A Chicago Blues Pilgrimage (Part 2 of 2)

Last issue, I shouted about Delmark Records in general and founder Bob Koester in particular, and this issue, I'm going to conclude my two-part Chicago blues pilgrimage with a preview of the Chicago Blues Festival and suggest a few must-do's for any blues fan's visit to the City of the Big Shoulders. I'll close with a heartfelt goodbye to my mother, Rita Steiner, who died in a tragic car accident last month.

Chicago Breakdown

Chicago Breakdown, the 22nd Annual Chicago Blues Festival, celebrates the 100th birthdays of Jimmy Walter, Big Maceo-Major Merriweather, and Meade Lux Lewis. The line up for Thursday, June 9th is dedicated to Lewis, with the Planetary Blues Band, After Midnight Blues, and the Steepwater Band on the Best Buy Stage. The Petrillo Music Shell has the city's hottest party on opening night: David "Honeyboy" Edwards' 90th birthday celebration.

Friday's sets are dedicated to Howlin' Wolf as he'd have celebrated his 95th birthday this year. Over at the Gibson Guitar Crossroads, I'd check out Robert Jr. Lockwood, and then get back to the Best Buy Stage to catch the Pat Smillie Band, harpman Scott Bradbury, and Liz Mandville Greeson. The night is reserved for Jody Williams and an all-star line up featuring Hubert Sumlin. Joining Hubert will be members of the Legendary Blues Band, including Pinetop Perkins, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin and Mookie Brill. After these legendary blues all-stars finish their set, I'll be ready for the night's closer, Koko Taylor. Is this a Chicago blues line-up from heaven or what? (Confidential to festival go-to guy Barry Dolins: THANKS, MAN).

Michael Powers is a new blues discovery for me, and his Onyx Root (Baryon Records) CD is excellent. He's playing on Saturday, and I hope to be front and center when Buddy Guy closes the night at the Petrillo Music Shell that night.

On Sunday, Lucky Peterson plays the Juke Joint, and Steve Arvey and Kraig Kenning play the Best Buy Showcase.

While the music is clearly the main reason to go to the Chicago Blues Festival, there are songwriters' workshops, opportunities to learn about Blues in the Schools from some talented young people, a soul cooking class, and discussions featuring some of the world's most talented blues writers. On Thursday afternoon, the Route 66 roadhouse features a workshop facilitated by Jim O'Neal entitled "A British Perspective" featuring Mike Rowe, Bill Greensmith, and Bob Hall.

Mike Rowe's excellent Chicago Breakdown is one of the blues' signature reference works, and it is the standard against which I measure any book on the blues. Rowe's insightful reporting and storyteller's gift make his 1975 book one of my favorite books on the blues. I like to think of Bill Greensmith as a worthy successor to Alan Lomax, as he's captured many stories of many legendary blues pioneers. Greensmith's re-telling of Henry Townsend's life in his award-winning Blues Life is a gem.

Rounding out the afternoon panel is Bob Hall. Bob Hall is a British piano legend who's played with the likes of John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Jimmy Witherspoon, Chuck Berry, Homesick James, Lightnin' Slim, Lowell Fulsom, Charlie Musselwhite, Snooky Prior, J B Hutto, and Lazy Lester, among others. Together, they'll give us a uniquely British perspective on the blues, and the festival is all the richer for their contributions on Thursday afternoon.

There's a whole lot more to this year's Chicago Blues Festival than what I've highlighted here, and I encourage you to visit their website.

Thanks, Mr. Koester!

Rest assured that I'll drop back on in Bob Koester's Jazz Record Mart downtown and give my record collection another helping of Chicago blues. The 50th Anniversary Boxed Set from Delmark is a treasure trove of blues and jazz that is an encyclopedia of music discovered by Bob Koester. This five-disc set features two jazz discs, two blues discs and one DVD that includes a documentary honoring Bob Koester and a video collection of recent studio work at Delmark's Riverside studios. It's a fitting tribute to a man who's been steadfast in his dedication to bringing a range of jazz and blues artists to the marketplace.

He's got a ear for jazz and blues, and his jazz artist roster ranges from Windy City Six, Art Hodes, Dinah Washington to Sun Ra. On the blues discs, I turned up Big Joe Williams' "Midnight Creep," Lurrie Bell's "Got My Eyes on You," and Otis Rush's "I Can't Quit You Baby." You can buy the jazz and blues CDs as individual releases, but spring for the box set, because the DVD nicely compliments the music.

Willie Kent's Make Room for the Blues is another outstanding Delmark release from a bass player who has laid quite a foundation in the Chicago blues scene. He's a regular at Blue Chicago, and has been going strong for five decades in the blues.

Francine Griffith is one mighty songbird. Koester captured this jazz vocalist in the studio in 1991 and 1998, and the results are magical. For fans of classic (and classy) jazz vocals, I'd recommend Francine Griffith highly. I particularly liked "Two Little Words" and "If I Were a Bell" for the sax solos of Hank Ford and Mike Smith.

I'm making plans to get to Chicago Breakdown, and I also hope to visit some other important places in the Chicago blues scene, including Buddy Guy's Legends and the Blues Heaven Foundation. South Side blues has a special place in my heart, and I hope to check out a vibrant blues community anchored by clubs like Lee's Unleaded Blues on South Chicago, Tommy's Place in Blue(s) Island, the Harlem Avenue Lounge in Berwyn.

A Heartfelt Goodbye, Mom

Finally, I'd like to close this second of two installments saluting Chicago blues with a short vignette about my mother, who recently died in a horrific car accident.

My sister Lisa Steiner hydroplaned on a rainy coastal road near Ocean Shores, Washington, and the car tumbled three times before landing on its roof. Mom was pronounced DOA, but she was revived at the scene. The next day, we decided to end her life as she had no brain function. Writing about the blues for Cosmik Debris is a rare privilege, and the feedback I've received from this very caring and compassionate online musical community has been heartfelt and welcomed. That said, I dedicate this column to my late mother, Rita Jo Steiner. I'll close with a story that captures her rock and roll spirit.

I was away at Illinois State University when tickets for the Rolling Stones (and Southside Johnny and Peter Tosh) went on sale for their Soldier Field show in the 70's. Mom volunteered to stand in line at the Park Forest Plaza to get the tickets. She was likable and very talkative. She talked to everybody, even to Latin Kings or soldiers of the Black P-Stone Nation at the bus stop. At night. On the South Side. Mom wrote poetry, sang, and always was supportive of my ability to put pen to paper. When I worked late at the Chicago International Film Festival, she always had a hot meal on the table, even at three in the morning when I returned home on the Illinois Central.

She called me at my dorm after she bought the Stones tickets. I was ecstatic; I would finally get to see the Glimmer Twins live for the first time. I was too young for their ‘72 tour behind Exile on Main Street.

"Eric," she whispered conspiratorially. "I got the tickets, but I want to tell you about a young man I met in line. We were talking about music, and after awhile he offered me a drink. Eric, he had a half-pint of whiskey in his jean jacket and wanted to share it with me! I politely told him that I didn't drink Jack Daniels for breakfast. He seemed happy about that. They all were kinda scraggly, but after we got talking about music, they were really nice kids. I sang them songs from the 1940's. Some wore Harley colors, and I was the oldest one there. By lunchtime, they were all calling me Mom."

Connecting through music across generations? A rock and roll Mom, indeed. Rita Jo Steiner, 1925-2005.

© 2005 - Eric Steiner