6:00 pm
THE 7 JEWELS of the BLUES with Billy Branch & The Sons of Blues, John Primer & The Real Deal Band, Toronzo Cannon & The Chicago Way, Sheryl Youngblood Band @ Buddy Guy’s Legends, Chicago
Buddy Guy's Legends
JOHNNY IGUANA & KEN SAYDAK and more! @ TRINIDADDIO BLUES FEST, Trinidad, CO
LINE UP AUGUST 27-28TH 2021
| Trinidaddio Blues Fest Line UpFriday August 27 & Saturday August 28, 2021 | |
| Bernard Allison! The great Chicago bluesman Luther Allison lived by a simple philosophy that he was happy to share (“Leave your ego, play the music, love the people). Now twenty-three years after his passing the great man would surely be thrilled to hear Bernard Allison’s Songs From The Road, and proud to find his ferociously talented son is sworn to the same mission bringing, soul-soaked, all-guns-blazing blues to audiences who need it more than ever.Released in January 2020 as a CD/DVD set on Ruf Records, Songs From The Road is a live snapshot so raw and real that hearing it feels like hanging off the security barrier of Dortmund’s Musiktheater Piano club when Bernard and his crack-squad band hit town last October 23rd. With an A-list crew on-hand – and a dynamic mix from industry legend Jim Gaines – this immersive recording catches every last flash of virtuosity, bead of sweat and drop of atmosphere. “I actually prefer live performances,” says Bernard, “because you can communicate and interact with the audience. I basically feed off of that energy, combined with my group’s talent and personalities.” Read More | |
| 2020 BMA Winner ~ Horn Player of the Year!2019 BMA Winner ~ Horn Player of the Year!7-Time Blues Music Award Nominee…Vanessa Collier!“There’s a young lady [Vanessa Collier] came onstage with me, I forget where I was, but she’s playing an alto saxophone, and man, she was amazing.”Those are the words of Buddy Guy in a recent issue of American Blues Scene, describing an impromptu performance with Vanessa Collier on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise. If you haven’t been fortunate enough to meet Vanessa and witness one of her head-turning, fiery, and passionate performances, you should definitely make sure you do. As a master musician and multi-instrumentalist, Vanessa Collier, weaves funk, soul, rock, and blues into every powerful performance and she is downright impressive. With soulful vocals, searing saxophone, and witty songwriting, Vanessa is blazing a trail, racking up an impressive arsenal of honours, and has already singled herself out as an artist of distinction and one we would all do well to watch.Read More | |
| Icon of the Blues!BMA Nominee Traditional Blues Album of the Year!Muddy Waters guitar player!Bob Margolin!w/Al Chesis & the Delta Sonics featuring Johnny IguanaBob will be performing with his “Colorado” band, the Delta Sonics, Westword’s Best Blues band in Denver the last six of eight years.Al Chesis supplies vocals & foot stomping showmanship but it’s his harmonica playing that grabs you. Bob Pellegrino supplies the dazzling, slide guitar. Bob was the Colorado Blues Society’s best slide guitar player three years in a row. Alissa Chesis on bass and Stefan Flores on drums ‘drive the bus’. Special Guest Johnny Iguana will step it up on the keys. Read more about Johnny below.Boston native Bob Margolin was born in 1949. Inspired by Chuck Berry, he started playing guitar at age 15 and immediately started performing in local rock and blues bands. Margolin was hired by Muddy Waters in 1973.Muddy’s band toured the world and jammed with many great blues and rock musicians, “but the biggest thrill was playing Muddy’s Blues with him.” Muddy brought Margolin with him to special shows and recordings, when he sometimes didn’t use his whole band, to give him a familiar sound when working with other musicians. In 1975, they recorded Grammy Award-winning “Muddy Waters Woodstock Album”, Muddy’s last for Chess Records, which featured Paul Butterfield, and Levon Helm and Garth Hudson from The Band. In ‘76, Muddy brought Margolin with him to San Francisco to perform at The Band’s “Last Waltz” concert. Martin Scorsese filmed the concert for the classic film. “As it happened, only one camera was operating during our performance, zooming in or out, and since I was standing right next to Muddy, I was in every shot while he sang a powerful ‘Mannish Boy.’” Read More | |
| Special Guests ~ The Delta Sonics! The Delta Sonics music takes a Chicago Blues base and seasons it with Swing, Delta, N’awlins R&B and some early Rock n’ Roll . They were Westword’s best blues band in Denver the last six of eight years. The band made the semi-finals in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis 2012.The band has also played in Kansas City, St. Louis and New Orleans among other cities. Read More | |
| Chicago’s original recipe band…The Claudettes!LA WEEKLY The band refers to their sound as “garage cabaret” and that fits beautifully…’High Times in the Dark’ is Chicago band The Claudettes’ fifth album, and it’s an absolute gem. The key is the punk-blues piano of Johnny Iguana blended with the gorgeous vocals of future breakout star Berit Ulseth…The band is composed of super talented musicians…But damn, Ulseth’s voice…her work here is captivating…There’s no filler here…enthralling…It’s a record that ends and you want to hit ‘play’ again. Don’t resist. (Album of the Week)NPR MUSIC Chicago’s original recipe band…The Claudettes’ sonic playing field is the blues and everything after, all tastefully and artfully blended together….Perhaps the band’s greatest super power: songwriting…The Claudettes showcase the band’s range of motion, setting a lingering mood with ‘The Sun Will Fool You’ as Ulseth’s ethereal voice and Iguana’s piano sweetly sing a sad ballad that would not be out of place in an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Read More | |
| Yellow Dog Records Artist Johnny Iguana! Johnny Iguana grew up in Philadelphia, where he studied piano from age eight and played piano and organ in blues bands from age 16. He moved to New York City at age 22, where he met one of his greatest musical heroes, Junior Wells. He was hired by Junior after auditioning live at the Boston House of Blues, and moved to Chicago in February 1994. He toured with the Junior Wells Band for three years, toured with Otis Rush and recorded with Carey (and Lurrie) Bell, Lil’ Ed and more.Johnny went on to play on Grammy-nominated albums by Junior Wells, Chicago Blues: A Living History and the Muddy Waters 100 Band, and he played all the piano on the “Chicago Plays the Stones” album (2018). Those releases saw Johnny play on record with Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Derek Trucks, Gary Clark Jr., Johnny Winter and more. Now, after appearing on dozens of blues albums released by other artists, Johnny has released his debut blues album as a leader, on the legendary Delmark Records label. “JOHNNY IGUANA’S CHICAGO SPECTACULAR!” features Lil’ Ed, John Primer, Billy Boy Arnold, Bob Margolin, Matthew Skoller, Billy Flynn, Kenny Smith, Bill Dickens and Michael Caskey. (Tour dates are here. More about the JOHNNY IGUANA’S CHICAGO SPECTACULAR! band here.)Read More | |
| Delmark Recording Artist Ken Saydak!KEN SAYDAK, a native of Chicago, Illinois, has enjoyed a more than forty-year career as a musician, writer, vocalist, and producer. He currently hosts a two-hour weekly blues radio program, The Trinidaddio Blues Hours on KCRT-FM, a commercial station near his home in southern Colorado.Ken is the pianist, organist, and accordionist on over sixty albums by national and international artists. His 2015 release, Live In La Veta Vol. 2 (SnailWorx), and2013’s Live In La Veta Vol. 1follow his other solo-career recordings, It’s My Soul (Evidence Records) in 2005 and two discs on the Delmark label, Love Without Trust(2001) and his solo debut,Foolish Man (1999). All of his recordings showcase his instantly recognizable vocals and piano style, as well as his insightful, engaging, and often humorous songwriting. |
KEN SAYDAK, a native of Chicago, Illinois, has enjoyed a fifty-year career as a musician, writer, vocalist, and producer. He currently hosts a two-hour weekly blues radio program, The Trinidaddio Blues Hours on
KCRT-FM, a commercial station near his home in southern Colorado.
2018 saw the release of a long awaited project, The Rockwell Avenue Blues Band, Back To Chicago, featuring Ken along with lifelong friends and collaborators Steve Freund, Tad Robinson, Harlan Terson, and Marty Binder in a collection of original songs. The rave reviews of this Delmark Records release by a stellar group of Chicago veterans resulted in the band’s appearance at the 2018 Chicago Blues Festival (where Ken also performed solo on the mainstage in a tribute to Delmark’s legendary catalog of renowned blues artists). The band also appeared at the 2019 Trinidaddio Blues Festival.
Ken is the pianist, organist, and accordionist on over seventy albums by national and international artists. His 2015 release, Live In La Veta Vol. 2 (SnailWorx), and 2013’s Live In La Veta Vol. 1 follow his other solo-career recordings, It’s My Soul (Evidence Records) in 2005 and two discs on the Delmark label, Love Without Trust (2001) and his solo debut, Foolish Man (1999). All of his recordings showcase his instantly recognizable vocals and piano style, as well as his insightful, engaging, and often humorous songwriting.
A co-producer of the two Rounder Records CDs with his 1990’s American roots band, Big Shoulders, Big Shoulders and Nickel History, he also produced his latest SnailWorx albums, both of his Delmark CDs, blues singer Zora Young‘s critically acclaimed 2000 release, Learned My Lesson (Delmark), and international blues ambassador and bassist Bob Stroger‘s solo debut, In The House, recorded live at the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland.
Ken’s career as a performer has taken him to concert and festival stages on four continents, including extensive tours and appearances in Europe, Israel,
South Africa, and Japan. The list of artists who have enlisted his talents both on stage and in the studio include Johnny Winter, Otis Rush, Willie Kent,
Bo Diddley, Lonnie Brooks, John Primer, Mighty Joe Young, Billy Boy Arnold, Sam Lay, Dave Specter, James Wheeler, Tad Robinson,
Lurrie Bell, Mississippi Heat, Bonnie Lee, Steve Freund, Zora Young, Johnny B. Moore, Karen Carroll, Eddie Shaw, The Cash Box Kings,
Billy Flynn, Jesse Fortune, Barkin’ Bill Smith, Bandallamas, Alex Wilson, Paul Filipowicz, Al Miller, and Ron Sorin.
Here’s what the critics have said:
“…Then there is Ken Saydak. It is his songwriting and singing that make him sound like a barroom bard, street sage and soapbox preacher all rolled into one cat disguised as a gifted pianist and organist…”
David Mac – Blues Junction Productions
“Ken Saydak has built an impressive body of work with his three solo albums and his studio work…It’s My Soul is his best stand-alone project yet”…
Chicago Sun-Times
“Though veteran session man and Big Shoulders bandleader Ken Saydak has left Chicago, his commitment to America’s greatest music remains unabated. On It’s My Soul, the singer-songwriter-keyboardist bolsters the canons of blues and roots music with a dozen compelling new songs, delivered with gruffly good-natured vocals and towering piano and organ performances….It’s My Soul is an excellent listen.”
Blues Revue Magazine
“It’s My Soul…reaches back through labels and categories to clutch the still-pumping heart of the simple and glorious music that became rock ‘n’ roll – the seminal, simmering soul stew bursting with different but related flavors: the twangs of country music, the tangs of New Orleans R&B, the heart pangs of gospel, and the ka-bang! of the blues…
All About Jazz
“Vocalist/keyboardist and Windy City blues vet Ken Saydak is a gripping frontman…”
Billboard Magazine
“With a rock-solid left hand pumping out the rhythms and a right hand that lightly caresses the keys one moment and pounds them into boogie-woogie submission the next, he demonstrates why the piano has retained a prominent spot in the blues world despite the glut of guitar slingers.”
Blues Revue Magazine
“Our man is a true blues pianist all around, at the same time soft and deep, a worthy heir to Otis Spann, a champion of an instrument which has lost its prestige. In addition, he’s a sensitive composer, occasionally autobiographical, absolutely gifted for socio-economic or philosophical vignettes about daily life and human relationships.”
Soul Bag Magazine, Paris
“Frontman Ken Saydak has a huge, gruff vocal delivery and a flair for writing involved, strong compositions that – while blues-drenched – are often lyrically uplifting and musically complex. Saydak looks far beyond booze, cheating, partying and heartbreak for inspiration.”
Twin Cities Reader
“Ken Saydak is an artist and a poet.”
Al Lewis – KBAI-FM New York City
Bio
Johnny Iguana grew up in Philadelphia, where he studied piano from age eight and played piano and organ in blues bands from age 16. He moved to New York City at age 22, where he met one of his greatest musical heroes, Junior Wells. He was hired by Junior after auditioning live at the Boston House of Blues, and moved to Chicago in February 1994. He toured with the Junior Wells Band for three years, toured with Otis Rush and recorded with Carey (and Lurrie) Bell, Lil’ Ed and more.
Johnny went on to play on Grammy-nominated albums by Junior Wells, Chicago Blues: A Living History and the Muddy Waters 100 Band, and he played all the piano on the “Chicago Plays the Stones” album (2018). Those releases saw Johnny play on record with Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Derek Trucks, Gary Clark Jr., Johnny Winter and more. Now, after appearing on dozens of blues albums released by other artists, Johnny has released his debut blues album as a leader, on the legendary Delmark Records label. “JOHNNY IGUANA’S CHICAGO SPECTACULAR!” features Lil’ Ed, John Primer, Billy Boy Arnold, Bob Margolin, Matthew Skoller, Billy Flynn, Kenny Smith, Bill Dickens and Michael Caskey. (Tour dates are here. More about the JOHNNY IGUANA’S CHICAGO SPECTACULAR! band here.)
All along, Johnny has also had his own decidedly non-blues rock bands, sometimes playing his distinctively grimy overdriven organ. First came Stevie Lizard & His All-Reptile Orchestra (late ’90s). Then came the nationwide cult favorite oh my god (see discography and press quotes). His band Them vs. Them, formed with JQ of the Q Brothers, recorded and performed after that. The synth-fueled Software Giant came next.
Since late 2010, Johnny has been recording and touring with his “garage cabaret” band the Claudettes. who started as a piano-drums instrumental duo with Michael Caskey and have now released three recordings as a four-piece with Berit Ulseth singing and Zach Verdoorn singing and playing bass and Bass VI. For their first four records, go to their Yellow Dog Records page. For their latest, visit Forty Below Records. On his blues tours and his tours with the Claudettes and oh my god, Johnny has played all over Europe, North and South America, Australia and New Zealand, Indonesia, all across Japan and in the Middle East.
A short list of Johnny’s major musical inspirations: Otis Spann, Jay McShann, Ray Charles, Mose Allison, Bobby Timmons, Mike Watt, Bob Mould, Joe Strummer, Captain Beefheart and the near, dear, late, great Junior Wells. Johnny is a proud carrier of tradition (including the Chicago blues that uprooted him from his East Coast home and planted him firmly in the Windy City) but is even more proud to have developed abusive organ tones and a highly rhythmic, very “in-the-moment” piano style that sounds like no one else.
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