Page 58 - Blues Festival Guide Magazine 2015

Blues Flavors of the
Legendary Rhythm

& Blues Cruise

Blues cruisers on deck of the Legendary Rhythm &
Blues Cruise Photo by © Joseph A. Rosen
musical journey from classic blues to funk to hip-hop.
Pianist Lucky Peterson and his wife, Tamara, performed
some songs that were Sade-style smooth jazz that had us all

By katie martinelli, ozcat Radio, Vallejo, cA grooving.
For his latest album, Bluesamericana, Keb’ Mo’ brought
Some folks think that blues is one flavor. The musical elements of American roots music styles such as rock, folk,
gumbo served aboard January’s Legendary Rhythm & Blues bluegrass and R&B into his mix of home-country blues. With a
Cruise (LRBC) proved those folks wrong. roster of new original songs, he was well chosen to participate
A veritable smorgasbord can be found on these twice-a- in the cruise’s songwriter’s workshop.
year cruises. “Blues” is often a catch-all term for music that Taj Mahal incorporates elements of world music into his
has blues as the roots but has evolved and merged with other works. Taj has done much to reshape the definition and scope
musical styles – and there are dozens of them. of blues music over the course of an almost 50-year career, by
You have African blues, blues-rock, boogie-woogie, British fusing it with nontraditional forms, including sounds from the
blues, Chicago blues, country blues, Delta blues, Detroit blues, Caribbean, Africa and the South Pacific. He told us that right
electric blues, gospel blues, Hill Country blues, hokum blues, after the January cruise, he would play with the Hula Blues
jump blues, Memphis blues, New Orleans blues, rhythm and Band, his Hawaiian project. Not surprising, as Taj lived many
blues (R&B), soul blues, swamp blues and many more. years on Kauai and almost always sports a Hawaiian shirt.
LRBC’s Roger Naber, blues industry veteran for more than Tab Benoit took us on a trip through the Bayou swamps
34 years, serves all flavors of blues: “a multitude of the most of Louisiana with his style of swamp-pop to gritty blues and
diverse and talented blues and rhythm and blues bands on rootsy jams.
the planet,” he said. No wonder he’s twice been voted Blues “King of Accordion” Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco
Promoter of the Year. Hellraisers – well, the name says it all. Zydeco evolved in
It’s this broad interpretation of blues that keeps blues southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers and blends
cruisers coming back each year and entices new cruisers – blues, R&B and indigenous music from the Louisiana.
“virgins” – for the hand-picked lineup that embraces the many The Sunday Gospel Brunch provided a great opportunity
flavors of the blues. for exploring the relationship between blues and gospel, the
Take Bobby Rush, for instance. His shows throughout the secular and sacred expression of everyday life. Many of the
week of the January 2015 Caribbean cruise portrayed his performers, such as Mr. Sipp and Shemekia Copeland,

56 Blues Festival Guide 2015