'Big Town Playboy' - Little Johnnie Jones

Jones (left) with Otis Spann (center) and George Buford, late '50s

Little Johnnie Jones, from Mississippi, traveled to Chicago like many of the other major blues acts, and was most famously known for playing the piano with Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf  and many others.

He was a heavy drinker, had a wild character, and used to always get in fights, indicative of his pure blues life. He died at the early age of 40 in 1964 from illness.

He did record a few solo tracks and his most famous is 'Big Town Playboy' recorded in 1949 and released in 1950:

The Mockery That Is The Dubai Jazz Fest [UPDATE]

[UPDATE 1]

Boy band The Wanted (who?) have been announced today:

[ORIGINAL STORY]

Oh boy; it seems that the 2014 Dubai Jazz Festival, as I expected, will be a major disappointment yet again for jazz fans.

This whole story began last year when I pointed out my skepticism about having major rock and pop acts headline a supposedly jazz-centric festival. The major acts were Deep Purple, Three Doors Down, The Script, and One Republic.

This year, it seems that things will be worse, as this photo from the official Facebook page of the festival indicates: 

Eight pop (!) acts will be announced, two of which (Olly Murs and Jamie Cullum) have been revealed. I only expect things to get worse.

I also want to mention that the organizers need some lessons on how to use the social media, as they have been deleting comments and banning users from their Facebook page, and even making ridiculous statements like the one below (thanks to Anonymous for the screenshot). It has since been removed but remember, nothing on the internet is removed:

This farcical display and the fact that there is basically little to no jazz in this festival, several websites, such as the Pan-Arabian Enquirer, have taken to mock and troll the festival, as well as a new parody Twitter account has been created, with great tweets like: 

Ok people, you wanted us to feature more Jazz. Does anybody have a phone number for someone named Miles Davis?
— Dubai Jazz Festival (@Dubai_Jazz_Fest) October 9, 2013

Snoop Dogg's Gin and Juice is a pure Jazz classic! http://t.co/pCNXudfPFx #DXB #Dubai #DubaiJazzFest
— Dubai Jazz Festival (@Dubai_Jazz_Fest) October 8, 2013

With this developing story generating some sweet scandalous internet sensationalism, and the disappointment  of the treatment of the music called jazz in efforts rake in sales and attendance, I expect this to go on for a while until (or if) some more JAZZ music is announced. 

Stay tuned for more on this story soon!

High Price For Extremely Rare Tommy Johnson Record

Who says that blues music can't have it's share of high priced valuables?

An extremely rare Delta bluesman Tommy Johnson Record was sold at  winning bid of $37,100 on eBay, which is about $33,000 more than the original asking price. You can see the actual item bidding [here].

The original record, called "Alcohol And Jake Blues', was released on the Paramount label sometime in the late 20's or early 30's. 

This could be the only one to exist. What a fantastic find!

[SOURCE]

Here's the song in question!

'I'm Going to Mississippi' - Magic Slim

Magic Slim was a great bluesman, winning many awards including 'Best Traditional Male Artist' in the 2013 Blues Awards. He sadly died in February of this year.

Magic Slim's performance is fantastic on this track. Hope you enjoy it, it's not often you see a Fender Jazzmaster in the blues!

'Pigeon Jazz in the City' - A Literal Title

To introduce the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival 2012, a full jazz ensemble was set up in Pigeon Square in Johannesburg. Seeds and popcorn were scattered over the instruments and the new jazz band called 'Featherweights', assembled to create music. It wasn't long before the sounds of pigeon jazz filled the air - much to the delight of passers-by.

Our 'Peace One Day' Concert Videos

A couple of videos have surfed courtesy of Karrouhat Studio of our live performance on Saturday, hope you enjoy!


1) Breathe - Pink Floyd (see the bass solo at the end!) ;)

2) Machtoub - Autostrad

'Little Red Rooster' - Luther Allison

Luther Alison, like many hundreds of others, have covered the William Dixon penned, Howlin' Wolf song "Little Red Rooster", however his version is so amped up on some serious nitro that I had to share it.

The Pan Arabian Enquirer Trolls The Dubai Jazz Fest (With Good Reason)

The Pan Arabian Enquirer, the highly popular satirical tabloid website, has eloquently trolled the Dubai Jazz Festival.

The headline reads:

Middle East metalheads, country fans and ravers looking forward to hearing line-up for Dubai Jazz Festival 2014

Then ends with a headshot:

“I hope it’s Megadeth, or maybe even Tiesto,” said Qatari jazz fan Mustapha Watson. 

This is a direct response to the Dubai Jazz Festival calling the 2013 event "Rocking the City" and featuring 3 Doors Down, Deep Purple, One Republic, and The Script as the headliners of the "jazz" festival, leaving the real jazz musicians sidelined to a jazz corner, and many fans confused and upset. 

I wrote about this previously, and it's great to see this issue become a major scandal. I also want to point out that the organizers are not pros, and had this to say about those who complained about the music and artist choices:

Thanks to the Pan Arabian Enquirer for their sweet execution, however the 2014 Dubai Jazz Fest already signed up Olly Murs, a pop star from the UK who was on X-Factor.

We hope the next festival is actually focused on jazz and not trying to be a pop concert aimed at making sick amounts of money under that disguise.

iOS7 Loves The Blues

So I updated to iOS7 last night. One of the new features is iTunes Radio. 

So I clicked 'Blues' to check the available stations, one of which is called 'Windy City Blues' (ie Chicago Blues) and lo and behold, Mannish Boy by Muddy Waters was the first track.

It's as if they knew I was gonna check it; well played Apple!

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].