NORWICH – After seven days of music on 12 stages and more than 400 bands, Offbeat magazine, known as the bible of the New Orleans and Louisiana music scene, this week proclaimed Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings the biggest hit of the New Orleans Jazz Fest.
And they’re coming to Norwich!
The volunteer members of the Chenango Blues Association have once again outdone themselves, with not one, but two world-class artists scheduled for this year’s festival on Friday, Aug, 21 and Saturday, Aug. 22 at the Chenango County Fairgrounds.
Jones and the legendary Charlie Musselwhite, whose music is infused with 1960’s-San Francisco rock ‘n’ roll, both promise to blow away blues fans who attend the 17 annual Chenango Blues Festival, sponsored by Manpower.
Known as the Queen of Funk by audiences across the globe, Sharon Jones - along with her band the Dap-Kings - will tear it up on center stage in the final act of the night on Saturday. Audiences who prefer to sit back in their comfy lawn chairs and listen after a long day of blues and Dinosaur Bar-B-Que might want to think twice. Jones’ command of the stage is rooted from watching James Brown dance and sing; the two both call Augusta, Ga. their hometown.
“They’re calling her a cross between James Brown and Tina Turner,” said Eric Larsen, president of the association, who just returned from the New Orleans Jazz Fest himself. “You don’t ever miss her if you get the chance to see her. This should be the best show we’ve ever put on.”
Upon learning about this year’s line-up, Dinosaur Bar B Que’s catering director Lindsay Amorese said, “Awesome! We wouldn’t miss the festival. We love being there every year.”
Like many famous blues entertainers, Jones grew up singing in the church choir, as back up for local dance bands, and later, for dance records. She got her break In 1996 when she was called in to sing behind 70’s soul legend, Lee Fields for Desco Records.
Her subsequent long career with Desco Records brought hit singles such as The Bump & Touch, Damn It’s Hot, and You Better Think Twice as well as versions of funk classics I Got the Feelin’ and Hook & Sling. In the UK, a blossoming Deep Funk scene showed support for these Desco releases and paved the way for Jones and her then band, the ‘Soul Providers,’ first international tour in 1999. It was in England where her command of the stage earned her an overnight title as the ‘Queen of Funk.’
In 2001, some of the original producers with Desco Records formed Daptone Records, widely known for their debut release, the ‘Dap-Dippin’’ album. Jones’ back-up band became known as the Dap-Kings and its roster has included over time a veritable list of who’s who of the day’s Soul and Funk scene, including: Guitarist Binky Griptite, organist Earl Maxton, percussionist Fernando ‘Boogaloo’ Velez, trumpeter Anda ‘Goodfoot’ Szilagyi, baritone saxophonist Jack Zapata, and tenor saxophonist Leon Michels.
Warming up the crowd for Jones and her band is the blues’ most well-known and well-liked performer, Charlie Musselwhite. Chenango Bluesfest fans will be able to experience the music that helped elevate the guitar and harp master to his current position as one of the blues’ greatest living legends, and see for themselves why the San Francisco Chronicle declares, “He’s one of the best, and as a bluesman, he’s as real as they come.”
Musselwhite has deep roots in Mississippi, Memphis and Chicago, but it was in San Francisco where his album, “Stand Back!” became the first blues record in history to resonate with rock audiences. He performed in that city’s famed Fillmore Auditorium in 1967, and later lead one great West Coast band after another, featuring guitar powerhouses like Harvey Mandel, Luther Tucker and Fenton Robinson.
Blues grabbed hold of Musselwhite as a teenager. He took guitar and harmonica lessons from several of Memphis’ legendary traditional bluesmen, including guitarist Furry Lewis and the Memphis Jug Band’s Will Shade. In Chicago, he hung out and jammed at the famed Maxwell Street Market and in the smoky blues joints on the city’s South and West sides, frequently sitting in with legends like Little Walter, Otis Spann, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. Big Walter Horton took Charlie under his wing and Horton’s melodic sound became an integral part of Musselwhite’s style. Musselwhite made his recording debut with Horton on Vanguard’s storied, ‘Chicago!/The Blues!/Today!’ series.
In recent times, Musselwhite’s debut for Alligator Records, ‘Ace Of Harps,’ received a Grammy Award nomination in 1990. ‘Signature,’ which followed in 1992, reconfirmed the performer’s position as a world-class bluesman and pushed his music forward with horns and jazz chording. 1994’s ‘In My Time’ followed, and was hailed as Musselwhite’s most personal and powerful recording, receiving four stars from Rolling Stone magazine and another Grammy nomination. The musician appeared on Saturday Night Live and was the subject of a feature story on CBS Sunday Morning.
Sheffield’s Kerry Bio-Science of Norwich sponsors the main stage acts for the Chenango Blues Festival this year. The entire line up includes: the Honey Island Swamp Band, Harper and Chris Cain.
On the acoustic stage, sponsored by Nelson, Flanagan attorneys and Grouse Ridge kennels, are Eden Brent, Harper and a soon to be named act. The Frontier Communications’-sponsored Friday night show is free and features Mitch Woods and his Rocket 88’s, among other bands to be announced. For more details and show times, see the festival’s webset at www.chenangobluesfest.org.
Tickets go on sale June 1 at the following outlets: The Blarney Stone Pub, First Edition Book Store and the Chenango County Council of the Arts - all in Norwich; the Eighth Note in Oneonta; Music City in Binghamton and Cafe Domenico in Utica.
The Chenango Blues Association has been meeting regularly through the year to plan the annual event, which has helped to put Chenango County on the map in the world of music festivals. Association member and sound director Mark Norfolk missed this week’s meeting, however. He said he was feeling “a little bad” about it, but catching a taping of the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon show this week was well worth it.
“Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings were the featured musical guests. OMG. What an amazing group! I don’t feel bad about missing the meeting anymore,” he wrote in an e-mail to Larsen. “See you there!”