Deborah+coleman

The cover's cutout silhouette of these guitar-slinging soul/blues women is a succinct visual overview of the rather ambiguous contents within. Recorded in preparation for 2007's Blues Caravan tour featuring journeywomen singer/songwriters Sue Foley and Deborah Coleman along with the comparatively fresh-faced Roxanne Potvin (whose first widely distributed set was released earlier the same year), the disc seems more like a respectable concert souvenir than an actual collaborative affair. The 11 tracks break down into three solo cuts from each participant, one shared and joyous effort on the closing cover of a Chess oldie, "In the Basement," and a crackling instrumental dominated by Foley's always impressive guitar. There are many fine moments here, especially as Coleman lays into an easy funk groove on James Brown's "Talking Loud" and on Potvin's emotionally charged ballad "Strong Enough to Hold You".

This disc is an integral part of a series Telarc is doing – taking albums that were big sellers by prominent artists and having an innovative group of solid blues players do their interpretations of a variety of the songs from the original album. They have done this with the Beatles' White Album (calling it The Blues White Album) and Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde with good success, which will probably continue with this new interpretation of the Stones' 1972 vintage album. Telarc put together a dynamite "house" band, including Brian Stoltz (ex-Neville Brothers) on guitar and former Double Trouble rhythm section members Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton, and then pulled in many more celebrated artists to handle the leads. the Stones, who started out as a blues and R&B band, always maintained those roots; thus, many of the songs keep their original shape. This is a solid retooling of this classic Stones LP. Telarc has taken the original double disc and picked the songs the artists felt remained truest to their respective traditions and packaged it as a ten-song disc, complete with a cover notes that make it look the same.

Kern Pratt now residing in Jackson, a Mississippi Delta native brings the Blues alive every time he starts to play. He surrounds himself with some of the most talented musicians that Mississippi has to offer & provides you with a performance like no other. He has performed with artists such as the late & great Willie Foster, Mamie “Galore” Davis, Lil’ Bill Wallace, Mississippi Slim, Heburt Sumlin, Lil’ Dave Thompson, James “T-Model” Ford, Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds, Percy Sledge, Eden Brent, Steve Azar, & Grammy Award winner Bud Cockrell lead vocalist for Pablo Cruise. These musicians were a great influence on his musical career. He opened shows for artists of the likes of BB King, Bo Diddley, Johnny Winter, Delbert McClinton, Bobby Rush, Gregg Alman, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Deborah Coleman. Nantuckett, Elvin Bishop, Rick Nelson. Kenny Neal, Dr. John, Muddy Waters All Star Band, Eddie Money & the late Bobby “Blue” Bland.

King of the World is back with a new guitarist (Stef Delbaere from Belgium which makes them a true European band) and a new CD “Connected”. A CD full of original material, written with guitarist Stef Delbaere, brings an energetic version of the familiar KOTW sound and leaves no doubt about why KOTW has been on top of the European roots scene for so long. They built their reputation through the release of three studio – and one live album (Can’t go home 2013, KOTW 2014, Live at Paradiso 2015 and Cincinnati 2016). All four albums scored sheer positive reviews in the European music press. But also a great live reputation has been built through shows at Festivals all over Europe like the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam.

When blues fans Jerry Del Giudice and Edward Chmelewski started the Blind Pig label as an outgrowth of the live venue of the same name in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1977, there was no way they could have known the home they were creating for blues and Americana music would have over the next four decades. The number of legends who have recorded for the label is staggering, and their fi nest moments are collected on the brand new Blind Pig Records 40th Anniversary CollectioN. With 34 classic tracks on 2 CDs, the collection spans 40 years of blues history.

This highly touted vocalist/guitarist originally hails from Ottawa, Canada, although her home base shifted to Austin, Texas, when she signed with Antone's Records and cut her debut set, Young Girl Blues, in 1992 (an encore, Without a Warning, quickly followed). Foley's wicked lead guitar makes her a rarity among blueswomen. When she was a child in Ottawa, Foley listened to rock & roll and blues-rock groups like the Rolling Stones. Although these bands sowed the seeds of her affection for the blues, her love for the music didn't blossom until she witnessed James Cotton in concert when she was 15 years old. Cotton inspired Foley to pick up the electric guitar. During her late teens and early twenties, she jammed with local Ottawa bar bands. She didn't form her own group until she moved to Vancouver in the mid-'80s.