MONTEREY BAY BLUES FESTIVAL-2008, by Dorothy HILL

music by Kenny Neal

Text and Photos by DOROTHY L. HILL

The 23^rd annual Monterey Bay Blues Festival featured some changes by the Board of Directors in response to suggestions of longtime supporters with more focus on traditional blues and roots based contemporary artists. The five-year old Blues in the Schools program is bearing fruit and the festival was a showcase for young talent on several stages. A most welcome change was to allow in and out privileges. Held on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula in California in a pristine setting at the fairgrounds, there is a huge Main Arena and two outer stages with paths filled with vendors. The President’s Stage and Garden Stage are more informal and this year highlighted more star power than in previous years…an innovation that was popular with attendees who chose to buy only the grounds pass. This year the air quality was not as bad as anticipated due to the nearby Big Sur wildfire but minuscule ashes continued to spatter down the whole weekend.

Friday’s shows kicked off at 6 pm with Mississippi country blues artist, Dave Riley, on the President’s stage. Riley was nominated for 2008 Blues Music Awards Acoustic Album of the Year. I have only seen him in Mississippi so it was wonderful to see him up there on the stage in California! Riley’s gritty vocals and solo electric guitar personify the Delta experience with true-to-life expression. His delivery of “Moanin’ For My Baby” was charged with powerful vocals and his raw humorous “I’m Not Your Junkman” delighted the attentive audience. His shuffle filled expressions on guitar had a spare intensity that laid the foundation for his juke joint inspired style.

James Blood Ulmer opened up the festivities on the Main Arena stage. Ulmer was accompanied by violinist Charlie Burnham in a blues exploration converging with free jazz techniques. It was certainly a distinctive approach to the blues that was a little too avant-garde for my ears.

Bettye LaVette lit up the Main Arena prowling the stage oozing with Diva confidence. She started off strong and commanding with “Take Me Like I Am (Still Want To Be Your Baby)” from her Grammy nominated CD. LaVette engaged the audience with chitchat between songs and her charisma was undeniable.
She knocked off a chronological account of tunes giving the year and a short vignette about each before launching into the vocals. She reminisced on the Motown tune “Right In The Middle (Of Falling In Love).” Of course, she sat cross-legged on the stage as she poured out her soul. LaVette’s extraordinary performance was exhaustingly mesmerizing.

Saturday’s Main Arena show kicked off with the Volker Strifler Band, winners of the MBBF Battle of the Bands. Strifler has made quite an impact on the blues scene with his own band after years fronting the Ford Blues Band. Strifler on guitar and vocals headed up the band which included Don Bassey on bass and vocals, Gary Silva on drums, Roland Condon on keyboards, Carl Bowers on trombone and David Schrader on saxophone. They opened up with an original, “The Dance Goes On,” with Strifler’s vocals weaving around the melody driven by the robust rhythm section. The gem was a blues ballad “Like It Or Not” with Strifler’s incisive vocals and outstanding fervor on guitar. This band is more than another interpreter of standards and Strifler’s compositions put it on another level.

Teeny Tucker, was born into the blues as the daughter of the late bluesman Tommy (Hi-Heel Sneakers) Tucker. Her exceptional band with back-up vocalists kept things lively as Tucker weaved through her repertoire of soul, blues and R&B.
Her rendition of “I’d Rather Go Blind” was the genuine thing -- potently heartfelt. Her colorful outfit was only matched by her charismatic personality for what was a commanding performance.

Keb Mo opened up playing slide on a National steel guitar with the drummer accom-panying on a droning country blues. “That’s Not Love” was stupendous with hard-driving vocals and a short exercise on harmonica. When the band joined, the tempo picked up although the standout tune was a lovingly haunting “Shades Of Blue” with dissonant blues chords melding into a contemporary explosion of guitar sounds.
Keb Mo’s guitar timing is exceptionally expressive, appropriately spare emphasis for his vocals and, on this occasion, his unique perception of country blues wrapped in a contemporary package was engagingly relevant.
Robben Ford joined the band at the end for a rockish dualing excursion on “Whole ‘Nutha Thing.” Keb Mo’s performance was one of the festival highlights.

C. J. Chenier and The Red Hot Louisiana Band focused more on traditional zydeco. His “Just Like A Woman” was wonderfully zesty and “Hot Tamale Baby” was sizzling. Chenier’s vocals were awesome as usual but I did not feel the vibrancy in this performance. Perhaps it was because Chenier remained seated throughout but this can be one of the most exhila-rating bands when they are “on.”

Superharp James Cotton put on a spectacular performance. His band with Slam Allen on guitar and vocals, Noel Neal on bass, Tom Holland on guitar and vocals and Kenny Neal, Jr. on drums enthusiastically warmed up the audience. Seated in a chair, he wowed the audience with his incredible strength of phrasing—his “Hucklebuck” intricately sucked every note out with complex breath control. “Who’s Loving You Tonight” demonstrated how sweet blues harp can be. Allen handled vocals while Cotton swayed to the rhythm adding his inimitable harmonica solos that are still stunning--Cotton is the master as he proved in this set. When I visited with Cotton backstage, he proudly said he would be celebrating his seventy-third birthday in a few days. He had an energy that he attributed to his giving up smoking and drinking which led us into a discussion of what’s left without those pleasures!

Taj Mahal and trio put on an electrifying show with Mahal opening up playing guitar. His vocals on “Checkin’ Up On My Baby” were playfully rambunctious. On the slow, soulful “Annie Mae” his little aside comments were engaging. While taking to keyboards, he made some humorous comments about the price of gas! The audience got a kick out of his tune “I Wonder Why My Baby Sleeps So Sound.” He attempted to engage the reluctant audience in a call and response on “Uh-Huh Blues.” This was one of the most magical performances of the festival.

On Sunday, the festival finale on the Main Arena stage was B. B. King who was presen-ted with the Artist of the Year Award, known as MOBBAY, by the Board of Directors. King immediately launched into “Let The Good Times Roll.” His stellar band kept it lively while King who is truly blues royalty paced himself alternating between talking to the audience in an intimate courtly manner and laying down some monstrous licks. Just being in his presence makes one get goose bumps knowing the influence this man has had on blues. Long live the King!

The Garden Stage and President’s Stage had some first class performers and it was difficult to negotiate between the stages to see everyone. I missed a lot of great sessions because of timing but managed to catch some memorable moments.

On Saturday at the Garden Stage, the dynamo Sugar Pie DeSanto proved that a lady in her seventies can still be hip and get down!

Henry Butler followed in an engaging performance with his operatic influenced vocals which were chill inducing and New Orleans classic keyboard styling. His percussive attack on “Mardi Gras In New Orleans” was so powerful that I thought the keyboards were going to collapse.

Pat Wilder was compelling with her explosive guitar styling and downhome blues vocals—she is always a crowd-pleaser! On the President’s Stage, the Jackie Payne/Steve Edmonson Band was sensational. Payne’s soul vocals were on full display on “Overnight Sensation,” the title cut from their new CD.

On Sunday we learned that Janiva Magness who was scheduled for the Garden Stage had broken a leg and that the Kenny Neal Band would be substituting. Neal is one of my all-time favorites and this was definitely the place to be.
The family affair included brothers Frederick Neal on keyboards and Darnell Neal on bass along with Bryan Morris on drums, Joe Campbell on trumpet and A. G. on saxophone. Kenny Neal’s Louisiana swamp blues got our adrenalin going in one of the most incendiary shows of the festival. His tune “Let Life Flow” was reflective of his renewed outlook on life after a bout with health issues. Debbie Davies joined the band for a couple of tunes and their interplay on “Blues, Leave Me Alone” was absolutely riveting.

Frank Bey, Southern Gentleman of the Blues, lit up the Garden Stage with his show with a big band fronted by guitarist Anthony Paule. His gritty soul vocals were gospel-infused especially on his version of “Imagine.” His tune “Girl, I Want To Be With You” was soulfully upbeat with horns driving the melody. In a nod to his stint in the 60’s with Otis Redding he did a smashing rendition of “Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay.”

Continuing on the Garden Stage, another awesome show featured J. C. Smith and the Young Guns of Chicago Blues. Smith and his band warmed up the audience on “Crosscut Saw” and quickly turned it over to the so-called young guns. Mike Wheeler was featured in a short segment with his Chicago steeped style on guitar and vocals. Nellie “Tiger” Travis heated up things on “I’m A Dirty Old Woman” with her dynamic presence which was matched by her sultry vocals and sassy attitude.

Chico Banks (Smith intro-duced him as the Candy Lickin’ Man) knocked it way up! This fiery guitarist expanded the boundaries with a frenzied guitar attack of electric blues. I had to take off before they all jammed together but can just imagine what I must have missed with these not so young guns but, oh, such hot shots.

Since I missed most of the Homemade Jamz Band performance on the Main Area, had the opportunity to catch them on the President’s Stage. This family affair is the latest entry into blues stardom with Ryan (16 years old) on guitar and vocals, Kyle (13 years old) on bass and Taya (9 years old) on drums. Backed up by their father, Renaud Perry, on harmonica, this band is phenomenal and worthy of all the praise. Their unusual guitar and bass were fashioned by their father from old car mufflers. Their Mississippi inspired set was as good as anything on any of the stages. They have the blues spirit and covered many original tunes. Ryan was soulful on an original “Time For Change” and his vocals showed the maturity of an old soul on “Got My Mojo Working.” Taya kept the beat going like an old pro on drums. Kyle laid down the foundation on bass with a seasoned approach. It was a gratifying experience to hear real life blues emanating from youngsters who appeared wise beyond their years.

I closed out the festival on Sunday evening at the Garden Stage to catch a little of Charlie Musselwhite who sounded wonderful.

Unfortunately, I missed some very good acts over the weekend which friends filled in with their assessments — Joe Bonamassa evidently made quite an impression with his take-no-prisoners guitar style. Also, I regrettably missed the Blind Boys of Alabama. Robben Ford was reported to be a crowd pleaser on the Garden stage with his band. I caught a few memorable moments with Susan Tedeschi at the Main Arena on Saturday.

This year’s Monterey Bay Blues Festival goes down as one of the best in recent years. The blues was back in force and the Board of Directors succeeded in their commitment to preserve blues and honor the originators and the contemporary progeny of this American art form.

>>>>> Dorothy L. Hill
jazzpix@pacbell.net

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BluesArt-Journal - is an electronic publication. Worldcopyright © 1998-2008 BluesArtStudio, BluesLife, USA - AUSTRIA.
All rights reserved. Made with Macintosh


music by Kenny Neal

Text and Photos by DOROTHY L. HILL

		The 23^rd annual Monterey Bay Blues Festival featured some changes by the Board of Directors in response to suggestions of longtime supporters with more focus on traditional blues and roots based contemporary artists. The five-year old Blues in the Schools program is bearing fruit and the festival was a showcase for young talent on several stages. A most welcome change was to allow in and out privileges. Held on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula in California in a pristine setting at the fairgrounds, there is a huge Main Arena and two outer stages with paths filled with vendors. The President’s Stage and Garden Stage are more informal and this year highlighted more star power than in previous years…an innovation that was popular with attendees who chose to buy only the grounds pass. This year the air quality was not as bad as anticipated due to the nearby Big Sur wildfire but minuscule ashes continued to spatter down the whole weekend.
		Friday’s shows kicked off at 6 pm with Mississippi country blues artist, Dave Riley, on the President’s stage. Riley was nominated for 2008 Blues Music Awards Acoustic Album of the Year. I have only seen him in Mississippi so it was wonderful to see him up there on the stage in California! Riley’s gritty vocals and solo electric guitar personify the Delta experience with true-to-life expression. His delivery of “Moanin’ For My Baby” was charged with powerful vocals and his raw humorous “I’m Not Your Junkman” delighted the attentive audience. His shuffle filled expressions on guitar had a spare intensity that laid the foundation for his juke joint inspired style. James Blood Ulmer opened up the festivities on the Main Arena stage. Ulmer was accompanied by violinist Charlie Burnham in a blues exploration converging with free jazz techniques. It was certainly a distinctive approach to the blues that was a little too avant-garde for my ears. Bettye LaVette lit up the Main Arena prowling the stage oozing with Diva confidence. She started off strong and commanding with “Take Me Like I Am (Still Want To Be Your Baby)” from her Grammy nominated CD. LaVette engaged the audience with chitchat between songs and her charisma was undeniable. She knocked off a chronological account of tunes giving the year and a short vignette about each before launching into the vocals. She reminisced on the Motown tune “Right In The Middle (Of Falling In Love).” Of course, she sat cross-legged on the stage as she poured out her soul. LaVette’s extraordinary performance was exhaustingly mesmerizing. Saturday’s Main Arena show kicked off with the Volker Strifler Band, winners of the MBBF Battle of the Bands. Strifler has made quite an impact on the blues scene with his own band after years fronting the Ford Blues Band. Strifler on guitar and vocals headed up the band which included Don Bassey on bass and vocals, Gary Silva on drums, Roland Condon on keyboards, Carl Bowers on trombone and David Schrader on saxophone. They opened up with an original, “The Dance Goes On,” with Strifler’s vocals weaving around the melody driven by the robust rhythm section. The gem was a blues ballad “Like It Or Not” with Strifler’s incisive vocals and outstanding fervor on guitar. This band is more than another interpreter of standards and Strifler’s compositions put it on another level. Teeny Tucker, was born into the blues as the daughter of the late bluesman Tommy (Hi-Heel Sneakers) Tucker. Her exceptional band with back-up vocalists kept things lively as Tucker weaved through her repertoire of soul, blues and R&B. Her rendition of “I’d Rather Go Blind” was the genuine thing -- potently heartfelt. Her colorful outfit was only matched by her charismatic personality for what was a commanding performance. Keb Mo opened up playing slide on a National steel guitar with the drummer accom-panying on a droning country blues. “That’s Not Love” was stupendous with hard-driving vocals and a short exercise on harmonica. When the band joined, the tempo picked up although the standout tune was a lovingly haunting “Shades Of Blue” with dissonant blues chords melding into a contemporary explosion of guitar sounds. Keb Mo’s guitar timing is exceptionally expressive, appropriately spare emphasis for his vocals and, on this occasion, his unique perception of country blues wrapped in a contemporary package was engagingly relevant. Robben Ford joined the band at the end for a rockish dualing excursion on “Whole ‘Nutha Thing.” Keb Mo’s performance was one of the festival highlights. C. J. Chenier and The Red Hot Louisiana Band focused more on traditional zydeco. His “Just Like A Woman” was wonderfully zesty and “Hot Tamale Baby” was sizzling. Chenier’s vocals were awesome as usual but I did not feel the vibrancy in this performance. Perhaps it was because Chenier remained seated throughout but this can be one of the most exhila-rating bands when they are “on.”
		Superharp James Cotton put on a spectacular performance. His band with Slam Allen on guitar and vocals, Noel Neal on bass, Tom Holland on guitar and vocals and Kenny Neal, Jr. on drums enthusiastically warmed up the audience. Seated in a chair, he wowed the audience with his incredible strength of phrasing—his “Hucklebuck” intricately sucked every note out with complex breath control. “Who’s Loving You Tonight” demonstrated how sweet blues harp can be. Allen handled vocals while Cotton swayed to the rhythm adding his inimitable harmonica solos that are still stunning--Cotton is the master as he proved in this set. When I visited with Cotton backstage, he proudly said he would be celebrating his seventy-third birthday in a few days. He had an energy that he attributed to his giving up smoking and drinking which led us into a discussion of what’s left without those pleasures! Taj Mahal and trio put on an electrifying show with Mahal opening up playing guitar. His vocals on “Checkin’ Up On My Baby” were playfully rambunctious. On the slow, soulful “Annie Mae” his little aside comments were engaging. While taking to keyboards, he made some humorous comments about the price of gas! The audience got a kick out of his tune “I Wonder Why My Baby Sleeps So Sound.” He attempted to engage the reluctant audience in a call and response on “Uh-Huh Blues.” This was one of the most magical performances of the festival. On Sunday, the festival finale on the Main Arena stage was B. B. King who was presen-ted with the Artist of the Year Award, known as MOBBAY, by the Board of Directors. King immediately launched into “Let The Good Times Roll.” His stellar band kept it lively while King who is truly blues royalty paced himself alternating between talking to the audience in an intimate courtly manner and laying down some monstrous licks. Just being in his presence makes one get goose bumps knowing the influence this man has had on blues. *Long live the King!* The Garden Stage and President’s Stage had some first class performers and it was difficult to negotiate between the stages to see everyone. I missed a lot of great sessions because of timing but managed to catch some memorable moments. On Saturday at the Garden Stage, the dynamo Sugar Pie DeSanto proved that a lady in her seventies can still be hip and get down! Henry Butler followed in an engaging performance with his operatic influenced vocals which were chill inducing and New Orleans classic keyboard styling. His percussive attack on “Mardi Gras In New Orleans” was so powerful that I thought the keyboards were going to collapse. Pat Wilder was compelling with her explosive guitar styling and downhome blues vocals—she is always a crowd-pleaser! On the President’s Stage, the Jackie Payne/Steve Edmonson Band was sensational. Payne’s soul vocals were on full display on “Overnight Sensation,” the title cut from their new CD. On Sunday we learned that Janiva Magness who was scheduled for the Garden Stage had broken a leg and that the Kenny Neal Band would be substituting. Neal is one of my all-time favorites and this was definitely the place to be. The family affair included brothers Frederick Neal on keyboards and Darnell Neal on bass along with Bryan Morris on drums, Joe Campbell on trumpet and A. G. on saxophone. Kenny Neal’s Louisiana swamp blues got our adrenalin going in one of the most incendiary shows of the festival. His tune “Let Life Flow” was reflective of his renewed outlook on life after a bout with health issues. Debbie Davies joined the band for a couple of tunes and their interplay on “Blues, Leave Me Alone” was absolutely riveting. Frank Bey, Southern Gentleman of the Blues, lit up the Garden Stage with his show with a big band fronted by guitarist Anthony Paule. His gritty soul vocals were gospel-infused especially on his version of “Imagine.” His tune “Girl, I Want To Be With You” was soulfully upbeat with horns driving the melody. In a nod to his stint in the 60’s with Otis Redding he did a smashing rendition of “Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay.” Continuing on the Garden Stage, another awesome show featured J. C. Smith and the Young Guns of Chicago Blues. Smith and his band warmed up the audience on “Crosscut Saw” and quickly turned it over to the so-called young guns. Mike Wheeler was featured in a short segment with his Chicago steeped style on guitar and vocals. Nellie “Tiger” Travis heated up things on “I’m A Dirty Old Woman” with her dynamic presence which was matched by her sultry vocals and sassy attitude. Chico Banks (Smith intro-duced him as the Candy Lickin’ Man) knocked it way up! This fiery guitarist expanded the boundaries with a frenzied guitar attack of electric blues. I had to take off before they all jammed together but can just imagine what I must have missed with these not so young guns but, oh, such hot shots. Since I missed most of the Homemade Jamz Band performance on the Main Area, had the opportunity to catch them on the President’s Stage. This family affair is the latest entry into blues stardom with Ryan (16 years old) on guitar and vocals, Kyle (13 years old) on bass and Taya (9 years old) on drums. Backed up by their father, Renaud Perry, on harmonica, this band is phenomenal and worthy of all the praise. Their unusual guitar and bass were fashioned by their father from old car mufflers. Their Mississippi inspired set was as good as anything on any of the stages. They have the blues spirit and covered many original tunes. Ryan was soulful on an original “Time For Change” and his vocals showed the maturity of an old soul on “Got My Mojo Working.” Taya kept the beat going like an old pro on drums. Kyle laid down the foundation on bass with a seasoned approach. It was a gratifying experience to hear real life blues emanating from youngsters who appeared wise beyond their years. I closed out the festival on Sunday evening at the Garden Stage to catch a little of Charlie Musselwhite who sounded wonderful. Unfortunately, I missed some very good acts over the weekend which friends filled in with their assessments — Joe Bonamassa evidently made quite an impression with his take-no-prisoners guitar style. Also, I regrettably missed the Blind Boys of Alabama. Robben Ford was reported to be a crowd pleaser on the Garden stage with his band. I caught a few memorable moments with Susan Tedeschi at the Main Arena on Saturday. This year’s Monterey Bay Blues Festival goes down as one of the best in recent years. The blues was back in force and the Board of Directors succeeded in their commitment to preserve blues and honor the originators and the contemporary progeny of this American art form. >>>>> Dorothy L. Hill *jazzpix@pacbell.net*

home		back
BluesArt-Journal - is an electronic publication. Worldcopyright © 1998-2008 BluesArtStudio, BluesLife, USA - AUSTRIA. All rights reserved. Made with Macintosh