The Blues Foundation
...presents W. C. Handy Nominees, Volume 1
various artists
Music Blitz
2001
13 tracks
I could write a volume about every track here. Or I could just keep it simple. Simple works. This is great blues. This is great rock and roll. Thirteen rocking tracks. Thirteen of the best blues artists. All on one powerful release. You can't beat that.
The Blues Foundation of Memphis, Tennessee, which also maintains the Blues Hall of Fame, presents the annual W. C. Handy Blues Awards. With over 20,000 ballots distributed to blues fans around the world, there are truly the "people's choice" awards for excellence in the blues, with top artists selected in twenty-four different categories. This release presents nominees for the 22nd annual W. C. Handy Blues Awards in the categories of Blues Album of the Year, Blues Song of the Year, Blues Entertainer of the Year, Blues Band of the Year, and Best New Artist Debut. The nominees presented here comprise an all-star lineup.
The tracks on this "best of the blues" CD underline why I am so often disappointed by local (not just where I live, but in any town) blues bands, skilled professional musicians who play competently but, when all is said and done, are just walking through the covers for their hometown fans. There is more powerful feeling in any one of the tracks here than often can be found in a whole set from the blues band in a local bar. The music on this release is rich and gutsy, with a sound that reaches a spot somewhere deep inside of me and holds on tight.
Most of the artists presented here should be familiar names. This highly talented cast only intimates at the quality of the music presented in this set. The headliners include Detroit's Johnnie Bassett & The Blues Insurgents, young electric bluesman Sean Costello, Anson Funderburgh & The Rockets from Dallas, Atlanta's Beverly "Guitar" Watkins, long-time favourite Taj Mahal, the highly respected Arkansas bluesman Son Seals, youthful percussionist Calvin Jackson from Mississippi, Harlem native Shemekia Copeland, rising stars Corey Harris and Henry Butler from New Orleans, Mississippi-born guitarist Willie King, Southern-born Chicago blues-rocker Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater, Guy Davis (what more need I say?), and Mississippi Delta guitarist and vocalist Big Jack Johnson.
As a sampler of contemporary blues artists, this release presents the best of the best in one excellent blues performance after another. The performers may be contemporary, but, throughout the performances this set, there's a strong sense of tradition. This is powerful music with a long tradition, and the respect the musicians have for that tradition is apparent in every note they play and every word they sing.
The notes point out that a portion of the proceeds from sales of this release go to support the Blues foundation and its programs. These include not just this awards program but the Keeping the Blues Alive Awards, the Lifetime Achievement Award, the BluesFirst Convention, the Blues Hall of fame, the Handy Relief Trust Fund to provide financial assistance to organizations that support blues artists in times of emergency, the International Blues Challenge (a talent competition for emerging blues artists), a number of educational programs (including curriculum modules and classroom guides) in the schools, and its role as umbrella organization for more than 100 affiliated blues organizations worldwide.
This sampler from The Blues Foundation's W. C. Handy Blues Awards should be a welcome addition to the music library of anyone with an interest in hearing the blues performed well. The breadth and depth and quality of the performances on this release is breathtaking. Very simply, this is great blues.
You can find out more about The Blues Foundation and the W. C. Handy Blues Awards at www.blues.org or at www.handyawards.com.
|
|
|
|
Support Sound Bytes |
While you're here, please take the time to check out our sponsors below and on other pages.
Listen to the songs of Poem de Terre - unique Canadian Folk Music & Spoken Word
|
Own the music of Bob MacKenzie & Poem de Terre. Click any album cover to order it from CD Baby. |
|
on Sound Bytes' Free-For-All Links page... Click Here.
Designed by The Communication Centre (R. D. MacKenzie Associates,
Kingston, Ontario K7K 6T9)
This web site, all pages, original content & images copyright © 1997-2005 R. D. MacKenzie.
Some web site functions developed and provided by Bravenet Web Services.
Review written: April 14, 2005
Page modified: April 14, 2005
Proudly Canadian
Send mail to the Sound Bytes Webmaster
if you have questions or comments about this web site.