Howard Glazer leads Detroit Music Award blues nominations

Howard Glazer  left, with Emmanuel Young

Official nominees for the Detroit Music Awards have been announced, and singer-guitarist Howard Glazer tops the blues artist list with five nominations.

Glazer has been nominated in the Outstanding Blues Artist/Group, Outstanding Blues/R&B Instrumentalist, and Outstanding Blues/R&B Songwriter categories. He received a nomination in the Outstanding Blues/R&B Recording category for his recording "Stepchild Of The Blues," and also received a nomination for Outstanding R&B Artist/Group with Detroit blues veteran Emanuel Young.

“I’m honored,” Glazer said. “We’ll see what happens. There’s definitely a lot of competition. There are a lot of good players out there.”

Glazer, who has had several prior DMA nominations, but is still looking for his first win, was most pleased about the nomination he shares in the Outstanding R&B Artist/Group category with Detroit blues veteran Emanuel Young.

“It’s quite an honor for me, and even more so for Emanuel, who turned 75 in November,” Glazer said. “He’s been pretty much under the radar and there are so many people in the city who don’t know who he is.”

Glazer said he first met Young in 1999 when Young was performing with Billy Davis (Hank Ballard and the Midnighters) at the Olympia nightclub on Grand River and McGraw in Detroit.

“He was there every Sunday night for eight years,” Glazer said.  “Another club he played was Cooley’s Lounge on Van Dyke. He was there on Friday and Saturday nights from 1977 until 2005 when it closed.

“He’s played in inner city neighborhoods, but he is someone who definitely deserves to be known (by a wider audience).”

Glazer said that Young played with blues legend John Lee Hooker in 1959-60, but that Young probably considers himself more of a rock ‘n’ roller.

“He doesn’t play that gutbucket, Delta style of blues,” Glazer said. “He plays a fusion of blues and late ‘50s rock ’n’ roll and R&B and puts them all together.

“He’s a really good guitar player with a very melodic style.”

Bobby Murray

Several other artists received multiple DMA nominations.

Guitarist Bobby Murray, best known for his over two decades working with the late Etta James, received nominations as Outstanding Blues/R&B Instrumentalist, Outstanding Blues Artist/Group, and Outstanding Blues/R&B Recording for his CD “I'm Sticking With You.”

 “I’m completely surprised – and honored, especially to be among so many wonderful artists, who are so deserving,” said Murray, who won his first DMA last year for Outstanding Blues/R&B Instrumentalist.

Paul Miles, who also sings, received nominations in the Acoustic/Folk Instrumentalist, Outstanding Blues/R&B Instrumentalist, and Outstanding Blues/R&B Songwriter categories. Miles also garnered a nomination in the Outstanding Urban/Funk/HipHop Recording category for the recording "Save Detroit" by Paul Miles & Friends.

Singer-guitarist Laith Al-Saadi received nominations in the Outstanding Blues Artist/Group, Outstanding Blues/R&B Instrumentalist, Outstanding Blues/R&B Recording ("Real") and  Outstanding Blues/R&B Vocalist categories.

DMA nominees include:

Outstanding Blues Artist/Group

Bobby Murray

Howard Glazer

Laith Al-Saadi

Royal Blackbirds

Erich Goebel

Broken Arrow Blues Band

Outstanding Blues/R&B Instrumentalist

Howard Glazer - Guitar

Bobby Murray - Guitar

Brett Lucas - Guitar

Laith Al-Saadi - Guitar

Pete Peltier - Guitar

Chuck Bartels -Bass

Philip Hale - Keyboards

Motor City Josh - Guitar

Paul Miles-Guitar

Outstanding Blues/R&B Recording

Bobby Murray "I'm Sticking With You”

Howard Glazer "Stepchild Of The Blues"

Laith Al-Saadi - "Real"

Harper and Motor City Josh "Bare Bones"

The Infatuations "Yesterday Morning"

Laura Rain and the Caesars "Electrified"

Outstanding Blues/R&B Songwriter

Tino Gross

Howard Glazer

Paul Miles

Jim McCarty

Al McKenzie

Laura Rain & George Friend

Outstanding Blues/R&B Vocalist

Thornetta Davis

Barbara Payton

Kathleen Murray

Tosha Owens

Caleb Gutierrez

Laith Al-Saadi

Outstanding R&B Artist/Group

The Infatuations

Mainstreet Soul

Laura Rain and the Caesars

Tosha Owens

The Groove Council

Emanuel Young & Howard Glazer

The Detroit Music Awards will be at the Fillmore Detroit on April 25. For more information, click detroitmusicawards.com

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