Dear John, A tad slow this week but still some great shows to see in and around town.
No doubt you've seen the lineup for our fundraiser on MAy 28. There's a whole slew of fine players donating their time to the cause. It's a trade off, we are on their side and they are on ours. Win/win. Make your plans. It's gonna be a whole day of outstanding local Blues with even a group from Tucson. I'm anxious to see and hear Black Cat Bone. I've heard good things.
Another reminder...start thinking about Showdown in September. Time to sharpen up your axe and get busy. We love to have you guysget in on the action. Trip to Memphis in the mix.
Have a week...!!
Sincerely,
Jim Crawford, PBS
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| 3 Kings
by Michael Leonard
| They share a surname, they are all Blues royalty, but there are many differences between B.B, Freddie and Albert King. Here is a key guide, with a basic recommendation - listen to all three. The 3 Kings, as they unsurprisingly become known, are among the most influential of all electric Blues players. B.B. remains the King as he was the last surviving member, but Albert King and Freddie King were also hugely influential. In the '50s and '60s (and beyond), all 3 Kings did much to popularize electric Blues, inspiring some of the most lauded players of modern times along the way... Freddie King Freddie King was flash. Known as "the Texas Cannonball", his style was usually high-tempo and served up a flurry of notes. He was nine years B.B's junior and 11 years younger than Albert King, but no mere upstart. He was born Frederick Christian (his mother's maiden name was King) and from Gilmer, Texas. As a teen, his family moved to Chicago: "I worked in the mill long enough to buy me a guitar and an amplifier," he recalled. By night, Freddie mixed with Chicago's finest Bluesmen: Howlin' Wolf told him, "Son, the Lord sure put you here to play the Blues." Ironically, Chess records originally turned down Freddie King - they said he sounded too much like B.B King. But with the Federal label, he flourished. British blues players were listening, too. John Mayall loved Freddie's "Have You Ever Loved A Woman." "It's the whole package. Freddie had great infectious speedy licks, his chops were terrific," Mayall said. Freddie is notable for his use of a plastic thumbpick with a metal pick on his first finger - he said he got the fingerpicking style from listening to his early guitar hero Lightning Hopkins, and the metal fingerpick idea from Muddy Waters cohort Eddie Taylor. This combination aided attack and allowed his famous fast passages to be played easily and economically. As slide player supreme Derek Trucks points out: "Steel on steel is an unforgettable sound, but it's got to be in the right hands. The way [Freddie] used it - man, you were going to hear that guitar." And Eric Clapton, who by the late '60s had achieved deity status in John Mayall's Blues Breakers and superstardom in Cream, cited Freddie King as a prime source for his own licks. "l was interested in white rock 'n' rollers until l heard Freddie King," stated Clapton. "Then l was over the moon." Clapton bought his first Gibson Les Paul after seeing Freddie on his Let's Hide Away and Dance Away album cover with a Gibson Les Paul Gold Top.
Albert King
Albert King was known as "The Velvet Bulldozer." His style was sparse compared to Freddie King: Michael Bloomfield heralded Albert as a master "who could say more with fewer notes than anyone I've ever known." Bloomfield added, "(Albert) approached lead playing more vocally than any guitar player I ever heard. His playing has more of a vocal range than his voice does - which is unusual, because if you look at BB or Freddie King their singing is almost equal to their guitar playing. They sing real high notes then drop down. "Albert just sings in one very mellifluous register, with a crooner's vibrato, almost like a lounge singer, but his guitar playing is as vocal as possible - he makes the guitar talk." Albert also played without a pick. "I never could hold one in my hand," King admitted. "I started out playing with one, but I'd be really gettin' into it and after a while the pick would sail across the house. I said to hell with this, so I just play with the meat of the thumb." Albert's soul and jazzy influences were evident on his biggest album, Born Under a Bad Sign. He employed big and powerful string bends - arguably because he played his GIbson Flying Vs left-handed in "upside-down" stringing, but could also play with an aggressive, spiteful tone. For Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King was the biggest of all influences. "lt was Born Under a Bad Sign for me," remembered SRV, "and King of the Blues Guitar. l remember seeing Albert on TV doing Born Under a Bad Sign and l was like... yes!" SRV once even walked out of his own gig to go and see King live. He announced to the audience, "Ladies and gentleman, l don't know about you, but l'm going to see Albert King. And if you have any brains you will too!" Albert King was always in demand by other blues disciples: notable collaborations include In Session with Stevie Ray Vaughan; Still Got the Blues, with Gary Moore; and Jammed Together with Steve Cropper and Pops Staples. Albert also recorded King of Kings with his namesake Freddie, and I'll Play the Blues for You with fellow guitar legend John Lee Hooker.
B.B. King
Of the three Kings, it is B.B. who remains the most celebrated. Freddie died in 1976, Albert in 1992, but B.B. was still going strong aged 87 - a biopic, The Life of Riley, is now available on DVD. Of all three Kings, B.B. had the sweetest tone and his call-and-response style of vocals and guitar is one of the most-recognizable in all Blues. "When I sing, I play in my mind. The minute I stop singing orally, I start to sing by playing Lucille," he says of his celebrated Gibson semi-acoustics. B.B's fat tone uses very little treble, and his trilling vibrato is also a signature sound alongside a swinging jazz-like sense of phrasing. Gibson's Varitone switch is also a big part of the B.B. "honk." I once spoke with U2's The Edge about the Irish band working with B.B. in the late 1980s. "I said, you should know, Mr King, that I don't really play the Blues," Edge smiled. "B.B just laughed and replied, that's ok young man, as I don't really play chords! Together, we'll be just fine." "I don't think anyone steals, but we all borrow," states B.B. with the wisdom of a man who's been there and done it all. "People have told me that in his early days my guitar playing influenced Peter Green a lot. Now that's something l take as a great compliment, but l don't get it myself - when l hear Peter Green, l hear Peter Green." The King of Kings? The three Kings influence on Blues and rock guitarists since the 1960s remains incalculable - Michael Bloomfield, Jimi Hendrix, Peter Green, Gary Moore, Johnny Winter, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and many others all owe at least one of them a huge debt. John Lennon famously declared, "I wish I could just do like B.B. King." Ultimately, there is no single King of the Blues. There were three - all different, all unique, and without whom the electric guitar would sound very different.
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Flagstaff Blues & Brews Festival Ticket Special.
We are offering all PBS members a $10 off coupon. Here are the links and the code name! Use PHXBLUES for $10 off General Admission Tickets
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| Out & About Tuesday, May 2 Chuck Hall (acoustic), 7 p.m., Ziggy's, Phoenix Wednesday, May 3 Sugar Thieves Duo, 8 p.m., Culinary Dropout, Tempe Carvin Jones, 8:30 p.m., The Lounge, Phoenix Bad News Blues Band, Every Wed., 9:30 p.m., Chicago Bar, Tucson Paris James, 5:30 p.m., II Vinaio, Mesa Thursday, May 4 Hans Olson, 6 p.m., Handlebar, Apache Junction Carvin Jones, 8 p.m., The Lounge, Phoenix Friday, May 5 Mike Eldred Trio, 9 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix Rocket 88s, 8 p.m., Brass Rail, Phoenix Sugar Thieves (acoustic trio), 7 p.m., Opa Life, Tempe Thermal Blues Express, 9 p.m., Tailgaters, Glendale Blues Review Band, 8 p.m., All-American, Fountain Hills Carvin Jones, 5 p.m., Social Tap, Scottsdale Saturday, May 6 JC & the Juke Rockers, 7 p.m., Handlebar, Apache Junction Hoodoo Casters, 8 p.m., Lucky strikes, Apache Junction Outback Blues Band, 7 p.m., Draw 10, Phoenix Blues Review Band, 8 p.m., All-American, Scottsdale Carvin Jones, 9 p.m., The Gym, San Tan Valley Riley/Corritore & the Juke Joint Blues Band, 7 p.m., Monterey Court, Tucson Paris James, 7 p.m., D'Vine Wine, Chandler Sunday, May 7 Carvin Jones, 6 p.m., Desert Eagle Brewing Co., Mesa Nina Curri, 11 a.m., Steve's Greenhouse, Downtown Phoenix True Flavor Blues, NOON , Copper Star, Phoenix Monday, May 8 Sugar Thieves Duo, 8 p.m., Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix Carvin Jones (acoustic), 6 p.m., Monastery, Mes |
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| Weekly Jams
NEW JAM, Flip Side Blues Band, 7 p.m., Dirty Diablo, Mesa
Ray Ray & BluZone, 5 p.m., Wild Willy's, Avondale
R.d. Olson JAM, 2 p.m., Sally's BBQ, Prescott
Bourbon Jack's JAM w/Kody Herring, 6 p.m., Chandler MONDAY
Bam Bam & Badness Open JAM, 9 p.m., Char's, Phoeni
TUESDAY
NEW JAM Sir Harrison, 9 p.m., Char's, Phoenix
Rocket 88s, 6 p.m., Hideaway West, Phoenix
Gypsy's Bluesday Night JAM, 7 p.m. Pho Cao, Tempe
Front Page Blues Band, EVERY THIRD Tuesday, 6 p.m., Far From Folsom, Prescott
Tailgaters JAM, 7 p.m., Glendale
WEDNESDAY Rocket 88s, 7 p.m., Chopper John's, Phoenix Tool Shed JAM Party, 7 p.m., El Dorado, Scottsdale
Bumpin' Bud's 1st & 3rd Wednesdays JAM, 7 p.m., Marc's, Glendale
THURSDAY Tool Shed JAM Party, 7 p.m., Steel Horse Saloon, Phoenix Jolie's Place JAM w/Adrenaline, 9 p.m., Chandler Brad's Place JAM, 7 p.m., Ahwatukee (Every other Week)
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GOT BLUES? If you are a Blues musician, a group, or a club that features Blues music, and would like to be listed, please send your info to [email protected] and we'll be happy to list your event in our weekly Out & About section of the newsletter |
Moved? Changed email addresses? Please let us know of any changes in your address, email, or phone number so we can keep you informed about the Blues community in Arizona. or write to: Phoenix Blues Society P.O. Box 36874 Phoenix, Arizona 85067 |
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