Festival Guide of Torrita Blues 2011

Festival Guide of Torrita Blues 2011

ALVIN YOUNGBLOOD HART’S muscle theory

The Cosmic American Love Child Of Howlin Wolf and Link Wray! Known as a musician's musician, his praises have been sung by everyone from Bob Dylan to Brit guitar gods Eric Clapton & Mick Taylor. Since his 1996 debut recording, the all-acoustic BIG MAMA'S DOOR, Alvin Youngblood Hart has carried his musical message the world over. A devout follower of the "no barriers" approach laid by veteran performers like Gatemouth Brown and the late great Doug Sahm, Alvin continues to defy the so-called purists. After receiving the 1997 W.C Handy Award for Best New Artist, as well as two Living Blues Awards, Hart's 1998 release, TERRITORY,

a rousing tribute to all forms of American music, received the Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll Award for Best Blues Album (and it wasn't even a Blues album). In the summer of 1999 Hart teamed up with producer Jim Dickinson to begin recording START WITH THE SOUL. This record would be hailed as a new breed Southern Rock classic and Alvin's return to the "sacred garage". START WITH THE SOUL was chosen by the New York Times as one of the top 10 releases of 2000, as well as the BBC's Blues record of the year. He also shared Living Blues Magazine's best guitarist honors with fellow road dog Big Jack Johnson in 2001. 2003 was a busy year. Not only was there a GRAMMY nomination, Hart also toured the world as a member of Job Cain, a hard rocking side project he put together with Cry Of Love/Black Crowes guitarist Audley Freed. I August of '03 Alvin was invited to fill in for Taj Mahal for five nights in Tokyo as a member of Kip Hanrahan's Conjure, the worlds longest running jazz poetry ensemble. Assembled to lend musical support to the words of Bay Area poet Ishmael Reed, Conjure featured the talents of tenor sax giant David Murray and also Meters guitarist Leo Nocentelli. Alvin is still a member of the revolving cast and recorded with them on the BAD MOUTH CD. In 2004 Mr. Hart received a Grammy for his contribution to BEAUTIFUL DREAMER :THE SONGS OF STEPHEN FOSTER. In the Summer of 2005 he released the self produced MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER, a rock guitar free-for-all, paying homage to fallen & missing rockers like Phil Lynott and Sly Stone. In 2006 Hart took time out to work on the film BLACK SNAKE MOAN. He served as a guitar tutor to star Samuel L. Jackson and recorded a duet with the film’s female lead Christina Ricci for the soundtrack. In the fall of that year Hart joined Austin dynamo Ruthie Foster and Rock n Roll legend Bo Diddley for a 2 month coast to coast US tour. Recently Alvin has thrown his talent into the educational arena. In April 2007 he participated on a tour of Mississippi high schools as a member of the Thelonius Monk Institute Of Jazz. The Summer of ’07 saw Alvin hit the big screen as a juke joint musician in the Denzel Washington directed film THE GREAT DEBATERS Hart continues to tour the globe as a solo artist and with his Mighty Muscle Theory band.

Festival Guide of Torrita Blues 2011

ZAC HARMON Born and raised in the heart of Jackson, Mississippi, Zac Harmon is a true disciple of the music that emanated from the city’s historic Farish Street district, universally recognized as the home of such great blues legends like the late, great Elmore James. While in high school and college, Harmon gigged as a guitarist for the likes of Z.Z. Hill, Dorothy Moore and Sam Myers. Relocating to L.A. in the early eighties, he worked as a studio musician and then established himself as a writer and producer, crafting songs for

the likes of the O’Jays, Whispers, Karyn White, Alexander O'Neal and Black Uhuru. Composing and performing music for a movie score, Harmon was compelled to pursue his longtime dream to return to his roots and record his first Blues project. The result was 2002’s Live at Babe & Ricky's Inn, an electrifying testimony to Mississippi Blues, which showcased the sound at its best and introduced Harmon as a true torchbearer for the “next generation of the Blues”. In 2004, with his then band, the Mid South Blues Revue, he won the Blues Foundation’s prestigious International Blues Challenge (IBC) title of “Best Unsigned Band". That release was followed by The Blues According To Zacariah, which garnered major national airplay, including XM, Sirius and the American Blues Network. XM listeners voted Harmon “Best New Blues Artist” in the inaugural XM Nation Awards in 2005. In 2006, Harmon won the Blues Music Award for “Best New Artist Debut” for The Blues According to Zacariah. Later that year, he was featured in Blues Revue magazine, as one of the 10 artists that “…represent the future of the blues”. 2007 saw Harmon named to the Blues Foundation’s Board of Directors and entering into an endorsement deal with Category 5 Amplification. In 2008, he released Shot in the Kill Zone in Europe, recorded live at the Lionel Hampton Room in Paris. He then signed with the Northern Blues label for his third and much-anticipated U.S. album, From the Root that was released April 2009. Harmon also marked his acting debut in ’09 with a major role in the independent feature film Black and Blue, which is to be released in 2010. Also, in 2009, he was honored for his career achievements in his beloved hometown at the Jackson Music Awards and weeks later in Nashville, the Jus’ Blues Music Foundation bestowed the “Little Milton” Guitar Award for “Outstanding Guitar Player” upon him. Zac Harmon entertained U.S. troops in Iraq and Kuwait in 2008 as one the stars of Bluzapalooza and while headlining “The Pizza & Pyramid Tour” of Sicily, Italy and Cairo, Egypt in late 2009, Harmon and company made history with a rare performance at site of the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx, making the ensemble only the second Blues act to do so; Louis Armstrong being the first. More recently, Zac was featured performer for the 2010 “Mississippi Celebrates its GRAMMY® Legacy” celebration, hosted by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, where he was presented with a Peavey Award by Peavey Electronics founder and CEO Hartley D. Peavey. The Peavey Award honors the state's many GRAMMY® winners and nominees as well as individuals who have played a significant role in developing and furthering Mississippi's musical heritage. Zac Harmon continues to tour internationally as an ambassador for the Blues.

Festival Guide of Torrita Blues 2011

RICK ESTRIN & The Nigtcats One day back in 1970, a 20-year old Rick Estrin had the opportunity to play harmonica with Muddy Waters and his band at the Sutherland Hotel on 47th and Drexel on Chicago's South Side. During the break, Muddy called Estrin over, shook his finger in his face, and shouted, "You outta sight, boy! You got that sound, boy! You play like a man, boy!" Rick Estrin ranks among the very best harp players, singers and songwriters in the blues world today. His

work on the reeds is deep in the tradition of harmonica masters Sonny Boy Williamson II and Little Walter Jacobs, while at the same time pushing that tradition forward. The Associated Press called his harp playing, "endlessly impressive." The great guitarist Robert Lockwood, Jr. (who was schooled by Robert Johnson and who played on most of Little Walter's Chess recordings) told Estrin, "Little Walter would be very proud of you." His award-winning original songs have been favorably compared with those of Willie Dixon and the team of Leiber and Stoller. And his hipster, street-smart vocals are the perfect vehicle for driving his songs home.

For more than 30 years and nine albums, Rick fronted the jumping, swinging Little Charlie & The Nightcats, featuring guitarist Little Charlie Baty. With Baty's recent retirement from touring, Estrin -- along with the Nightcats longtime rhythm section of J. Hansen and Lorenzo Farrell and a new member, fiery guitarist Kid Andersen -- takes the lead on his own. The band's debut album, Twisted, while still swinging the blues, is a harmonica-driven, rocking, guitar-fueled rave-up. Featuring 14 songs (including 10 Estrin originals, two by Kid Andersen, one by Hansen, and a superb band-created instrumental), Twisted showcases Rick's seemingly effortless command of the harmonica, his streetwise vocals and his remarkable original songs. In addition to his harmonica and vocal skills, Rick Estrin is a songwriter of unparalleled talent. Critics have compared him to Cab Calloway, Louis Jordan and Willie Dixon. Blues Revue declared, "Estrin has created some of the finest blues songs of any artist on the planet. His carefully wrought lyrics penetrate human weakness with the precision of a boxer, though more often than not, he chooses to leave you laughing after the blow's been struck." Estrin won the 1993 Blues Music Award for his composition My Next Ex-Wife and has written songs for a growing legion of famous fans. Three of his songs found their way onto Grammy-nominated albums: Don't Put Your Hands On Me (on Koko Taylor's Force Of Nature), I'm Just Lucky That Way (on Robert Cray's Shame + A Sin), and Homely Girl (on John Hammond's Trouble No More). Other artists who have covered Estrin songs include Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women, Little Milton, Rusty Zinn, Kid Ramos and Mark Hummel. "I like songs that tell stories," Rick says, "songs that are well-crafted and meaningful." Besides Dixon and Leiber and Stoller, Estrin cites Sonny

Festival Guide of Torrita Blues 2011 Boy Williamson II, Percy Mayfield and Baby Boy Warren as his major songwriting influences. Billboard noted that Rick writes "fabulous, remarkable original material."

Besides Estrin's songwriting and musical skills, he is among the most entertaining and colorful showmen around. His quick wit and his signature look -- coifed hair, pencil-thin mustache and sharp attire - add even more color to his performances. "People don't go out to see people who look like themselves," says Rick. "They want to see something special. I was schooled in this business to be a showman, and that's what you get when you come to see me perform."

Estrin was born in San Francisco, California in 1949, and grew up following his own path. He discovered an entirely new lifestyle when, as a 10-year-old boy, he made his way to the tough Market Street area and befriended many of the neighborhood characters. He discovered another new world when his older sister gave him a copy of Ray Charles' The Genius Sings The Blues when he was 12. Albums from Jimmy Reed, Champion Jack Dupree, Mose Allison, Nina Simone and others soon followed. By the time he was a teenager, Estrin

completely identified with the urban, African American culture surrounding him.

Estrin got his first harmonica at age 15, and by age 18 was proficient enough to begin sitting in at black clubs around the city. He first jammed with blues master Lowell Fulson and almost immediately was hired to open five shows for Z.Z. Hill. He worked five nights a week for almost a year with guitar legend Travis Phillips in a band fronted by famed pimp/bluesman Fillmore Slim (who was the centerpiece of the acclaimed Hughes Brothers documentary American Pimp). Phillips

introduced Estrin to Rodger Collins, the man who would become Rick's first real musical mentor, and who schooled Rick on the finer points of songwriting and show business. He moved to Chicago and worked with Johnny Young, Eddie Taylor, Sam Lay and Johnny Littlejohn before meeting and jamming with Muddy Waters. In fact, Muddy wanted Estrin to go on the road with him, but due to nothing more than a missed phone call, it never happened. Because of that missed connection, Rick eventually moved back to the Bay Area, met Little Charlie Baty and formed Little Charlie & The Nightcats. For the next 30 years, the band barnstormed around the globe, honing their skills and entertaining countless people. Now, as Rick Estrin & The Nightcats release Twisted and tour the country, they'll bring their raucous, rocking blues to fans both old and new. Clubs will be packed, dance floors will be filled and a guaranteed great time will be had by all.

Festival Guide of Torrita Blues 2011

Info about festival Torrita Blues Festival 2011 (23° edition): June 23th 8,30 pm Blues Dinner

MARTIN’S GUMBO – BLUESINDROME – TECARBLUE – BIG B. & THE FUNKY TINGLES – SLOW DRAGS (free entry)

(12,00 €) and Blues concert with the winner of Effetto Blues 2011 ITALIAN BLUES BAND

June 24th (since 5 pm to 8,30 pm) Blues market & “Blues in the garden” with Italian Blues band (at Giardini Pubblici – Free entry) 9.30 pm (Piazza Matteotti) Central stage AMANDA E LA BANDA ALVIN YOUNGBLOOD HART’S Muscle Theory ZAC HARMON June 25th (since 5 pm to 8,30 pm) Blues market & “Blues in the garden” with Italian Blues band (at Giardini Pubblici – Free entry) 9.30 pm (Piazza Matteotti) Central stage THE PILGRIMS GOSPEL THE TWISTER & ALICE VIOLATO RICK ESTRIN & THE NIGHTCATSd Tickets price: June 23 (Free Entry for concerts – 12,00 € for dinner blues) June 24 th 15,00 € June 25 th 15,00 € Pass for 2 days (June 24th – June 25th ) 25,00 € Pass for 3 days (dinner blues June 23 th + concerts june 24 th June 25 th) € 35,00 TICKET BOOKIN at www.torritablues.it (prenotazioni)

Festival Guide of Torrita Blues 2011

Contacts and info

Associazione Culturale Torrita Blues Via O. Maestri, 32 53049 Torrita di Siena Si Tel. +39 577 687572 P.iva. 01032500520 Web site: www.torritablues.it - www.torritablues.com email: info@torritablues.it

Group on Facebook: Torrita Blues Festival

Twitter Account: http://twitter.com/torritablues

Youtube Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/yagotv

Tourist Info

Ufficio Turistico / Proloco Torrita di Siena Via O. Maestri, 18 www.prolocotorritadisiena.it info@prolocotorritadisiena.it Tel e fax + 39 0577 686571