Curtis Salgado - Soul Shot

Cantante-armonicista di Portland, Oregon, Curtis Salgado approda con “Soul Shot” all’Alligator dopo essersi messo in luce negli anni come front-man nella band di Robert Cray per proseguire con i Blues Brothers, come vocalist di Santana negli anni ’90 il tutto alternato da una discreta carriera solista (Curtis Salgado & The Stilettos).Headliner dei piu' importanti festival blues made in Usa questo nuovo album, un’impeccabile produzione Alligator diretta dal funk e R&B guitar-wizard Marlon McClain, con il batterista Tony Braunage, e co-prodotto dallo stesso Salgado, arriva dopo prestigiosi riconoscimenti tra i piu' importanti dei quali spicca la vittoria nei Blues Award del 2010 come "Soul Blues Male Artist Of the Year. E proprio seguendo questa strada Curtis ci regala un lavoro che si rivolge al pubblico del soul e del blues contemporaneo alternando brani originali a ben scelte covers di classici firmati da Johnny "Guitar" Watson, George Clinton, Otis Redding e Bobby Womack. Da lente e brucianti ballads a folgoranti brani blues-rock oriented, lascia trasparire forza e passione da ogni sua performance. Un bianco che, dopo aver sconfitto un cancro al fegato ed ai polmoni, firma una delle più belle e convincenti produzioni della blues label per eccellenza.

Award-winning vocalist/songwriter/harmonica icon Curtis Salgado sings and plays with soulful authority, never giving less than 100 percent. He plays each and every show like it's the most important gig of his career. He recalls the time when his friend, the great chitlin' circuit singer Buddy Ace, put on the show of his life, singing his heart out, making three costume changes, all while playing at a casual house party. Salgado was floored. "I was just there playing with my band, hanging out in cut-offs and a t-shirt, and there's Buddy treating the gig the same as if he was performing at the Apollo," he says. From that moment on, Curtis vowed that every time he got on stage he would deliver his very best shot. Salgado's been perfecting his craft since he first began playing professionally in the late 1960s. He fronted his own group, The Nighthawks, inspired John Belushi to create The Blues Brothers, was co-star of The Robert Cray Band and sang and toured with Roomful Of Blues. He released his first of eight solo albums in 1991, hitting the road hard year after year. Salgado and his band toured with The Steve Miller Band and Curtis spent a summer singing with Santana before being sidelined by serious health issues in 2006. He's battled all the way back, and, after a full and complete recovery, has been tearing up concert stages all over the country. Winner of the 2010 Blues Music Award for Soul Blues Artist Of The Year, Salgado effortlessly mixes blues, funk and R&B with a delivery that is raw and heartfelt. He moves with ease from the tenderest ballads to the most full-throated stompers. Blues Revue says, "Salgado is one of the most down-to-earth, soulful, honest singers ever, and his harmonica work is smoking and thoroughly invigorating...rollicking, funky and electrifying." With his Alligator Records debut, Soul Shot, Salgado is set to reach the largest audience of his career. Soul Shot was produced by funk and R&B guitarist Marlon McClain, drummer Tony Braunagel and co-produced by Salgado. "I wanted to make a soul record that you can listen to and dance to," says Salgado. And that's just what he and members of The Phantom Blues Band, along with additional guest musicians, did. Soul Shot speaks loud and clear to contemporary audiences, carrying on the timeless spirit of 1960s and '70s R&B. The album features four Salgado originals and seven carefully chosen covers. "I don't care who writes the songs," Salgado says, "as long as I can make them my own." Songs by Johnny "Guitar" Watson, George Clinton, Otis Redding and Bobby Womack flow into and out of Salgado's own compositions. Each track-the slow-burning ballads and the driving rockers-is delivered with the vocal power and passion of a musical master. "Soul Shot was the most challenging recording of my career," he says, "and it's the solid best thing I've ever done. That's a fact." Born February 4, 1954 in Everett, Washington, Salgado grew up in Eugene, Oregon. His parents were "hip," according to Salgado, and his house was always filled with music. His parents' collection included everything from Count Basie to Fats Waller, and his older brother and sister turned him on to the soul and blues of Wilson Pickett and Muddy Waters. His father liked to sing, and would point out specific passages in a Count Basie or Ray Charles recording for Curtis to pay close attention to, and the youngster soaked it all up. He attended a Count Basie performance when he was 13 and decided then and there that music was his calling. Curtis began devouring the blues of Little Walter and Paul Butterfield, fell in love with the harmonica and taught himself to play. As a hungry-to-learn teenager, his musical abilities grew by leaps and bounds. He played his first professional gigs when he was 16, and by 18 he was already making a name for himself in Eugene's bar scene. Salgado quickly developed into a player and singer of remarkable depth, with vocal and musical influences including Otis Redding to O.V. Wright, Johnnie Taylor, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson I and II, Lightnin' Hopkins, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Spann and Magic Sam. With his band The Nighthawks, he became a must-see act in Eugene and throughout the Northwest. Salgado earned a reputation for high-intensity performances and a repertoire that was informed by his encyclopedic knowledge of blues, soul and R&B music. In 1973, Salgado met Robert Cray and the two became fast friends. They jammed often, sometimes sitting in with each other's bands, often playing double bills. In 1975, Salgado had the idea to start a blues festival in Eugene in order to meet and play with as many established blues stars as possible. The festival became an annual event, allowing Curtis to back up, befriend and occasionally house legends including Floyd Dixon, Frankie Lee, Luther Tucker, Otis Rush, Clifton Chenier, Sonny Rhodes and Albert Collins. In fact, it was Salgado-whose Nighthawks backed Collins locally-who crowned the blues legend with the title he would carry for the rest of his career: "The Master Of The Telecaster." In 1977, comedian/actor John Belushi was in Eugene filming Animal House. During downtime from filming, Belushi caught a typically balls-out Salgado performance. Afterwards the two got to talking and a friendship grew. Before long Salgado began playing old records for Belushi, teaching him about blues and R&B. Belushi soaked up the music like a sponge and soon developed his idea for The Blues Brothers, first as a skit on Saturday Night Live and then as a major motion picture and a best-selling record album and concert tour. The album, Briefcase Full Of Blues, is dedicated to Curtis Salgado, and, as a nod to Salgado, Cab Calloway's character in the film is named Curtis. The Blues Brothers' set list was strikingly similar to the shows Salgado was delivering on a nightly basis. As Salgado was getting more serious about his career, he realized some of his band mates were not. It was then that Salgado joined forces with Cray and formed a new, more forceful Robert Cray Band. As the stature of the group grew, Salgado found himself sharing stages with blues icons like Muddy Waters, Bobby Bland and Bonnie Raitt. The band performed a transcendent set at The 1977 San Francisco Blues Festival to thunderous ovation before backing up the great Albert Collins. After Salgado and Cray parted ways in 1982, Curtis went on to front Roomful Of Blues, singing and touring with them from 1984 through 1986. Back home in Oregon, he formed a new band, Curtis Salgado & The Stilettos, and was once again tearing it up on the club scene. He wrote many new songs, and honed his band to a razor's edge before releasing his first solo album in 1991 on the fledgling JRS label. The group toured the country and began developing a strong following. His friend and fan Steve Miller invited Curtis and his band to open for him on a summer shed tour in 1992. Two years later, Salgado spent the summer on the road singing with Santana. In 1997 he toured with Miller again and performed in front of an audience of millions on NBC television's Late Night With Conan O'Brien. Salgado then joined forces with Shanachie Records in 1999, putting out four critically acclaimed albums over the next nine years and finding his biggest audience yet. In 2006 Salgado was sidelined when he underwent a successful liver transplant and then shortly afterwards was diagnosed with and then beat lung cancer. Like so many musicians, Curtis had no health insurance. His medical expenses were paid for in part by a huge outpouring of love and money from his fellow musicians and his huge Northwest fan base. He bounced back with a perfect bill of health in 2008, releasing Clean Getaway. Billboard said the album was a "tour-de-force, showcasing Salgado's range and power as a vocalist" and that it featured "hard-nosed blues, beautifully nuanced phat and funky R&B." Blues Revue called it "one of the best records of the year." Curtis tours heavily, leaving fans excited and hungry for more everywhere he plays. He has performed at festivals all over the world, including The San Francisco Blues Festival, The Chicago Blues Festival, Memphis' Beale Street Music Festival, The Tampa Bay Blues Festival, Denver's Mile High Blues Festival, Toronto's Waterfront Blues Festival, Thailand's Phuket International Blues Festival and Poland's Blues Alive Festival. Now, with Soul Shot, Salgado is ready for more, tougher and more focused than ever. He will again hit the road hard, proving his reputation as a fire-breathing live performer night after night. And that's just how he likes it. "Always give it your best," he says. "Be honest and be real. Treat every show like it's the biggest night of your life." With Soul Shot and a long list of tour dates already planned, the biggest performances of Curtis Salgado's life are surely yet to come.

Madison Violet è il gruppo rivelazione di questo 2012 per tutti coloro che amano le songwriter alla Lucinda Williams e Gilliam Welch. Il duo composto dalle musiciste amiche Brenley MacEachern e Lisa MacIsaac arrivano a questo importante appuntamento non proprio da esordienti visto che il loro precedente lavoro No Fool for Trying (2009), ha vinto nel 2009 il John Lennon Songwriting Contest per il brano “The Ransom,” oltre al Canadian Folk Music Award come gruppo dell'annno ottenendo anche una momination dalla East Coast Music Awards e dalla JUNO Award come miglior album Roots & Traditional. Tuttavia posisamo affermare che con questo nuovo album le Madison Violet hanno raggiunto la loro piena maturita' sia da un punto di vista compositivo ( l'album è molto intimo e le canzoni derivano direttamente dalle esperienze vissute dalle due amiche ) che musicale visto che hanno partecipato al progetto Joel Stouffer (Dragonette) alla batteria, Adrian Lawryshyn (Andy Stochansky) al basso, mentre la sezione corale è impreziosita dalla presenza di Ruth Moody (The Wailin’ Jennys) e Blair Packham. Quindi, dopo aver ascoltato attentamente l'album, possiamo dire che è arrivato finalmente il momento di introdurre anche nel nostro paese questo fantastico duo che sono sicuro entrera' immediatamente nella vostra discografia.




Finding the good in goodbye is always bittersweet. JUNO nominated roots duo Madison Violet (Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac) can attest to that with their latest release, The Good in Goodbye, out on September 6 (True North Records). An album born from their growth, both together and apart, The Good in Goodbye is an open diary of their personal and professional experiences together as friends and musicians, two very unique relationships that affect each other in profound ways. Since releasing their last album, No Fool for Trying (2009), Madison Violet won the 2009 John Lennon Songwriting Contest for their track “The Ransom,” took home the 2009 Canadian Folk Music Award for Vocal Group of the Year, and were nominated for multiple East Coast Music Awards and a 2010 JUNO Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year (Group). As a follow-up to their breakthrough successes in 2010, The Good in Goodbye captures the duo’s growth and musical maturity. Their distinct take on iconic Americana-inspired up-tempo melodies beautifully contrasts with their breathtakingly sweeping and personal lyrics, creating songs that blend nods to Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch with radio-friendly flecks of The Court-Yard Hounds. To capture the intimacy of The Good in Goodbye, Madison Violet returned to the studio with trusted friend and producer Les Cooper (Jill Barber) while bringing a collective of remarkable musicians into the fold, including Joel Stouffer (Dragonette) on drums, Adrian Lawryshyn (Andy Stochansky) on bass, and vocals from Ruth Moody (The Wailin’ Jennys) and singer/songwriter Blair Packham. Though Madison Violet seemingly made their mark in the last year or so, success was hard earned, spending up to eight months a year on the road, winning fans and champions the old-fashioned way, one song at a time, one gig at a time. Their first disc, Worry the Jury (2004), was an introduction to the lush arrangements and radio-friendly harmonies that would become a Madison Violet hallmark, with their sophomore album Caravan (2006) further exploring and incorporating country-infused, toe-tapping melodies. Their breakthrough album, No Fool for Trying (2009) enlisted, for the first time, the help of producer Les Cooper. The record showcased Madison Violet’s heartfelt (and often heartbreaking) lyrics in brilliant contrast to their uplifting arrangements, pushing their graceful harmonies to the surface. Receiving a mass of acclaim from outlets including the BBC, the CBC, Maverick Magazine, NPR, and Penguin Eggs Magazine, No Fool for Trying made dedicated fans of even the most hard-to-crack critics. Ultimately, Madison Violet captured the attention of Mojo Magazine, landing “Small Of My Heart” on the publication’s distinguished playlist, “Mojo’s Top 10,” in December 2009. Madison Violet also have the unique distinction of being the only Canadians to win The John Lennon Songwriting Contest. The duo has sold-out venues across North America and Europe, had the prestigious distinction of touring with Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Cafe, and has shared stages with contemporaries such as Chantal Kreviazuk, Ron Sexsmith and The Indigo Girls. With their newest effort, Madison Violet prove on they’re among Canada’s brightest singer/songwriters.

Janiva Magness - Stronger For It

Janiva
Magness può essere senza dubbio considerata una delle piu' belle voci
blues dell'odierno panorama musicale. Nella sua voce potente e interiore
si rispecchia tutto il suo mondo passato e presente, dannazione e
redenzione in un mix di emozioni che solo una vita vissuta può creare.
Non c'è finzione in questo personaggio, la vita non lo ha
consentito, ma tanta onesta' musicale, tanta forza che si rispecchia nel
carisma di questa nuova signora del blues. A conferma di quanto scritto è
testimone la vittoria al r B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year , premio che
prima di lei solo un'altra grande donna del blues ha avuto il piacere di
vincere : la grande Koko Taylor. Di lei il  Los Angeles Daily News
scrive  “A superb, powerhouse R&B singer who delivers blues and soul with show-stopping authority”
e USA Today rilancia "Stunningly sung...Magness is a blues star" .
Nonostante questa tarda notorieta' la Magness non è nuova del giro visto
che ha alle sue spalle 3 decadi di concerti live con all'attivo 150 date
all'anno.... attivita' live che le ha permesso di affrontare questi ultimi
cd, i primi della sua lunga carriera, con la stessa sicurezza e potenza di
una veterana ma con l'entusiasmo e la forza di una esordiente. Il mix che
ne risulta è puro Blues.... Ascoltare Per Credere.


Award-winning vocalist Janiva Magness is among the premier blues and R&B singers in the world today. Her voice possesses an earthy, raw honesty and beauty born from her life experience. A charismatic performer known for her electrifying live shows, Magness is a gutsy and dynamic musical powerhouse. She received the coveted 2009 Blues Music Awards for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year (she is only the second woman to ever win this award, Koko Taylor being the first) and for Contemporary Blues Female Artist Of The Year, an honor she also received in 2006 and 2007. She has received eleven previous Blues Music Award nominations. USA Today declared, “Magness is a blues star,” and The Philadelphia Inquirer said, “Magness sings superb, potent soul-blues with a scorching intensity."

Magness has been performing for almost three decades, logging thousands of miles on the road and appearing 150 nights a year at clubs, theatres and festivals all over the world. Her longest road trip yet was to Iraq and Kuwait in April 2008, as a co-headliner of Bluzapalooza, the first-ever blues concert tour to perform for American troops. The tour was an incredibly profound experience for Magness. “My job is a gift. It’s about human connection, to remind people they are not alone. I can’t think of anyone in greater need of a break than these soldiers. Those kids came up to me and said, ‘You made me forget where I was for two hours. Thank you!’ That was beyond priceless.”
Magness released a series of independent albums, including two on the Northern Blues label, prior to her extraordinary 2008 Alligator Records debut, What Love Will Do. Her new CD, The Devil Is An Angel Too, co-produced by Magness and Dave Darling (Brian Setzer, Meredith Brooks, Dan Hicks), is a hard-hitting collection of material that explores the depths of good and evil, with Magness’ glorious, soul-baring vocals burning their way through twelve powerful songs. “All of us have a light and a dark side. Human beings are capable of the most incredible acts of kindness and absolute wretchedness. This record explores both sides,” Magness explains. She wraps her huge, soulful voice around original material written especially for her, and songs from Julie Miller, Graham Parker, Nick Lowe, Joe Tex, Gladys Knight, Nina Simone, Ann Peebles and James Carr. From the haunting, seductive title track that explores evil masquerading as good to the spiritual awakening of “Walkin’ In The Sun” to the revenge tale of “I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down” and the joyful proclamation of “I Want To Do Everything For You,” Magness cuts to the heart and soul of each song with grit, heart and fierce passion, making The Devil Is An Angel Too her most compelling release yet.



Although Magness is now a bona fide blues star, her rise to the top was far from easy. Born in Detroit, Magness was inspired by the blues and country she heard listening to her father’s record collection, and by the vibrant music of the city’s classic Motown sound. By her teenage years, though, her life was in chaos. She lost both parents to suicide by the age of 16 and lived on the streets, bouncing from one foster home to another. At 17, she became a teenage mother who gave up her baby daughter for adoption. One night in Minneapolis, an underage Magness sneaked into a club to see blues great Otis Rush, and it was there that she found her salvation and decided that the blues were her calling. Magness recalls, “Otis played as if his life depended on it. There was a completely desperate, absolute intensity. I knew, whatever it was, I needed more of it.” She began going to as many blues shows as possible, soaking up the sounds of her favorite artists, including Johnny Copeland and Albert Collins. She immersed herself in records by James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, and all the other R&B greats.



Listening to these blues and soul artists, and watching them live, sparked Janiva and gave her life direction. Her first break came several years later, while working as an intern at a recording studio. She was approached by her boss to sing some supporting vocals on a track. Finding her voice, she soon began working regularly as a background singer. By the early 1980s, Magness made her way to Phoenix and befriended Bob Tate, the musical director for the great Sam Cooke. With Tate’s mentoring, she formed her first band, Janiva Magness And The Mojomatics, in 1985 and before long the influential Phoenix New Times named her group the city’s Best Blues Band. She moved to Los Angeles in 1986 and slowly began finding work. She recorded her second studio album, It Takes One To Know One, in 1997 (her debut was the cassette-only release, More Than Live). After three more independent releases, Janiva signed with Northern Blues and recorded Bury Him At The Crossroads in 2004 and Do I Move You? in 2006. Both CDs were co-produced by Magness along with Canadian roots star Colin Linden, and both garnered Magness a tremendous amount of critical and popular attention. Magness and Linden won the prestigious Canadian Maple Blues Award for Producers Of The Year for Bury Him At The Crossroads in 2004. Do I Move You? debuted at #8 on the Billboard Blues Chart and was the #1 Blues CD Of The Year in 2006 on Living Blues magazine’s radio chart. Blues Revue said, “Magness is a bold and potent artist with a powerful, soulful voice… impossible to forget.”



Magness signed with Alligator in 2008 and released her stunning label debut, What Love Will Do, to massive critical acclaim. The Chicago Sun-Times raved, “Her songs run the gamut of emotions from sorrow to joy. A master of the lowdown blues who is equally at ease surrounded by funk or soul sounds, Magness invigorates every song with a brutal honesty,” while Blues Revue called her “a blues interpreter of the highest rank…punchy and tough…swaggering, incendiary vocal performances.” Allmusic declared, “rollicking blues, swampy soul and R&B…stark, gritty, emotional material…terrific, magnificent voice. She rips into ballads with moving and riveting tenacity…she burns through these songs like she’s got everything to prove.” Fueled by all the positive press, Magness was profiled on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition, putting her in front of an audience of millions and expanding her ever-growing fan base.



In addition to her musical accomplishments, Magness is reaching out to help others. She is a National Spokesperson for Casey Family Programs (her fourth consecutive year), promoting National Foster Care Month. “It is a huge honor and a daunting responsibility. But I am very excited to be a part of it, and I look forward to carrying the message of hope for youth in the foster care system,” says Magness. “Casey Family Programs does groundbreaking work, and I am deeply honored to work with them again.” Magness has also reconnected with her daughter, and is now the proud grandmother of an eight-year-old boy. “Our fate doesn’t have to be our destiny,” she says. “I’m living proof of that. And I’m so very grateful.”



Magness is also incredibly grateful for her Blues Music Award for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year. “Winning Entertainer Of The Year is overwhelming to me,” she says. “Being the only woman besides Koko Taylor to win this award is just staggering. I adored and worshipped Koko for so long that it’s really hard for me to wrap myself around it, but I couldn’t be prouder of that award. It’s very humbling, because I still can’t believe that people find me worthy to stand in her company.”



Janiva Magness’ deeply emotional music, sung with passion, conviction and soul, and her telepathic ability to connect with an audience, assures her place among the blues elite. “We need real music now more than ever because it gives us strength to pull through tough times,” says Magness. “We need it in a real bad way. Blues is a ray of hope. It articulates what’s lacking in people’s lives.” With The Devil Is An Angel Too and her explosive live shows hitting cities across North America and Europe, Janiva Magness continues to spread her empowering message of hope through music.

Eric Bibb - Deeper The Well

“…Music is more than the expert’s description - Don’t care if it’s French, Hawaiian or Egyptian, If I feel it, that’s good enough for me!” E.B.

Vi sono luoghi incontaminati dove ne eventi naturali catastrofici ne l'irrazionale sentimento umano di onnipotenza possono intaccarne la bellezza e la cultura. Uno di questi luoghi magici è la Louisiana, un luogo dove mille culture si sono ritrovate e anzichè scontrarsi si sono arricchite a vicenda dando luogo a ritmi , suoni e suggetioni davvero unici. Ed è un bene che nella "palude" sia finalmente arrivato anche il nostro Eric. Lo abbiamo visto lo scorso anno in tour in Italia e ne abbiamo potuto provare di persona non solo l'indiscussa conoscenza del blues, la capacita' scenica e la buona tecnica di esecuzione chiatarristica , ma soprattutto la grande umanita' e umilta' che ne fanno un vero blues man. L'arrivo in Louisiana ha fatto sicuramente bene al nostro dando nuova linfa alla sua musica che da un Blues piu' roots e tradizionale del delta passa a un suono piu' contaminato da altri stili propri di quelle parti dove anche i Blues Brothers hanno dovuto vincere per sopravvivere. Buon Ascolto a tutti e non perdetevi questo bellissimo album di uno dei grandi blues man ancora in circolazione.



Anyone with an avid interest in the traditional folk music of North America knows that Louisiana has long been, and still is, a place where the old styles survive and thrive and new sounds are born. Its rich history of African, French, Spanish, Caribbean and Native- American influences has gifted the world with a unique culture that no catastrophe, natural or man-made, can ever destroy.

Arriving, mid-September, at Dirk Powell’s Cypress House Studio in Pont Breaux, Louisiana, with a satchel of new songs, I felt the thrill of great expectations. The last time I’d met up with Dirk was back in January when we both had been invited to be a part of the BBC’s “Celtic Connections”- filmed in the Scottish countryside. That was the first time we’d had the opportunity to play music together and we really hit it off.

The original idea to record in Louisiana was hatched even earlier during a meeting with Matt Greenhill from Folklore Productions. His many talents include getting like-minded musicians together in interesting combinations. Anyway, knowing that I was looking for a versatile multi-instrumentalist to record with alongside harmonica virtuoso Grant Dermody, he suggested Dirk, an amazing musicianer who also has a wonderful studio. Matt also later came up with the idea of calling in the fabulous Cedric Watson, a young lion of the new Creole music evolving in and around Lafayette. Also on hand was the sublimely groovy Danny DeVillier, on drums, and Michael Bishop, sound engineer extraordinaire, who flew in from Ohio with his gear and million-dollar ears.

Thusly assembled, in beautiful, not-too-hot, bayou weather, the six of us, brothers of varying hue, came to record a celebration of our shared Americana heritage – “Deeper In The Well”.

Eric Bibb - October, 2011

Hans Theessink : Jedermann Remixed

Come tutti sapranno il festival di Salisburgo è uno dei piu' imporanti festival per gli amanti della musica operistica e lirica. Si tiene ogni anni nella citta' che diede i natali ad uno dei piu' grandi geni della musica europea ossia Mozart ed è seguito da tantissime persone, un vero e proprio evento nazionale, con i giovani nella piazze a farla da padrona. Ed è proprio in questo contesto, che nel 1920, quando forse nessuno ancora capiva cosa sarebbe successo, venne presentato sul palco princiapale di quel festival lo Jedermann, divenuto da allora uno dei momenti piu' importanti e piu' seguiti dell'intero festival ( clicca qui x maggiori info Jedermann ). Si tratta della rappresentazione di una novella dove l'uomo , ( rappresentato dal ricco Jedermann ), Dio e la Morte si impersonificano e ci accompagnano durante il nostro ultimo giorno per farci prendere consapevolezza di quanto e come abbiamo vissuto. Da questa rappresentazione è stato tratto un film e la colonna sonora scelta per rappresentare questo viaggio esistenziale è la musica che piu' di ogni altra si adatta con l'anima : l'essenzialita' del Blues. E chi in Austria avrebbero potuto chiamare per un simile progetto se non il nostro Hans Theessink ? Per l'occasione Theessink ripercorre la storia del blues "moderno", quello post bellico per intenderci, affiancando a sue composizione originali brani di Bo Diddley, Tom Waits, Hank Williams, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash fino agli Stones della coppia Jagger/Richards. Classici e composizini originali vengono rielaborate e presentate in una versione essernziale dove a farla da padrona sono la voce e la chitarra semiacustica del nostro.

Dutch morality play Elckerlyc was written in the late 15th-century and may well have been the original source for the English play Everyman. In 1911 Hugo von Hofmannsthal adapted Everyman as Jedermann, and since 1920 Jedermann has been performed every year on the steps of the Cathedral in Salzburg as part of the Salzburger Festspiele. The open-air performances have been one of the highlights of the Festival season ever since. Throughout the years many famous German language actors/actresses have been part of Jedermann in Salz burg. Actors playing Jedermann include Attila Hörbiger, Will Quadflieg, Curd Jürgens, Maximilian Schell, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Helmut Lohner, Gert Voss, Peter Simonischek and Nicholas Ofczarek. His famous “mistresses” (Buhlschaft) include Christiane Hörbiger, Senta Berger, Sunnyi Melles, Veronica Ferres and Birgit Minichmayr ...

Based on Everyman and enhanced with dramatic modern adaptations, Jedermann presents God, Death, the Devil and other abstract beings as personifications. The rich Jedermann is faced by unexpected Death, calling him to his judgment. Allowed company on his final journey, he is deserted by his loyal servant, his friends and his money; the figures of Good Works and Faith help him repent and save his soul before he is lowered into his grave.

In 2011 the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation ORF commissioned film director Hannes Rossacher to produce the film “Jedermann Remixed” to commemorate the success-story of 90 years Jedermann phenomenon in Salzburg. Rossacher used archive footage from 9 decades to put together a cultural historic puzzle and create a unique performance of Jedermann that has not been seen in this form before. ORF and Hannes Rossacher asked me to produce the soundtrack for the film and we selected the songs that would fit the themes and scenes.

Besides several Theessink originals we recorded songs by many legendary songwriters: from Bo Diddley to Tom Waits, Hank Williams to Ray Charles, Johnny Cash to Rolling Stones Jagger/Richards. We also struck gold with some tradi tional songs that have been handed down through time.

For me it was a wonderful challenge to create this soundtrack to support the images of the film.

I‘ve tried to reduce the arrangements to the basic essentials; sometimes just one guitar-one voice.

It‘s the nature of film music that only certain passages of the songs are used where the film needs it. Still we recorded the songs in their full length; resulting in “Jedermann remixed” the soundtrack.

James Maddock : Sunrise On Avenue C

Inarrivabile. E' questo il pensiero che continuava a battermi in testa mentre ascoltavo estasiato il concerto di James Maddock all'una e trentacicinque, circa di Cantu'. Dieci anni, sono occorsi dieci anni, prima che il nostro, smaltita la sbornia del successo al debutto, capisse come mettere a disposizione la sua grande vena poetica e musicale, la sua voce emozionante il suo spirito alla causa della Grande Musica. James è tornato, ha girato l'Italia e noi ci siamo imbattuti in lui. Vi posso assicurare che erano anni che non ci capitava nulla del genere. Folk, Rock, Pop raffinatissimo, tutto questo e altro ancora in questa seconda vita di questo cantautore inglese ormai trasferitosi in pianta stabile nella grande mela dove ha trovato la dimensione giusta, e i compagni di viaggio adeguati, per il suo progetto musicale. Un nuovo Boss, un novello Rod Steward, un nuovo James Taylor ? No , semplicemente un nuovo grande cantautore che per pace dei molti altri bravissimi presenti in questo momento sulla scena mondiale, rimane inarrivabile, un gradino sopra tutti gli altri. Cinque Stelle qui non bastano, quella sera a Cantu' ci è andata proprio di lusso......

James Maddock is quietly becoming one of the breakout musical stories of 2010. With the release of the exquisite song cycle, Sunrise on Avenue C, Maddock has re-established himself as one of the most respected singer/songwriters on the scene.

When Columbia Records released Songs from Stamford Hill in 2000 it looked like James Maddock was destined for stardom. All the benchmarks of burgeoning success were there; a top 5 Triple A radio song, prominent placements in TV/Film, inclusion on the first Dawson’s Creek compilation, and extensive touring with the likes of Paula Cole and Train. Although James created a small base of rabid fans, he didn’t achieve the wide recognition he deserved. With his grass roots touring presence around the country and airplay on some of the most influential stations in the country (WXPN, WFUV, Sirius/XM), what seemed meant to be in 2001 is taking shape in the new decade.

Vin Scelsa of WFUV and Sirius/XM puts it this way; “I fell head over heels in love with James Maddock's music around the turn of the century when his band Wood released Songs From Stamford Hill. My heart broke when James seemed to disappear completely from the music scene without a follow-up. From time to time I would search for him on the Internet, to no avail, and play the songs from Wood's only album with a bittersweet ache that matched the mood of the music. Imagine then how thrilled I was to discover at the end of the decade James was living and working right under my nose in New York City, far below the radar, honing his skills, biding his time. Then understand how exhilarated and thoroughly gladdened I became upon hearing his new songs, heartbreakingly beautiful, exquisitely crafted, which pick right up where Stamford Hill left off. James Maddock's talent has a timeless quality he shares with the great songwriters. His music touches the soul. How happy I am to have him back on the radar screen ... the world at large needs artists like this.”

Buddy Miller's The Majestic Silver String

Ricercato guitar-project tra canzone country e tradizione da parte di un grande personaggio accompagnato da Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot e Greg Leisz, Julie Miller, Emmylou Harris, Lee Ann Womack, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin, Anne McCrary e Marc Anthony Thompson (Chocolate Genius). CD + DVD contenente un documentario di ventuno minuti e l’esecuzione dal vivo di “Why Baby Why”.

Oltre ad essere una sorta di “padrino” della canzone d’autore di matrice roots tra country e rock, Buddy Miller, è un grande autore e chitarrista di vaglia. In “Majestic Silver Strings”, per non smentire il titolo di tanto progetto, unisce le proprie forze a quelle di alcuni maestri della chitarra quali Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot e Greg Leisz. I quattro ripercorrono e rivedono, come certifica l’autorevole Buscadero, alcune delle più famose canzoni country, in modo decisamente originale ed innovativo. Un guitar sound ricercatissimo in tutto degno degli strumentisti presenti che amano esprimersi nei più diversi ambiti musicali. La parte vocale non è certo da meno grazie alla presenza di Julie Miller, Emmylou Harris, Lee Ann Womack, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin, Anne McCrary e Chocolate Genius tra i protagonisti, oltre allo stesso Buddy Miller.

The Majestic Silver Strings album is Buddy’s re-imagination of classic country songs loaded with guitars, atmosphere and attitude. Buddy and the 3 acclaimed guitarists - Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot & Greg Leisz (together they are the Majestic Silver Strings) - push each song into a new cosmos. Guest vocalists include Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin, Lee Ann Womack, Chocolate Genius and Julie Miller.

Tracklist

Cattle Call (Buddy Miller sings) - No Good Lover (Buddy Miller & Ann McCrary sing) - I Want To Be With You Always (Buddy Miller & Patty Griffin sing) - Barres De La Prison (Marc Ribot sings) - Meds (Lee Ann Womack sings) - Dang Me (Chocolate Genius sings) - Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie (Marc Ribot sings) - That’s The Way Love Goes (Shawn Colvin sings) - Freight Train (Instrumental) - Why I’m Walkin’ (Emmylou Harris sings) - Why Baby Why (Buddy Miller & Marc Ribot sing) - Return To Me (Lee Ann Womack sings) - God’s Wing’ed Horse (Buddy & Julie Miller sing)

The Majestic Silver Strings: Members

Buddy Miller

Buddy, who has spent much of this year on the road leading Robert Plant’s Band of Joy, recently collaborated with both Plant and Patty Griffin to produce two of the current Grammy® nominated albums. (Robert Plant’s Band Of Joy is nominated in the Best Americana Album category while Patty Griffin’s Downtown Church is nominated in the Best Traditional Gospel Album category.) Buddy currently holds the Americana Music Association honor as Instrumentalist of the Year, while two years ago he swept the awards taking home trophies in almost every category including Album of the Year for Written in Chalk, a collaboration with his wife Julie. Written In Chalk, only the second collaboration from the couple, quickly received high marks among the industry's elite critics including 4 stars in Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, Maverick and Mojo.

Bill Frisell

Bill Frisell is one of the most sought-after guitar voices in contemporary music. His prominence as a composer and bandleader has grown steadily over the past 25 years. He has also contributed to the work of such collaborators as Elvis Costello, Paul Motian, Jim Hall, Ginger Baker, Jack Dejohnette, Ron Carter, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Suzanne Vega, Loudon Wainwright III, Van Dyke Parks, Vic Chesnutt, Buddy Miller, Rickie, Lee Jones, Ron Sexsmith, and numerous others, including Bono, Brian Eno, Jon Hassell and Daniel Lanois on the soundtrack for Wim Wenders’ film Million DollarHotel.

Greg Leisz

Greg Leisz is an American guitarist and multi instrumentalist known particularly for his work on lap and pedal steel guitars. A native of Southern California, he began playing guitar in the fertile garage band scene of the early to mid 60's and was soon drawn into the west coast's emerging synthesis of folk, rock, blues, and country music. In the late 80’s/early 90s Greg played on a number of seminal albums by emerging roots artists and singer / songwriters including Jim Lauderdale, Dave Alvin and kd lang. Since then he has had an extremely prolific career as a studio and touring musician playing on hundreds of albums by a wide variety of artists including Willie Nelson, Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris, Beck, Allison Krauss and Robert Plant, John Fogerty, Miranda Lambert, Lucinda Williams and Ray Lamontagne. Greg has also collaborated on a number of projects with fellow Majestic Silver Strings member Bill Frisell. In 2010, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement for Instrumentalist Award by the Americana Music Association.

Marc Ribot

Marc Ribot, who the New York Times describes as “a deceptively articulate artist who uses inarticulateness as an expressive device,” has released 19 albums under his own name over a 30-year career, exploring everything from the pioneering jazz of Albert Ayler to the Cuban son of Arsenio Rodríguez. Rolling Stone points out that “Guitarist Marc Ribot helped Tom Waits refine a new, weird Americana on 1985's Rain Dogs, and since then he's become the go-to guitar guy for all kinds of roots-music adventurers: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello, John Mellencamp.” Additional recording credits include Elton John/Leon Russell’s latest The Union, Solomon Burke, John Lurie, Marianne Faithful, Joe Henry, Allen Toussaint, Marisa Monte, Allen Ginsburg, Trey Anastasio, Madeline Peyroux, Patti Scialfa, Sam Phillips, Akiko Yano, The Black Keys, and many others. Marc works regularly with Grammy® award winning producer T Bone Burnett and NY composer John Zorn. He has also performed on scores such as "Walk The Line (Mangold)," "The Kids Are All Right," and "The Departed" (Scorcese)."