Northern Blues

[tsedivy]

Wow! What a record year we had in 2008! We released a total of 7 CDs, as well as another “Future of the Blues” sampler. Here’s an overview of what we’ve done this year.

1. Samuel James – Songs Famed for Sorrow and Joy
A groundbreaking debut CD from one of the most innovative acoustic guitarists.

"Fantastic! Great voice and a great playing style! Traditional blues done with a hip twist."
Johnny Winter

“James is still in his 20s, but he already has a leg up on Keb' Mo' and other more established acoustic bluesmen. He's a terrific finger-picking guitarist and promising banjo player, with his feet serving as an ample percussion section."
Jeff Johnson, Chicago Sun-Times, March 2008


2. Moreland & Arbuckle – 1861
Stretching the boundaries of contemporary blues

“…the Moreland-Arbuckle originals share the raw energy of Burnside and Junior Kimbrough's music. The band sometimes rocks out like the North Mississippi Allstars, another obvious influence. It's yet another fine signing for NorthernBlues."
Jeff Johnson, Chicago Sun-Times, March 2008

"The honestly expressed raw blues proffered by guitarist Aaron Moreland, singer-harmonica player Dustin Arbuckle and drummer Brad Horner closes the distance between their Kansas plains and the Chicago taverns tore up by Hound Dog Taylor and the Mississippi hills stomped by R.L.Burnside. They join B-3 player Chris Wisser in finding an extra-dirty groove for "Diamond Ring." This is a band to keep tabs on down the road. Album title? Think Abe Lincoln-era statehood."
Downbeat Magazine, October 2008


3. The Homemade Jamz Blues Band – Pay Me No Mind
The Youngest Blues Band in America

"Pay Me No Mind bristles with real juke-joint energy and grit, as the Perrys live up to the tradition of Pinetop, Muddy and B.B. All but one of the songs was written by the youngsters' father, Renaud, who also plays harmonica on four tracks. They cover the usual blues territory, but Ryan delivers these tales of hard times and woman trouble with the command of someone who's already been there. Makes you wonder how good he'll be when he really has been."
N.C. Philadelphia Enquirer, July 2008

“The next generation of blues players sounds like they mean business."
Philip Van Vleck, Billboard, June 2008

"... From the first chord on the electric guitar, everyone in the kitchen bolted up to pay attention. This was blues music. Real blues music. The kind of stuff that B.B. King and Muddy Waters belt out in juke joints down in the Delta. The kids bopped at the kitchen table, all right. And so did the grandparents in the den. Frankly, I did a few two-steps myself while cooking at the stove.”
Michele Norris, NPR, August 2008

And, catch the Homemade Jamz Blues Band on The Today Show:
Singin’ the blues (about getting grounded) - American Story with Bob Dotson - TODAYshow.com


4. Watermelon Slim & The Workers – No Paid Holidays
2007 Band of the Year returns with another gem

“You would think that it would be tough for Slim to follow up a Blues Music Award winning effort like last year's The Wheel Man, yet here he is again, with his superb houserockin' band The Workers – also Blues Music Award winners – delivering another phenomenal effort in No Paid Holidays.”
Rev. Keith A. Gordon, Blurt online – formerly Harp Magazine, August 2008

"Because he's recording with the same band he tours with, Watermelon Slim and his Workers intuitively know how to find the continually paint fresh musical pictures. Get ready for another slew of BMA nominations to follow in 2009."
Art Tipaldi, Blueswax, August 2008

"Never mind that Bill went thirty years between albums. The last five years have seen five new albums, and No Paid Holidays continues the winning streak. There are original field hollers here, original laments that sound like they come directly from the Delta, original electric Chicago blues, and an oddly endearing blues cover of Laura Nyro’s And When I Die. On Archetypal Blues No. 2 Bill conjures the spirits of Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and Howlin’ Wolf. 'Most of my heroes are dead,' he mumbles, and then burns through a solo that would raise the dead. The guy is good. Real good."
Andy Whitman, Paste Magazine, July 2008


5. JW-Jones – Bluelisted
2007 Band of the Year returns with another gem


Bluelisted has special guests Little Charlie Baty (Nightcats), Junior Watson, Richard Innes and Larry Taylor, with Dan Aykroyd providing the liner notes.

"JW's pure, honest singing plus guitar stars sprinkled throughout on crisp-covers and cool originals make this record a yellow-dot must-buy addition to the catalog for his fans and new enthusiasts who are getting to know him."
Elwood Blues aka Dan Aykroyd

"JW-Jones’ latest release, Bluelisted (NorthernBlues) features Jones teaming up with two noteworthy guests, Little Charlie Baty and Junior Watson, for a solid set of guitar-driven blues. Jones’ four previous releases have all been pretty strong and diverse sets, considering he’s only 27 years old. The urban, sophisticated blues are his specialty, but he’s also capable of getting down in the alley as well with his considerable guitar chops and his smooth, refined vocals. Bluelisted stands out as his best set to date."
Graham Clarke, Blues Bytes


6. Carlos del Junco – Steady Movin’
One of the world’s great harmonica players returns with another eclectic release


"Blues from another planet, another time, or at least an alternate plane of consciousness by Carlos del Junco and his fellow alien guitarist Kevin Breit (Sisters Euclid), will swing, sway, rock, and transport you to whatever amazing world they share on this latest gift. Perhaps it's the water in Canada or the laid-back political atmosphere, but whatever it is we could use some of it down here in the States.”
Beardo, BluesWax

"Speaking of pioneers, Carlos del Junco is taking the harmonica in astonishing directions. Though the harmonica has long been underappreciated in most musical genres (excepting blues), del Junco promised to change all that and gets closer to doing so with each release. Steady Movin’ should remove all doubt that he is one of the finest harmonica players ever."
Graham Clarke, Blues Bytes, September 2008


6. Paul Reddick – Sugar Bird
The poet-laureate of the blues returns with another classic.


This innovative CD pushes the boundaries of the blues with special guest Garth Hudson of The Band.

"Over the last two decades, Paul has been making some of the most consistent, daring and expressive music by any artist in any genre.”
Larry LeBlanc, Billboard Magazine

"At this juncture, Reddick is a blues man largely in that’s the penumbra that fits him best and easiest. This date, which pairs him heavily with producer Colin Linden, is way out there, even by pomo standards, but not out there in an outré way, out there in a are you sure this is a blues record? way. Backed with a bunch of first call blues rockers and Americana pros, Reddick makes edgy blues based music for whitey that likes to get funky. Pretty rocky and raucous at times, this is the kind of set that adults who still want to buy music are looking for. Solid."
Midwest Record Recap, October 2008