The Blues festival home made

Moscow, September 2003

Moscow and Russia have been waiting for a good reason. As soon as the US Congress assigned the year 2003 to be the Year of Blues Music, Russian capital advertised a new-born Moscow International Blues Festival ("Ochakovo-Blues"), dedicating the debut (which took place on the 4th to the 9th of September) to the 100-unniversary of the genre. If it compare to other domestic concerts and festivals (including festivals of Blues) the range of this one meets the standards of European music events.
Within the "Moscow's Day" celebration a multi-hours blues-marathon took place on "Dinamo"-stadium. The program was just grand and included famous names as well as brand new ones, the number of domestic and foreign participants was even, and the range of styles - quite wide. The diverse night-clubs program ran for a week and involved the best clubs of Moscow, where spontaneous unbridled "jams" have to be mentioned. The club "Forte" became an official center after a moment when the visitors of web-site www.blues.ru named it aka the best blues club in Moscow.
Though the Internet-translation is still in the future, loud tours to Woronezh and Vladimir actually happened. In general, it was Ok indeed with geography this time. Such domestic stars as Ragtime (Nalchik town), Blues Doctors (Yekaterinburg), Big Val, Svet & Al (Minsk), Alexey Baryshev & Blackmailers (Vladimir), J.A.M. (Nizhniy Novgorod), Big Blues Revival (St.-Petersburg), Ivan Zhuk & "Stanzia Mir" (St.Petersburg/Moscow) were there. Capricious and "star-desease" injured Levan Lomidze & Blues Cousins, Crossroads, "gods & expats favourite" Michail "Petrovich" Sokolov & Blues Makers, legendary and non-sinking Boris Bulkin & his Bulkin Blues Band, mysterious Doctor Agranovsky & Blues Spinners, Michail Mishuris & his orchestra, Nikolay Sadikov & Lonesome Blues Band, epatage-maker Yury Kaverkin & Wrong Way Band… To everyone's opinion among all the blues-"bandits" of Sweden, Germany and USA firstly must be mentioned the tradition-keeper, son of Jimmy Rogers and a friend of Taj Makhal, guitar-player and vocalist Jimmy D.Lane.
The festival can be market for it's special mood. Now it got clear what the earlier blues-events did miss: one can not learn to play blues, it must be in one's blood. There are actual blues dinasties, but it's also not that simple. In an interview with our magazine Jimmy D.Lane spoke it out: "If I'm a son of a legendary musician it doesn't mean yet that I was born with a guitar in my hands. The way to blues is not short for any of us. I've changed several civil and one military professions. And only than I determined myself to charge for listening to my music. When I was 30 years old, I decided to play the blues professionally and released my debut album. Fame didn't come easy. With origins like mine it's ease to get on the stage, but also they judge you more strictly. One top-line record company offered me to make my second album at their studio. Being 32 years old, I was the youngest musician working with them, twice younger than the others".
Lane introduced the modern Chicago blues to the Russians. A combination of firm and a bit heavy tune with traditional rhythmic, remarkable "slipping through" notes of white blues-rock and modern funk energy. Lane is really something with his misty vocal and inventive guitar. He uncovered perhaps the most sudden thing: to survive and get well in blues nowadays personality is more important than blood bonds. That's why Lane was ones distinguished by Eric Clapton, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Mick Jagger and Kate Richards. He had no chance yet to record anything with Bill Clinton, though he received a letter with gratitude for his disc, Lane had sent to the President before…
Should you hear the band " Knock-Out Greg & Blue Weather" for the first time, you would wonder: "Where are they from? Sweden? Impossible! Those Swedes can't play blues!" Well, they can. They do it even better than 80 % of quite known American musicians. Vocalist and harmonica-player Greger Andersson and his brother - a drummer - Marcus put the band together in 1987. Those unanimous people were united by their love to retro of 40-50-ties, when swing and jazz connected with Chicago-blues. As a result, styles of "west coast" and "jump" appeared. Nowadays they are among the greatest demand.
"Knock-Out Greg & Blue Weather" is a perfection on a stage. They work with traditional equipment and instruments, set up an exceptionally accurate sound. Everything is thought out: acoustical upright-bass, brass, harmonica, semi-acoustic guitar, valve amplifiers, tremolo effect…. Greg never overplays it, he never shocks with excess of notes. He reaches emotional feed back of the audience by means of "violence" towards his harmonica. And every time it's different. The repertory includes covers of accurately chosen compositions, but mainly it consists of Anders Lewen's own songs, conventionalized with retro music. Exquisite guitar of Lewen - as an unreleased classic of 40-50-ties. He stands in one line with such "columns" of guitar "west coast" blues as Rick Holmstrom, Junior Watson and Kid Ramos. Ramos himself ("Fabulous Thunderbirs") joked in this connection: "Swedes are not retro, they are unaccomplishments". Surely he meant their fresh and original interpretations. Anyway, today "Knock-Out Greg & Blue Weather" is among well-known European blues band, touring in Europe all year round, and they already have taken part in all significant festivals including Moscow.
"B.B. & The Blues Shacks" and their soloist Michael Arlt are already recognized on the continent by public as they exist during 14 years. the band performed at the biggest festival in Notodden (Norway) and at the prestigious Great British R'n'B Festival. They opened the recent World Festival of harmonica in Trossingen (Germany). The band passed a sort of exam in home-country of blues, in famous club Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago, where James Cotton himself used to play, a legendary master and prototype of Coppola's "The Cotton Club" character. Also this band is acknowledged the best by readers of the magazine "Blues News".
"B.B. & The Blues Shacks" played the songs of their own in Moscow, as well as standards and unknown classics. In their musical style the band goes from rhythm-&-blues of 50-ties with addition of powerful swing or "hang-loose gangster" shuffle, still avoiding cliches. Their music is fresh and hot. The band (as well as the rest of the participants of Moscow's festival) hopes that now Russia will add to the market of their CDs. For this purpose the band, who released 7 albums already keeps a reputation of the most active concert brigades in Europe, play up to 150 shows per year.
To cut it short, the beginning is the hardest thing, so the September Blues Festival in Moscow succeeded in concentrating the creams of the genre, removing all doubts of commercial or geographical demerits. There is not mush to wish to the new festival. To carry on to become regular. And to fix up its name.

Svetlana Funtusova
the magazine "Hi-Fi & Music"