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.

Johnny Beaudine and Deep Blue - House of Jazz

After the Easter holiday we were back on Apr. 8.

Sylvia Harris came down as well as our friend Pat Loiselle.

Our first set was a real Blue Monday Chicago set. We opened with
"Kansas City" moved to Sonny Rollins' "St. Thomas" then we were
joined by Pat Loiselle in a tribute to Muddy Waters. Sylvia Harris joined
us next and did three smokin' tunes and the set ended with "Sweet Home Chicago".

That was the pattern for the evening.

We'll be back on Monday Apr. 15. That's one thing for sure about the Blue Monday
sessions. You can come down every Monday and never see the same show.
So come on down.  7:30-11PM.

Johnny Beaudine and Deep Blue - House of Jazz

Deep Blue did the Blue Monday Session at the House of Jazz on March 18.

This was the first Monday that we created that real Chicago Blue Monday feeling. 

There was a nice crowd and the trio did the first set. As is often the case, our friend Doudou Boicel was in the audience,
cheering on the band. Among the tunes were Sonny Rollin's "St. Thomas". The night really got rolling with the second show. We were joined by our first guest, our buddy, ace harmonica and guitar player, Pat Loiselle. Pat sang a few tunes and played some great harp. Next the lovely Marjolaine joind us on stage and sang "At Last". The set finished with "Sweet Home Chicago" with Pat joining on harp.

We kicked off the third set with Benny Golson's "Killer Joe". and Miles Davis's "Four". We were

joined on stage by our friend and sometimes Piano Rouge vocalist, Christine Ghawi. She sang a

great version of "Summertime" We got back in the blues direction with "Work Song". 

The last section of the set featured our special guest, Sylvia Harris, she started with "Hoochie Coochie Gal" and off we went. Pat Loiselle climbed back on stage with some killer harp work and a few more blues tunes. the night finished strong with the whole gang on stage.

This Monday night was a great example of the Blue Monday spirit. Everybody a had great time, new connections and friendships were made, and everybody went home with a smile on their faces.

Johnny Beaudine and Deep Blue - House of Jazz

Deep Blue did Monday Mar. 11.

Two great figures in Montreal nightlife were there. Georges Durst, the owner of the House of Jazz and the great Doudou Boisel. As I've mentioned before Doudou owned the Rising Sun and founded the Montreal Jazz Festival. Every jazz and blues great played at the Rising Sun.

Doudou and I have a mutual admiration society. Doudou heard everybody play so when he's happy you know you're doin' pretty well.  He also loves Peter Mika's very fine piano playing.

During the last set we tried out two New Orleans tunes for the first time.
They'll be in the repertoire from now on.