Robert Lee Coleman celebrated his 68th birthday yesterday. Having the opportunity to work with Coleman has been a privilege; after all, he is, in part, responsible for the fledgling funk and soul sound of James Brown’s Hot Pants and Live at the Apollo and all the earth shattering rhythm guitar playing therein. As a teenager, I poured over these recordings and attempted to emulate them, abusing and overusing my wah pedal, making what I thought was a very funky sound.  A few years ago, I was sent a video of James Brown performing on the Night Train TV show. At that time, Coleman was playing in the band and I watched as he stood there like a statue, not an effects pedal in sight, pouring out that funky rhythm. It was a true revelation.

“Raisin’ Cain” from Robert Lee Coleman’s 2011 Music Maker release One More Mile is a further revelation. It opens with Coleman’s guitar playing a tune that is melodic, fractured, frenetic and astounding. It conjures the vision of a child who has just eaten way too much candy. Coleman’s ornaments sound like teeth chattering, ticks and hickups and then very passionate momentary decisions that take him and the listener in a completely different direction. The overall effect is singular, distinct and deeply funky. It has made him popular with noted guitar builder Paul Reed Smith (who gifted him a custom guitar), Los Lobos, Jimmy Vaughn and others. Listen and find out what we are all drawn to. Birthday messages can be sent to Robert Lee Coleman 3062 Pionono Ave Macon, GA 31206.

– Aaron

Buy One More Mile here!

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Kickstarter has launched! Support it now!

A new film, TENTH, by current filmmaker and former MMRF intern Tom Ciaburri, shines new light on Ironing Board Sam’s decades-long career, and a Kickstarter campaign launching May 13th will help get that film out to the world.

Check out the Kickstarter here!

Sam has secured a little-known but much deserved place in America’s musical history. Now, he’s resurrected himself at age 73 to become Living Blues’ “Comeback Artist of the Year” in 2012. TENTH tells this story, and reveals in a deeply personal way what drives him as an artist – it explores the definition of success, and ultimately concludes that true success can only be found in oneself.

Filmmaker Tom Ciaburri says, “This movie is a journey exploring the dark consequences of chasing a dream. There is no guarantee of success, and I’ve made a film that makes that brutally clear in a very honest way. But Sam is still making music today… because he re-defined success as something to be achieved within himself. He’s found peace.”

“People need to see this film because Sam is an artistic genius that has yet to be recognized. He’s had a creative renaissance at 73-years old. But he’s not in it for the money, or for fame – not anymore. Sam just wants to connect with people, and make music. And it’s great music. We just need help to get TENTH out there so people can see that- which is what the Kickstarter is all about.”

Ciaburri became interested in documenting Ironing Board Sam after meeting him through Music Maker Relief Foundation. He was intrigued by Sam’s incredibly positive outlook on life and his career, despite decades of obscurity and poverty. What started as a short promotional film became a deeply personal project focused on an incredible man.

Tim Duffy, Founder of Music Maker Relief Foundation, says, “Ironing Board Sam is an American musical pioneer – he has been performing in a supremely innovative way for over 50 years. TENTH is a unique opportunity to really see what an artist like Ironing Board Sam is all about – the film gets to the heart of why Sam is a performer, and how he keeps going. I’ve been a personal fan of his ever since I saw his colorful tour bus in Asheville, NC in 1981. He is one of the most amazing artists I have ever worked with – and anyone that sees TENTH will find out why. He has a magical charisma and an unmatched talent for R&B music.”

Make sure you’re on our email list to receive more Kickstarter info - sign up here!

Follow TENTH on Facebook!

More: Check out photos of Ironing Board Sam at Orange Charter School performing with students!

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Listen: Follow Your Heart’s Desire

Photo of Pura Fé and Charly Lowry by Aaron Greenhood and Tim Duffy

When I sent Taj Mahal the album that includes this track, he described Pura Fé as, “A beautiful songbird who transcends time and brings the message of our ancestors who have sown this beautiful seed… a voice soaring, a foot stomping.”

At the beginning of the first recording session [for the album, Follow Your Heart's Desire, in 2004], recording engineer Sol Creech and I sat with Pura Fé, coaxing out the songs.  She knew exactly in her mind what she wanted to come out of her guitar but she still lacked the expertise to play a song from beginning to end.  Sol – who I had been working with since he was a teenager and who had spent his summers with me, traveling the South making recordings – is a talented musician and a man of great patience.  He recorded Pura Fé’s guitar parts and stitched them together in the computer for her to listen to, and recorded the parts again until she was satisfied. This process took long hours late into the evening, but Pura Fé and Sol did not stop until every track was to her satisfaction.  She was an artist re-birthing herself and she treasured the Music Maker studio, which, at that time, had no cell reception and is filled with photos and relics of the many artists. Pura Fé told me, “I feel like I am working inside an altar surrounded by my musical ancestors.”

The late Willie Lowery was present at the session. An educator, activist, legendary musician, Willie dedicated his career to cultural politics.  His presence at the sessions lent a confidence and a sounding board to Pura Fé as she built this album.

When the music was complete Pura Fé  was ready to lay down the vocal tracks and she needed no help. When she sings, your senses are filled, all thoughts disappear, and her voice and message and being transfix you.

– Tim Duffy

To see when Pura Fé is performing at Jazzfest, click here!

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Have you heard? Generous supporters have offered to match any gift you make to Music Maker before June 30th – up to $80,000, and only if we hit that goal. Thanks to all your support so far, we’re over halfway there! But we can’t make it all the way without you.

If you have already given, we thank you! Please, be an advocate for Music Maker and send this link to a friend – someone who may not know about all we do to preserve the music that shaped America’s culture. If you haven’t yet given, this is a perfect time.

You’ll help artists like Robert Lee Coleman, who greatly needs a Sustenance Grant for new dentures – his health depends on it.

You’ll help artists like Ben Payton, who is working with the Musical Development program to record an album, get booked across the country and in his new home state of North Carolina, to ensure he has an income in his elder years.

You’ll help students, like those at Orange Charter School, meet, learn from and perform with artists like Ironing Board Sam - increasing their appreciation for Southern Roots music and educating them about our musical heritage.

We cannot provide these programs without your support – you are all that stands between our artists, our Southern Roots, and obscurity. Please give today.

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On the 15-track album, Rhiannon plays banjo and fiddle on the album in addition to singing. Lalenja lends her vocals, along with her skillful poem and songwriting.

Tim says, “Rhiannon Giddens showcases her lifelong musical partnership with sister Lalenja, through gospel duets, old-time music and original poetry. Mixing these three genres has never been done before on one album, especially by artists of this magnitude. We are so lucky that these brilliant and virtuosic sisters have teamed up to bring this art to the world.”

The songs and poems on I Know I’ve Been Changed were inspired by a range of styles and musicians, from gospel to banjo finger picking—from Billie Holliday to Ola Belle Reed. I Know I’ve Been Changed will be officially released on April 30, 2013, and is currently available for special pre-release in our shop. The album was recorded in April 2010 at Music Maker Studios by Tim Duffy and produced by Ardie Dean.

Check out the Giddens Sisters album here!

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Listen: Here Come the Girls

In our past twenty years, there are many artists Music Maker has worked with; some needed more help than others. In the case of Ernie, photographed here with legendary Bluesman Taj Mahal, he needed assistance with paying for his medicine, and with the opening of his “Mother-In-Law Lounge” in New Orleans. The name comes from his 1961 hit, “Mother-In-Law,” and while Ernie’s life certainly had it’s ups and downs, the club went on to provide Ernie and his wife with stability and recognition. Ernie passed in 2001, and New Orleans gave him the largest funeral parade the city had seen in years.

“Here Come the Girls” is an upbeat, classic tune that gets me in the mood for the upcoming Jazzfest. Many of the Music Maker artists I listen to tend towards Piedmont Blues – raw and unfiltered, just a man and his guitar. This is just as good – but very different. It’s the sound I’ve heard on Ironing Board Sam’s old records from the 1960’s, something that I might get my relatives who shun “the Blues” to consider. (Perhaps as a gateway to broadening their musical horizons.) Digging through the stacks – that’s why we call them Diggins – is such a great way to discover something in our catalogue that you never had the slightest idea was there. This song makes me want to look up “Mother-In-Law,” which I have a feeling will get me even more jazzed for Jazzfest.

–Corinne

Want something else to get you in that Boogie Woogie mood for New Orleans? Check out Ironing Board Sam’s “Ninth Wonder of the World” here!

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I was listening to the local jazz station on my way into work this morning and Kenny Burrell’s “Chitlins con Carne” came on. Kenny Burrell is a jazz guitarist and composer who’s style is deeply influenced by blues and his musical surrounding growing up in Detriot, MI. When I got into work, I trolled across Spotify for more Burrell and found the album Blues – The Common Ground. What Kenny Burrell is referring to in his album title is specifically the 12-bar blues, a standardized chord progression. For almost all musicians, the chord progression is a familiar one and so among musicians who may be freshly acquainted, it is a musical common ground. That inspired to reflect on this week’s Diggin’ by Cootie Stark & Neal Pattman.

Some of the most heartening experiences I have had at Music Maker are helping arrange and make introductions between our partner artists. Smiles and laughs are a guarantee as is great music. Reaching back to Music Maker’s beginnings, Tim has arranged and been there for these marvelous moments with his recording equipment cued up and ready to go. Many magical moments have been captured.

This week’s dig may not be a standard 12-bar blues, but John Henry is firmly in the canon of Country Blues and the two playing, Neal Pattman and Cootie Stark had both been playing it since they were boys.

Tim recalls the first time Cootie and Neal met, their boyhood was long gone. It was at a Blues Revue performance at the Charlotte Blues Festival, a low-key event that happened only once. Nevertheless, it was an important time for Cootie and Neal, upon meeting they were fast friends, exchanging numbers and making plans to play again. They went on to tour 42 cities with Taj Mahal and the Winston Blues Revue. When Neal recorded, Cootie and Taj backed him up. When Cootie recorded, Neal and Taj backed him up. This recording of John Henry in its great beauty shows the great music that can happen as a result of the work of Music Maker, its supporters and the great musicians we partner with.

– Aaron Greenhood

*John Henry is an unreleased track, but albums from Cootie Stark and Neal Pattman can be found here on the Music Maker Store.

*Need more Diggin’ in your life? Check out last week’s Diggin’ here!

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The Music Maker Blues Revue will perform at Shakori Hills Music Festival in Pittsboro, NC this weekend. If you’re at the festival, you can see Ironing Board Sam, Pat Cohen, Boo Hanks, Bubba Norwood, Ben Payton, Captain Luke, and Ron Hunter in the Cabaret Tent at 8pm on Saturday, April 20!

Music Maker holds Shakori dear to our hearts, and strives to present amazing live performance there every year. We also run a popcorn stand, feeding hungry festival-goers, and further educating the public about Music Maker – stop by and visit with staff, volunteers and artists any time!

This year, we’re bringing our “Music Maker Kissing Booth” back from Australia – conveniently housed in our Popcorn tent, the kissing booth was a hit at Byron Bay and promises to be just as popular at Shakori. Visit the booth for a chance to smooch a blues performer! (Hugs are also available.)

Also new this year: even if you’re not at Shakori, you can experience the Blues Revue performance! It will be broadcast live on WCOM in Carrboro. Visit wcomfm.org for streaming internet radio, or turn your dial in the Triangle area to 103.5 FM at 8pm!

If you’re still not sold on this weekend, would several of our artists giving you some tips on your Blues entice you? Captain Luke, Big Ron Hunter and Ironing Board Sam will be running a “Blues Workshop” at 4pm on Saturday. Bring your questions!

Also look for: Music Maker Next Generation Artist Lakota John playing at the Outpost and the Coffee Barn Stage.

We do have to post a shameless plug for Corn and the Colonels (featuring MMRF’s very own Artist Services Coordinator, Aaron) who are playing at the coffee barn at noon on Saturday and 2pm on Sunday. Come out and see their very fun Pan-American show!

More information about the festival at shakorihillsgrassroots.org.

Want to find out what else is going on? Make sure to check out our Tour Schedule.

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Listen: What Can A Man Do But Sing the Blues

“Here was the deep, common core of humanity singing of its suffering and stoicism,” read a Sydney Morning Herald article about Dr. Burt’s recent performance with the Music Maker Blues Revue. Although I have yet to see Dr. Burt grace the stage in person, I believe those sentiments, especially after listening to his song “What Can a Man Do But Sing the Blues?”

Dr. Burt’s grisly and scratchy voice pours over his original lyrics, communicating his seventy-something years of experiencing life. “The blues is my life, to tell you the truth,” he once told Music Maker. “It is what I have lived and what I have seen.” He references working at Ford Motor, a job that he held when he lived in Detroit, Michigan in the ‘60s. It is actually Dr. Burt’s automotive skills that led him to, by chance, repair Aldolphus Bell’s van a few years ago. Adolphus brought Dr. Burt’s talent to Music Maker’s attention and he soon became part of our family.

Our Artist Services Coordinator Aaron just recently returned from accompanying Dr. Burt and other Music Maker artists on a tour across Australia. Aaron told me of Dr. Burt, “To be in his presence is soothing, and his (singing) voice is the same way.”

– Margot

Photo by Zach Ingbertsen

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