Carnival of Soul

The Great Salt City Blues Concert was held at the Palace Theater in Eastwood on Dec. 27. As in previous years, legions of blues fans from near and far came to soak up the blues. The lineup and theme for the concert is put together by Blue Wave Records founder Greg Spencer. His idea is to celebrate the music of the blues greats and invite hand selected artists who he thinks would best perform those original recordings. The catch is that everyone that appears on the stage must have direct ties to the Syracuse area. This concert is the 4th in a projected 10-year run. Spencer’s theme this year was to celebrate the music of blues greats Albert Collins, Freddie King, Slim Harpo, Big Mama Thornton and Memphis Minnie.

The first guest was Mohawk Valley area guitarist Jimmy Wolf. His Delta/Chicago Blues and R&B influence was unleashed with a blistering version of “Brick” (Albert Collins) and (Slim Harpo’s) “I’m a King Bee.” He wasted no time getting down to business.

Tas Cru is a journeyman blues guitarist. He’s played all over the place. Those who came to see the late Butch Trucks perform with his Freight Train Band in Syracuse a few years back will likely remember that Tas was also on that bill. This guy represents all the things I think of as a frontman. He was commanding and led those he was performing with, often signaling with a simple nod. At times, he looked as if he was in a deep trance. Those on stage with him got their time to shine

[On stage, he was joined by Jerry Neely, Bob Purdy and Cathy LaManna to tear into (Freddie King’s) “Big Legged Woman” and “Same Old Blues” before turning up the volume on “Black Cat Bone”. Dunham Hall (sax) then joined to close with (Collins’ staple) “If You Love Me Like You Say” before the night ended with “Going Down”, the Freddie King classic.]

Auburn native Dawna Zahn ripped into “Hound Dog” (Big Mama Thornton), “Dynamite” (Slim Harpo), and “Tore Down” (Freddie King). She nailed all of them.

Jane Zell and Curtis Waterman paid tribute to Memphis Minnie’s music “Me and My Chauffer” and “Kissing in the Dark” with a tasteful acoustic set.

Mike DeLaney joined in with the band to perform “Sidetracked” and “Heads Up,” two of Freddie King’s better known instrumentals.

Auburn’s Diana Jacobs stepped up to belt out Big Mama Thornton’s “Ball and Chain” and “Wade in the Water.”

Mikal Seraphim brought the show to yet another level with his energized stage presence. His guitar playing draws from blues but it rocks and boogies with a jazz infusion. What he added visually was as important as what he added with his playing.

[Pictured here, from left: Diana Jacobs, Mikal Seraphim, Bob Purdy and Mike DeLaney. Delaney (guitar), Jerry Neely (keyboards), Purdy (bass) and Cathy LaManna (drums).]

With Pete McMahon (harp) and Dunham Hall (sax) joining in, the band performed a blistering version of “Shake Your Hips” (Slim Harpo). Dawna Zahn’s powerful, husky voice is commanding while her partner, guitarist Austin John Doody draws heavy influence from some well respected Texas legends, Jimmie Vaughan, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Johnny “Guitar” Watson and West Coast legend Junior Watson.

[Zahn and Doody are now Nashville based with their band The High Jivers.]

The house band for the evening was The Ron Spencer Band: Mark Gibson (vocals), Bob Purdy (bass), Ross Moe (drums), Bill Berry (keyboards) and Dunham Hall (sax) and Ron Spencer (guitar). This event was of special interest to me, to witness these artists performing songs that I really enjoy. Sure, musicians want to play and this is what drives them but this went beyond that. These musicians were visibly itching to play! The interaction was not only interesting to watch and photograph, but it made me wonder how many times they had performed with each other prior to the rehearsals for this show, if ever. The evening went very smoothly. The songs performed represent the best from the artists who wrote them and therefore were well known by these musicians and it showed. As an observer, it was clear these musicians fed off each other but as a photographer, the interaction I’m tuned into is visual, “the look” that musicians signal to each other. I’ve heard musicians comment on this many times, that those in a band say they watch the frontman/woman for cues. Perhaps it was the spark of watching veteran musicians who know these songs cold interacting with others who share their love of the blues but with whom they might not regularly perform with that gave this show the extra edge. Greg Spencer is to be commended for his vision to assemble a show like this. Let’s face facts, this show packed the Palace Theater where people paid to see local artists performing deep rooted blues.