding. And she delivered some heavy jazz. A couple of my bass-player mates were in the crowd and seemed to be suitably impressed. Esperanza is a sweetheart but I will have to say the award for most thoughtful opening act goes to Gretchen Parlato who played some equally serious jazz, with impeccable vocals, and also left behind some delicious cookies for the media staff. It’s the small things you remember. I caught some of the 5-o’clock show and it was a loving tribute to George Shearing played by some local musos who played with George a lot, Reg Schwager, Don Thomson, and Neil Swainson. The played perfect recreations of the “Shearing sound” with piano and vibes playing the same lines.

On Friday (Day 8) Tedeschi-Trucks hit Toronto with a vengeance. Last time Susan Tedeschi played the festival it was at The Opera House on Queen East. It was not a blues crowd and it was not a blues opener, it was Alex Pangman doing her thing with Colonel Parker. Old Timey. This time the opener was a country/bluegrass outfit fronted by a young woman who carried the rhythm on her flat top guitar. And the fiddle & mando players were virtuosos. But still, it was a little generic for a jazz festival. They ‘ll probably do better than any jazz act as the next Lady Antebellum.

On the break, I was sitting by the stage entrance and who came in to sit next to me but the whole Trucks clan – grandparents and kids. I asked if he was “the dad” and he said yes – he was Butch Trucks, legendary drummer of the Allman Brothers. After a couple of tunes, I said to him “your boy plays every solo like it’s the last one he’ll ever play” and he responded something like “yea he’s got a lot of soul.” The little ones were maybe 5 & 7, very well-behaved and digging the show - I asked the little girl if she played guitar and she said no, shyly. I said “not yet.” Grandma looked like a “hippie chick of a certain age” and she was standing most of the time grooving to the music. The band played a killer set – best blues show of the year (so far) if you ask me.

Tedeschi-Trucks are at the top of the blues food chain and they’ve worked there way up there slow and stead, first individually and now together. They spared no expense to put together this show – top sidemen, 3 horns and 2 back-up singers. Everybody on that stage could be a star in his own right, and some are. They brought not only their own monitor guy but they brought their own monitor board. And the show sounded great. There had been reports of a very loud sound-check but they were probably just seeing how much they could get out of the mains because it was not too loud at showtime. When I swung by the square to pick up my car there was a big truck loading out all the extra gear they brought. I haven’t seen that much backline since Bootsy Collins last year.

In contrast the Tedeschi-Trucks with two tour buses and all that extra gear, next day Canadian blues buzz-act Matt Andersen arrived on the site by himself with his guitar and a Long & McQuade bag with a set of strings and a Boss tuner. He then proceeded to change his strings 20-minutes before showtime, something most of us guitar players would be reluctant to do. He must have stretched them out pretty good because he didn’t have any tuning trouble and he tore through a great set for 500 fans. He’s still a gentle, unassuming character for someone who’s now in the big leagues. Joan Osborne played first and did her hit but I didn’t really feel a connection with her music. Mind you, I loved what she did with the Funk Brothers. Before Matt ended his set, I took a walk down Queen Street to the Horseshoe to hear two more artists I had never heard of, Becca Stevens and Nellie McKay. Yawn.

I wanted to go back up to the Orbit Room to hear Donna Grantis. The previous night I went up with Clayton and Colleen Allen was the special guest. She was playing great, with lots of sax/guitar doubling. Clay sat in for a tune and I tried to corner the very-busy Colleen for a recording session. Saida Baba Talibah and her other guitarist, Hill, arrived to jam but I just had to head home. It’s been a long week.

Toronto Jazz Festival – Day 3,4,5

OK, it’s all starting to blur into a solid stream of music with musicians playing at the highest level. Some world-renowned and others are total unknowns (in this town, anyway) but when you see them in full flight you know right away that you are witnessing something special. Some have that extra connection with the audience (George Benson last night was positively chatty with the crowd, finally stopping himself “hey, I came here to play guitar” and he played it beautifully). I made my way out halfway through his set but ended up talking with the Treasa Levasseur gang outside the tent (she opened the show) so I heard him changing gears into a more acoustic sound but I was trying to get down to the Opera House for Soul Rebels, a New Orleans horn band produced by my friend Scott Billington. They did great and made lots of new fans in Toronto. They’re getting the big push so you’ll be hearing more of them. Before Benson I was at the sold out show for guitar god Bill Frisell at Harbourfront and what grabbed my attention right away was the immense respect for him that the audience was radiating. Almost religious. Everybody felt like it was a privilege for them to be in this space about to be transported into another realm, and they were. It started out with spacey guitar sounds and special effects – not unlike some new-age mood music that jazz fans would typically dismiss – but then a Beatles melody would appear in the mix and he would take it to another place and of course the guitar playing was exquisite. Many years ago I walked out of a Bill Frisell show because it was just so atonal (and so loud) that I couldn’t take it. All is forgiven now, Bill.

Monday morning, I was dealing with some Internet connection issues on site but when I was talking to Patti, our Director of Operations, she was predicting this was going to be a day from hell, and she was right. Nothing was flying out of New York and we had at least 20 artists and crew left stranded in NYC including Roberta Gambarini’s pianist (the amazing Dave Restivo filled in and saved the day) and Natalie Cole and her band (nobody could sub for her!). Black Monday in jazzland. Transport volunteers spent the whole day at the airport waiting (and hoping). I got to see two artists that had huge followings and yet I personally had never heard of either of them: Robert Glasper and Los Amigos Invisibles. Both had sold out shows (Glasper had a second show added and that was a good example of social media in action – they packed the house for a last-minute midnight show at the Wrongbar). Los Amigos Invisibles had a huge crowd at the Horseshoe and I think it was mostly Venezuelans. They were singing along with the band who gave a very spirited performance). And then there was my man, Roy Hargrove. I was right next to him as he was getting his horns out to jump on stage and I wanted to say “Hey remember the time we jammed the blues together at the Rex?” but I restrained myself. He is always amazing and surrounds himself with the top players on the planet. I dropped in to the after hours jam at the Now lounge but there was no one there except myself and Clayton and one other table. Hosting the jam was Ken Skinner and he played a bit then got the two fellows that were sitting there to play a couple of tunes. I asked the piano player his name but of course I’ve forgotten it – Patrick Hewen, maybe. I think they were from Montreal and they played some pretty “official” jazz. Ken is a helluva player – I hadn’t seen him play in a long time. He invited me to come back with my guitar and I did put my guitar in the car next day but haven’t been back.

Sunday I made a point of seeing that extraordinary pianist Hiromi. Last time I saw her she was with bass guru Stanley Clarke and I remember him walking over to the piano with his electric bass guitar and trading riffs with her with their faces just inches apart. The intensity was unbelievable. The intensity was still there this time, but did not get to the level I remember with Stanley (mind you, she had a wonderful 6-string bassist this time). I raced out to see nearly a whole show of Mike Stern – I’d only seen a song here and there and I was determined to get the whole experience this time. I was not disappointed – he is a guitar wizard, and like so many bands I’ve seen this week, he had a drummer that was phenomenal. I usually make my exit when there’s a long drum solo – you know it’s going to be a long one when all the other players leave the stage – but these drummers this week are so musical, you are captivated. You can’t go anywhere.
I started the day with a couple of matinees in clubs up north. Saw my old bandmate Roberta Hunt doing a great New Orleans tribute (with my new favourite female sax player, Alison Young) then up to Chalkers to hear Fern Linzdon, who I have met a couple of times but never seen. Rob Fogle was in the audience and said “don’t you get a nosebleed coming this far north?” It’s true, I don’t make my way past Eglinton very often (though I will be doing a gig at the Mad Bean on Eglinton on Saturday afternoon, July 7, 2-4pm)

Toronto Jazz Festival – Day Two

Lots of stuff going on Saturday afternoon but I opted to do my laundry and other household necessities. Missed my buddy Clayton Doley at Don Mills stage but we caught up later at the Bettye Lavette show. Bettye is fabulous – when she sang George Harrison’s “Isn’t It a Pity” the whole tent was dead silent with rapt attention. Riveting. But I remember going to see her last time at the Phoenix and I was showing around some visiting musician and we were enjoying Bettye but at a certain point he turned to me and said “she’s done three ballads in a row and if the next tune is a slow song, I’m outa here.” And sure enough it was another slow-burner so we cut out and went to hear Tony Monaco, or maybe it was Mike Stern). Bettye sort of did the same thing this year but she can pull it off in a setting like this where she’s got the audience in the palm of her hand.

After Bettye, Clayton was anxious to hear Texas keyboard guy Bobby Sparks at the Rex but alas Bobby had to sub out to an equally amazing keyboard genius, Caleb McCampbell who joined Snarky Puppy's Michael League on bass and Jason “J.T.” Thomas, who will be playing drums with Roy Hargrove on Monday night in the tent. They were one powerful trio and the audience at the Rex loved it. I didn’t hear anybody complaining “Where’s Bobby,” (and he too will be playing with Roy on Monday night)

I cannot end without a mention of the Motown tribute band, “Big Sound” who opened for Bettye. Eight singers, many of who could sound just like the artist who did the original recording, backed up by 17 musicians who made the rest sound just like the original recording – I kid you not. All the smallest details of the arrangements of those Motown hits were covered – much more attention to detail than the Funk Brothers and no less soul.

It was great to see Paula Shear is getting back to performing and I have to say the Trane is not only establishing itself as a premiere jazz venue but they’ve got a great kitchen. I’ve never been disappointed at that place and they just have a way of putting together a meal that leaves you totally satisfied and ready for some serious listening. There was a solemn moment when Paula refered to her bass player, Louis Botos, of the near-legendary Botos brothers (how many of them are there, anyway? Enough to make an entire band, I think). Anyway there was some talk of a petition so I guess their immigration troubles are not over. They’ve certainly provided a great contribution to the jazz scene here so let’s cherish them …even though I have to say that Robi Botos is one of two musicians in this town who have declined to play with me…I remember it well, I was hosting a blues jam at the Rex during the jazz festival a few years back and all the heavy hitters like Roy Hargrove, Russell Malone and Antonio Hart were all lovin’ sitting in on my 12-bar blues but Robi left the stage, I guess in the hopes he would have a chance to play some “serious” jazz with RH a little later. But Roy and the boys just wanted to play blues all night long. Probably a nice change for them. Anyway, I don’t hold it against you, Robi. I hope you and your family can stay here forever.