The end of a long year deserves a playlist to bring in the new one, and just as we did a mere twelve months ago, here’s a compilation of songs that buzzed my earballs in 2024.
In 2008, Latvian Blues Band became the first European-based group invited to perform in the Chicago Blues Festival. From Riga, Latvia, members include Jānis ‘Bux’ Bukovskis (guitar, vocals), Jonatans Rācenājs (guitar), Rolands ‘Rolx’ Saulietis (drums, backing vocals), Reinis Ozoliņš (bass), Nauris Strežs (trombone) and Artis Ločmelis (sax).
Clutch picks it up, throws it to the floor and kicks it square in the crackerbockles. From their 2007 album From Beale Street to Oblivion.
Just got a breather from the Christmas festivities, and here comes the New Year barrelling down the tracks. I’m not ready for it, but I’ve had just about enough of 2024. Porchtime? Whenever o’clock.
The Mavericks are Raúl Malo / vocals, guitar; Paul Deakin / drums; Jerry Dale McFadden / keyboards, vocals; Eddie Perez / guitar. Early jump blues piano style that morphed into ska.
Lemme see. Christmas Eve isn’t until Tuesday, so I still have tomorrow’s porch time to make a list and check it twice, and Monday for shopping. No sweat. Stop by tomorrow and we’ll compare lists.
Great smoker by Shakura S’Aida, backed by Donna Grantis (guitar), Lance Anderson (B3), Roger Williams (bass) and Tony Rabalao (drums).
While posting this, an internest outage almost forced me to watch television. Fortunately it came back just in time so I could announce that tomorrow’s porch time shall commence promptly at whenever o’clock. See you then.
The Car Of Your Dreams, Taj Mahal (1996)
Henry Saint Clair Fredericks Jr., aka Taj Mahal, has been writing, recording and performing since 1964. A true chameleon of roots music, his discography includes blues, rock, R&B, reggae, jazz, country blues, Caribbean and West African styles. He was an early pioneer of what’s now called world music.
Born and raised in Ozark, Arkansas, Jesse Welles began his career around 2012, performing as Jeh Sea Wells. “It’s obvious that Wells will always be comfortable in some dirty rock and roll kitchen where, as he says in one song, ‘everyone’s kinda ugly in that way that looks pretty.'” – NPR
R&B soul singer Curtis Salgado won the Blues Music Awards’ Soul Blues Male Artist Of The Year two years in a row (2021 & 2022). Salgado was the inspiration behind John Belushi’s creation of the Blues Brothers characters in the late 1970s. They met in Eugene, Oregon, and became friends while Belushi was filming the movie Animal House [Wiki].
Gonna take my hatchet and get a Christmas tree tomorrow. Not gonna cut it, I just get a better price with a hatchet in my hand. Don’t know why, I just do. In the meantime, help yourselves to the porch and I’ll be back soon enough.
Nice laid back groove. BIG DEZ was formed in 1996 by Phil “Big Dez” Fernandez (guitar) and Bala Pradal (keyboards). They spent most of their time rehearsing in a cabin in the suburbs of Paris, and after adding Lamine Guerfi (bass) Archibald Ligonnière (drums), graduated to the bar scene, then moved on to the big time. [More here.]
Joe Louis Walker, a Blues Hall of Fame inductee and six-time Blues Music Award winner, NPR described him as “a legendary boundary-pushing icon of modern blues.”
Jackie Venson: “Singer-songwriter Jackie Venson’s version of the blues – with its R&B, psychedelic rock – has invigorated Austin’s music scene with its refreshingly electric sound.” — Rolling Stone
Dang. It’s almost December already. Porch time has been scheduled for whenenever you get here. See you tomorrow.
The Walkers Blues Band cover Slim Harpo’s Te Ni Nee Ni Nu. I couldn’t find details about the group other than they made their debut in 2015 at the Festival Internacional de Blues de Asunción, Paraguay.
Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters need no introduction. Fun fact: Ronnie Earl (aka Ronald Horvath) was born in Queens, NY, and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education & Special Education from Boston University.
Since their beginnings as a Copenhagen bar band, Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado have been dubbed Denmark’s premier roots-rockers. The septet has performed in Scandinavia, Europe, Canada, the US and Asia for the past twenty years.
Thanksgiving is just around the corner and right after that comes the best part: leftovers. The porch shall open promptly at noonish tomorrow for weather observation. Be there.
Armed with vintage Fender gear, Solon Fishbone has spread the blues throughout Brazil and South America for 20 years.
The J R Clark Band includes Johnny B. Gayden (bass), Randall Willis (drums), Willie “Styles” Phipps (keyboards), and J R Clark (guitar & vocals), all of whom have excellent resumes.
Chicago bluesman Toronzo Cannon didn’t pick up a guitar until he was 22, but he picked it up fast: “Gary Clark, Jr. declared, ‘Toronzo is a beast. He lights the room up,’ and Joe Bonamassa rightly pronounced, ‘Toronzo’s a great guitar player, excellent vocalist and an amazing personality.’ “
It’s been a week since my eyeball work got done, and I think the missus is getting tired of me pointing out things that I could never see before. Stop by the porch tomorrow and I’ll explain the benefits of depth perception.
Born in Brooklyn in 1951, Mitch Woods began playing classical piano at eleven, but his real initiation into blues and boogie piano had already been assured at age eight. “My mom would hire this superintendent of the building, a black man, Mr. Brown, to take me to school, and we stopped off at his cousin’s house, where somebody was playing boogie-woogie piano. It really hit me.”
Mitch Woods (without his Rocket 88s) makes it look easy on the streets of New York.
Singer, songwriter and guitarist Tas Cru is an eclectic, performing original songs that mix roots rock, blues and gospel. Good stuff.
Some interesting historical events transpired this week, and now we’re in the danger zone – a lot can happen between now and January 20.
Good news on the home front. I attended a laser show that lasted two minutes, cost me a few clams, and now my left eye can spot a red tail hawk before it spots me. The porch will be open for business tomorrow as usual, see you there.
Tacky Raccoons 