Jim McCarty wins Detroit Music Awards; jams with Cactus

Jim McCarty

Guitarist-singer Jim McCarty, whose resume includes stints with Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, the Rockets, Cactus, the Detroit Blues Band, etc., won two Detroit Music Awards Friday. McCarty was named Outstanding Blues/R&B Instrumentalist and also won the Outstanding Blues/R&B Recording award for his CD “Jim McCarty and Friends – Live at Callahan’s.” The outstanding CD, released on Cally’s Records and Tapes, is a collection of 12 songs recorded live at Callahan’s Music Hall over a three-year period. Each tune features McCarty in impromptu jams with the likes of Duke Robillard, Jason Ricci and John Nemeth.

“It’s always nice to get a little recognition,” McCarty said. “I’m extremely proud of that CD. Me and (recording engineer) Peter (Jay) did a lot of work getting the finished product together and it was really gratifying to have it recognized.”

The CD can be purchased on iTunes or at www.mccartyandfriends.com.

To see an earlier blog post on the “Jim McCarty and Friends” CD, click here. 

McCarty will be performing with the reunited Cactus, featuring original member Carmine Appice (drums) and former Savoy Brown frontman Jimmy Kunes (vocals), on Saturday (May 5) at the Magic Bag in Ferndale. The Muggs open. Tickets are $25. For info, click www.themagicbag.com.

Cactus performed three concerts last week, at the B.B. King Blues Club in New York, at a concert hall just outside Philadelphia and in Long Island, N.Y. They will be playing in Akron, Ohio, this Friday before motoring up to Detroit for Saturday’s show.

“Hopefully, we’ll have as much fun (at the Magic Bag) as we did last year,” McCarty said. “That was terrific. It was our first show with Pete Bremy (Vanilla Fudge) on bass and probably the best show the band had done since regrouping in 2006.

“The band sounded like Cactus and the audience can always pick up when the band is having fun and enjoying themselves. It was a good vibe and, hopefully, will be again this Saturday.”

McCarty, who also fronts his Detroit-based band Mystery Train, is looking forward to touring with Cactus this year. The group will be going to Europe in July and Japan toward the end of the year.

“That will really be a fun trip for me,” McCarty said. “In the old days, ‘70 and ’71, Japan was one of the hot spots for that group. We never had a hit record, so it was basically a cult following. I’ve always wanted to go to Japan.”

McCarty has been busy putting some new ideas down on his eight-track recorder in anticipation of recording a new Cactus album by the end of the year. McCarty is excited about the new songs.

“’Cactus V’ was a really good CD and this one will be even better. I’ve got some really good ideas and I guarantee this will be one hot little CD.”

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Thornetta Davis

Also at the Detroit Music Awards, Detroit Blues Society Lifetime Achievement Award winner Thornetta Davis took home honors in two categories, Outstanding Blues Artist/Group and Outstanding Blues/R&B Vocalist. Eliza Neals was named Outstanding Blues/R&B Songwriter.

The Howling Diablos

The night’s biggest winners were the Howling Diablos, who took home five trophies, including Outstanding R&B Artist/Group and Outstanding Urban/Funk Artist/Group, as well as three awards for its excellent 20011 release “Ultra Sonic Gas Can” (Funky D Records).

Howling Diablos frontman Martin “Tino” Gross won three individual awards, including Outstanding Record Producer.

To contact JB Blues, please email Joe.Ballor@Dailytribune.com

Drummer Duke Dawson dies at 82

Duke Dawson

One of Detroit’s blues veterans has passed away. Drummer Horace “Duke” Dawson died Friday at the age of 82 following complications from heart surgery.

“I’ve known him for years and he was an exceptionally nice guy,” said Wolfgang Spider, Detroit Blues Society board member. “He told me that as a young kid, he would sit around the kitchen banging on the pots and pans, driving his parents nuts. They bought him a drum set and he went on from there. Over the years, he probably gave away five or more sets of drums to schools and organizations.”

Little Sonny

Dawson, a 2002 recipient of the Detroit Blues Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award, played with many acts over the years, including the Butler Twins, Uncle Jesse White and the 29^th Street Blues Band, the Harmonica Shah Blues Band, and C. J. Morris and his Back Alley Blues Band. He was best known for his many years performing with singer-guitarist Louis “Mr. Bo” Collins.

“Duke was a beautiful dude, he never had a cross word,” said singer-harmonica player Little Sonny. “He admired me and I admired him.”

Louis "Mr. Bo" Collins

Little Sonny and Mr. Bo both started out in Washboard Willie’s band and continued to perform together after they left that band and Little Sonny became a bandleader. Eventually, Mr. Bo went out on his own and that’s when he hired Dawson as drummer. The former bandmates would often catch each other’s shows, with Mr. Bo's band at the Zombie and Little Sonny's band at the Apex Lounge.

“Duke was one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, he always had that smile,” Little Sonny said. “We were good friends and my drummer James Crawford, who we called Jim Due, and Duke were the best of friends. We all came along at the same time. Duke’s been there just as long as I was.”

Little Sonny has been a member of the American Federation of Musicians for 56 years and Dawson was a longtime union member as well. The two friends would go together to the annual union dinner and hoped to do so again next month.

“He told me something one time, that when young musicians asked him what they should do in the business he told them ‘join the union, be at your gigs on time, and don’t drink and don’t smoke.’” Wolfgang Spider said.

“He was one of the most beautiful guys I’ve ever met,” Little Sonny said. “I’ve never seen Duke mad. He always had that joy on him, all the time. His personality was beautiful.”

Dawson endured health problems over the last decade, but continued to perform.

“He lived to play music and played on and off, even with his health problems, over his wife’s objections,” Wolfgang Spider said. “He would tell her that he was just going to listen, but they would always call him up on stage to play.

 “He was widely admired by everyone and had thousands of friends and fans. He was one guy that everybody liked. You always hear that when someone passes away, but in this case it was the absolute truth.”

Funeral arrangements are pending. To check on the arrangements, visit the Detroit Blues Society’s Facebook page.

Detroit Blues Challenge

Dale Robertson Band

Smokin' 45s

 

The second round of the Detroit Blues Challenge was held Saturday night at Callahan’s Music Hall in Auburn Hills. The two winning acts – the Dale Robertson Band and the Smokin’ 45s – advance to the finals on Oct. 21. The winners of the band and solo-duo categories at the finals go on to represent Detroit at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn. 

(Photos of Duke Dawson, Dale Robertson Band and Smokin' 45s courtesy of Blues Photos by Don McGhee)

To send info to JB Blues, please email Joe.Ballor@dailytribune.com

Chris Canas at the library; Piano blues

The Chris Canas Band will perform at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (April 18) as part of the monthly Jazz & Blues series at the Southfield Public Library, 26300 Evergreen Road.

The Chris Canas Band was the winner of the band category in the 2011 Detroit Blues Challenge and represented the Detroit Blues Society at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn.

There is $3 admission charge. For further information, call the Guest Services Desk at 248-796-4224.

Detroit Blues Challenge

The Detroit Blues Challenge continues with a band competition at 9 p.m. Saturday (April 21) at Callahan’s Music Hall, 2105 South Blvd. in Auburn Hills.

MotorCity Tones -- Joe Ballor, Jeff Boris,  Mark Grablowski, Charlene Melody, David Lamb

Bands including the Pat Zelenka Project, 3rd Degree, Dale Robertson Band, MotorCity Tones (pictured), and Smokin’ 45s will compete, with the top two bands advancing to the finals in October. Winners of the band and solo/duo categories at the finals will represent Detroit at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn.

Proceeds from the $5 admission fee go to the Detroit Blues Challenge prize fund. For information, click www.detroitbluessociety.org.

Piano blues at the Scarab Club

The Detroit Blues Society and the Scarab Club present The Piano Blues at 2 p.m. Saturday (April 21) at the Scarab Club, 217 Farnsworth in Detroit.

Featured at the all-ages event will be pianists Bill Heid and MichaelMalis, backed by bassist Kurt Krahnke.

For information, click www.detroitbluessociety.org or www.scarabclub.org.

To send info to JB Blues, please email Joe.Ballor@dailytribune.com

Blues guitarist Eddie King dies at age 73

The Associated Press has reported that blues guitarist Eddie King is dead after a lengthy illness. He was 73.

To see the complete story, click here.

Greg Nagy Band brings blues to the library

Greg Nagy

Singer-guitarist Greg Nagy started out as a traditional blues player, but, over the years, his music has taken on influences ranging from soul and rock to funk and jazz.

“I just think of everything I do as coming out of the blues,” said Nagy, who leads the Greg Nagy Band in concert at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (March 21) at the Southfield Public Library, 26300 Evergreen Road.

“I was a traditional blues player in the ‘80 and ‘90s, but over the years I’ve been inspired by a lot of different stuff,” said Nagy, who had a five-year stint with the band Root Doctor. “It always comes back to the blues.

“I try to take all of my life influences and experiences (into the music), but I always try to be honest with it.”

Nagy, a Flint native who now lives in Grand Blanc, has two CDs on Big O Records, which he co-owns with organist Jim Alfredson (Organissimo). Alfredson played on both of Nagy’s CDs: 2010’s “Walk That Fine Thin Line” and 2011’s “… Fell Toward None,” which also features the Motor City Horns on three tracks.

At the library, Nagy and his band (Jim Shaneberger on bass and background vocals and Karl Schantz on drums and background vocals) will perform a variety of tunes.

“I’m going to try to work in a lot of traditional blues staples, as well as a lot of our original material,” Nagy said.

The Jazz & Blues series is sponsored by the Friends of the Southfield Public Library and the Detroit Blues Society. Admission is $3 at the door.

For information, on the Greg Nagy Band, click www.GregNagy.com.

RASTA BLUES

If you were not fortunate enough to be in attendance at the show by Corey Harris and The Rasta Blues Experience at Callahan's Music Hall on Saturday, don't despair.

The concert was recorded for both CD and DVD by the American Music Research Foundation. I, for one, can't wait to check it out.

Harris and his excellent band, who are equally adept playing blues and reggae, were joined for segments by Phil Wiggins on harmonica and vocalist Thornetta Davis. Over a four-hour period, they played a wide variety of styles, both acoustic and electric. It was outstanding.

To see a previous post on Corey Harris, click here.

BLUES SHOWCASE

Jim McCarty

Callahan's hosts the Detroit Music Awards Blues Showcase on Thursday (March 22). Admission is only $5, with proceeds benefiting the DMAs. Scheduled performers include Jones'n, the Broken Arrow Blues Band, The Boa Constrictors, and Sweet Willie Tea.

For information, click www.atcallahans.com.

McCARTY AND FRIENDS

On Friday (March 23), Callahan's presents Jim McCarty and Friends, featuring harmonica player James Montgomery from Boston, and Detroit guitar slinger Jeff Grand, who will open the show and then join forces with McCarty and the guys. Tickets start at $15.

McCarty, well known among musicians for his tasteful and expressive guitar work with Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, Buddy Miles, The Rockets, Cactus, and others, released the CD "Jim McCarty and Friends Recorded Live at Callahan's" last year. It includes McCarty performing with blues greats such as Duke Robillard Jimmy Thackery (who is at Callahan's March 24), Johnny A, John Nemeth, and Jason Ricci. Check it out.

To send info to JB Blues, please email Joe.Ballor@dailytribune.com.

Journey of the blues: Documentary on Corey Harris focuses on evolution of the music

Corey Harris

Nearly 10 years ago, musician Corey Harris was a featured artist and narrator of the Martin Scorcese film “Feel Like Going Home,” which traced the evolution of blues from West Africa to the southern United States.

Harris will soon be the focus of another Public Broadcasting documentary. His live show on Saturday (March 17) at Callahan’s Music Hall in Auburn Hills will be recorded for an upcoming film tracing the journey of the blues genre from its African roots, through the South and into Chicago and reggae music.

“It’s something I’ve been working on for some time, a little less than a year,” Harris said during a phone interview from his home in Richmond, Va. “I was approached by Ron Harwood of Illuminating Concepts to do a video, showcasing my music and my life story.”

Harris, a singer-guitarist-songwriter, was born in Denver to parents from Texas and Kentucky. He began his career as a New Orleans street singer, travelling throughout the southern United States. In his early 20s, he lived in Cameroon, West Africa for a year.

“I wanted to study abroad and see Africa,” Harris said. “I had a friend who had family in Cameroon and he was telling me about the place. That was the first time I heard live African music and that had an effect on me.”

Harwood recognizes Harris as the perfect individual to tell the story of the journey of the blues.

“It dawned on me, as a producer, that it is difficult to find any one entertainer who recognizes his connection to the past and also recognizes his contribution to the future, and who can also speak so eloquently about where the music comes from,” Harwood said. “I’m always fascinated by his really earthy approach of a young man singing music that is, arguably, 100 years old.

“It’s his spirit. You talk about folks with old souls, clearly, even on his records, … he never seems like he is copying anybody, even though he performs tunes that have been done many times before.”

Whether playing solo, in a duo, or with his band The Rasta Blues Experience, Harris performs in a wide variety of styles, including blues, reggae, and New Orleans jazz. He’s performed in venues around the world.

“As a performer, I always have to be aware of what the public wants and what kind of audience I’m playing in front of,” Harris said. “If I’m at a reggae festival, I play reggae. At a blues festival, I play blues. There’s no such thing as a ‘normal’ show.”

His varied repertoire means that Harris is not pigeonholed into one category of music.

“I enjoy that. I think (pigeonholing) is something the music industry uses to marginalize musicians, especially those who play traditional music and especially those who play blues and jazz.”

At Callahan’s, Harris will be performing solo, with his full band (Chris “Peanut” Whitley on keyboards, Gordon ”Saxman” Jones on saxophone, Jayson “Brother J ” Morgan on bass and drummer Kenneth “Trini Joe” Joseph), and as a duo with Harmonica Phil Wiggins, who performed for many years with the late singer-guitarist Bowling Green John Cephus.

“We’ve done a lot of work together since Mr. Cephus died (in 2009),” Harris said. “We’ll play some Piedmont blues as well as a lot of different types of blues. We have a lot of similarities and a lot of differences. We meet in the middle.”

Looking ahead, Harris will perform with Wiggins at the New Orleans Jazz Festival on April 29. He’s also working on another film project, “True Blues,” featuring Taj Mahal, Shemekia Copeland, Guy Davis and Alvin “Youngblood” Hart. A live recording of the “True Blues” show will be held April 22 at the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C.

In December, Harris travelled to Mali to work on a book about the life and music of the late Ali Farke Toure, who was featured in “Feel Like Going Home.”

Harris is a unique performer, with one foot planted in the roots of traditional blues, while the other steps forward into uncharted territory.

“He is representative of the first recordings of this music,” Harwood said. “You can hear the spirit of the fellow of the man who first recorded it and hear Corey’s spirit right alongside. It’s really rare to find that, two voices coming from one.”

Corey Harris will perform an early show at 5:30 p.m. March 17 at Callahan’s Music Hall, 2105 South Blvd. in Auburn Hills. Tickets are $30. For information, click www.atcallahans.com or call (248) 858-9508.

To send info to JB Blues,  please email Joe.Ballor@Dailytribune.com