Masterclass Joanne Chang

Join #1 Billboard Blues Artist, Joanne Shaw Taylor, for a historic concert at the Franklin Theatre. This amazing performance features songs from her highly acclaimed release, The Blues Album, in addition to fan favorites and never-before-heard tracks. Guest appearances include GRAMMY-nominated recording artist Joe Bonamassa (who produced The Blues Album), Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Mike Farris, giving attendees a once-in-a-lifetime concert experience.

This is a delightful set, a program of eight Brazilian tunes and three of pianist Joanne Brackeen's originals. With strong assistance provided by bassist Eddie Gomez, drummer Duduka da Fonseca and percussionist Waltinho Anastacio, Brackeen adds beauty and adventure to such numbers as "Recado Bossa Nova," "Estate," "The Island" and a pair of Milton Nascimento songs. The pianist stretches the songs a bit in spots but never neglects their melodies or the original moods. Well worth several listens.

Joanne Shaw Taylor is a British blues rock singer/guitarist who was discovered by Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics at the age of 16. She has released 7 albums. Her new album, The Blues Album, was recorded by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith for Keeping The Blues Alive Records. Born in the Black Country Joanne has spent a decade releasing increasingly successful albums and touring the world. Along the way, she has won over fans from Joe Bonamassa to Stevie Wonder to Annie Lennox. A decade ago, Joanne moved to Detroit as her career in the States was developing. Joanne has recorded for RUF, Sony and Silvertone with Reckless Heart and Wild both charting in the top 20 in the UK.

Joanne Shaw Taylor was born and raised in the U.K. and discovered by Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) at the age of 15. Right from the beginning, Joanne's incredible guitar work and distinctive sultry vocals set her apart from the rest. Her latest studio album, Nobody's Fool, was produced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith. It's her most personal album to date. Joanne's writing lays bare love, loss, and the desire to be free of the past through the vessel of catchy hooks and guitar riffs.

Young cellist Han-Na Chang, Korean-born and trained in the U.S. by Mstislav Rostropovich, is a newcomer to Baroque music, having released a mixture of cello classics and late-Romantic and contemporary concertos up to this time. Here she delivers a set of seven Vivaldi cello concertos that Rostropovich himself might have helped her shape; it's something of a throwback to the way Vivaldi was played 30 or 40 years ago.

The Dirty Truth marks Joanne Shaw Taylor’s fourth studio release and second time working with producer Jim Gaines (the first being on her studio debut some five years ago) with the goal of tapping into some of what drove White Sugar. The record plays out like what we’ve come to expect from Taylor - a heady combination of not-quite-aggressive and not-quite-mellow - but this one sounds a little closer to home for Taylor. Her songs just sort of flow off of the record naturally, almost as though they’d always been out there somewhere and Taylor merely uncovered them and made them accessible…