Bob Corritore Blues News

Blues news from Bob Corritore

June 26, 2008

• Mississippi Valley Blues Festival Change of Venue Announced! We have just heard that the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival will be changing locations due to the flooding of the original location. This just in from Karen McFarland: "The flooded LeClaire Park is still not dried out, so just tonight the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival board had to choose an alternate site. The Fest will be held in downtown Davenport, just two blocks away from the park. Artists scheduled for the Tent stage will now perform in the beautiful, air-conditioned Adler Theatre." The 3-day festival takes place on July 3-5, 2008, and includes a stellar lineup of national blues acts (Click here for the lineup and schedule). Big Pete Pearson and the Rhythm Room All-Stars (Bob Corritore, Chris James, Patrick Rynn, Brian Fahey, and of course, Big Pete Pearson) are proud to be part of this great event.
• Rod Piazza at Rhythm Room Tomorrow: Legendary West Coast harmonica player Rod Piazza and his magnificent band, The Mighty Flyers, will appear on Friday, June 27, 2008 at the Rhythm Room. The Rhythm Room is located at 1019 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix, AZ 85014. Doors open at 8pm, cover charge is $15. Rack Shack Barbeque will be available at this event. This night will be a patio smoking only event; no indoor smoking will be permitted.
• Big Walter Horton in the News! Big Walter Horton was one of the greatest blues harmonica players who ever lived. His tone and phrasing have been essential and definitive elements in the development of the blues harmonica as we know it. He passed away in 1981 in Chicago, but his legacy lives on, and is still celebrated some 27 years after his passing. On June 20, 2008, Big Walter Horton was honored with a historic Mississippi Blues Trail Marker in his hometown of Horn Lake, Mississippi. France's Blues Magazine has a feature article on Big Walter Horton by Rene Perrier appearing in the July-August-September 2008 issue out now. Also, a forthcoming issue of Belgium's Back To The Roots Magazine will feature a Big Walter article in the next issue written by Franky Bruneel with a side bar featuring recollections by Bob Corritore (thank you). In addition, just released is a new Big Walter Horton CD of previously unissued live recordings from 1976, backed by an early version of Sugar Ray and The Bluetones featuring Ronnie Earl and special guest John Nicholas. The CD is called Bocce Boogie, and it is on the Topcat Record label. Thanks to all who allow the tradition of this great man's work to live on!
• Bisbee Blues Festival Lineup Announced: The beautiful historic mining town of Bisbee, just southeast of Tucson on the Mexican border, hosts a fun blues festival each year. Along with Big Pete Pearson and the Rhythm Room All-Stars, Doyle Bramhall, Blue Mystics, 56 Deluxe, Hans Olson, Train Wreck, and other great acts will perform at this annual festival. Click here for the full lineup and schedule.
• Blueswax Article Posted on BobCorritore.com: Check out the articles section of BobCorritore.com for its Blues Bytes article of May 29, 2008 from Blueswax featuring Bob Corritore as interviewed by Bob Putignano, president of the New York Blues and Jazz Society. To view this article, click here.

• Great video of Jimmy Lee Robinson! Check out this wonderful performance by the late Jimmy Lee Robinson from 1965. Jimmy is introduced by Eddie Boyd, and the drummer (who is not shown) is Fred Below. What a wonderful reminder of Jimmy Lee's spellbinding approach to a song; and his eerie, high-pitched voice is at its maximum effectiveness here. This is from a filming of the American Folk Blues Festival tour in Germany; click here to see the video.