Ali Sleeq ft. Steve Harper - LIVE at The Juke

A couple of weeks ago I passed by Jukebox Productions, who have set up a new and well equipped studio. They also have video production alongside the music side of things.

Zeus and his team took three videos of me playing some old blues tunes, featuring my trusty harmonica player Steve Harper.

These songs are as raw as possible, all taken in one take. So if you see any mistakes, it was intentional; such is the nature of the blues.

Hope you enjoy these videos as much as I did performing them! Thanks again to Jukebox Productions, which can be found @jukebox965 on Instagram and Youtube!

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1) You Gonna Need My Help - Muddy Waters cover (1950)

2) Sweet Home Chicago - Robert Johnson cover (1936)

3) Key to the Highway - Big Bill Broonzy cover (1944) PENDING UPLOAD

'I Am The Blues' Film Coming in May

This May, probably (and as you would expect) my most anticipated film of 2016, called "I Am The Blues" will be released.

Here's the official blurb from their website:

"I AM THE BLUES takes the audience on a musical journey through the swamps of the Louisiana Bayou, the juke joints of the Mississippi Delta and Moonshine soaked BBQs in the North Mississippi Hill Country. Visiting the last original blues devils, many in their 80s, still living in the American deep south and touring the Chitlin’ Circuit. Let Bobby Rush, Barbara Lynn, Henry Gray, Carol Fran, Little Freddie King, Lazy Lester, Bilbo Walker, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, RL Boyce, LC Ulmer, Lil’ Buck Sinegal and their friends awaken the blues in all of us."

Below is the trailer for your enjoyment. Get hype!

New Trailer for Miles Davis Biofilm

A while back (almost two years ago) I posted about how actor Don Cheadle was seeking funding to make a Miles Davis biofilm 'Miles Ahead'; well after a long wait, the film is going to be released in theaters on April 1!

Here's the epic 2 minute trailer that was posted last night:

'Bessie' - a Blues Film Not to Miss

A few months ago, HBO released a TV film called 'Bessie', starring Queen Latifah.

It's a biofilm about 'The Empress of the Blues' Bessie Smith, who was one of the top female blues artists alongside Ma Rainey, Victoria Spivey, and dozens of others.

I'm not a movie critic but the film captured the spirit of the depression era, how she rose to fame, generally everything feels right and the performances are spot on. 

I watched it on OSN, so you can look for that now, or if you can get your hands on it somehow, because it's a great movie about blues history, which we lack so far (see this post about some blues films).

Here's a song from the movie, 'Down Hearted Blues' (cover):

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Soul-Blues of 'I Can't Fix it' - Jackers

This is an obscure song; I came across this song when I had the soundtrack (don't ask) of the Gang Related movie featuring Tupac Shakur, who I featured about on the blog a while back.

This song is credited to a band or individual named Jackers, to whom I cannot find any information about on the internet (the internet does fail me sometimes).

The song is one of the highlights of the album, featuring a minor key soul-blues mellowness and exceptional guitar playing. The rest of the album consists of pure gangsta rap tunes from 2Pac to Ice Cube to Snoop Dogg and the Doggpound.

I wish I had more information but I don't; it's a nice track to listen to nonetheless:

The New Hendrix Movie Offends & Tainting A Musician's Legacy

The new biofilm of Jimi Hendrix 'All Is By My Side' has been on the receiving end of some controversy. The film stars Andre 3000 (of Outkast fame) as the legendary Jimi Hendrix, and while the film initially had some buzz about it, it quickly died down once it was revealed that no actual music from Jimi Hendrix will be used in the film (not even as a cover version). The producers say that this is due to the film being made about Jimi's pre-fame era.

However, a film about a legendary musician without a hint of his music misses the point. It's like showing how Pink Floyd were created without showing off their most famous material, or even before David Gilmour joined the band. 

The film also shows some violence against women, particularly in the character of Kathy Etchingham, who was Jimi's girlfriend. According the article, he never did beat her as shown in the film, as told by his biographer Charles Cross. 

What we are left with is an origin story, much like all these famous Hollywood superhero movies being churned out yearly. While that is nothing too major to pick upon, but if you want to watch a movie about Hendrix, you expect to see him at full glory, concerts and Strat-burning and all, not just the periods before and at the end and missing the meat of what Jimi contributed to the music world.

Years ago, the movie 'Cadillac Records' was released, loosely portraying the real Chess Records of Chicago's blues fame. While they used the same names of the musicians like Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf etc, it was not 100% accurate, yet it was able to give us the lasting legacy. Using the real music from that day by those musicians adds to the realism and immersion. 

Cadillac Records wasn't accurate, but it told the story very well.

The 2000 movie 'Hendrix', acted by Wood Harris, might not have been the best film and had a much lower budget, but it gave us the full round story including the infamous Monterrey performance. 

When doing a biofilm, especially about a highly revered artist or cultural icon, you have to expect that the fans, not the critics, are final line in deciding the film's rating. Much like other icons like Kurt Cobain, Bob Marley, etc, the directors and producers will be held to close scrutiny. 

Respecting an artist's legacy and their contribution is something that is held sacred by the fans, and if movie makers can't uphold this sanctity, the end result will always be negative. 

The film opens June 13 in the UK. 

Essential Hollywood Blues Movies

There have been several movies based on or involve the music and themes of the Blues. Most of them have been very good, and worth watching (none of that fluff we're used to with romantic-comedies etc).

So here's an essential list of some of my favorites:

BLUES BROTHERS

Needs no introduction.

BLACK SNAKE MOAN

Anything with Samuel L. Jackson is worth watching anyways.

CROSSROADS

Steve Vai versus the Blues?!?! HELL YEAH. The below is the famous "guitar duel" from the movie.

CADILLAC RECORDS

A good representation of the Chess Records era of the Blues, showing what Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, etc went through. 

The Bluesy Soundtrack of 'The Wolf of Wall Street'

I have yet to see the movie, however knowing director Martin Scorsese's love for blues music (he has included blues songs in many of his movies, such as Goodfellas), I knew there would be some blues music in there, and my instinct proved right!

The soundtrack features many blues and jazz songs, from Cannonball Adderley to Ahmad Jamal to Bo Diddley to Howlin' Wolf. Of course not the whole soundtrack is composed of blues and jazz, but if you want a solid music collection this soundtrack is available now.

Here's the tracklist, and below a live performance for Howlin' Wolf's 'Smokestack Lightnin':

 1. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy – Cannonball Adderley 
 2. Dust My Broom – Elmore James
 3. Bang! Bang! – Joe Cuba 
 4. Movin’ On Out (Anthony’s Song) – Billy Joel 
 5. C’est Si Bon – Eartha Kitt 
 6. Goldfinger – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings 
 7. Pretty Thing – Bo Diddley
 8. Moonlight in Vermont (Live At The Pershing Lounge/1958) – Ahmad Jamal 
 9. Smokestack Lightning – Howlin’ Wolf 
 10. Hey Leroy, Your Mama’s Callin’ You – The Jimmy Castor Bunch 
 11. Double Dutch – Malcolm McLaren 
 12. Never Say Never – Romeo Void 
 13. Meth Lab Zoso Sticker – 7Horse 
 14. Road Runner (Single Version) – Bo Diddley 
 15. Mrs. Robinson (LP Version) – The Lemonheads 
 16. Cast Your Fate To the Wind – Allen Toussaint

5 Great Blues Songs That Appear in Film

The blues is America's gift to the music world; it inspired a new generation of musicians, and like the saying goes: 'Blues had a baby, and they named it Rock n' Roll'.

Throughout Hollywood's history dozens of blues songs have been used in movies, so here's five examples of famous blues songs that appear in them:


5. THE RAINMAKER : 'How Blue Can You Get?' - B.B. King

4. SKYFALL : 'Boom Boom' - The Animals (Cover of John Lee Hooker's original)

3. THE BLUES BROTHERS : 'Sweet Home Chicago' - The Blues Brothers

2. GOODFELLAS : 'Mannish Boy' - Muddy Waters

1. TERMINATOR 2 : 'Bad To The Bone' - George Thorogood & The Destroyers

Got some I missed? Let me know!

Feature: Mississippi's 'Lost' Blues Music Masters

The BBC has put up a short video feature about George Mitchell, who travelled to Mississippi in 1967 in looking for America's undiscovered blues musicians, which he discusses and also his new book 'Mississippi Hill Country Blues 1967'.

You can check out the video [here].

Even BB King Didn't Escape the 80's

The 80's was a crazy decade; pink neon, denim jackets, new wave, Ronald Reagan...  and just about everyone was on cocaine.

I won't lie and say there wasn't some good music coming out of the 80's, however for the most part it was mostly cheese. And to stay relevant in the business, many established musicians caught that '80's sound'. Even blues legend BB King was not immune to this.

The movie "Into the Night" which starred Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Dan Aykroyd (of the Blues Brothers fame), featured three songs by BB King on the soundtrack, with "Into The Night" being title track of the movie (the other two were 'In the Midnight Hour' and 'Lucille').

The song features BB playing his signature guitar licks, which save the song, but the drum sampling and the synths are just cringeworthy.

Let's be glad the 80's are behind us; as no one was safe.

'Johnny B Goode' From 'Back to the Future' Movie

Who doesn't love this movie?! It's one of the staples of the 1980's!

Besides the comedy and the crazy story, and that DeLorean car, there was a scene where Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) absolutely rips the song that shot Chuck Berry to fame, 'Johnny B Goode' which was a great moment from that movie, when Marty went back to 1955 to Hill Valley High School.

I especially like how at the end he goes off into a guitar frenzy. Enjoy this flashback folks!