If you like the blues, it's a good time to tune into Open Air on JPR's Rhythm and News Service.
Singer, songwriter and bassist Danielle Nicole returns with Fireflies, her fifth album of soulful Southern blues and rock. The Missouri native delivers a powerful, expressive vocal performance, backed by a tight band featuring standout work from guitarist Brandon Miller and keyboardist Jim Pugh. Rooted in the Southern blues-rock tradition of Little Feat and Bonnie Raitt, Nicole brings a voice that recalls Susan Tedeschi.
Guest guitarist Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars adds a touch of Delta flavor to Take Me Back, punctuated by a tasty slide guitar solo. On the funky, upbeat track Gaslight, Nicole takes on the familiar territory of a troubled relationship, turning a well-worn subject into a spirited, groove-driven performance.
Ryan “Bluwrath” Newman picked up the guitar at age seven. He started out learning Beatles songs before discovering Jimi Hendrix, an introduction that sparked a lifelong fascination with blues rock. By his early teens, Newman was reportedly playing riffs so advanced that even his guitar teachers struggled to keep up.
On his new album, Wrath of Blues, Newman puts his own stamp on blues classics associated with B.B. King, Elmore James, Mose Allison, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix. In a genre crowded with accomplished guitarists, standing out takes more than technical ability. Newman brings inventive solos, a willingness to move between styles and an ear for the intricate embellishments that give familiar material a fresh edge. Like many of his influences, he isn't simply reproducing the blues tradition—he's finding ways to advance it.
Here’s Newman’s 2021 version of Texas Flood, the Stevie Ray Vaughan classic that also appears on Wrath of Blues.
You may not think of music—or the blues—when you hear the name Morgan Freeman, but the actor has had a lifelong love affair with the Delta blues. In 2001, he helped bring that passion to his adopted hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, opening the Ground Zero Blues Club and later founding the Ground Zero Arts Foundation to support local musicians and preserve the region’s rich musical heritage.
Now Freeman is taking his passion for the blues in a new direction with Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience. As the title suggests, it’s an ambitious collaboration pairing contemporary blues veterans and emerging artists with the Chineke! Orchestra and the Ground Zero Blues Club Band, reimagining classic blues songs with a symphonic dimension.
Taj Mahal lends his unmistakable voice to Death Letter Blues, bringing a raw Delta feel to the orchestral setting.
Alvin Youngblood Hart sings and plays guitar on B.B. King’s The Thrill Is Gone, then switches to lead guitar behind Tierinni Jackson of Southern Avenue for a powerful take on Robert Johnson’s Traveling Riverside Blues. Other guests include Keb’ Mo’, Shemekia Copeland and Anthony “Big A” Sherrod.
Blues purists may be skeptical of putting an orchestra between themselves and the music, but the project works surprisingly well. The arrangements don't overwhelm the blues, but instead create a nice balance between the grit and soul of the blues players with the symphonic interludes of the orchestra.
The Blues is a proud American tradition and we're excited to explore its many facets, both old and new, as part of our mission of music discovery on Open Air. Tune in weekdays 9am - 3pm on JPR's Rhythm and News Service.
