Jazz & Blues Florida March 2022 Issue

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SISTER LUCILLE TE

by Larry Kay

MARCH 1 FUNKY BISCUIT BOCA RATON MARCH 2 ENGLEWOODS ON DEARBORN ENGLEWOOD

Hailing from Southwest Missouri and deeply inspired by the musical legacy of Memphis, Sister Lucille has turned the worlds of blues, roots and soul on their collective head and created their own genre – Memphunk! Kimberly Dill’s power-packed vocals and Jamie Holdren’s searing guitar work drive the band’s head-turning live performances and earworm-worthy songs, and have been winning them fans across the globe since forming in 2014.

After advancing to the IBC semi-finals in 2015, and being voted Most Promising New Artist at the 31st Music Pioneer Awards in Memphis in 2016, Dill and Holdren began expanding the core of their funky, soulful, blues sound, tweaking detail after detail as they continued to grow as a songwriting MARCH 5 team. They signed to Endless Blues Records in 2018 COTTONMOUTH and began recording what would become their debut KITCHEN album, ALIVE soon after. Released in late 2019, ALIVE BRADENTON immediately captured the ears of the blues world, MARCH 7 garnering airplay on over 100 stations worldwide SEVILLE and becoming a mainstay on the Blues-Rock Top 50 QUARTER Album Chart for and astounding 22 straight months.

PENSACOLA Along the way they won the 2020 Blues Blast Award for Best Debut CD, and also received three Independent Blues Award Nominations for Best New Artist CD, Best Soul-Blues Artist and Best Contemporary Blues Song (“Devil’s Eyes”).

MARCH 4 BARREL ROOM FORT MYERS

Taken off the road by pandemic like everyone else, they recorded a new single, “Gone,” in mid-2020

and released it as a limited-edition red vinyl 45; the track was also featured in the January/February 2021 issue of Relix magazine. The band recently returned to the studio to record their new album, Tell The World, with Memphis icons Reba Russell and Dawn Hopkins (AKA the Blue-Eyed Bitches) handling the production duties. Mixing for this one, as with ALIVE before it, was done by another industry legend, Jim Scott (Tedeschi-Trucks, Wilco, Tom Petty). While the band has yet to announce what label they’ve teamed up with for this CD, those who’ve been fortunate enough to hear the songs – many of which populate their current live set – have been singing its praises.

“Even though we’ve been a band for seven years, I feel like we’ve really come a long way in a short time,” Dill comments. “Jamie and I have been playing music together since we were 18. We live in Springfield, Missouri, which is pretty much not a music mecca, but once we went to Memphis we got bitten by the blues bug so hard we knew there was no turning back. Once we had the band together things happened pretty fast. We got into the IBC after only being around for six months and playing a handful of shows, and it just rolled from there. Even though Jamie and I have been playing together for more than half our lives, ALIVE was my first go at writing. Jamie said, ‘you’re preaching to the women and womenfocused, and I can’t write lyrics that side of our audience, it doesn’t make any sense; it’s time for you to write’ so I did! As soon as I showed him these songs his response was incredibly enthusiastic,

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TELL THE WORLD he said it was exactly what he was getting at.

Once I brought my perspective into the writing it not only helped establish a direction, it also gave Jamie more room to write all the music.

“Aside from finding my voice as a writer, I really had to find my voice as a singer from a recording perspective, since I’d pretty much only focused on being a live performer up until that point. We’d become close friends with Reba Russell in the past few years, and she was our vocal producer on the first album; she really helped me find my voice, it was like having one of the last pieces of the puzzle fit perfectly in place.”

If ALIVE was the culmination of one journey, the ensuing two years have brought an all-

new highway to travel. Between the pandemic, adding new bassist Reed Herron to complement longtime drummer Kevin Lyons and bring deep funk grooves to the band’s sound, beginning to hit the road again and recording Tell the World, Sister Lucille’s orbit has begun to have its own musical gravity, one that draws you in and doesn’t let go. More at sisterlucilleband.com.

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S P O T L I G H T MARCH 4 AND FIRST FRIDAYS JAZZ JAM ARTSERVE FT LAUDERDALE

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Nicole Yarling

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, nine-year-old Nicole Yarling would jam on the violin with her father. Her musical education is extensive and ongoing, from a BA in Music from Baruch College to a Masters in Music Education at Columbia University to private training in composition, arranging, voice and violin.

The late great vocal legend Joe Williams “discovered” Yarling and took her on as his own project, with Joe Williams Presents Nicole Yarling at the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild as the result. Sadly, Williams passed away before the release of his final work. Yarling currently serves as an Assistant Professor and Director of Popular Music at Florida Memorial University. She also served as Adjunct Professor at the University of Miami. Her concert series, Jazz Encounters, at Miami radio station WDNA led to her creation of the Jazz Education Community Coalition, where she mentors young musicians with an interest in studying jazz. She did a coaching stint along with Betty Wright for Little Dreamers, an organization established by Phil Collins to help young performers fulfill their dreams. In Ft. Lauderdale, Yarling serves as Educational Director and host of a monthly jazz jam for young musicians, First Friday Jam, sponsored by the Gold Coast Jazz Society. The Jazz Journalists of America acknowledged her efforts when she received the Jazz Hero Award for 2015. The following year, Yarling was inducted into the South Florida Jazz Hall of Fame. More at people.miami.edu.

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S P O T L I G H T MARCH 26 BLUE TAVERN TALLAHASSEE

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Libby Rae Watson

Growing up a few blocks from the Gulf of Mexico in in Pascagoula, Mississippi, young Libby Rae Watson stumbled across a blues songbook in a local music store. It was the beginning of a lifelong infatuation with the music, the people who made it, and the culture of her own state. She was mentored by the great Sam Chatmon, the last surviving member of the 1930s historic and influential Mississippi Sheiks. Watson’s distinctive voice, storytelling, finger style picking and gracious manner have attracted fans worldwide and she has dedicated her musical life to educating the world about Mississippi’s musical history. She won the Blues Society of Indianola Blues Challenge as a solo performer in 2015 and 2016, and with duo partner Wes Lee as Sweet ‘n’ Salty in 2017. And after placing as a semifinalist at the International Blues Challenge in 2015 and 2016, Sweet ‘n’ Salty made to the finals in 2017. the duo still tours, as does the Jericho Road Show featuring Watson and Lee along with fellow musicians Rambling Steve Gardner and Bill Steber. An appearance at the 2019 National Women in Blues Showcase in Memphis, TN was followed by the 2020 release of She Shimmy, featuring world-class mandolin player Bert Deivert. The CD was nominated for a Blues Blast Magazine Award, and features other blues greats like Eric Bibb and Charlie Musselwhite. Watson has played many festivals and music venues throughout the South and Canada, including the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, King Biscuit Blues Festival and Juke Joint Festival. More at libbyrae.com.

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S P O T L I G H T j a z z with CHUCK OWEN’S JAZZ SURGE MARCH 23 PILARS MARTINI WINTER GARDEN

Sara Caswell

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FROM A PHOTO BY EMMA MEAD

Grammy nominee Sara Caswell is recognized as one of today’s foremost MARCH 24 jazz violinists, known for USF her lyricism and technical CONCERT HALL facility. She began playing TAMPA violin at age five, studied MARCH 25 with two legendary giants EFSC-SIMPKINS (Josef Gingold - classical, CENTER David Baker - jazz), made COCOA her orchestral debut at 15, earned degrees from Indiana University and Manhattan School of Music, and has amassed more than 100 awards in the jazz and classical competition worlds. Voted into the DownBeat Critics and Readers Polls every year since 2013, Caswell’s artistry and unique sound are showcased on two highly-acclaimed albums under her own name – First Song and But Beautiful – with a third due in 2022. In addition, she and her sister, vocalist Rachel Caswell, have released a project entitled Alive in the Singing Air featuring multi-Grammy-nominated pianist Fred Hersch. Sara has been part of groups led by such artists as Esperanza Spalding, Linda Oh, David Krakauer, and Chuck Owen, and has performed and/or recorded with numerous artists and ensembles including the WDR Big Band, Brad Mehldau, Brian Blade, John Patitucci, Fabian Almazan, Laila Biali, Regina Carter, Jenny Scheinman, Mark O’Connor, Kishi Bashi, and Bruce Springsteen. Currently on faculty at the Berklee College of Music, Manhattan School of Music, The New School, and New York University, Caswell is a member of Joseph Brent’s 9 Horses, the New York Pops Orchestra, and was part of the house band for NBC’s weekly variety show “Maya & Marty” starring Maya Rudolph and Martin Short. More at saracaswell.com.

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S P O T L I G H T b l u e s MARCH 11 BONITA SPRINGS BLUES FESTIVAL BONITA SPRINGS MARCH 13 STAGE WEST PLAYHOUSE SPRING HILL

Terrie Odabi

Few vocalists own the stage like Terrie Odabi. Performing original blues straight from the soul, Odabi’s compelling arrangements create a contemporary sound that support her witty lyrics and compelling voice. Raised in Oakland, CA, Odabi’s 2014 Bear Family Records debut, Evolution of the Blues, featured a host of Bay Area greats including guitarist Christoffer “Kid” Andersen, who was featured on the smoldering albumclosing version of Elmore James’ classic “The Sky is Crying.” A finalist in the 2014 and 2015 Bay Area Regional Blues Challenge, Odabi was named Best Female Blues Artist at the 2015 Black Music Awards. Her 2016 follow-up, My Blue Soul, was ranked among Living Soul’s Top 50 Albums of the Year, and nominated for a Blues Foundation Award (BMA). Odabi herself has since received 2020, 2021 and 2022 BMA nominations for Soul Female Blues Artist. For the past couple of years, she’s been gathering online regularly with a group of women blues artists to talk about the state of their industry. “Black women find it very difficult to make any headway in the blues scene,” she said. The women have organized around the petition “Artists, fans, allies for equity and equality in the blues,” written by Toronto blues artist Shakura S’Aida and blues singer Annika Chambers, focusing much of their attention on the Blues Foundation. “We go to Europe and Brazil and all over the world, and the blues is revered and loved,” she says. “It’s here in the U.S. where we have the lack of recognition and lack of respect.”

Let’s change that! More at terrie odabi.com.

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S P O T L I G H T MARCH 19 APOPKA INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL APOPKA

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Lori Williams

Acclaimed international jazz and soul vocalist Lori Williams is in possession of a most impressive resume as a performing artist, music educator, songwriter, producer, vocalist and musical theater actress. She conducts multiple church, community and concert choirs, and runs clinics through her organization - Positive Music for Positive Minds. Williams’ annual summer vocal jazz symposium and tour have taken her to Europe, Japan and across the U.S., performing in festivals and conducting vocal jazz workshops. She has received many teaching and performing honors, including letters of recognition for her performances by President Joseph Biden, Speaker of the House John Boehner, and Maryland Senator C. Anthony Muse. Hailing from Washington, DC, Williams was the Jazz Program Director for her Hampton University radio station, WHOV-FM. In 1988 Williams took a train to New York City to compete on TV’s “Showtime at The Apollo.”

Over the ensuing decades, Williams has worked with such notable artists as Oleta Adams, David Archuleta, Eric Benet, Stanley Clarke, Nick Colionne, Will Downing, George Duke, Savion Glover, Slide Hampton, Stanley Jordan, Marion Meadows, Najee, Gerald Veasley, Kim Waters, and many more.

Williams has produced and released six independent CDs and one EP under her label LoriJazz Records, from 2010’s Healing Within to her latest, 2021’s A New Book. This is her only scheduled Florida show in Florida before summer tours of the southeast U.S. and Europe. More at lorijazz.net.

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S P O T L I G H T MARCH 12 BONITA SPRINGS BLUES FESTIVAL BONITA SPRINGS

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Shaun Murphy

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FROM A PHOTO BY GARY ECKHART

Early in her career and already a presence on the Detroit music scene, Shaun Murphy landed roles in two life-changing musicals: Hair and Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band On The Road. That led to a recording contract with Motown Records, along with Meatloaf, to record their duo album Stoney And Meatloaf. She then joined Bob Seger’s band, starting with the recording of “Katmandu.” When Seger took a break from the road, Murphy recorded backing vocals for Eric Clapton’s Behind The Sun album and joined him for the tour. Back on the road with Seger, Murphy met up with Little Feat and ended up providing backing vocals on their Let It Roll CD. She continued to tour with Seger, mixing in stints with such notables as Bruce Hornsby, Joe Walsh, Glenn Frey and The Moody Blues. She joined Little Feat as a full member in 1993, and spent the next 16 years with the group before leaving to pursue a solo career with her debut Livin’ The Blues. In 2013 she won the Blues Blast Female Blues Artist Of The Year, and Best Contemporary Blues Album Of The Year for Ask For The Moon, and earned three Grammy nominations. 2019 marked her final tour with Seger. In 2020 Murphy released her tenth CD, Flame Still Burns, and received two Blues Music Award nominations and five Independent Blues Award nominations. An all-covers album is in the works. While being in-demand on the festival circuit, she can still be heard around Nashville’s scene. More at shaunmurphyband.com.

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S P O T L I G H T j a z z

Mari Mennel-Bell Holding a dual Masters degree in Elementary Education (K-6) and Music Education (K-12) and a Masters degree in Social Work, Mari Mennel-Bell has worked for The Children’s Television Workshop as a researcher, as an independent consultant on “Using Music to Teach Reading,” and in a program designed to use music and lyric writing to motivate students with low reading scores. A 1998 relocation to Fort Lauderdale found Mennel-Bell with one child each in elementary school, middle, and high school. Their challenges inspired her to create an experiential, hands-on approach to academic skills by creating JazzSLAM (Jazz Supports Language Arts & Math), which uses students’ interest in music to help them understand the inherent underlying structures found also in language arts and math. She received 2014-2020 Herb Alpert Foundation grants from the Jazz Education Network. To date, JazzSLAM has offered presentations to more than 70,000 students in both public and private schools, and their inschool South Florida presentations are a part of The Gold Coast Jazz Society. JazzSLAM is thrilled to offer a JEN/JazzSLAM partnership to offer the FREE hour-long national JazzSLAM presentation via the website.

Mennel-Bell has also worked extensively as a solo pianist/singer and in duos, trios and quartets. When she’s not attending live performances in the community, she performs in venues throughout Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. As a member of the world drumming group Mondo Vibe, she performs on African djembe drum. More at jazzslam.com.

JAZZSLAM.COM

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S P O T L I G H T b l u e s MARCH 4 RED SHED TALLAHASSEE MARCH 8 BLUE TAVERN TALLAHASSEE

Blues Meets Girl

Mr. Downchild and Kasimira met at a jam session, and it was immediately evident that their musical styles were complimentary. Later, Mr. D would MARCH 11 invite Kassy onstage at his ICE COMPANY APALACHICOLA gigs to sing a couple of tunes, and soon Blues Meets Girl was MARCH 13 formed. These two bold artists PAPA JOE’S weave their influences and PANAMA CITY experiences together to create SEE WEBSITE down-home, smokin’, sexy FOR MORE blues. Their passion resonates on the original songs they write for and about each other, as well as on unique renditions of classics by Muddy Waters, Etta James, Big Mama Thorton, Elmore James and Sonny Boy Williams. 2021 Regional Winners of the International Blues Challenge representing North Central Florida Blues Society (NCFBS), the duo were on similar trajectories before they even met. By age 15, Mr. Downchild had performed on the London Theatre stage and TV. Then he discovered the blues, specifically the Delta/Chicago blues. Self-taught on harmonica, guitar and slide guitar, Mr. D has toured half the states and produced six albums.

Also an early bloomer, by age 17 Texas-born singer/songwriter Kasimira had performed in concerts and theatre productions. Following a degree from the University for Musical Theatre, she continued to sharpen her skills as lead singer of several bands and has two CDs. Their current heavy schedule reflects their dedication to the music and woodshedding for the 2022 IBCs where they’ll be again representing the NCFBS. More at bluesmeets girl.com.

MARCH 10 HALF SHELL DOCKSIDE APALACHICOLA

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FESTIVAL UPDATE

MARCH 4 • ZEPHYRHILLS Pigz in Z’Hills BBQ & Blues MARCH 11 • BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Blues Fest MARCH 19 • APOPKA Apopka International Jazz Fest MARCH 26 • TALLAHASSEE Backyard Blues @ Blue Tavern MARCH 26 • CASSELBERRY Spring Jazz & Art Festival APRIL 15 • POMPANO BEACH Pompano Beach Jazz Festival MAY 19 • NEW SMYRNA BEACH New Smyrna Beach Jazz Festival

CLICK FOR OUR COMPLETE JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL LIST!

INFORMATION WAS CORRECT AT TIME OF POSTING Send updates to Charlie@JazzBluesFlorida.com 22