Your Complete Guide to the Chicago Blues Scene
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Your Complete Guide to the Chicago Blues Scene |
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Third ever European Blues Cruise
2016
Lets the good times roll on the high seas
August 27-September 1, 2016
Billy Branch & Sons of the Blues, Carlos Johnson, Bill “Howl-N-Madd”
Perry w/ Shy Perry, Hat Man Session, Mitch Woods, Stacy Brooks
By
Glenn Noble
T
Even though only three years old, the European Blues Cruise has each
year been reinventing itself and trying out new approaches and format
changes. This year, the Blues Society of Marseille and director Lisa
Panoyan, felt able to really push the boat out and extended the cruise
to a whopping six days over the end of August to the beginning of
September, an addition to the previous 3 night/4 day setup. Would the
intrepid cruisers and our new ship
Zenith (sister to
Horizon, our home afloat for
the two previous cruises) survive this long?
A
cool feature brought over from last year was the opening party, held the
night before departure. This year, the venue was the newly opened Les
Docks in the Joliette district (a name that has a familiar ring to
Chicago readers!), renovated historic warehouses belonging to the old
port of Marseille which provided an attractive backdrop for the brief
taster sets performed by the artistes we would be seeing on board.
The morning after brought bright Mediterranean sunshine and gentle
breezes, a perfect combination as we took ship. As we lazed by the pool
enjoying the afternoon sun, the
Zenith slipped out of the harbour, signal for the proceedings to be
kicked off by our MC, Chicago’s own
Jennifer Noble who
introduced singer Stacy Brooks.
DC-based Stacy has an engaging, danceable style --
just the thing to get the show under way, and had the pool deck hopping
straight away, with a string of classic tunes inspired by Koko Taylor
and Etta James. Just to be sure they knew who they were dealing with, a
fun number “My Name is Stacy” spelled it out.
Time to enjoy a splendid dinner before heading to the Salon Rendezvous,
a glittering, mirrored lounge which tonight hosted
Mitch Woods. Although the
first time a piano player has been featured on the European blues
cruise, Mitch is no stranger to the cruise scene, being a regular on the
Legendary Blues Cruises in the US. Mitch really got into his “stride”
with the late night dancing crowd who really enjoyed the mix of
boogie-woogie, cajun and good old rock’n’roll tunes. A surprise treat
was a 4-handed boogie duet with
Sons of Blues keyboard maestro Sumito Ariyoshi aka
Ariyo. That really drew a
crowd as the keys got a major pounding. What a way to end a night!
Because of the length of the cruise this year, we had a full day at sea
with nothing to do but soak up sun and good blues. Our first full day
at sea opened up with the Hat
Man Session band led by Nasser “Hat Man” Ben Dadoo playing by the
poolside.. An award-winning blues band based in Marseille, they
produced some fine Chicago-style blues and excellent harmonica from
Marko Balland. Indoors then, to get a break from the heat of the
noonday sun, and check out the next performance, which was an acoustic
set from Bill “Howl-N-Madd”
Perry and Shy Perry.
Originally hailing from the North Mississippi hill country, Bill spent a
number of years in the Chicago blues scene in the’
60s and
‘70s,
recording and producing for Chess Records, before returning to his
native state. Bill projects a gritty, grizzled persona, hunched over his
guitar - presenting quite a contrast to his animated, smiling
accompanist, daughter Shy Perry, on keyboard.
Up
next, the Pro-Am Jam, something that was introduced for the first time
last year, giving the musically-inclined cruisers a chance to take the
stage with the professionals. Kicked off by
Hat Man Session, we were
treated to not one but two fans armed with washboards (or “frottoirs”)
providing a bit of Cajun flavour to the proceedings. In keeping with
the spirit of the jam, each artist came up and took their turn to trade
licks before letting the next performer take their turn and mix it up.
We were treated to Billy Branch
and the SOBs, Mitch Woods, Giles Corey of the SOBs taking a turn on
vocals, Stacy Brooks getting
the ladies on to the dance
floor, and Bill and Shy Perry
coming back to the stage they’d just left.
There was just enough time to peek in on Mitch once more in the
Rendezvous lounge before heading over to the Grand Theatre, the ship’s
imposing 2-level, plushly-upholstered main auditorium for the main
attraction of the day, one of Chicago’s favourite guitarists, the very
talented Carlos Johnson. In
order to accommodate the ship’s dining arrangements, Carlos performed
two sets. “Every day is a blessing” he announced as he took the stage,
and a day with great guitar blues like this is doubly blessed. Carlos’
mastery of the dynamic range was used to superb effect, drawing the
audience’s attention deep into quiet passages in solos, then stunning us
with musically, solid riffs. Ably backed up by the
Sons of Blues - this year’s
house band - Carlos was able to flick across genres, deftly segueing
“I’ll Play the Blues for You” into the mellow reggae of “I Shot the
Sheriff”, for example. Plenty of showmanship on and off-stage too, as
Carlos took the show right into the heart of the crowd. Finishing up
with a rousing “Every Day I Have the Blues”, Carlos received a
well-deserved ovation, clearly sending the audience off happy.
The dawning of day three brought up the first port of call on this
year’s cruise, as we woke to the magnificent sight of the Bay of Naples,
with Mount Vesuvius looming over the ruins of Pompeii and the island of
Capri shimmering through the heat haze. After a day’s sightseeing, it
was relaxing to get back on board and chill by the pool to
Hat Man Session, this time
with a little help from Carlos
Johnson and Stacy Brooks.
As the sun went down, the evening programme began in the Rendezvous
Lounge with Bill and Shy Perry,
this time with the backing of the SOBs and
Marko Balland. If you like
your blues down and dirty, then you were going to be in hog heaven, and
the combination of Bill Perry’s gruff, gravelly vocals, some excellent
driving harp from Marko, and a notable slide work from the SOBs Giles
Corey helped deliver all of that.
The crowd certainly appreciated it, keeping the dance
floor busy all through and demanding an encore at the end. Thus the
crowd was really warmed up for
Stacy Brooks as she took on the late spot in the evening. Again
backed by the SOBs, Stacy punched out some rocking numbers, sometimes
with a little jazzy flavour, sometimes a little bit funky, but always
with a genuine feeling for the blues. Stacy is clearly inspired by two
of the great ladies of blues, Etta James and Koko Taylor, and a riveting
cover of “At Last,”
with a superb accompaniment by SOB’s
Ariyo, left barely a dry eye
in the house. “Let the Good Times Roll” closed out the show, and judging
by the numbers of people dancing, that was exactly what was going on!
A
short sea passage up the Italian coast took us next morning to the port
of Civitavecchia, the historical gateway to Rome. The Eternal City was
full of amazing sights and amazing heat too, so it was quite a relief to
make it back to the Zenith
and the air-conditioned comfort of the Grand Theatre for the big show of
the night: Billy Branch and the
Sons of Blues. Always creative, while the SOBs assembled on stage,
Billy chose to enter from the back of the auditorium, playing a jaunty
improvisation on the traditional French nursery rhyme “Frere Jacques” as
tribute to our host nation. Warming up the stage with an opening
instrumental, Billy tore into the self-titled “Sons Of Blues” and then
it was “time to boogie” to Little Walter’s “Crazy Mixed Up World”,
with
lots of flourishes and embellishments. Continuing the up-tempo mood, the
irresistible beat of John Lee Hooker’s classic “Boom Boom” pulled the
audience out of their seats and up on their feet as the SOB Masterpiece
Blues Theatre worked their magic. A pause then, after this exciting
start, a change of tempo as Billy dedicated a slow blues workout to the
people of France, calling it “the premier blues loving nation in Europe”
and as the SOBs kept the groove going on stage (particularly sweet,
rolling keyboards from Ariyo),
Billy took the music down into the auditorium, playing almost
individually to everyone on the crowd. After the lengthy sashay
‘round
the room, it was back up on stage to be joined by
Carlos Johnson for a rampant
set closer in “Blues Shock” from the SOBs recent album
of the same name. After a short break to let the second house take their seats, it was back on with a further demonstration of the repertoire, taking in classics from Junior Wells, Jimmy Rogers and James Cotton, along with examples of his own fine material. As if the technical brilliance of the harp playing was not enough in its own right, the mastery of the stage and theatrics as Billy worked the room - now sitting conversationally on the steps of the stage, now twisting and rolling on the floor - lifted the event into the realms of pure, joyous entertainment.
A big finale,
set to that old workhorse “Got My Mojo Working”, had
Stacy Brooks, and
Shy Perry joining in the
fun, and with Marko Balland
competing in a harp battle with Billy, all combined to make a cracking
end to a top-class show. The good spirits continued late over in the
Salon Rendezvous, as Mitch Woods
led the piano-bar vibe, with a little help from
Carlos Johnson,
Hatman Session, and fellow
keyboard guru, Ariyo.
All good things come to an end, even blues cruises,
and so the final day rolled around. Our last stopping point was the
port of Bastia in Corsica, a picture-perfect French island territory,
despite lying just off the west coast of Italy, and most famously the
birthplace of the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Our blues emperors
Billy Branch and
Carlos Johnson held court
during the afternoon, sharing memories and experiences of two lifetimes
spent in the Chicago blues scene, interwoven with intimate renditions of
some of the music that had accompanied them along the way. It was truly
fascinating to hear some of the stories of two outstanding performers.
Switching seats, there was one more chance to sample the delights of
Bill “Howl-N-Madd” Perry and
Shy Perry’s Mississippi-flavoured
music. Inevitably, after our last dinner on board, the action moved for
the last time to the Salon Rendezvous, where
Giles Corey of the SOBs
fronted up the jam, and it’s fair to say that all the performers got
their fair share of the action, as the party went on way into the small
hours. Quite a few die-hards hung out to chat even after the music
ended, because as the fans and performers both are “shipmates”, it’s a
specially close, intimate environment.
As
we left the Zenith the next
morning, some were fortunate to be staying in beautiful Marseille,
others had trains and planes to catch to destinations further afield.
Wherever they were bound, it was certain that the blues fans would be
taking some wonderful memories of another superb cruise with them.
Having talked to the representative of the cruise line, Croisieres de
France, and the Blues Society of Marseille, it seems pretty certain that
this event can look forward to continued support and development in
future
--
it will certainly be exciting to see what new features the team can
devise for next year. Congratulations and good luck to Lisa and the
team!
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