Melody Ballroom, 615 SE Alder St., Portland
Wednesday, December 4th, 7:00 pm
Members always Free – Non-members $3.00
Opening Acoustic Set – Shae Lee & Jon Edmondson
Second Electric Set – Garry Meziere

After last month’s annual extravaganza, The Muddy Awards, that surely left a lot of fantastic memories, it is time to get back to normal business again. But normal business for the Cascade Blues Association just means having our monthly meetings downstairs at The Melody Ballroom with two fun sets of music and our regular free ticket drawings in between.

Shae Lee and Jon Edmondson - press photoWell, it’s not really a typical meeting, as every December we also hold our elections for the Board of Director’s Officer positions. So make sure you attend and bring your membership card to get a ballot and help select those who will help run the Cascade Blues Association for the next year.

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The Cascade Blues Association wants to invite all of our members to our annual membership holiday party. It takes place on Wednesday, December 11th, starting at 6:30 pm, at The Melody Ballroom, 615 SE Alder St. We will have live music featuring Kenny Lee & The Sundowners, the Ellen Whyte Trio and the Norman Sylvester Band. The CBA will provide some finger snacks and members are welcome to bring baked goods to share. The Tualatin Valley Gleaners will also be on hand accepting canned food donations for the Oregon Food Bank. Though this is a member’s only event, you are welcome to join the CBA at the door if you wish to attend. Come out and celebrate the holidays with good friends and outstanding blues.

 

Have you ever thought about becoming a member of the Board of Directors for the Cascade Blues Association? The election for the Officer positions takes place at the December General Membership Meeting, but it is not too early to throw your name into the hat if you would like to be placed on the ballot. The Officer positions that will be voted on in December include President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and Membership Secretary. If you decide to run, please write a little bio about yourself, your background with the blues and why you feel you would make a good addition to the CBA. Submit this Read more

Watch your mail boxes this month for your first-round ballot for the Muddy Awards. Ballots will be sent to CBA members, giving you the opportunity to nominate your favorite performers, venues, recordings and events in 20 categories. Please remember that these awards are meant to recognize local artists for their work from September 1st, 2012 through August 31st, 2013. There are categories open for national performers, too. You may select up to three nominations in each category. You are not required to give three nominations, but if you put down more than three your selections will be voided in that category. All first round ballots must be received no later than September 14th; those arriving after that date will not be counted. The top three vote getters in each category will Read more

On August 2nd, the Cascade Blues Association physically moved our office space from the UFCW Building in Tigard to our new space at 2020 SE 7th in Portland. This is actually the building that we had space in prior to our move to Tigard five years ago, so it is somewhat of a home-coming for us with our old landlord Curt Davis. Unlike our former space at the UFCW, we can actually use this new location as a working office if we’d like, with a separate room for storage and one for our monthly board meetings.

We would like to thank the UFCW for allowing us to use their location rent-free the past five years and also to give a huge thanks to everybody who offered us space in their Read more

Hey everybody! It’s time to clean out all of your closets, garage and basement. While you’re at it . . . your neighbors, too! The third annual Cascade Blues Association rummage Sale is coming and your donated items are needed and welcome. This year’s sale will be held at The Bomber, 13515 SE McLoughlin in Milwaukie on Saturday, September 7th, from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm. Come on out Read more

Cascade Blues Society Picnic

Cascade Blues Society Picnic

Shelley Swaffer

Just one month until the picnic and this year promises to be a great time! This year we will be entertained by:

12:00 – 1:00 Sonny Hess & Vicki Stevens
1:00 – 1:45 Rae Gordon and Her Big   Band
2:00 – 300 Ken DeRouchie Band
3:15 – 4:15 Boogie Bone
4:30 – ? August in Blue

In between sets we will have a water balloon toss, a 3 legged race, piñatas and other fun activities to enjoy. There will be a craft area for the young folk as well as piñatas for them too!

The CBA will be providing the hamburgers, hot dogs, and beverages. The rest of the meal is pot- luck. So using the first letter of your last name we are asking you to bring:

A – C Chips, Dips or Veggies

D – H Hot Dishes

I – M Salads

N – Z Goodies or Dessert

Remember the picnic is open to all CBA members and their families. You can join or renew your membership at the picnic.

As always the picnic is held at Tomahawk Bay Moorage, in Jantzen Beach. 515 NE Tomahawk Island Drive Portland, OR 97217

See you all there!

Often referred to as “The Hendrix of the Sahara”, Vieux Farka Toure was born in Niafunké, Mali in 1981. He is the son of the late legendary Malian guitar player Ali Farka Toure, who died in 2006. His father recorded one of the greatest collaboration albums of all time with Ry Cooder, titled Talking Timbuktu, which won a Grammy and illustrated just how close the sounds of Western Africa and the blues actually were. Vieux Farka Toure continues to expand and broaden the sounds of his music, proving himself a more than exceptional guitarist and composer, paying homage to the musicians of the past while looking toward the future and showing that the blues is a blend of generations, from the father to the son.

Mali is a country under a great deal of strife these days. Religious insurgents in the North are attempting to take over the country and would ban music if successful. Listening to the sounds of Malian music show a direct link between their country and original blues. Come witness and listen for yourself before these artists may no longer be allowed to travel and perform this important music.

Vieux Farka Toure is touring to support his fourth solo recording, The Tel Aviv Session and will be performing at Mississippi Studios on Friday, June 28th for a 9:00 pm show. Admission is $22.00 advance and $25.00 day of show. Advance tickets are available through www.ticketbiscuit.com, mostly standing with a seated balcony.

Knockin’ Around These Blues
Delta Groove

When it comes to traditional Chicago style blues, pairing John Primer and Bob Corritore is a natural fit. The kind of match that Louis Jordan would’ve said goes together like beans and cornbread.

John Primer is a legendary guitarist on The Windy City scene, having cut his teeth behind the likes of Muddy Waters and Magic Slim; as well as building his own illustrious solo career. If you’re looking for one of the deepest, down in the alley blues guitar heroes, you need look no further than John Primer.

And although Bob Corritore may have spent the past three decades in Phoenix, make no mistake, this man was raised in Chicago and knows more than just a thing or two about delivering the greasy goodness of his hometown’s sound on the harmonica.

Knockin’ Around These Blues is a long time coming disc featuring these two masters together for the first time in a studio setting. There is no question they’ve obviously stood side by side on stage throughout the years, thrilling audiences with their satisfying interactions. So putting that magic together in something you can take home and enjoy eternally is a true blessing.

Most of the tracks found on this album are covers from the blues world’s best. Songwriters like Willie Dixon, Little Walter, Jimmy Reed, Lightnin’ Hopkins and Robert Lockwood Jr. But these numbers are not necessarily always the most-known and often overplayed selections from those greats. And when thrown into the hands of Primer and Corritore, you just do not care who wrote them anyway, because they come out alive and kickin’, gonna make you say “oh yeah!”

Delta Groove always has the know-how to combine their musicians with the absolute best artists to back them. Nothing different here, either. How can you argue with a stable of side-musicians that offer Billy Flynn and Chris James on guitars; Bob Stroger and Patrick Rynn on bass; Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith and Brian Fahey on drums; plus Barrelhouse Chuck on keys?

Chicago blues are certainly jumping with Knockin’ Around These Blues. It is a superb collection of that classical blues sound. Really hoping that this pairing develops into a partnership churning out more discs together. Very appetizing indeed!

Total Time: 55:34

The Clock / Blue And Lonesome / When I Get Lonely / Cairo Blues / Leanin’ Tree / Harmonica Joyride / Little Boy Blue . Just Like I Treat You / Man Or Mouse / Going Back Home