Johnny Beaudine and Deep Blue - House of Jazz - Nov. 29

The Deep Blue Band played at the House of Jazz stage, Friday Nov. 29. 9:30 PM

"We'll be introducing a singer new to the Montreal scene. Her name is Elia Soul. She's a great singer with a repertoire that fits perfectly into our Chicago style. She'll sing jazz standards and blues. This is a show not to be missed."

That was what I wrote. On that Friday, we did on of our best shows ever. Eilia did a great job and the crowd loved it.

Two weeks ago, a guy from Chicago came in for the weekend and naturally he visited the House of Jazz. He frequents Chicago's famous Green Mill Jazz Club (so did Al Capone). He saw our band and joked, "I come from Chicago to Montreal, go to a club and what do I see, another Chicago band." When we say the "Real Deal" we mean it!

Jazz influenced Chicago blues is not the most well known of Chicago styles of music but it's great fun to play and hear. We're the only group in Montreal that presents this style and we've become very good at it. We keep adding new material and refining our show. Last week we added a swingin' version of "What Is This Thing Called Love" and a very bluesy version of "Stormy Weather". That's why we call it the "real deal". Our sound reflects the energy and intensity Chicago musicians are famous for. Our Monday night shows reflect Chicago's famous Blue Monday sessions. Clubs that featured this music dotted the south side of Chicago. Among them were the "Tropical Hut",  and the "Burning Spear" & currently, the Green Mill Lounge.

Deep Blue (Johnny Beaudine, Peter Mika, Gary McKenzie, Snooky Alston)
Come down and join us. 7:30 to 11PM. 

House of Jazz - 2060 Alymer   514-842-8856

You can find our video of "Work Song" on the House of Jazz website as well as a complete listing of our shows there. (House of Jazz.Ca)
Here's the link for Deep Blues " Work Song".

Johnny Beaudine and Deep Blue - House of Jazz - CKUT

Here's the link to my recent radio interview on CKUT radio. There's a few cuts from the Chi-Town Hustlers and I tell some stories about the legendary blues artists I had the great pleasure to both work with and know such as James Cotton, Otis Rush and Junior Wells. I'm looking forward to another interview.

Johnny Beaudine interview on CKUT

Johnny Beaudine and Deep Blue - House of Jazz - CKUT-

I had a great time being interviewed on CKUT(FM 90.3) radio's Cha Cha Cha in Blues show.

I really enjoyed the evening. We talked about the blues in Chicago, some of the legendary blues artists I've known and worked with. We played a few Chi-Town Hustler cuts and other some great music and swapped stories about the blues.

The interview is fun and you can hear it by going to the CKUT website show archives.

Johnny Beaudine and Deep Blue - House of Jazz - Little Red Rooster

We're warming up to go back to the House of Jazz on Monday (27).
We've some new tunes to try and as always we love to have our friends
come down to sit in with us.

Sylvia Harris sent me this video. Deep Blue and Sylvia, "Little Red Rooster"
I remember sitting at Big Duke's Blue Flame Lounge on West Roosevelt Road
in Chicago and listening to the great Howlin' Wolf sing this live.

"Little Red Rooster" Johnny Beaudine and Deep Blue with Sylvia Harris

Johnny Beaudine & Deep Blue - House of Jazz - About our Repertoire

One of the books I've been reading lately is "The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire" by Ted Gioia.

This comes Amazon.com's description of the book.

"Many books recommend jazz CDs or discuss musicians and styles, but this is the first to tell the story of the songs themselves. The fan who wants to know more about a jazz song heard at the club or on the radio will find this book indispensable. Musicians who play these songs night after night now have a handy guide, outlining their history and significance and telling how they have been performed by different generations of jazz artists. Students learning about jazz standards now have a complete reference work for all of these cornerstones of the repertoire."

I've learned a great deal about the songs in the Deep Blue repertoire and that gives

the playing of these songs a new perspective and a new depth.

I recommend the book to players and listeners.

Johnny Beaudine and Deep Blue - House of Jazz - "They Call Me Big Mama"

Here's a video shot during a show we did at the House of Jazz on May 3. This video features Sylvia Harris on vocals and Jeff Simons on drums as well as myself on tenor sax, Peter Mika on piano and Gary McKenzie on bass.

We were doing a tribute to Big Mama Thorton, organized by Doudou Boicel of Rising Sun fame, hence the tune, "They Call Me Big Mama".

Check out "They Call Me Big Mama"

Johnny Beaudine and Deep Blue - House of Jazz - Big Mama Tribute

This was the first outing of the full band. With Jeff Simon's on drums and Sylvia Harris
taking her place as featured vocalist, the band took rock solid form.

The House of Jazz was full on Friday and we took the stage after Taurey's group finished. The show was initially assembled by Doudou Boicel as a tribute to Big Mama Thorton, so we did quite a few tunes recorded by Big Mama. The band did "Watermelon Man" a Herbie Handcock tune that was also, strangely enough, recorded by Big Mama.

Jeff Simons did a great job on drums and took the band to a new level. Jeff fit in as though he'd been in the band since the start. Peter Mika was on fire on piano and Gary and Jeff were rock solid. Every time Sylvia sings with us her performance gets better and better.

A television producer from Ireland was in the house and filmed part of the show. He edited the video and we've got a great video of "Work Song" that we'll be posting soon.

The trio played Monday, May 5. We had a great crowd and it was fun night. We played some new material too. We'll be back on Monday May 12 with some surprises. Quite a few people in the audience have expressed how much they enjoy the way we blend blues and jazz. This combination was something I saw back in Chicago and was sure Montreal audiences would
respond to.