From the first notes of Candice Ivory’s New Southern Village, it’s obvious she’s no shrinking violet. She’s in your face and unabashed, reminiscent of a young Tina Turner. Ivory, who daylights as a music instructor at Washington University in St. Louis, says she understands that blues is a global music with roots in the American […]
Bill’s Belated Blues-Based Best of 2019
Well, it’s that time of the year again, and after awakening from my yearly food coma, I realized I hadn’t compiled my annual inexpert list of favorite blues-based albums. Well, here we go: Â Jimmy “Duck” Holmes – Cyprus Grove. A collection of earthy originals and covers from the last of a breed of Mississippi Delta […]
Jimmy “Duck” Holmes – Cypress Grove
Jimmy “Duck” Holmes’ Cypress Grove is a great album that I almost missed. I may have been slow to check this release out, but I’m happy I finally got to it. It encompasses everything the blues is supposed to be. The son of sharecroppers and the owner of a juke joint himself (you can see […]