Blues museum

A member of an Atlanta touring band recently mentioned how a record label’s upcoming promotional push would help stem the attrition of the group’s aging core audience. Call it “a graying of the blues” — but it also happens in jazz, bluegrass, country and other forms of roots music that (ostensibly) one can grow old with. Maybe it’s caused by the arrival of a first child (or a second or third), a DUI and/or rehab stint (or a second or third), health issues, money trouble, job problems or the other nonsense that goes with getting older, but suddenly it seems pretty tough to justify being in a bar at 2 a.m. Still, it doesn’t change a person’s love for music or the desire to see live performances.

The above scenario is but one of the reasons for the resounding success of the Atlanta History Center’s annual “Nothin’ but the Blues” series, which unveils its 2002 edition Thursday and Friday with performances by guitarists John Hammond Jr., Larry Johnson and Atlanta bluesman Mr. Frank Edwards. Each of the four monthly programs has a theme; Hammond and the rest open with “Down on Decatur Street,” a tribute to pre-WWII Atlanta street singers.

Hammond is best known of this month’s trio of guests, having inked his first record deal nearly 40 years ago at the ripe old age of 20. The 63-year-old Johnson, who grew up in Riceville, Ga., and now lives in New York, performs in a percussive style that reflects his work with such Piedmont-style guitar innovators as the Rev. Gary Davis and Brownie McGhee. Edwards, a native of Washington, Ga., cut his first recordings in 1941 and is featured on the new Blues Came to Georgia CD issued by the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and the Music Maker Relief Foundation.

Now in its fourth year, the AHC series (organized in conjunction with Eric King and True Blues Productions), enables fans to get a laid-back, non-smoking, early startin’, early finishin’ view of some of the world’s finest blues artists. Compared to the typical blues venue, the kinder, gentler AHC setting is reminiscent in spirit of the ’60s folk blues coffeehouse. It allows performers to do their thing in a manner that is subtler, more articulate and often more personal than what they could get away with in a bar setting. This is especially valuable in the case of more elderly performers — Edwards, for example, will be 93 in March.

Past years’ programs have featured Jay McShann, Honeyboy Edwards, Snooky Pryor, Dave Van Ronk, Maria Muldaur, Henry Townsend, Alberta Adams, Howard Armstrong, Guy Davis, Precious Bryant, Big Al Dupree and many others.

The billing for this year’s programs is no less luminous. “Wild Women Sing the Blues,” slated for March 13-14, features Francine Reed and Delta Moon vocalist Gina Leigh, both based in Atlanta, along with Kansas City-based singer Myra Taylor. In the heyday of big bands and jump R&B, Taylor worked with Louis Jordan, Duke Ellington, Roy Eldridge and others, recording such hits as “The Spider and the Fly.”

The April 4-5 shows, dubbed “Yesterday and Today in the Delta,” will feature 86-year-old Robert Lockwood Jr., whose musical links date back to blues icon Robert Johnson; James “Super Chikan” Johnson, who at age 50 provides the contemporary portrait of Mississippi Delta blues; and James “Sparky” Rucker, who serves as both performer and moderator. The May 2-3 shows, “A Tribute to Muddy Waters,” may prove to be the rowdiest of the series, featuring longtime Waters band alums, pianist Pinetop Perkins and guitarist Bob Margolin, and an additional performer to be announced.

Atlanta History Center hosts the first of its “Nothin’ but the Blues 2002” programs — featuring John Hammond Jr., Larry Johnson and Mr. Frank Edwards — Thurs.-Fri., Feb. 7-8, at the AHC’s Grand Overlook Ballroom, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road. Show time is 7:30 p.m. 404-814-4150. www.atlhist.org. Johnson also appears Wed., Feb. 6, at Blind Willie’s, 828 N. Highland Ave. Show time is 9 p.m. $8. 404-873-BLUE.

Something Blue: Fans of California blues band Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers will be pleased to know that the band and its members garnered six W.C. Handy Award nominations this year, including: Blues Entertainer of the Year; Blues Band of the Year; Male Contemporary Blues Artist of the Year; Blues Instrumentalist, Harmonica; Blues Instrumentalist, Keyboards (Honey Piazza); and Blues Instrumentalist, Bass (Bill Stuve). Piazza’s early works, long out of print, are now available on CD, including his 1969 Bacon Fat recording with George “Harmonica” Smith and 1979’s The Chicago Flying Saucer Band. The latter laid the foundation for what became the Mighty Flyers. Find them both at www.tonecool.com. Speaking of CDs, Legacy Recordings has just issued Live Around the World: The Best of Junior Wells, a straightforward, you-are-there collection of 1996-‘97 live cuts from tours in E0urope, Japan and the U.S. They comprise the last official live recordings for Wells, who died in January 1998 at age 63. Visit www.legacyrecordings.com.

Blue Notes: Memphis R&B pioneer Rufus Thomas — famous for many things, among them his hit tunes “The Funky Chicken” and “Walkin’ the Dog” — died Dec. 15, 2000, at age 84. Piedmont folk blues guitarist John Jackson died Jan. 20 at age 77.

Talkin’ Blues covers blues and related subjects, with an emphasis on local artists, venues and events. Please e-mail or send your blues news to Bryan Powell, 830 Josh Lane, Lawrenceville, GA 30045-3156.??