1926 Eddie Cusic*
1943 David Vest*
1949 Pete " Bombay " Liebers*
1950 Frank Diez*
1955 Danny Caron*
1966 Mississippi John Hurt+
2014 Finis Tasby+
2014 Michael Coleman+
Johnny Mastro *
Happy Birthday
David Vest *02.11.1943
w3David Vest (born November 2, 1943) is a rock and roll piano player, poet, columnist, and activist from Huntsville. He worked professionally as a pianist from the age of 15, inspired by having seen Carl Perkins perform in Huntsville on a bill with Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison. He learned to a play on a used piano his grandmother had delivered to their house in West End, a few blocks away from Ensley's Tuxedo Junction.
His first record, "I Can't Be Satisfied," with the Sacred Aires, is thought to have been the last song written by Alton Delmore of the Delmore Brothers. In the 1960's Vest played seven nights a week at Pappy's Club with Jerry Woodard and The Esquires. He also sat in with Big Joe Turner, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Ace Cannon, and Bill Black's Combo.
After quitting the band he became a regular on the Country Boy Eddy Show on WBRC 6 and enrolled at Birmingham-Southern College to learn to be a writer. He performed with Tammy Wynette and Fannie Flagg on television and at the Little Theatre.
He moved on to Vanderbilt University where he earned his Ph.D, and spent summer writing in France before accepting a post-graduate teaching position at Longwood College in Virginia. While there he spent a year in Romania as a Fulbright Scholar, becoming the first American to cut an album in that country.
After leaving teaching, Vest spent twenty years in Texas, touring with Floyd Dixon, Lavelle White, and Jimmy "T99" Nelson for much of that time.
Vest currently resides on Vancouver Island and tours the west coast and Canada. He was also a member of the Paul deLay Band and the Cannonballs and has released several solo albums.
He is publishing his memoir, Rebel Angel in installments on the online journal CounterPunch.
In 2013 he won a Maples Blues Award as Piano Player of the Year in Canada.
Johnny Mastro *02.11.
Johnny Mastro & Mama’s Boys ist eine 1994 gegründete Bluesband aus Long Beach (Kalifornien).
1994 wurde die Band von Johnny Mastro gegründet. Erste Auftritte hatte die Band in verschiedenen Bluesclubs in Los Angeles. Ab 1996 ist sie Hausband im Babe’s & Ricky's, einem der ältesten und bekanntesten Bluesclubs im Großraum Los Angeles. Die Besitzerin, „Mama“ Laura Mae Gross, gab der Band den Namen Mama’s Boys.
Johnny Mastro & Mamas Boys spielen einen rauen Chicago Blues. Der Sound dieser Band ist einmalig, keine andere existierende Band klingt so wie die Mamas Boys. Rau, dreckig, hart durch Mark und Bein gehend dabei authentisch, ohne Klischees und ohne Kompromisse vorgetragen. Johnny sagt von seiner Musik: „sledge hammer blues“. Johnny Mastro kann man auf den Knien liegend auf den Bühnen antreffen wobei er den kompletten Inhalt seiner Lungen in die Mundharmonika bläst. Smokehouse Brown lockt dazu z.T. die schrägsten Töne aus seiner Gitarre und beansprucht dabei die sechs Saiten bis zu ihrem Anschlag. Jimmy und Mike sorgen mit Donner-grollendem Rhythmus für das nötige solide Fundament.
Zwischen 2001 und 2010 veröffentlichte die Band insgesamt fünf Alben und eine EP. Tourneen brachten sie ab 2004 auch nach Europa, wo Belgien, Frankreich, die Niederlande, Großbritannien und Deutschland Stationen waren.
2006 und 2007 spielten sie auf zwei der großen europäischen Festivals, 2006 beim Moulin Blues Festival im niederländischen Ospel und 2007 beim Peer Blues Festival in Belgien. Im Mai 2009 folgte die erste Deutschlandtour. 2010 waren sie erneut Gast beim Moulin Blues Festival im niederländischen Ospel. Zum 25-jährigen Jubiläum hatte der Veranstalter sie als eine der Highlights verpflichtet. 2011 spielt Johnny Mastro den Song "JJ’s Man" als Hommage auf den zu früh verstorbenen Roadmanager Jean-Jacques Dessenne ein. Der Song erscheint 2012 auf dem Album "Luke’s Dream", das bei RipCat Records am 16. Juni erschien. Im August/September 2012 erfolgte die insgesamt 7. Europa Tour.
"This band made my 2015 New Years Eve!" - Quint Davis - Founder NO Jazz & Heritage Fest
Powerful, heavy & bluesy ! People say its the toughest sounding band around. The band with the original, raw sound hails from New Orleans, Louisiana. Johnny leads the ensemble and has racked up 11 records, countless festival appearances, over 30 european tours, a feature in a 2013 film as well as recording for the BBC in London, German National Radio in Bremen, and Belgian National Radio in Brussels.
"Almost sounding like no blues you've ever heard before !" - MidWestRecord Review
JMMBs music is a blend of new and old at the same time. Roots run deep as Johnny spent 16 years (and Smoke 6 years) at the blues shrine "Babe's & Ricky's Inn" under tutelage from Laura Mae "Mama" Gross. She taught them the only color that mattered was blue and encouraged them to develop their own sound. The new is living in the present and absorbing sounds coming from music they enjoy Today! The results are apparent at every show and every recording "Mama's Boys" make.
"Stunning!" - BBC Radio
2015 brings a new record and 45 vinyl release written and recorded in New Orleans, a bunch of performances and a wider audience than ever before. If you dig it, sign up on the mailing list to keep in touch, check up on the website for updates and most importantly, enjoy the music !
"Mama's Boys? They play like sons of Mike Tyson" - OC Weekly
Powerful, heavy & bluesy ! People say its the toughest sounding band around. The band with the original, raw sound hails from New Orleans, Louisiana. Johnny leads the ensemble and has racked up 11 records, countless festival appearances, over 30 european tours, a feature in a 2013 film as well as recording for the BBC in London, German National Radio in Bremen, and Belgian National Radio in Brussels.
"Almost sounding like no blues you've ever heard before !" - MidWestRecord Review
JMMBs music is a blend of new and old at the same time. Roots run deep as Johnny spent 16 years (and Smoke 6 years) at the blues shrine "Babe's & Ricky's Inn" under tutelage from Laura Mae "Mama" Gross. She taught them the only color that mattered was blue and encouraged them to develop their own sound. The new is living in the present and absorbing sounds coming from music they enjoy Today! The results are apparent at every show and every recording "Mama's Boys" make.
"Stunning!" - BBC Radio
2015 brings a new record and 45 vinyl release written and recorded in New Orleans, a bunch of performances and a wider audience than ever before. If you dig it, sign up on the mailing list to keep in touch, check up on the website for updates and most importantly, enjoy the music !
"Mama's Boys? They play like sons of Mike Tyson" - OC Weekly
Johnny Mastro and Mama Boy's, 19.29 min genieten
Open Air - Prießnitz - 14.06.2014
Danny Caron *02.11.1955
Danny Caron is a veteran guitarist whose playing with the late Charles Brown helped keep the tradition of the “uptown” guitarist alive and well. Brown, a pianist, featured Caron whenever possible, and with his second solo record, he continues to bring smiles.
On several cuts, Caron shows he’s not afraid to swing, and that no tempo is too daunting. His cover of Jack McDuff’s “Rock Candy” shows him to be a master of complementing any song and style. His solos are fine, and when he and Kent Bryson (drums) and Wayne De La Cruz (Hammond B-3) trade fours, watch your hands and feet! We even get a sample of Brown from beyond the grave on “E.S.P Blues,” a slow blues track from Caron’s archives that lets him show his chops via great fills and solos full of chords, octaves, and anything else one can do with a guitar, delivered with taste and soul.
Caron’s harmonic sense is shown best on the lovely jazz ballad, “Detour Ahead,” which clocks in at a little over nine minutes, but you’d never know it. Caron and company take the listener on an interesting journey; of the 11 cuts here, three (including the Brown cut) have vocals. “The Promised Land” and “I Need Your Love So Bad,” both feature nice vocals from Barbara Morrison.
Give Caron a chance to show what he did for so many years with Brown. He’s a brilliant soloist, but as an accompanist, few guitarists have the taste and skill to cover the ground he does.
Originally out of Silver Spring, Maryland, Danny moved to Austin, Texas and cut his teeth on the Crawfish circuit playing with singer-pianist Marcia Ball. He then worked with Zydeco king Clifton Chenier and his Red Hot Louisiana Band with whom he recorded the Grammy Award winning Album, "I'm Here" in 1980. Relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1981 he continued to freelance and eventually teamed up with the legendary singer and pianist Charles Brown.
Danny served as guitarist and musical director for Charles Brown from 1987 until Brown's death in 1999. He has played on numerous CD's and sessions with Charles Brown, Clifton Chenier, Bonnie Raitt, John Lee Hooker, Van Morrison, Ruth Brown, Etta Jones, John Clayton, Teddy Edwards, Gerald Wilson, Donald Fagen, Dr. John, Little Milton Campbell, John Hammond Jr. and many others.
Danny is the featured guitarist on the Van Morrison produced John Lee Hooker album, "Don't Look Back" which won two Grammy Awards - one for Best Traditional Blues Recording, and the other for Best Collaboration, Van Morrison and John Lee Hooker.
He keeps up a busy schedule touring and performing most recently with Robben Ford, Barbara Morrison, Maria Muldaur and others. He continues working with Just Say Jazz, a group of Bay Area musicians dedicated to preserving and promoting jazz and blues awareness in primary schools. He is presently teaching courses at The Jazzschool in Berkeley California.
Recent projects include the release of “Good Hands,” the first solo Danny Caron CD, and producing as well as playing guitar on the new CD from Pamela Rose entitled “Just For A Thrill” and Phil Berkowitz’s homage to Louis Jordan entitled “Louis’ Blues.”
Danny wrote the film score to the motion picture 'johns' for which he and Mr. Brown composed music, and for which he composed the title song, "The Promised Land." The movie stars David Arquette and Lukas Haas.
Recent tours include Maria Muldaur and Barbara Morrison.
Danny served as guitarist and musical director for Charles Brown from 1987 until Brown's death in 1999. He has played on numerous CD's and sessions with Charles Brown, Clifton Chenier, Bonnie Raitt, John Lee Hooker, Van Morrison, Ruth Brown, Etta Jones, John Clayton, Teddy Edwards, Gerald Wilson, Donald Fagen, Dr. John, Little Milton Campbell, John Hammond Jr. and many others.
Danny is the featured guitarist on the Van Morrison produced John Lee Hooker album, "Don't Look Back" which won two Grammy Awards - one for Best Traditional Blues Recording, and the other for Best Collaboration, Van Morrison and John Lee Hooker.
He keeps up a busy schedule touring and performing most recently with Robben Ford, Barbara Morrison, Maria Muldaur and others. He continues working with Just Say Jazz, a group of Bay Area musicians dedicated to preserving and promoting jazz and blues awareness in primary schools. He is presently teaching courses at The Jazzschool in Berkeley California.
Recent projects include the release of “Good Hands,” the first solo Danny Caron CD, and producing as well as playing guitar on the new CD from Pamela Rose entitled “Just For A Thrill” and Phil Berkowitz’s homage to Louis Jordan entitled “Louis’ Blues.”
Danny wrote the film score to the motion picture 'johns' for which he and Mr. Brown composed music, and for which he composed the title song, "The Promised Land." The movie stars David Arquette and Lukas Haas.
Recent tours include Maria Muldaur and Barbara Morrison.
I'm Just A Lucky So And So - Danny Caron
Eddie Cusic *04.01.1926
Eddie Cusic (January 4, 1926 – August 11, 2015) was an American Mississippi blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter.[2] His small quantity of recorded work included him being mislabelled as Eddie Quesie and Eddie Cusie. Cusic had musical connections with both Little Milton[1] and James "Son" Thomas.[2]
Life and career
Eddie Cusic was born in Wilmot, Mississippi due south of Leland, Mississippi, United States in 1926.[3] Growing up in a farming community, he was inspired to play the blues after hearing adults playing at local family gatherings. He graduated from playing the diddley bow to a Sears acoustic guitar. He formed the Rhythm Aces in the early part of the 1950s, a three piece band who played throughout the Mississippi Delta area.[3] One of the group was Little Milton whom Cusic taught to play the guitar.[1][4] Following service in the United States Army, which began in 1952, Cusic later settled in Leland, Mississippi, and found employment as a laborer and tractor driver at Delta Branch Agricultural Research Station In Stoneville, Mississippi. When it was discovered that he was adept at working on motors, he was placed in the shop there as a mechanic where he remained until his retirement.[citation needed] In the 1970s, Cusic played alongside James "Son" Thomas at regular engagements. Together they recorded "Once I Had a Car", which appeared on the compilation album, Mississippi Delta & South Tennessee Blues (1977).[2] He retired from full-time work in 1989, and having been urged by his good friend, James "Son" Thomas, Cusic returned to performing with an acoustic guitar.[3] He has variously appeared at the Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage Festival in Greenville, Mississippi,[5] as well as at the Sunflower River Blues Festival, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and at the Chicago Blues Festival.[3]
In 1998, Cusic made a 'field recording' at his own house in Leland, Mississippi, and delivered versions of several blues standards in his own pure Mississippi blues styling. The recording included cover versions of songs such as "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl", "Big Boss Man", "(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man" and "Catfish Blues". AllMusic noted that the resultant album, I Want to Boogie, was "a strong debut that also makes the first new 'blues discovery' since the halcyon days of the 1960s".[1] It was released by HighTone Records.[3] A reworked version, containing several different tracks, was released in 2012, billed as Leland Mississippi Blues.[6]
C2C sampled the vocals from Cusic's, “You Don't Have to Go” for their own 2012 track, "Down The Road".[7][8]
On August 11, 2015, Cusic died from prostate cancer, aged 89.
Eddie Cusic - Leland, Mississippi (1994)
Pete " Bombay " Liebers *02.11.1949
Gerd Meier (b) -
Tom Schrader (git, voc) -
Udo Wolff (voc, harp) -
Bombay Liebers (drs)
Udo Wolff und seine Band “Das Dritte Ohr” - Mehr als drei Jahrzehnte deutsche Bluesgeschichte
1968 gründete Udo Wolff Deutschlands Ur - Bluesband, die seitdem neben diversen Funk - und TV - Auftritten rund 3000 Konzerte in Europa, den USA und Mittelamerika gab.
Die rauhe Stimme des singenden Mundharmonikaspielers Udo Wolff, seine deutschen Texte und sein direkter Publikumskontakt, der selbst bei Festivals über die Rampe kommt, sind das Markenzeichen der Pionierband des deutschen Blues.
Ihr musikalisches Handwerk lernten die Mitglieder der Band noch aus erster Hand auf Tourneen mit schwarzen Bluesmusikern der stilbildenden Generation aus den Bands von Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Bo Diddley und anderen. Deutschlands Ur-Bluesband ist von erstaunlicher Beständigkeit auf der schnellelbigen Musikszene. Sie erspielte sich ein Publikum über Generationsgrenzen hinweg, das Musik für Kopf und Körper schätzt.
Die musikalische Spannweite umfasst alten Deltablues ebenso wie rollende Boogies und elektrischen Big-City-Blues. Udo Wolffs Partner ist seit mehr als zwei Jahrzehnten der Gitarrist Tom Schrader. Pete “Bombay” Liebers ersetzte vor ca. einem Jahr den langjährigen Drummer Ferdi Peters. Bassist ist seit kurzem Gerd Meier, ebenfalls ein alter Hase.
Manfred Miller, Autor der “Geschichte der Popmusik”, in einem Bandportrait des Südwestfunks: “Mit immer noch minimalem technischem Aufwand verbindet “Das Dritte Ohr” auf eigenständige Art Intensität mit Abgeklärtheit in der Tradition des echten Blues.”
Der “Stern”: Das Dritte Ohr - die deutsche Blues - Institution.” Blues Unlimited: “Germany´s oldest and best bluesband.” ME/Sounds: “Die unverwüstlichen Pioniere des deutschen Blues.”
Radio Luxemburg: “Tief, schwarz und deutsch gesungen mit einer Stimme, die Gänsehaut macht.” Die letzte CD “Negerküsse”, eingespielt im bandeigenen Studio und gemastert in New York, hat die Kritiker abermals überzeugt.
1968 gründete Udo Wolff Deutschlands Ur - Bluesband, die seitdem neben diversen Funk - und TV - Auftritten rund 3000 Konzerte in Europa, den USA und Mittelamerika gab.
Die rauhe Stimme des singenden Mundharmonikaspielers Udo Wolff, seine deutschen Texte und sein direkter Publikumskontakt, der selbst bei Festivals über die Rampe kommt, sind das Markenzeichen der Pionierband des deutschen Blues.
Ihr musikalisches Handwerk lernten die Mitglieder der Band noch aus erster Hand auf Tourneen mit schwarzen Bluesmusikern der stilbildenden Generation aus den Bands von Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Bo Diddley und anderen. Deutschlands Ur-Bluesband ist von erstaunlicher Beständigkeit auf der schnellelbigen Musikszene. Sie erspielte sich ein Publikum über Generationsgrenzen hinweg, das Musik für Kopf und Körper schätzt.
Die musikalische Spannweite umfasst alten Deltablues ebenso wie rollende Boogies und elektrischen Big-City-Blues. Udo Wolffs Partner ist seit mehr als zwei Jahrzehnten der Gitarrist Tom Schrader. Pete “Bombay” Liebers ersetzte vor ca. einem Jahr den langjährigen Drummer Ferdi Peters. Bassist ist seit kurzem Gerd Meier, ebenfalls ein alter Hase.
Manfred Miller, Autor der “Geschichte der Popmusik”, in einem Bandportrait des Südwestfunks: “Mit immer noch minimalem technischem Aufwand verbindet “Das Dritte Ohr” auf eigenständige Art Intensität mit Abgeklärtheit in der Tradition des echten Blues.”
Der “Stern”: Das Dritte Ohr - die deutsche Blues - Institution.” Blues Unlimited: “Germany´s oldest and best bluesband.” ME/Sounds: “Die unverwüstlichen Pioniere des deutschen Blues.”
Radio Luxemburg: “Tief, schwarz und deutsch gesungen mit einer Stimme, die Gänsehaut macht.” Die letzte CD “Negerküsse”, eingespielt im bandeigenen Studio und gemastert in New York, hat die Kritiker abermals überzeugt.
Bereits 1981 hatte Das Dritte Ohr als erste deutsche Bluesband den Sprung in die USA gewagt und bestand den Härtetest mit Konzerten in der Bluesmetropole Chicago. Es folgte ein weltweit vertriebener Sampler des legendären “Chess” - Labels, auf dem Das Dritte Ohr vertreten ist neben Muddy Waters, den Rolling Stones, John Lee Hooker, Eric Clapton und B.B.King. Diese CD wurde zum weltweit bestverkauften Sampler in der Geschichte der Bluesmusik. Schon 1979/80 wurde eine vielbeachtete Blues-LP mit eigenen deutschen Texten eingespielt. Für dieses Novum erhielt die Gruppe als erste deutsche Bluesband den Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. Diese LP mit dem Titel “Zahltag” ist bis heute immer noch die jemals bestverkaufte deutsche Blues-LP. Der Nachfolger “Himmel oder Hölle” erschien 1981. Alte Originalexemplare der LPs der Gruppe erzielen auf Sammlerbörsen seit einigen Jahren schon Spitzenpreise. Udo Wolff und Tom Schrader sind seit mehr als zwei Jahrzehnten ein Komponistenteam mit mehr als 150 eigenen Stücken. Über 250 Blues - und R & B - Bands gibt es inzwischen in Deutschland. Bilanz des Fachblatts “Musiker”: “Udo Wolff hat mit dem Dritten Ohr der deutschen Blues-Szene den Boden bereitet.” Der Bandleader auf die Frage eines jungen Rundfunkmoderators, wie lange die Gruppe noch spielen werde: “Wir spielen noch an deinem Grab.”
Lang ist die Liste der schwarzen Musiker, mit denen Das Dritte Ohr in Europa unterwegs war. Mundharmonika-Legende Sonny Terry war nach einer Begegnung sichtlich erstaunt, dass man in Deutschland so Blues spielte. New Orleans - Bluespianist James Booker nach seiner Europa-Tournee in einem Interview mit dem US - Bluesmagazin “Living Blues”: “Die beste Bluesband, die ich in Europa gehört habe!” Bereits Anfang der 70er Jahre sang Udo Wolff den Blues auch in seiner Muttersprache Deutsch und machte damit seinen Zuhörern Bluesinhalte direkt zugänglich “ mit einer Vulkanstimme” (Frankfurter Rundschau), “ die bei aller Rauhheit rauchzarte Zwischentöne kennt.” (FAZ), “mit lakonischem Witz, Härte und Gefühl” (TAZ). Rowohlts Folk-und Blueslexikon: “Höhepunkt deutscher Bluestexte zu kompetent gespielter schwarzer Musik”, “in einer Mischung aus Zuhör - und Mitgehmusik”(tip, Berlin), ohne Klischees und Klamauk (Hamburger Morgenpost). “Getragen von einer geradezu raffiniert einfach spielenden Rhytmusgruppe steht hier die Story im Vordergrund. Die Soli werden wie Sahnehäubchen eingesetzt und bleiben dabei songdienlich.”(Hannoversche Allgemeine). “Hier sprechen die Instrumente miteinander und kommentieren Wolffs Gesang, der aus einer Mundharmonika Töne holt, die klingen, als hinge sein Leben davon ab. Tom Schrader ist auch auf der Slidegitarre ein ebenbürtiger Partner in dieser traumwandlerisch eingespielten Gruppe” (Westdeutsche Zeitung). “ Während heute zu viele Bands den Blues modisch parfümieren wollen, was oft zu belangloser Instrumentalartistik führt, ist hier der pure Extrakt gefragt. Das Dritte Ohr kopiert nicht im Retro-Stil. Dies ist gewachsene Musik auf eigene Art, in tiefem Verständnis der Essenz dessen, was echten Blues ausmacht: die gesungene Story.
Das Dritte Ohr - Rita Rita (Studio LP Zahltag - 1979)
Das Dritte Ohr - "Plapper Popper & Boogie bist Du brennst"
Frank Diez *02.11.1950
Frank Diez (* 2. November 1950 in Berlin) ist ein deutscher Gitarrist, Komponist, Texter und Produzent und gilt als einer der profiliertesten europäischen Bluesgitarristen. Er wohnt in Berlin.
Leben
Diez begann mit sechzehn das Gitarrespielen und hatte in den 1970er Jahren ganz elementaren Anteil an der Entwicklung der deutschen Rockgeschichte. Bis heute ist er als Live- und Studiokünstler national und international tätig. Als einziger deutscher Musiker bestritt er Sessions und Konzerte mit Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry und Little Richard. Weitere Stationen waren und sind u. a. Atlantis, Frumpy, Karthago, Randy Pie, Klaus Kinski, Ihre Kinder, Snowball, Emergency, Johnny Tame, Konstantin Wecker, Eric Burdon, Giorgio Moroder, Donna Summer, Tom Principato, Miller Anderson, Paul Vincent, Maggie Bell und viele andere namhafte Künstler.
Als Gründungsmitglied war Diez 30 Jahre lang regelmäßig bis ins Jahr 2004 Gitarrist und Produzent der Peter-Maffay-Band. Maffays damaliger Produzent, Peter Wagner, hatte die beiden seinerzeit zusammengebracht. Bei der Maffay-Tournee 2009 wirkte Diez erneut mit, diesmal als Special Guest.
Einen hohen Stellenwert hat die Projektarbeit mit anderen Künstlern und seiner eigenen Band.[1] Zur festen Einrichtung gehört hierbei seit 1986 das Electric Blues Duo mit Colin Hodgkinson am Bass.[2] Weit über 1300 Konzerte im In- und Ausland und 7 Tonträger wurden bislang in dieser Formation produziert.
Seit dem Jahr 2000 betreibt Diez zusammen mit dem deutschen Gitarristen Alex Conti (Atlantis, Lake), auch wegen ihrer gemeinsamen Affinität zur Stadt Berlin, das Projekt Bärlin Blues Band mit Ingo Bischof (Karthago, Kraan, Guru Guru) an den Keyboards.
Von 2011 bis 2013 war Diez Mitglied von The British Blues Quintet (BBQ) um Maggie Bell und Zoot Money. 2014 arbeitete er unter anderem mit Stefan Stoppok.
Der Gitarrist Stephan Diez ist sein jüngerer Bruder.
Frank Diez - Sammlung
Eine Sammlung von Gitarren, alten Original-Bändern von Studioaufnahmen, Skizzenbüchern und anderen Aufzeichnungen über seine langjährigen Tätigkeiten und Erlebnisse in der Musikbranche hat Frank Diez der Lippmann+Rau-Stiftung zur Verfügung gestellt, die durch das Lippmann+Rau-Musikarchiv, Eisenach, verwaltet werden.
Als gebürtiger Berliner begann Diez seine illustre musikalische Karriere in den 1960er Jahren mit dem Hören der All-American-Folk-Blues-Festival-Schallplatten, seinerzeit produziert von Horst Lippman und Fritz Rau. Er ist der wohl einzige deutsche Gitarrist, der mit Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry und Little Richard gespielt hat. Als Mitglied vieler deutscher Bands der ersten Stunde – unter anderem Ihre Kinder (damals mit Klaus Kinski als Sänger!), Karthago (mit Ingo Bischof), Emergency, Atlantis, Snowball und Eric Burdon’s Fire Departement – war Diez ein Wegbereiter der Rockmusik in Deutschland. Zudem war er Gründungsmitglied der Peter Maffay Band und 30 Jahre lang kongenialer Partner des erfolgreichsten Sängers im deutschsprachigen Raum.
Bei einer Aufnahmesession mit Konstantin Wecker lernte Diez den Bassvirtuosen und Ausnahmemusiker Colin Hodgkinson kennen. Für beide war es “Bluesliebe” auf den ersten Ton. Als Electric Blues Duo absolvierten sie seitdem über 1.500 Livekonzerte im In- und Ausland, und ein Ende ist nicht abzusehen.
Diez’ Fähigkeiten als Gitarrist übertrugen sich auch auf seine Arbeit als Produzent. Miller Anderson, Telecats, Blues Company und nicht zuletzt seine melancholisch-schöne Solo-Produktion “Stranded on Fantasy Island” sind nur einige Beispiele. Und er hat mehr Geschichten mit den Saiten erzählt, als andere mit dem Mund.
Frank Diez und Colin Hodgekinson (Electric Blues Duo ) im Moist-Corner.
Electric Blues Duo (Colin Hodgekinson, Frank Diez) und als Gast Hubert Hofherr.
Alex Conti & Frank Diez - Berlin Blues
Released 2009-01-09 on Mad As Hell Productions
Download on iTunes: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/album/id...
Download on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?...
1. 00:00:00 Alex Conti & Frank Diez Top Of The Hill
2. 00:04:24 Alex Conti & Frank Diez I Ain't Got You
3. 00:06:52 Alex Conti & Frank Diez Down, Down, And Down
4. 00:16:01 Alex Conti & Frank Diez Black Espandrillos
5. 00:20:39 Alex Conti & Frank Diez Death Of J.B. Lenoir
6. 00:28:41 Alex Conti & Frank Diez Berlin Blues
7. 00:32:11 Alex Conti & Frank Diez Till Your Lovin' Makes Me Blue
8. 00:36:19 Alex Conti & Frank Diez Who Knows
9. 00:41:12 Alex Conti & Frank Diez I'm Not Talking
10. 00:43:51 Alex Conti & Frank Diez Junior's Wailing
11. 00:49:23 Alex Conti & Frank Diez Ju Ju Man
12. 00:53:02 Alex Conti & Frank Diez You Ain't Nothin' But Fine
Frank Diez and Alex Conti take their hats off to John Mayall, Mose Allison, Jimi Hendrix, Dave Edmunds, Jeff Beck, and others with their charming and lustful interpretations.
© Mad As Hell Productions 2008
Released 2009-01-09 on Mad As Hell Productions
Download on iTunes: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/album/id...
Download on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?...
1. 00:00:00 Alex Conti & Frank Diez Top Of The Hill
2. 00:04:24 Alex Conti & Frank Diez I Ain't Got You
3. 00:06:52 Alex Conti & Frank Diez Down, Down, And Down
4. 00:16:01 Alex Conti & Frank Diez Black Espandrillos
5. 00:20:39 Alex Conti & Frank Diez Death Of J.B. Lenoir
6. 00:28:41 Alex Conti & Frank Diez Berlin Blues
7. 00:32:11 Alex Conti & Frank Diez Till Your Lovin' Makes Me Blue
8. 00:36:19 Alex Conti & Frank Diez Who Knows
9. 00:41:12 Alex Conti & Frank Diez I'm Not Talking
10. 00:43:51 Alex Conti & Frank Diez Junior's Wailing
11. 00:49:23 Alex Conti & Frank Diez Ju Ju Man
12. 00:53:02 Alex Conti & Frank Diez You Ain't Nothin' But Fine
Frank Diez and Alex Conti take their hats off to John Mayall, Mose Allison, Jimi Hendrix, Dave Edmunds, Jeff Beck, and others with their charming and lustful interpretations.
© Mad As Hell Productions 2008
R.I.P.
Mississippi John Hurt +02.11.1966
Aufgewachsen in Avalon, Mississippi, lernte John Hurt mit etwa 10 Jahren Gitarre zu spielen. Während seiner Jugendzeit spielte er häufig für seine Freunde und auf Tanzveranstaltungen. Seinen Lebensunterhalt verdiente Hurt als Farmarbeiter.
1916 war er für fünf Monate Gleisbauarbeiter. Hier lernte er von einem Caller namens Walter Jackson eine A-cappella-Version des später aufgenommenen Spike Driver Blues – einer Variante der Ballade John Henry – kennen.
John Hurt musizierte bei einer Gelegenheit mit dem Fiddle-Spieler Willie Narmour, der ihn bei Okeh Records empfahl. In der Folge hatte Hurt 1928 zwei Aufnahmesitzungen für das Plattenlabel, und zwar im Februar in Memphis, Tennessee, und im Dezember in New York. Bei dieser Gelegenheit wurde von den Managern der Plattenfirma aus Werbegründen auch das „Mississippi“ vor den Namen des Musikers gestellt. Ursprünglich wurden nur sieben Titel veröffentlicht, die jedoch kommerziell wenig erfolgreich waren. Gleich wie bei vielen anderen Musikern auch beendete die Weltwirtschaftskrise seine Karriere als Musiker für lange Zeit. Hurt verschwand aus der Öffentlichkeit und arbeitete wieder als Landwirt und Landarbeiter. Auch spielte er weiter als Unterhaltungsmusiker bei lokalen Veranstaltungen.
In den 1950er und frühen 1960er Jahren kam es in den USA im Rahmen des "Folk Revivals" zu einem erneuten Interesse an den frühen Folk-, Blues- und Countryaufnahmen aus den 1920er Jahren. 1963 hörte der Musikforscher Tom Hoskins den im Jahre 1928 aufgenommenen Avalon Blues von John Hurt. Anhand des Textes konnte Hoskins vermuten, dass es sich bei Avalon um die Heimat des Musikers handelte: „Avalon's my hometown / Always on my mind ...“[2] Zu diesem Zeitpunkt war unbekannt, wo und ob der Musiker überhaupt noch lebte. Da damals aktuelle Karten den Ort Avalon nicht verzeichneten, machte Hoskins das Dorf mit Hilfe von historischen Landkarten ausfindig. Er konnte Hurt aufspüren und überredete ihn zu neuen Aufnahmen, die in Washington eingespielt wurden. Noch im gleichen Jahr trat Hurt auch auf dem Newport Folk Festival auf.
Hierauf genoss Mississippi John Hurt während seiner letzten drei Lebensjahre eine enorme Popularität, spielte in Konzerthallen, Hochschulen und Bars und nahm mehrere Alben auf. Der Musiker starb im 75. Lebensjahr am 2. November 1966 infolge eines Herzinfarktes.
Werk
Mississippi John Hurt gilt als bekannter Vertreter des Country-Blues, im Speziellen der stilistischen Variante des Delta Blues. Sein Stil wird auch als eine subtile Mischung aus Blues, Folk, Ragtime und Bluegrass beschrieben. Typisch für seine Musik sind sein virtuoses Fingerpicking-Gitarrenspiel, die Fähigkeit eine Basslinie und gleichzeitig Melodie und Rhythmus-Begleitung zu spielen, sowie sein leicht und freundlich wirkender Gesang.
Einige der von Hurt komponierten und interpretierten Titel zählen heute zu den Standards im Blues-Genre, so etwa der zum Klassiker gewordene Ragtime-Song Candy Man. Zu seinen Erfolgen ist auch das von unzähligen anderen Künstlern später ebenfalls interpretierte Lied Stagger Lee[3] zu zählen. Die auf einer wahren Begebenheit beruhende Geschichte von einem Mord in einem Saloon im Jahre 1895 existiert in verschiedenen Textversionen, doch die erstmals von Hurt im Jahre 1928 aufgenommene gilt noch heute als die „amtliche Version“.[4]
Mississippi John Hurt wurde 1988 in die Blues Hall of Fame aufgenommen.
John Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt (July 3, 1893[1][2] or March 8, 1892[3] — November 2, 1966) was an American country blues singer and guitarist.[4]
Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine. Singing to a melodious finger-picked accompaniment,[5] he began to play local dances and parties while working as a sharecropper. He first recorded for Okeh Records in 1928, but these recordings were commercial failures. Hurt then drifted out of the recording scene and continued to work as a farmer. Tom Hoskins, a blues enthusiast, located Hurt in 1963 and convinced him to relocate to Washington, D.C. where he was recorded by the Library of Congress in 1964. This helped further the American folk music revival, which had led to the rediscovery of many other bluesmen of Hurt's era. Hurt entered the university and coffeehouse concert circuit with other Delta blues musicians brought out of retirement. As well as playing concerts, he recorded several albums for Vanguard Records.
Hurt died in Grenada, Mississippi. Material recorded by him has been re-released by many record labels over the years and his songs have been recorded by Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Beck, Doc Watson, John McCutcheon, Taj Mahal, Bruce Cockburn, David Johansen, Bill Morrissey, Gillian Welch, Guthrie Thomas, Parsonsfield, and Rory Block.[6]
Biography
Early years
Born John Smith Hurt in Teoc,[7] Carroll County, Mississippi and raised in Avalon, Mississippi, he learned to play guitar at age nine. He was completely self-taught, stealthily playing the guitar of a friend of his mother's, who often stayed at the Hurt home while courting a lady who lived nearby. He spent much of his youth playing old time music for friends and dances, earning a living as a farmhand into the 1920s.[8] His fast, highly syncopated style of playing made his music adept for dancing. On occasion, a medicine show would come through the area; Hurt recalls being wanted by one of them. "One of them wanted me, but I said no because I just never wanted to get away from home."[7] In 1923 he partnered with the fiddle player Willie Narmour as a substitute for his regular partner Shell Smith.[8]
First recordings
When Narmour got a chance to record for Okeh Records as a prize for winning first place in a 1928 fiddle contest, he recommended Hurt to Okeh Records producer Tommy Rockwell. After auditioning "Monday Morning Blues" at his home, he took part in two recording sessions, in Memphis and New York City (see Discography below).[8] While in Memphis, Hurt recalled seeing "many, many blues singers ... Lonnie Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Bessie Smith, and lots, lots more."[7] Hurt described his first recording session as such:
... a great big hall with only the three of us in it: me, the man [Rockwell], and the engineer. It was really something. I sat on a chair, and they pushed the microphone right up to my mouth and told me that I couldn't move after they had found the right position. I had to keep my head absolutely still. Oh, I was nervous, and my neck was sore for days after.[7]
Hurt attempted further negotiations with Okeh to record again, but after the commercial failure of the resulting records, and Okeh Records going out of business during the Great Depression, Hurt returned to Avalon and obscurity, working as a sharecropper and playing local parties and dances.[5]
Rediscovery
After Hurt's renditions of "Frankie" and "Spike Driver Blues" were included in The Anthology of American Folk Music in 1952, and an Australian man discovered a copy of "Avalon Blues", there became increased interest in finding Hurt himself.[9] In 1963, a folk musicologist, Tom Hoskins, supervised by Richard Spottswood, was able to locate Hurt near Avalon, Mississippi, using the lyrics of "Avalon Blues":[9]
Avalon, my home town, always on my mind/Avalon, my home town.
While in Avalon, Hoskins convinced an apprehensive Hurt to perform several songs for him, to ensure that he was genuine.[9] Hoskins was convinced, and seeing that Hurt's guitar playing skills were still intact, Hoskins encouraged him to move to Washington, D.C., and begin performing on a wider stage. His performance at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival saw his star rise amongst the new folk revival audience.[5] Before his death he played extensively in colleges, concert halls, coffee houses, and on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, as well as recording three further albums for Vanguard Records.[5] Much of his repertoire was recorded for the Library of Congress, also. His fans particularly liked the ragtime songs "Salty Dog" and "Candy Man", and the blues ballads "Spike Driver Blues" (a variant of "John Henry") and "Frankie".[5]
Hurt's influence spanned several music genres including blues, spirituals, country, bluegrass, folk, and contemporary rock and roll. A soft-spoken man, his nature was reflected in the work, which consisted of a mellow mix of country, blues, and old time music.[8]
Hurt died on November 2, 1966, of a heart attack in Avalon, Mississippi according to the liner notes included with his Live album.
Style
Hurt incorporated a fast, syncopated fingerpicking style that he taught himself. He was influenced by very few people; but did recall an elderly, unrecorded, blues singer from that area, Rufus Hanks, who played twelve-string guitar and harmonica.[7] He also recalled listening to the country singer Jimmie Rodgers. On occasion, Hurt would use an open tuning and a slide, as he did in his arrangement of "The Ballad of Casey Jones".[7][9] According to music critic Robert Christgau, "the school of John Fahey proceeded from his finger-picking, and while he's not the only quietly conversational singer in the modern folk tradition, no one else has talked the blues with such delicacy or restraint."[10]
Tributes
There is now a memorial in Avalon, Mississippi for Mississippi John Hurt. It is parallel to RR2, the rural road on which he grew up.
American singer-songwriter Tom Paxton, who met Hurt and played on the same bill as him at the Gaslight in Greenwich Village around 1963, wrote and recorded a song about him in 1977 entitled "Did You Hear John Hurt?" Paxton still frequently plays this song at his live performances.
The first track of John Fahey's 1968 solo acoustic guitar album Requia is entitled "Requiem For John Hurt". Fahey's posthumous live album The Great Santa Barbara Oil Slick also features a version of the piece, there entitled "Requiem For Mississippi John Hurt".
British folk/blues artist Wizz Jones recorded a tribute song called "Mississippi John" for his 1977 album Magical Flight.
Delta blues artist Rory Block recorded an album called "Avalon - A Tribute to Mississippi John Hurt" released in 2013 as part of her "Mentor Series".[6]
New England singer-songwriter Bill Morrissey released the Grammy Nominated album "Songs of Mississippi John Hurt" in 1999.
Stackolee Mississippi John Hurt
Amerikanischen Medien zufolge ist der 1940 in Dallas (Texas) geborene Sänger Finis Tasby im Alter von 74 Jahren verstorben. Er stand zuletzt in Diensten der Mannish Boys, erlitt allerdings schon Ende 2012 einen Schlaganfall (bluesnews berichtete), der eine halbseitige Körperlähmung zur Folge hatte und Auftritte unmöglich machte. Tasby war zunächst als Bassist aktiv und erspielte sich mit seiner Band Thunderbirds einen guten Namen. In den 60er-Jahren wurden die Thunderbirds von Freddie King, Lowell Fulson und anderen als Backing Band für Tourneen verpflichtet, in den 70ern zog Tasby nach Los Angeles. Hier trat er mit seiner Finis Tasby Band auf, arbeitete mit Big Mama Thornton, John Lee Hooker und anderen zusammen und nahm bis in die 80er hinein auch mehrere Singles auf. Zwischen 1995 und 2005 spielte er CDs für Shanachie, Evidence, Electro-Fi und Kon-Kord ein, außerdem kam es vor rund 15 Jahren zur Zusammenarbeit mit Randy Chortkoff, dem Chef des Labels Delta Groove. Tasby wurde Mitglied der Mannish Boys und durch deren Plattenveröffentlichungen auch international bekannter. Das genaue Todesdatum war bislang leider nicht in Erfahrung zu bringen.
Although he only recently recorded his first nationally distributed full-length album, Los Angeles-based singer and songwriter Finis Tasby is no spring chicken in the blues world. Tasby has been singing in the Los Angeles area for years, and for years before that in Dallas.
Tasby was born in Dallas, Texas in 1940. He formed a band called the Thunderbirds in Dallas in 1962. While working with the Thunderbirds, Tasby played bass and sang backup vocals behind legendary blues singer-songwriter Z.Z. Hill. Hill eventually secured a recording contract, as did Hill's replacement, Joe Simon. From the mid-1960s, Tasby led the band, delivering lead vocals and playing bass. When not touring under their own name, the Thunderbirds backed up the likes of Clarence Carter, Lowell Fulson and Freddie King, touring regionally throughout Texas and Oklahoma.
In 1973, Tasby moved to Los Angeles and found a home in that city's blues clubs. He formed a new group in Los Angeles and had the chance to open for B.B. King, Percy Mayfield and Big Mama Thornton.
Tasby recorded several singles in the 1970s and '80s: "Get Drunk and Be Somebody," in 1978, and "Blues Mechanic," a 1985 release for Ace Records. Tasby also landed an acting role in the film Sharkey's Machine with Burt Reynolds, all the while playing regularly around L.A. blues clubs with his own Finis Tasby Band. Most recently, three of Tasby's songs from his Shanachie Records debut, People Don't Care (1995), were featured in the mid-1990s film The Babysitter. While his singles are surely collectors' items, his 1995 Shanachie release is still readily available. Accompanying Tasby on People Don't Care are some world class talents: Lowell Fulson, Elvin Bishop, Mick Taylor and Vernon Reid, formerly of the rock group Living Colour. While some tracks on the album are less appealing, urban contemporary pop-blues, other tracks reveal Tasby's authentic Texas blues roots.
Tasby, a prolific songwriter, has many more good albums in his notebooks. Let's hope circumstances allow him to record and tour a lot more outside of Los Angeles.
Tasby was born in Dallas, Texas in 1940. He formed a band called the Thunderbirds in Dallas in 1962. While working with the Thunderbirds, Tasby played bass and sang backup vocals behind legendary blues singer-songwriter Z.Z. Hill. Hill eventually secured a recording contract, as did Hill's replacement, Joe Simon. From the mid-1960s, Tasby led the band, delivering lead vocals and playing bass. When not touring under their own name, the Thunderbirds backed up the likes of Clarence Carter, Lowell Fulson and Freddie King, touring regionally throughout Texas and Oklahoma.
In 1973, Tasby moved to Los Angeles and found a home in that city's blues clubs. He formed a new group in Los Angeles and had the chance to open for B.B. King, Percy Mayfield and Big Mama Thornton.
Tasby recorded several singles in the 1970s and '80s: "Get Drunk and Be Somebody," in 1978, and "Blues Mechanic," a 1985 release for Ace Records. Tasby also landed an acting role in the film Sharkey's Machine with Burt Reynolds, all the while playing regularly around L.A. blues clubs with his own Finis Tasby Band. Most recently, three of Tasby's songs from his Shanachie Records debut, People Don't Care (1995), were featured in the mid-1990s film The Babysitter. While his singles are surely collectors' items, his 1995 Shanachie release is still readily available. Accompanying Tasby on People Don't Care are some world class talents: Lowell Fulson, Elvin Bishop, Mick Taylor and Vernon Reid, formerly of the rock group Living Colour. While some tracks on the album are less appealing, urban contemporary pop-blues, other tracks reveal Tasby's authentic Texas blues roots.
Tasby, a prolific songwriter, has many more good albums in his notebooks. Let's hope circumstances allow him to record and tour a lot more outside of Los Angeles.
Finis Tasby (1939 or 1940 – November 2, 2014) was a Los Angeles based blues singer and frontman for the group The Mannish Boys.[1][2][3]
Background and career
There is some confusion over his birth details, depending on which source is referenced. One year quoted is 1939, and that he was born on February 1, in Nevada, Texas, United States.[4] Another states that he was born in 1940 in Dallas, Texas.[5]
Early years: 1950s and 1960s
While in his teens, he played drums for a local band called The Blues Blasters. In the early 1960s he had moved over to bass guitar. He became a member of a local group called The Thunderbirds, playing bass as well as contributing backup vocals. Later he would work with Z.Z. Hill, Clarence Carter and Lowell Fulson. He also worked with Freddie King when he toured in the region.[6]
1970s onwards
In 1971, he was in Beaumont, Texas, working with Joe Simon and Z.Z. Hill.[4] In 1973, he moved to Los Angeles and worked the blues clubs there. He started a group in LA and opened for artists including B.B. King and Percy Mayfield.[7] In 1981, he appeared in the Burt Reynolds film Sharkeys Machine, where he performed the song "After Hours".[8] In the late 1990s, Tasby began an association with Rand Chortkoff who produced his album, Jump Children. That association would lead to Tasby being the front man for The Mannish Boys which was creation of Chortkoff. The Mannish Boys were nominated numerous times for blues awards. The group's album Double Dynamite received the Traditional blues album of the year award.[9][10] In 2005, he appeared at the Topanga Canyon Blues Festival in Topanga, California.[11] In 2006, he came to Australia and appeared with guitarist Enrico Crivellaro at the Australian Blues Music Festival.[12]
During his career he worked as an automobile mechanic at various stages. He suffered an injury to his hand in the late 1970s which caused him to give up playing bass.[13]
In December 2012, he suffered a stroke. He died in November 2014 as a result. He was aged 74.
Mannish Boys feat. Finis Tasby - "Boarder Town Blues"
Michael Coleman +02.11.2014
Michael Coleman (* 24. Juni 1956; † 2. November 2014) war ein US-amerikanischer Blues-Sänger, Songwriter und Gitarrist des Chicago Blues. Von der Zeitschrift Guitar World wurde er zu einem der Top 50 bluesmen in the world ausgewählt.[1] Coleman veröffentlichte fünf Soloalben und arbeitete unter anderem mit James Cotton, Junior Wells und John Primer zusammen.[2][3]
Leben und Karriere
Michael Coleman begann seine musikalische Karriere bereits als Kind, er spielte gemeinsam mit seinem Vater Cleother „Baldhead Pete“ Williams.[2] Als Teenager spielte er mit der Band „Midnight Sun“. In den Bluesclubs im Chicagoer Norden begann er, gemeinsam mit Aron Burton und Johnny Dollar aufzutreten.[1] Ab dem Jahr 1975 widmete er sich hauptberuflich dem Blues. Coleman tourte 1979 zusammen mit Eddy Clearwater durch Europa.[2] Hierbei wurde der Kontakt zu James Cotton hergestellt, und Coleman blieb für nahezu zehn Jahre in dessen Band.[4] Coleman unterstützte Cotton auf dessen bei Alligator Records erschienenem Album Live From Chicago Mr Superharp Himself, und spielte gemeinsam mit Cotton insgesamt drei Alben ein.[2][5]
Während der 1980er Jahre arbeitete Michael Coleman mit Junior Wells, Jimmy Dawkins und Syl Johnson zusammen, bevor er in den früheren 1990er Jahren eine Solokarriere begann.[2] Seine Arbeit blieb nicht ohne Schwierigkeiten, als er 1987 in seinem Song Woman Loves a Woman einräumte, er sei in eine Frau verliebt, doch diese sei selbst einer anderen Frau zugetan ("She’s in love with a woman too").[6] Coleman gründete die „Backbreakers“ als seine Backgroundband 1991.[1] Das Wiener Label Wolf Records veröffentlichte Colemans berühmt gewordenes Album Shake Your Booty im Jahr 1995.
Sein Debutalbum auf dem amerikanischen Plattenmarkt war Do Your Thing! im Jahr 2000. Auf diesem Album bot Coleman eine Mischung aus Blues, Soul und Funk, zudem Coverversionen von Stücken, die im Original von Jimmy Reed, Otis Redding und Isaac Hayes interpretiert wurden. Kommentatoren merkten an, dass auf diesem Album die herausragende Qualität seines Gitarrenspiels Schwächen im Gesang mehr als kompensierte.[4]
2006 unterstützte Coleman örtliche Bluesmusiker bei der Aufnahme des Albums Blues Brunch at the Mart für das Chicagoer Blueslabel Delmark Records.[7]
Coleman litt zunehmend unter gesundheitlichen Problemen und unterbrach deswegen seine Karriere vorübergehend.[3] Im Jahr 2010 trat er im Rahmen der Spring 2010 Chicago Blues Tour wieder regelmäßig auf.[8]
Coleman starb im November 2014 im Alter von 58 Jahren an Herzversagen.
Leben und Karriere
Michael Coleman begann seine musikalische Karriere bereits als Kind, er spielte gemeinsam mit seinem Vater Cleother „Baldhead Pete“ Williams.[2] Als Teenager spielte er mit der Band „Midnight Sun“. In den Bluesclubs im Chicagoer Norden begann er, gemeinsam mit Aron Burton und Johnny Dollar aufzutreten.[1] Ab dem Jahr 1975 widmete er sich hauptberuflich dem Blues. Coleman tourte 1979 zusammen mit Eddy Clearwater durch Europa.[2] Hierbei wurde der Kontakt zu James Cotton hergestellt, und Coleman blieb für nahezu zehn Jahre in dessen Band.[4] Coleman unterstützte Cotton auf dessen bei Alligator Records erschienenem Album Live From Chicago Mr Superharp Himself, und spielte gemeinsam mit Cotton insgesamt drei Alben ein.[2][5]
Während der 1980er Jahre arbeitete Michael Coleman mit Junior Wells, Jimmy Dawkins und Syl Johnson zusammen, bevor er in den früheren 1990er Jahren eine Solokarriere begann.[2] Seine Arbeit blieb nicht ohne Schwierigkeiten, als er 1987 in seinem Song Woman Loves a Woman einräumte, er sei in eine Frau verliebt, doch diese sei selbst einer anderen Frau zugetan ("She’s in love with a woman too").[6] Coleman gründete die „Backbreakers“ als seine Backgroundband 1991.[1] Das Wiener Label Wolf Records veröffentlichte Colemans berühmt gewordenes Album Shake Your Booty im Jahr 1995.
Sein Debutalbum auf dem amerikanischen Plattenmarkt war Do Your Thing! im Jahr 2000. Auf diesem Album bot Coleman eine Mischung aus Blues, Soul und Funk, zudem Coverversionen von Stücken, die im Original von Jimmy Reed, Otis Redding und Isaac Hayes interpretiert wurden. Kommentatoren merkten an, dass auf diesem Album die herausragende Qualität seines Gitarrenspiels Schwächen im Gesang mehr als kompensierte.[4]
2006 unterstützte Coleman örtliche Bluesmusiker bei der Aufnahme des Albums Blues Brunch at the Mart für das Chicagoer Blueslabel Delmark Records.[7]
Coleman litt zunehmend unter gesundheitlichen Problemen und unterbrach deswegen seine Karriere vorübergehend.[3] Im Jahr 2010 trat er im Rahmen der Spring 2010 Chicago Blues Tour wieder regelmäßig auf.[8]
Coleman starb im November 2014 im Alter von 58 Jahren an Herzversagen.
Michael Coleman (June 24, 1956 – November 2, 2014) was an American Chicago blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was voted one of the top 50 bluesmen in the world by Guitar World magazine.[1] Coleman released five solo albums, and variously worked with James Cotton, Aron Burton, Junior Wells, John Primer and Malik Yusef.
Coleman was born in 1956 in Chicago, Illinois, United States.[2] He began his musical career at a young age, playing alongside his father, Cleother "Baldhead Pete" Williams.[2] As a teenager he played with the Top 40 showband, Midnight Sun, and played the blues with Aron Burton and Johnny Dollar in Chicago's North Side.[1] In 1975 he became a full-time professional musician, and toured Europe with Eddy Clearwater four years later.[2] This led him directly to work for James Cotton, and Coleman remained in his band for a period of almost ten years.[3] Coleman backed Cotton on his Alligator Records album, Live From Chicago Mr Superharp Himself, and in total completed three albums with Cotton.[2][4]
During the 1980s, Coleman backed Junior Wells, Buster Benton, and Jimmy Dawkins, and also worked with Syl Johnson, before embarking on a solo career in the early 1990s.[2] His work was not without controversy, as in his 1987 song, "Woman Loves a Woman", he confessed he was in love with a woman, but then stated "She's in love with a woman too".[5] Coleman formed the Backbreakers as his backing ensemble in 1991.[1] The Austrian record label, Wolf Records, issued Coleman's Shake Your Booty in 1995.
His debut US release was Do Your Thing!, issued by Delmark Records in 2000. It featured a mixture of material encompassing blues, soul and funk, with cover versions of songs previously recorded by Jimmy Reed, Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes. It was noted that the quality of his guitar playing, compensated for a lightweight vocal accompaniment.[3]
In 2006, Coleman led a string of Delmark rostered musicians on the Blues Brunch at the Mart album.[6]
However a combination of his weight and diabetes severely affected his health, and his doctor advised a new lifestyle which saw Coleman lose 150 pounds.[7] Coleman started his 2010 Chicago Blues Tour, by performing at Rosa's Lounge in Chicago.[8]
Coleman died in November 2014, aged 58.[7]
Coleman was born in 1956 in Chicago, Illinois, United States.[2] He began his musical career at a young age, playing alongside his father, Cleother "Baldhead Pete" Williams.[2] As a teenager he played with the Top 40 showband, Midnight Sun, and played the blues with Aron Burton and Johnny Dollar in Chicago's North Side.[1] In 1975 he became a full-time professional musician, and toured Europe with Eddy Clearwater four years later.[2] This led him directly to work for James Cotton, and Coleman remained in his band for a period of almost ten years.[3] Coleman backed Cotton on his Alligator Records album, Live From Chicago Mr Superharp Himself, and in total completed three albums with Cotton.[2][4]
During the 1980s, Coleman backed Junior Wells, Buster Benton, and Jimmy Dawkins, and also worked with Syl Johnson, before embarking on a solo career in the early 1990s.[2] His work was not without controversy, as in his 1987 song, "Woman Loves a Woman", he confessed he was in love with a woman, but then stated "She's in love with a woman too".[5] Coleman formed the Backbreakers as his backing ensemble in 1991.[1] The Austrian record label, Wolf Records, issued Coleman's Shake Your Booty in 1995.
His debut US release was Do Your Thing!, issued by Delmark Records in 2000. It featured a mixture of material encompassing blues, soul and funk, with cover versions of songs previously recorded by Jimmy Reed, Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes. It was noted that the quality of his guitar playing, compensated for a lightweight vocal accompaniment.[3]
In 2006, Coleman led a string of Delmark rostered musicians on the Blues Brunch at the Mart album.[6]
However a combination of his weight and diabetes severely affected his health, and his doctor advised a new lifestyle which saw Coleman lose 150 pounds.[7] Coleman started his 2010 Chicago Blues Tour, by performing at Rosa's Lounge in Chicago.[8]
Coleman died in November 2014, aged 58.[7]
Michael Coleman - last show at Buddy Guy's
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