Joe Krown, 2 p.m.
Joe Krown made his way to New Orleans in the early 1990s. Soon, he hooked up with Gatemouth Brown and became his keyboardist for the next 10 years. Along the way, Joe has put together various side bands and has performed with musicians from Chuck Berry to John Lee Hooker to Vassar Clements.
In 2001, he won the Big Easy Award in the blues category. Krown was highlighted in OffBeat magazine. His third CD, Buckle Up, was picked as the number-four CD of 2000 by the Times-Picayune's music critic. OffBeat also selected Buckle Up as one of the top-20 CDs of 2000. Additionally, Krown has been a featured artist on the New Orleans radio, Louisiana radio, and most recently on InsideNewOrleans Web sites. The Joe Krown Organ Combo released Funk Yard in May 2002 at the House of Blues in New Orleans. Krown returns to the piano for his latest CD release, New Orleans Piano Rolls.
New Orleans Piano Rolls features traditional New Orleans piano music. It is a snapshot of what you might hear at Krown's solo piano performances. He carries on the tradition of the great New Orleans piano styles, beginning with ragtime and continuing into boogie-woogie and stride, all in the style of modern pianists.
Joe has held the traditional-piano-night slot at the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans since 1996, which was once occupied by Professor Longhair and James Booker. He is an outstanding contemporary piano player and New Orleans favorite.
- Laura Ernzen
Bryan Lee, 3:30 p.m.
Born in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, Bryan Lee completely lost his eyesight by the age of eight. His avid interest in early rock and blues was fostered through the 1950s by late-night listening sessions via the Nashville-based radio station WLAC-AM, where he first encountered the sounds of Elmore James, Albert King, and Albert Collins. Bryan remembers thinking he didn't understand the music but knew that's what he wanted to play. By his late teens, Bryan was playing rhythm guitar in a regional band called The Glaciers that covered Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry material. Through the '60s, Bryan's interest turned to Chicago blues, and he soon found himself immersed in that scene, opening for some of his boyhood heroes.
In January of 1982, in the midst of a particularly cold Wisconsin winter, Lee headed south to New Orleans, eventually landing a steady gig at the Old Absinthe house, becoming a favorite of tourists in the city's French Quarter. For the next 14 years, Lee and his Jump Street Five played five nights a week at that popular bar, developing a huge following and a solid reputation. Today Bryan is still keepin' the house rockin' in the Quarter. He has 10 CDs, but my favorite is Live at the Old Absinthe House Bar - Saturday Night.
- From the Web site of Bryan Lee; submitted by Mike Livermore
For more information: (http://www.braillebluesdaddy.com/home/).
Chris Thomas King, 5:30 p.m.
Blues musician Chris Thomas King was born Chris Thomas on October 14, 1962. He was raised in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and later added the stage name King in the time-honored fashion of both blues and hip-hop performers.
King began playing professionally at the age of nine at his father's Baton Rouge club, Tabby's Blues Box. By his early teens, he was rubbing shoulders with such legends as Slim Harpo, Willie Dixon, Lowell Fulson, and Buddy Guy, many of whom encouraged him to develop his own musical path based on his generation's music. King absorbed and played rock, soul, funk and the emerging urban style of hip-hop. "We didn't go to parties and listen to Skip James." he has said of his youth. "Instead, we might have listened to Rick James." The influence of such hip-hop pioneers as Run-D.M.C., Public Enemy, and NWA helped validate King's belief that melding hip-hop and the blues was a natural progression.
King infuses the African-American musical legacy with up-to-date relevance and now has nine studio albums to his credit. He is an innovative Grammy-winning musical artist and actor. He creates bold music that vividly expresses and reflects the times in which we live. He is known to millions for his acting role as blues legend Tommy Johnson in O Brother, Where Art Thou? and his musical contribution to its multi-platinum soundtrack album.
- Phil Koehlhoeffer
For more information: (http://www.christhomasking.com).
Kenny Neal & Family, 7:30 p.m.
With 10 slots to be filled with Louisiana artists/bands on Saturday, it was an absolute must that Kenny Neal and his father's Raful Neal's family be included to fill one of those slots. Raful fathered 10 kids, all of whom grew up playing the blues, with five of them becoming professional musicians.
The future of Baton Rouge swamp blues lies squarely in multi-instrumentalist Kenny Neal's capable hands; the second-generation southern Louisiana bluesman is entirely cognizant of the region's venerable blues tradition and imaginative enough to steer it in fresh directions as his albums for Alligator and Telarc confirm. His late dad, a harpist, was a Baton Rouge mainstay whose pals included Buddy Guy and Slim Harpo, who handed three-year-old Kenny an old harp as a toy one day, and that was it! At 13, Kenny was playing in his father's band, the Clouds. By the time Kenny reached 17, he was playing bass guitar with Buddy Guy.
In 1987, Kenny cut his debut album for Florida producer Bob Greenlee, initially marketed on King Snake Records as Bio on the Bayou. Alligator picked it up the following year, re-titled it Big News from Baton Rouge, and young Kenny was on his way. Kenny's sizzling guitar work, sturdy harp, and gravelly, aged-beyond-his-years vocals have served him well ever since. Alligator recorded five additional Kenny Neal CDs, and Kenny's new label, Telarc, has released two CDs.
Kenny brought his band to Mississippi Valley Blues Festivals in 1992 and 2001 and performed as a duo with masterful blues harpist Billy Branch in 2004. Kenny also performed at after-the-fest jams at festival hotels in 2001 and 2004.
- Jimmie Jones
For more information: (http://www.kennyneal.net).
C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band, 9:30 p.m.
We'll need plenty of room for dancing in the tent Saturday night, when C.J. Chenier and his Red Hot Louisiana Band take the stage. For those fans who love to dance, he's the man who provides the beat that moves their feet. He is the source of the infectious rhythmic music fueling the wild dance parties that erupt whenever he plays.
Clayton Joseph Chenier is the son of legendary zydeco master Clifton Chenier, the first Creole musician to win a Grammy award. Known as C.J. to his fans, he released his debut record - appropriately titled Too Much Fun - a few years ago on the Alligator label. "Too much fun" is exactly what happens whenever C.J. Chenier and his Red Hot Louisiana Band get together and play. The music grooves from the traditional zydeco of Clifton Chenier right on up to the modern funk, with a healthy dose of blues, R&B, swamp pop, and country, all the while infused with the urgency and energy of rock and roll.
C.J. joined his father's band playing saxophone at age 21. On the road, his father showed him how to front a world-class touring band. C.J.'s total mastery of the full-size piano accordion, his rich, satisfying vocals, and his background as a jazz and funk saxophone player are the driving forces behind this powerhouse zydeco band.
In 2005, just prior to the recording of his latest album, the Delta region was pummeled twice by hurricanes, which left much of Louisiana and C.J.'s hometown of Port Arthur, Texas, decimated. In the aftermath of the floods, C.J. began writing and recording a collection of songs in stark contrast to the upbeat nature of his past recordings. In essence, The Desperate Kingdom of Love is C.J.'s first solo album as a singer-songwriter. Reaching back to the deep southern roots of Creole music, C.J. has recorded a collection of some of the most heartfelt songs of his career.
The Boston Globe calls him "the crown prince of zydeco," and Living Blues magazine hails him as "the best living zydeco singer and accordionist."
- Ellen Clow
For more information: (http://www.concertedefforts.com/artists_cjch.asp).
