Kim Wilson's Blues All-Stars

Kim Wilson

If you’re into the history of the blues, you’ll want to check out Kim Wilson’s Blues All-Stars on Thursday at Callahan’s Music Hall, 2105 South Blvd in Auburn Hills.

Wilson, 59, is a native Detroiter who is best known as a founding member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, along with guitarist Jimmie Vaughan. The singer-harmonica player-songwriter received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Detroit Blues Society in 2009.

Wilson has played and jammed with many blues legends, including John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

A highlight of his solo career was his 2001 recording “Smokin’ Joint,” which earned Grammy and W.C. Handy nominations.

At Callahan’s, Wilson will be backed by a stellar collection of blues all-stars. Here’s a list of the band members and some of the artists they have performed with:

Bassist Larry Taylor (Canned Heat, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, The Monkees, Tom Waits), drummer Richard Innes (Hollywood Fats Band, Buddy Guy, Rod Piazza, Kid Ramos, Junior Watson and Lynwood Slim), guitarist Billy Flynn (Jimmy Dawkins, Mighty Joe Young, Luther Allison, Pinetop Perkins), guitarist Little Frank (Lazy Lester, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Hubert Sumlin), pianist Barrelhouse Chuck (Sunnyland Slim, Blind John Davis, Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy).

Wilson and the band were nominated for a 2010 Grammy for their work on the "Cadillac Records" soundtrack, which spent 48 weeks at the top of Billboard’s Blues Albums chart.

Tickets for the show are $25 and $35. For information, click atcallahans.com or call (248) 858-9508.

If you can’t make the show at Callahan’s Thursday, Wilson and the band will be performing Friday with The Bluescasters at Guy Hollerin’s in Ann Arbor. Call (734) 769-9800.

Other top blues shows in the Detroit area this week:

Tonight, catch Carl Henry at Sneakers Pub and Grill,  22628 Woodward Ave. in Ferndale.

On Friday, The Broken Arrow Blues Band will be at Nancy Whiskey's Pub, 2644 Harrison, Detroit (313-962-4247); the Carl Henry Band will be at The Treehouse, 12213 Telegraph Road, Taylor; Motor City Josh rocks The Blue Goose in St. Clair Shores (586-296-0950); the The Delta Five Blues Band will be at All That Jazz River Club, 8900 E. Jefferson, Detroit (313-331-1012); and The David Gerald Band performs at the Knights of Columbus, 4391 Larkins, Detroit (313-843-5233).

On Saturday, catch the Howling Diablos with General Cluster Funk at Callahan’s;
Detroit’s “Queen of the Blues” Alberta Adams with RJ's Rhythm Rockers at Cliff Bell's, 2030 Park Ave.,  Detroit  (313-961-2543), big SHORTY at the Cadieux Café, 4300 Cadieux, Detroit;  The Black Cat Blues Band Holiday Party at Johnny G’s, 27 Walnut,  Mount Clemens  (586-469-8388) and Motor City Josh is back at The Blue Goose.

To send an item to Joe Ballor for JB Blues, please e-mail joe.ballor@dailytribune.com.

'Going Back to Our Roots'

Luther "Badman" Keith

Big City Rhythm & Blues magazine has scheduled its Christmas party, “Going Back to Our Roots,” for 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 19 at Kelly’s Bar, 2403 Holbrook in Hamtramck (313-872-0387). The party’s sure to be a wang, dang doodle with musical director Bob Monteleone leading an impressive list of talented artists, including The Stumbling Mice, Dave Edwards (from The Look), Luther “Badman” Keith, Laith Al-Saadi, Johnnie Bassett, Chris Canas, Vincent Hayes and other members of Big City Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.

The event will be more than just big fun as Robert Jr. and Sugar attempt to fill up their Airstream with donated canned goods for the food pantry at St. Florian Church (313-871-2778).

Detroit Blues Society helps Toys For Tots, continues headstone project

The graves of Uncle Jessie White and Louis "Mr. Bo" Collins at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Detroit have headstones thanks to the Detroit Blues Society.

Mike Boulan, president of the Detroit Blues Society, relaxes in the control room of the No Cover recording studio in Oak Park.

The Detroit Blues Society has always been an active organization. Whether it’s an organized fundraiser -- such as supplying headstones for the graves of late Detroit bluesmen -- or simply providing support to local and national touring musicians, the DBS is a proactive group.

At Saturday’s monthly meeting and jam, “Blues and Toys For Girls and Boys,” at Callahan’s Music Hall, the DBS hopes to raise money and toys for the U.S. Marine Corps Toys For Tots Foundation. Anyone who donates $10 cash or a new, unwrapped toy worth $10 or more will receive a free blues music CD of their choice.

“We’ve partnered with them in the past,” said Mike Boulan, DBS president. “We’ll gather up whatever toys and money are donated, put them in a big basket and present it to the Marines.”

The group was formed in 1985 as The Detroit Country and Classic Blues Society to provide an opportunity to jam with local and touring musicians. In 1992, it was renamed the Detroit Blues Society with a goal to increase public awareness of blues music in Detroit.

Through the years, the jamming has remained an important component. One of Detroit’s top blues bands hosts each month’s meeting and performs an hour-long set. An open jam follows, with some of Detroit’s top talent often participating.

This month’s jam session will be hosted by singer-guitarist Robert Penn and his band, which has been prominent in the Detroit blues scene for years.

“We’re not just a preservationist-type society,” Boulan said.  “We encourage everyone to come down, bring their instruments, and perform.”

The society recently completed a fund-raising project to place headstones on the graves of Uncle Jessie White and Louis “Mr. Bo” Collins at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Detroit.  Uncle Jessie, who was prominent in keeping the blues alive in Detroit during some down times, died in 2008. Mr. Bo, who performed in the style of B.B. King, passed away in 1995.

“(They) were cut from a different cloth than today’s people,” Boulan said. “You just can’t meet a nicer person on the face of this planet than either of these gentlemen.”

The DBS has also placed headstones on the graves of Son House, the Butler Twins (Clarence and Curtis Butler) and Calvin Frazier.

“Some of these people were personal friends of mine, and elder statesmen of the blues, that lived into their later years … and didn’t have a lot to show for it because they were bluesmen their whole lives and it’s not a lucrative field,” Boulan said. “Sometimes, they ended up in ummarked graves.

“Wolfgang Spider, one of our board members, took it upon himself to put a stone on a grave, which kicked this whole thing off. In the course of doing that, he started to become aware of how many of his personal friends were lying in unmarked graves and it really became much more of a pressing issue and something that we’re going to remain focused on for a long time to come, because we think this is a wrong that we can right.”

The DBS Holiday Meeting and Jam starts at 9 p.m. Saturday at Callahan’s Music Hall, 2105 South Blvd. (just east of Opdyke), Auburn Hills.  The public is welcome and admission is free. For information, call (248) 858-9508 or click atcallahans.com. For information on the Detroit Blues Society, click www.bluessociety.org.

To see a video of Mike Boulan discussing the DBS headstone project, click here.

Contact JB Blues via e-mail at joe.ballor@dailytribune.com

'Christmas Collection' and 'X-Mas in Jail'

Tired of hearing “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” or “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” yet? It doesn’t take me too long to tire of hearing the holiday favorites that radio seems to continuously pump out starting in early November.

That’s one of the reasons I thoroughly enjoy some solid blues to get me in the Christmas mood.

My favorite holiday blues CD is 1992’s “Christmas Collection” by Alligator Records. It starts strong with a rockin’ “Merry, Merry Christmas” by the late, great Koko Taylor. You certainly won’t hear the folksy “Christmas Time in the Country” by Kenny Neal on commercial radio. There are a few traditional tunes on the CD – such as Elvin Bishop’s “The Little Drummer Boy” and Charlie Musselwhite’s “Silent Night” – but they have their own unique spins on the tunes. Other artists featured on the recording include Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Katie Webster, William Clarke, Tinsley Ellis, Charles Brown, Son Seals, Lonnie Brooks, Little Charlie & The Nightcats, Saffire – The Uppity Blues Women, and Gatemouth Brown.

Alligator’s other holiday release is 2003’s “Genuine Houserockin’ Christmas,” featuring, among many others, Carey Bell, Shemekia Copeland, Cephus & Wiggins, The Holmes Brothers, and Marcia Ball.

For a gritty Detroit take on the holiday, check out the Howling Diablos’ 2008 EP release “X-Mas in Jail” on indie label Funky D Records. Tino and the boys deliver their unique funky takes on “Back Door Santa” and “Another Christmas Story (Ten Below Zero),” as well as two versions of the title track, a studio “felony mix” and a raucous live recording.

When you’re done listening, you’ll know what it’s like to be “locked down in Jackson, spending Christmas in jail.”

What’s your favorite Christmas blues recording?

Easy does it

There are some guitarists who seem to want to impress you with the difficulty of the leads they are playing. Texas guitarist Smokin' Joe Kubek, who held court with musical partner Bnois King in front of a SRO crowd at Callahan's Saturday, is quite the opposite. Whether playing slide,single-note leads or intricate rhythm to back up King's leads, Kubek makes it look totally effortless. Very impressive. Kubek and King have been together for over 20 years and it is evident in their live show. There's little wasted time and they work extremely well together, blending two different styles into a whole that surpasses the individual parts.

'Have Blues Will Travel'

Bnois King and Smokin' Joe Kubek

Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King stop at Callahan's Music Hall Saturday as part of their tour supporting their fine new Alligator Records' release "Have Blues Will Travel." Ann Arbor's Lester Hambone Brown opens.

I talked by telephone with Smokin' Joe recently during his tour stop in Nashville. He and Bnois King are known for their solid one-two punch of Lone Star blues-rock and the onstage chemistry they have developed from a collaboration of over 20 years.

Like many musicians, Smokin' Joe can't wait to go on the road, and then, when on the road, looks forward to going home to Texas.

"I love being on stage," he said. "I get a lot of gratitude being on stage. It’s a total privilege. Not many people have their dream come true and I’m fortunate to have mine come true."

For a complete report on Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King, click here.

To contact Joe Ballor regarding items in JB Blues, e-mail joe.ballor@dailytribune.com.

Alberta Adams: Detroit's Queen of the Blues

Vocalist Alberta Adams, Detroit's longtime Queen of the Blues, performs a free concert at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Oak Park Public Library, 14200 Oak Park Blvd. (248- 691-7480). She'll be joined by the RJ Spangler Trio (drummer RJ Spangler, guitarist Ralph Tope and organist Duncan McMillan).

Adams began her career as a dancer in the 1940s, but soon switched to singing, touring with big name musicians such as Duke Ellington, Louis Jordan, T-Bone Walker and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson.

Her solo career enjoyed a resurgence starting in the 1990s with her association with manager/musician RJ Spangler. She recorded two CDs for the now defunct Cannonball Records label and then moved to Detroit-based Eastlawn Records. Her third record with Eastlawn, "Detroit Is My Home," features collaborations with pianists Mark "Mr. B" Braun, Al Hill (Bette LaVette) and Ann Rabson (Saffire). Alberta has also recorded for the Chess, Savoy and Thelma (Gordy) labels.

Despite her advanced age, Alberta continues to tour. Check out her performance Sunday at the Oak Park Library and pick up one of her CDs. She's a true original.