Albert King, SRV ‘In Session’ Reissued
June 25, 2009
December 1983, guitarist Albert King was already a bona fide blues music legend with better than three decades of experience under his belt. Fellow Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan had just released Texas Flood, his acclaimed debut album. When the two came together in the studios of an independent Canadian television station that month, the result was musical magic. On June 30, 2009 Stax Records – the label for which King recorded some of his most popular work during the 1960s and ’70s – will reissue In Session, a live document of this musical collaboration between the veteran bluesman and the young guitarslinger. Digitally remastered and with new liner notes from Stax Records’ Bill Belmont, and music journalists Lee Hildebrand and Dan Forte, In Session was originally released in 1999 and would subsequently hit #1 on the Billboard magazine blues chart, selling better than 300,000 copies.
Blues Jam Lives On At Overtone
June 22, 2009Lest we forget, the Sunday blues jams have been reborn over on RCA at Overtone Jazz Cave where drum legend Tod runs the proceedings and welcomes a wide range of guitar talents, not all of them blues players by any means. Chris Desarmes, Peung Guitar, Pump ‘Apartment Khun Pa’ and the mighty Jack Thammarat and his jazz sidekick Boy are regular guests there and the standard is pretty hot. Worth a visit at the very least. And go check out the 12 year old drummer and Tearn, son of Nah Caravan, the hottest guitar talent in the blues universe…and we’re not kidding. If ever there was a young pretender to the SRV throne, this kid is it! He got most of Stevie’s chops already! Check him out.
Jack Thammarat: Guitar Idol 2009 Winner
June 22, 2009One of Thailand’s finest brings home the bacon in London against worldwide competition. Well done Jack!
Robben Ford; Berlin, Henderson, Chambers…
June 21, 2009Just say a little bird told you but word is out that awesome jazz blues axeman Robben Ford and his band are heading here in October, closely followed or preceded by a breath-taking trio of jazz innovators – ace guitarist Scott Henderson, drummer Dennis Chambers, and the mind-boggling Jeff Berlin on bass. Wow! That’s gonna be some October but that’s as much as we know at this stage – when they arrive and that it’s all organized by the Prart Group who run Overdrive and Rhythm Section magazines and the Overtone Jazz Cave on RCA among many other musical enterprises. More as soon as we know what’s where and when.
Cool Blues at The ‘Phone
June 21, 2009Weekends, get down to Saxophone Pub and catch the very authentic “Hoochie Coochie” blues band featuring Ped on guitar and vocals, who when you close your eyes you could be hearing Freddie King! They’re there Saturdays and Fridays and this coming Friday 26th, the band features John ‘Funk This’ Dooley on smokin’ bass. Get down there for your free-to-air masterclass and take your video camera too – Youtube could use the footage! Shows start at 9pm. Wanna contact the bass maestro direct, drop by http://www.jdooley.com/projects.htm
Billy The Mountain Seek Bass Player, Keyboards
June 19, 2009
Billy The Mountain, the chart-topping urban R&B, funk rock, fusion pop band are getting ready to tour their new material and searching for a suitably accomplished bass player and a funky keyboard player. Selling well on 
et al, the funk jazz rock band, based in Bangkok feature mainly their own material and tracks by Steely Dan and other cool, funky covers. The plan is to rehearse to recording and concert standards. The tour circuit looms and they will play gigs as they come, with dates confirmed in Europe, the US and Asia in 2010. Band manager Acmebroadc@st’s Tom Gray says commitment, professionalism most important and some vocals useful “for the great harmonies involved.” To audition, contact Gray at ACMEBROADCAST@GMAIL.COM with a number to call or e-mail.
Noriega’s Time Out…
June 18, 2009Music Fans! Tambourine Man of Noriega’s – a ranking director no less – has issued notice that his bar Noriega’s on Silom Soi 4 is closed with immediate effect: “whilst we engage in some corporate, financial and operational re-engineering. A re-invigorated Noriega’s should re-open within a few weeks,” he says. Watch this space.
