Ironing Board Sam (seen from last New Years Eve at The Hamilton Live) is among those who will be performing at Capital Blues Night, Wednesday evening at The Hamilton Live
Some of you may be aware that I have been a supporter of the various programs and activities of the Music Maker Foundation. The North Carolina-based organization has been a life send to many roots music performers who were in hard economic and health times whether helping pay medical bills, provide a decent housing situation and record and issue recordings of these often under-documented performers. In addition MMF has promoted performances at clubs and festivals of their artists throughout the United States and the world.
I had the pleasure of seeing such performers as Big Ron Hunter, Captain Luke, Sol Roots, and Ironing Board Sam at what was then a new Washington DC venue, The Hamilton last New Year's Eve. The Hamilton will be hosting Capital Blues Night Wednesday evening, October 24. The doors open at 6:30PM and the show starts at 7:30 and features the performers I listed above along with Cool John Ferguson and Ardie Dean for what promises to be a terrific evening of music.
Captain Luke will return to The Hamilton Live on Wednesday October 23.
One should be particularly excited about the return of Ironing Board Sam whose career the Music Maker Foundation has revived. Ironing Board Sam was for years a fixture in New Orleans (including the annual Jazz & Heritage Festival), and with his career back on the upswing and with new recordings produced by Music Maker Foundation, returned back to New Orleans this past spring for his first JazzFest performance in too many years. Its an example of what the Music Maker Foundation does to assist roots music artists. And then there is Captain Luke, whose baritone will evoke the smoky baritone of Brook Benton. They will be heard along with the showmanship of Cool John and more.
One can certainly appreciate the work of Tim Duffy and the Music Maker Foundation. The Foundation’s efforts to assist and promote mostly southern rural musicians certainly have benefited a number of musicians. They have also made available recordings by a number of artists, although these vary considerably in quality. North Carolina bluesman John Dee Holeman is one of the artists that has fallen under the Music Makers Recordings umbrella with his latest CD, You Got to Lose, You Can’t Win All the Time.
Holeman, a veteran Piedmont bluesman who learned from Blind Boy Fuller, has been honored by the National Endowment of the Arts with a Heritage Fellowship. This album was produced by Zeke Hutchins, who plays with country artist Tift Merritt, and essentially has him mostly reworking a variety of down home blues standards from the pens of Muddy Waters, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Sleepy John Estes, Memphis Minnie and Lowell Fulson. While credited to Holeman, the title track is a slowed down version of an Ike Turner song that was recorded for Cobra with Tommy Hodge handling the vocal. In additions to Hutchins, others heard in the backing band include Duffy and Cool John Ferguson on guitars, and Slewfoot on harp. Several tracks have backing vocals.
This is at times entertaining but oftentimes somewhat anonymous, down-home flavored performances of the songs. This type of small group down home blues deriving from the recordings of the likes of Muddy Waters and Lightning Hopkins has been done more compellingly by the likes of Lightnin’ Slim on Excello or Louisiana Red for a variety of labels over the years. Proceeds of this does support the Foundation’s worthy efforts, but otherwise this only gets a reserved recommendation. For more on the Music Maker Foundation and its various programs and recordings, check www.musicmaker.org.
This review originally appeared in the August 2008Jazz & Blues Report(Issue 307) and I likely received my review copy from Music Maker Foundation. Incidentally there are several other recordings by Holeman available from the Music Maker Foundation so check out their website. Here is a video of him performing When Things Go Wrong.
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