New Johnny Winter CD Box Set To Be Released

[SOURCE] Sony Music has announced that they will released a 4-disc box set commemorating bluesman Johnnie Winter's 70th birthday. It will be released two days after his birthday on the 25th of February, 2014.

It will feature 56 tracks spanning all his recordings with Columbia Records, from 1969 (starting with his first album Johnny Winter until the 2011 album Roots.)

Johnny Winter is recognized as one of the best guitarists of all time ranked at number 63 by Rolling Stone magazine, and was instrumental in bringing Muddy Waters back to the spotlight after leaving Chess Records (he would release 3 studio albums and one live one with Winter, and 3 of those won Grammy awards).

Here's an old video from 1970 called "Be Careful with a Fool".

35th Blues Music Awards Nominees Announced

As every year, The Blues Foundation has announced the nominees for the 35th Blues Music Awards, which will be held (again, as usual) in Memphis, Tennessee on May 8, 2014.

The full list is below:

2013 Jazz Holiday Gift Guide

Last week I told you about the 2013 Blues Holiday Gift Guide, this time I'm sending you a Jazz gift guide!

JazzTimes has listed their guide for this holiday season, so I've embedded it here for you.

I accept gifts by the way :)

'Little Angel Child' - Pinetop Perkins

Pinetop Perkins was a legendary blues pianist, closely associated with Muddy Waters (he played with his band from the late 60's until Muddy's death in 1983). Pinetop was also a highly succussful solo artist who played the blues until his death at the age of 97 in 2011, just a month after receiving a Grammy award for Best Traditional Blues Album.

Here's a rare tune called "Little Angel Child" from 1978:

2014 Blues Grammy Award Nominations Announced

The 56th Grammy Award Nominations have been announced for all categories, but what we care about is the blues, so below are the nominees for Best Blues Album, with a video for each nominee. You can see the full list [here].

Honestly, I'm very surprised that Buddy Guys' excellent album "Rhythm & Blues" is not nominated!


1- Remembering Little Walter - Billy Boy Arnold, Charlie Musselwhite, Mark Hummel, Sugar Ray Norcia & James Harman

2- Cotton Mouth Man - James Cotton

3- Get Up! - Ben Harper with Charlie Musselwhite

4- Seesaw - Beth Hard & Joe Bonnamassa

5- Down in Louisiana - Bobby Rush

Blues Pianist Aaron Moore Dead at 95

Blues pianist Aaron Moore, the last Mississippi born pianist in Chicago, is dead at 95.

He was a well-known session player in the heyday of Chicago's blues, backing many of the famous players for 36 years. However he didn't achieve star status like his compatriots, rather retiring in the early 80's to be with his family.

However, in the 90's he went back to music and released two albums, one in 1996 and another in 1999 under the Delmark label with success.

Rest in peace Aaron, hope you are having fun with all the other bluesmen up in heaven.

Here's the title track from his 1996 debut album "Hello World":

Blues Brothers Recreated With LEGOS!

Holy crap do people have some free time.

If you've seen the 1980 cult classic "The Blues Brothers", then you know that that Elwood and Jake Blues are on a mission from God to save their orphanage, and along the way they get in some trouble with the law (among others).

One of the car chases is through a mall; and it turns out, it's just as amazing with Lego bricks. Duncan McConchie, the mad genius at Bricktease, created a shot-for-shot recreation of the famous scene done entirely with Legos. 

This is brilliant , and this is what the internet is all about. Hats off to Duncan!

2013 Blues Holiday Gift Guide

2013 is almost over, and this month marks the shopping spree joyous holiday of Christmas. What better time to start picking out gifts for your friends (or yourself?)

About.com's Blues section has it's 2013 holiday gift up and you can check it out in full [here], whilst I'll list them for you for ease:

2014 Blues Calendar From Blues Images 

Not only do you have a great collection of vintage blues art, but you get a free CD featuring classic blues songs from the likes of Blind Blake, Furry Lewis, Charlie Patton, and others!

'Rhythm & Blues' - Buddy Guy

The highly acclaimed 2013 release from Buddy Guy was a great success commercially and critically. You can read my review of the album [here].

Duane Allman's 'Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective' CD box set

The ENTIRE works of slide guitarist Duane Allman spanning seven discs. I hope you have a lot of free time to indulge all of it!

Eric Clapton's 'Crossroads Guitar Festival 2013' CD/DVD

In it's 4th show, Eric Clapton's renowned Crossroads Guitar Festival of 2013 which took place in Madison Square Garden was a massive blues, rock, and guitar festival featuring dozens of legendary artists like BB King, Jeff Beck, The Allman Brothers, and many more!

Eric Clapton's 'Give Me Strength' CD box set

A six disc compilation of just one (!) year of Eric Clapton's career, from 1974-1975. It features his solo work and other recordings such as rare sides and live tracks. One disc is a blu-ray remaster of the 461 Ocean Boulevard album (the one with "I Shot the Sheriff). 

Joe Bonamassa 'Tour de Force' DVDs

Earlier this year, blues-rocker Joe Bonamassa performed 4 different shows in London, each night with a different theme (blues, rock n' roll., power trio, acoustic/electric), so that's 4 different DVD's of different caliber. If you're a fan you should get all of them!

Robert Crumb's 'The Complete Album Cover Collection' Book

Robert Crumb is a cartoonist who is infatuated with old jazz and blues art. Since the early 60's he's done hundreds of album covers for many recording artists, such as James Brown, Frank Zappa, Gus Cannon, George Jones, Woody Guthrie, and more. Features 450 covers!

Third Man Records' Paramount Records 'Wonder Cabinet'

If you have around $500 to spend, this is an ultimate collectors item; the 1917-1927 catalog of defunct Paramount Records, featuring hundreds of songs and other goodies like:

800 newly-remastered digital tracks on a forged metal USB drive shaped like a Victrola stylus
200+ fully-restored original ads and images
6 x 180g LPs w/ hand-engraved metal leaf center labels on burled chestnut vinyl
Deluxe large-format hardcover art book: 250 pages, narrative with full-color plates 
Encyclopedia-style reference manual: 360 pages, field guide to artists & repertoire
Handcrafted elements: rich woods, lush upholstery, and custom-forged metal hardware
Track & Image App: First-of-its-kind music and image player app, allows user management of 800 tracks and 200+ original ads, housed on custom-made USB

Comedian Paul F. Tompkins Pokes Fun at Jazz

Comedian Paul F. Tompkins has a well known skit called "Jazz", where he makes fun of the genre and it's listeners (known as the common stupid people).

It's worth listening to some fun humor; got to have a sense of humor!

Happy Thanksgiving!