March, 2012 Issue 341 jazz &blues report now in our 38th year Doheny Blues Festival March 2012 • Issue 341 Guitar Shorty Doheny Blues Festival The 15th Annual Doheny BluesFestival Editor & Founder Bill Wahl May 19 & 20 at Doheny State Beach Layout & Design Bill Wahl Operations Jim Martin Pilar Martin Contributors Michael Braxton, Mark Cole, Dewey Forward, Nancy Ann Lee, Peanuts, Wanda Simpson, Mark Smith, Duane Dana Point, CA – Celebrating the album, Let Your Hair Down, a set of Verh, Emily Wahl and Ron Wein- 15th year of Blues On The Beach in blues covers featuring the last record- stock. Southern California, Omega Events is ings of harmonica virtuoso Norton proud to announce that Greg Allman Buffalo, his “partner in harmony” for Check out our constantly updated and The Steve Miller Band will headline 33 years. website. Now you can search for the Doheny Blues Festival on May 19 & “Year 15 is a proud milestone for CD Reviews by artists, titles, record 20. The festival takes place at Doheny thePhoto festival, by Martinso we Philbey wanted to deliver a labels, keyword or JBR Writers. 15 State Beach, 25300 Dana Point Harbor legendary, eclectic lineup for the Dohe- years of reviews are up and we’ll be Drive, Dana Point, CA. Hours are 10:30 ny fans,” says promoter Rich Sherman. going all the way back to 1974. a.m. - 9:00 p.m. daily “Gregg Allman rarely performs on the Comments...billwahl@ jazz-blues.com As founding member & vocalist West Coast, and Steve Miller’s influ- Web www.jazz-blues.com for pioneering Southern rockers The ence on blues-rock music cannot be un- Allman Brothers Band, Greg Allman derstated. Plus, both Allman and Miller Copyright © 2012 Jazz & Blues Report ’s soulful voice is one of the defining have recorded blues albums this year… sounds in American music history. Long so the timing is perfect. This is our way No portion of this publication may be re- considered an interpreter of blues mu- of saying thanks to the loyal supporters produced without written permission from sic, Allman released Low Country Blues of our independent festival.” the publisher. All rights Reserved. this year, his seventh solo recording Joining Gregg Allman and The Founded in Buffalo New York in March of and first in more than 13 years, earning Steve Miller Band are Chicago Blues 1974; began in Cleveland edition in April of 1978. Now this global e-zine edition is a GRAMMY Nomination in the category Legend Buddy Guy, Texican rockers posted online monthlyat www.jazz-blues. of Best Blues Album. In addition, The Los Lonely Boys, Trombone Shorty & com Recording Academy will be honoring Orleans Avenue from NOLA, roots artist The Allman Brothers Band with its and conservationist Tab Benoit, Texas Lifetime Achievement Award during the Blues guitarist Johnny Winter and Irish- GRAMMY Awards on February 12. born vocalist Imelda May. Many more One of rock music’s all-time greats, artists will be announced in the coming The Steve Miller Band have sold more weeks. than 30 million records in a career Various attractions are located www.jazz-blues.com spanning 40 years. Miller’s trademark throughout the festival grounds in- blues-rock sound has made him a cluding: The Kidz EcoFest, Interna- staple of classic rock radio, but it was tional Food Court; eclectic Vendor Vil- “Buffalonious” his first band - the Goldberg Miller Blues lage; Bike Valet and Blackstone Wine Our original Band - where he fostered his love for Lounge. The Backporch, a third stage mascot from the Blues music, learning alongside Muddy of music, is a tree-lined setting where very early Waters and Paul Butterfield, amongst fans can enjoy intimate sets of music Buffalo Jazz Report others. And Miller shows no signs of and microbrewed beers. days – mid ‘70s. slowing down; following the 2010 re- New for 2012, the Doheny Blues He is older now, lease of the #1 Blues album, Bingo!, Festival will utilize The EventBand Sys- but global & Miller sold out London’s Royal Albert tem, a smart wristband that serves as still very cool! Hall, his first concert in England in 25 both your festival ticket and electronic years, and released Bingo’s companion wallet. As in previous years, Doheny at- Page Two March 2012 • Issue 341 tendees are required to wear a wristband during the event, but ticket buyers can now have their EventBand shipped to Anthony Braxton’s Tri-Centric them in advance, which means no waiting in the morning Foundation Launches its lines. In addition, the EventBand will be used as an elec- tronic wallet for the purchase of all food & drinks inside the Website Version 2.0 event; attendees can load value onto their EventBand at New York, NY – Anthony Braxton’s Tri-Centric Foun- the time they purchase their tickets. dation has launched the new and improved version of the “We’re proud to be one of the first music festivals in organization’s website. North America to utilize RFID wristband technology for both Active since March 2011, www.tricentricfoundation.org admissions and concessions,” notes Rich Sherman. “This has been recognized as one of the most comprehensive technology advance is an added benefit for fans… just order websites for any living American composer. New Braxton your tickets on-line and leave your wallet at home.” House Records, the online record label of the Tri-Centric Foundation, has released 24 new album-length downloads in addition to offering a free career sampler of Braxton’s music, free historic bootleg recordings, and its one physical product, the epic 4-CD box set Trillium E (the first studio recording of one of Braxton’s operas). In its first year, the site has had roughly 30,000 visits from over 90 countries, with nearly 8,000 albums and bootlegs downloaded. The new version of the website increases the user- friendliness and functionality of the operation. Visitors can still download free materials, purchase albums on an ala- carte basis, or choose to become TCF members for 7.99 a month; membership benefits include one free album-length download every month, discounts on all back catalog items, and other surprise bonuses. In celebration of the new site, TCF is offering its second batch of free historic bootlegs, 13 rare concert recordings between 1975 and 1989 ranging from solo to orchestra. This month’s New Braxton House release is the first vol- ume documenting Braxton’s 2007 four-night run at New York’s Iridium; the follow-up engagement to the concerts Buddy Guy that produced the critically acclaimed 10-disc box set 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006. Upcoming releases include the Weekend Passes are available for purchase, while first studio recordings of Braxton’s Falling River and Echo supplies last. Single-Day tickets will go on-sale in mid- Echo Mirror House Musics, the rediscovered tapes of the March, and General Admission tickets will be available at 1997 Lennie Tristano project (with Braxton on piano), and local ticket outlets beginning in April. selections from the Tri-Centric Foundation’s 4-day festival at For tickets and additional info, visit www.omegaevents. Roulette in 2010. Within the next year, New Braxton House com or call (949) 360-7800. will also be delivering its second limited edition physical About Doheny Blues Festival: Recognized as one of release, a DVD concert video of Braxton’s 2010 duo per- the top blues music festivals in the nation, The Doheny formance with Taylor Ho Bynum in Amherst, MA. Blues Festival features 24 sets of music on three alternat- The Tri-Centric Foundation is a not-for-profit organiza- ing stages, plus tasty food, microbrew sampling, eclectic tion that supports the ongoing work and legacy of Anthony vendors and family fun. The festival is held at Doheny Braxton, while also cultivating and inspiring the next gen- State Beach, a 62-acre California State Park, with sandy eration of creative artists to pursue their own visions with beaches, overnight camping and a spacious, waterfront the kind of idealism and integrity Braxton has demonstrated grass park. Two main stages are placed at opposite ends throughout his career. For more information, visit www. of the grass field, with a third stage, The Backporch, in its tricentricfoundation.org. own tree-lined bowl, which offers intimate sets of music during the weekend. For the last seventeen years, Omega Events has been LIVE BLUES ON a leader in live entertainment, bringing world-class musi- cians and their fans together at a variety of music festivals, THE HIGH SEAS winery concerts and special events. Omega Events’ team specializes in every aspect of event production, including Read The Review talent buying, sponsorship, marketing, beverage sales, click the Notable’ button vendor relations, cash-management and concert produc- jazz-blues.com tion. PAGE THREE March 2012 • Issue 341 Archive when restoration and cataloging is complete. These Alan Lomax Archive will include Lomax’s 1954–55 Italian and 1985 Louisiana The Alan Lomax Archive and the Association for Cultural expeditions and several of his collections made under the Equity (ACE) is pleased to announce the launch of the ACE auspices of the Library of Congress; among them his 1937 Online Archive — the fulfillment of over a decade of the Haiti and Eastern Kentucky collections. restoration, digitization, and cataloging of Alan ACE Online Archive homepage: Lomax’s life’s work. Considered America’s foremost http://research.culturalequity.org/ folklorist, Lomax devoted seven decades to documentation, Sound Collection Guide: research, and advocating for cause of cultural equity, which http://research.culturalequity.org/audio-guide.jsp he defined as “the right of every culture to express and Photograph Collection Guide: develop its distinctive heritage.” The ACE Online Archive http://research.culturalequity.org/photo-guide.jsp includes nearly 17,000 full-streaming audio field-recordings, Alan Lomax Archive and the Association for Cultural totaling over eight hundred hours, collected by Lomax be- Equity tween 1946 and 1991; scans of 5,000 photographic prints http://www.culturalequity.org/ and negatives; sixteen hours of vintage radio transcriptions; and ninety hours of interviews, discussions, and lectures LA Music Academy Announces by Alan Lomax and his colleagues.