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Big Band Blues and Big Band Boogie Woogie

NEW FROM NETA
BIG BAND BLUES WATCH THE FIRST FIVE MINUTES

BIG BAND BOOGIE WOOGIE WATCH THE FIRST FIVE MINUTES

CONTACT: JOHN PENNEY tunesailor@comcast.net 866-270-5141 or 248-798-5132

Koko Taylor, 1928-2009

The passing of Koko Taylor brings an end to the era when sharecroppers became Blues Divas. Born in an environment where Black women had little chance of success, Koko’s restless mind, curiosity, determination and enormous talent led her from the plantation to royalty as the world’s undisputed Queen of the Blues. Her life story is so rich that those of any dozen of today’s pop/rock stars combined would pale in comparison.

The American Music Research Foundation is proud to have documented much of that story, and to have captured a great performance in a setting befitting a great Diva. Our forthcoming TV program "Four Shades of Blues” offers perhaps the last opportunity to see Koko as herself, and helps us all understand her enormous impact on the music world.

Koko joins more than 60 artists who have been similarly filmed by the AMRF and whose greatness and contributions to American music will be forever preserved.

Ron Harwood
President and Founder
American Music Research Foundation

"Grammy Award-winning blues legend Koko Taylor, 80, died on June 3, 2009 in her hometown of Chicago, IL, as a result of complications following her May 19 surgery to correct a gastrointestinal bleed. On May 7, 2009, the critically acclaimed Taylor, known worldwide as the “Queen of the Blues,” won her 29th Blues Music Award (for Traditional Female Blues Artist Of The Year), making her the recipient of more Blues Music Awards than any other artist. In 2004 she received the NEA National Heritage Fellowship Award, which is among the highest honors given to an American artist."
Click here for more information from Koko's official site.

One magical evening, Two extraordinary programs...

There was magic in the air long before the band hit the stage for the 8th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival. The Award winning Paul Keller Orchestra had been rehearsing with local soloists Bob Seeley, Mr. B, Charles Boles, Dave Bennett and George Bedard for weeks during their regular Monday night gig at the Firefly Club in Ann Arbor, and the buzz in the street was palpable.

Three days before the show, Red Holloway arrived from California, and Axel Zwingenberger flew in from Germany. The interview shoots left the crew giddy. The dress rehearsal vibrated with chemistry and camaraderie. We knew we were going to capture something very, very special.

Within the first few bars of the opening number, Buddy Rich’s classic, “Basically the Blues,” the audience was whistling and cheering. Lindy-hoppers hit the dance floor. Executive Producer and AMRF President Ron Harwood drolly commented, “Well, I guess this was a good idea.” When the band launched into a rollicking version of “Sing, Sing, Sing” to close the first half of the show, he was on the dance floor himself.

It was well past midnight when the ecstatic house, still packed, demanded a second encore. By then it had become clear that one hour would not suffice to present this unique and exciting event. Instead we are proud to present two extraordinary programs: BIG BAND BLUES and BIG BAND BOOGIE WOOGIE. The programs are built around distinct narrative threads and stand alone, but when presented in this sequence they weave a tapestry illustrating the connections between blues, boogie woogie, swing music and jazz.

BIG BAND BLUES  SD Feed:  Friday, June 26 at 1200 et / SD 07
   (simultaneous HD feed on HD 03)
"If you cannot play the blues, you cannot play good jazz."
Red Holloway
"Some of the stuff John Coltrane and Miles Davis did was very, very innovative, but it was still the blues in the end."
Charles Boles 

International Boogie Woogie Honored in Houston

The American Music Research Foundation’s “International Boogie Woogie” was honored with a 2009 Gold Remi Award for Television or Cable Documentary at Worldfest, the 42nd Annual Houston International Film Festival. WorldFest is one of the oldest and largest film & video competitions in the world, with more than 4,500 category entries received from 33 countries in 2009. Awards were determined by points accumulated in juried viewings.

“International Boogie Woogie” documents solo and trio performances by four internationally acclaimed pianists at the 7th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival, augmented by interviews with the artists: Switzerland’s Sylvan Zingg, France’s Philippe LeJeune, and Canadians Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne and Michael Kaeshammer. Wayne emigrated from California, and Kaeshammer from Germany.

“International Boogie Woogie” was originally uplinked by NETA in MAy 2008, NOLA INBM OK1. It is the most recent of four nationally distributed documentaries produced by the AMRF, a non-profit based in Farmington Hills, Michigan dedicated to the promotion, preservation, and documentation of American music. “Motor City Boogie Woogie & Blues Festival” was released in 2005, “Boogie & the Blues Diva in 2006, and “Gen2 Blues” in 2007.

The AMRF will release three new programs this year. Companions “Big Band Blues” and “Big Band Boogie Woogie” feature the Paul Keller Orchestra with pianists Charles Boles, Mr. B., Bob Seeley, and Axel Zwingenberger; saxophonist Red Holloway; clarinetist Dave Bennett, and guitarist George Bedard. “4 Shades of Blues” features Ruthie Foster, Ana Popovic, Tommy Castro, and Koko Taylor.

Executive Producer and AMRF Founder Ron Harwood said of the award, “I began filming these shows 10 years ago simply to document and preserve the excellence and elegance of underappreciated artists and genres. I never expected to win awards, but I am proud of our group’s achievements.” Producer and AMRF Director John Penney added, “It’s particularly appropriate that we received this award in Texas, the birthplace of boogie woogie.”

In Words and Pictures: 10th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival

International Boogie Woogie: Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival

The American Music Research Foundation is proud to announce release of the fourth in our series of public television programs from the annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival.
INTERNATIONAL BOOGIE WOOGIE has been distributed to stations nationwide by the National Educational Telecommunications Association. Individual stations may air the program at any time at their discretion, so contact your local station and let them know you want to see INTERNATIONAL BOOGIE WOOGIE! For a listing of currently scheduled broadcasts click here and be sure to check back often - listings are updated daily.

A pianist with a ferocious left hand rolling through eight-beats-to-the-bar is what comes to mind when you think of boogie woogie. The four pianists in INTERNATIONAL BOOGIE WOOGIE provide plenty of that while approaching the music from different perspectives. Switzerland's Sylvan Zingg demonstrates that, "you can boogie anything." France's Philippe LeJeune is a jazz pianist originally inspired by boogie woogie legend Memphis Slim. Vancouver B. C.'s Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne learned boogie woogie from his church organist in Los Angeles, and Toronto's Michael Kaeshammer has been reinventing the genre ever since he heard boogie woogie as a child in Germany. The program ends with all four artists jamming in a classic eight-handed "train wreck." If you love the piano, the performances in INTERNATIONAL BOOGIE WOOGIE will amaze and inspire you.

WATCH  A 3 MINUTE TRAILER AMRF logo does not appear in actual program

ALSO AVAILABLE              

Gen2 Blues       
Boogie & the Blues Diva  

Contact:
boogie@amrf.net

Gen2 Blues comes to Public Television

WATCH FOR IT ON PUBLIC TELEVISION
BUY THE DVD WITH 75 MINUTES OF BONUS FOOTAGE

Childhood is different when your father is a famous blues musician; if you follow in his footsteps you bring a different perspective on music and history to your own artistry.  This is what unites the performers in Gen2 Blues: Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival. Kenny Neal is the oldest son of Raful Neal, Tasha Taylor grew up on the road with her father, Johnnie “The Wailer” Taylor, and Bernard Allison learned his first guitar licks by copying father Luther’s records.  Special guest Tito Jackson broke father Joe’s rule to not touch the guitar but if he hadn't it might not have been the Jackson 5.
  
Backed by the Phantom Blues Band these stellar performers create a joyous celebration of the blues. This program was recorded at the Royal Oak Music Theatre during the 7th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Festival in October 2005.

Click here  for rough-cut 3-minute sampler

AMRF Broadcast Schedule

AMRF programs are distributed via satellite to public television stations nationwide by the National Educational Telecommunications Association. Individual stations may record the feeds and may air them at any time at their discretion. Check here for broadcasts in your area - schedules are updated wekly.

Contact your public television station and tell them you want to see:

"4 Shades of Blues"

Station         Date      Day             Time          TZ             Market

South Carolina Educational Television covers the state of SC with 22 transmitters. Follow the link to find the broadcast in your area. The program will air on digital Channel .2
SCETV        Jan 2    Sat                 5:00pm     ET             South Carolina

KPTS           Jan 3    Sun               11:00pm    CT             Wichita, KS

KLRN           Jan 9    Sat                  9:00pm    CT             San Antonio, TX
                     Jan 10  Sun                 3:30am

WKAR         Jan 14  Thu                 11:00pm  ET              Lansing, MI

WPTO         Jan 15  Fri                   10:00pm  ET              Cincinnati, OH
                     Jan 16  Sat                   4:00am
                     Jan 17  Sun                  1:00am
WPTD         as above for WPTO                                        Dayton, OH
WPTOD2    Jan 16  Sat                   3:00pm
                                                           10:00pm
                     Jan 17  Sun                   9:00am
                                                            6:00pm
                     Jan 18  Mon                  2:00am
                     Jan 19  Tue                   5:00am 

WYBE          Jan 23  Sat                   8:00pm                      Philadelphia, PA

"Big Band Boogie Woogie"

WGTED2 Jan 13      Wed          9:00pm    ET            Toledo, OH
                  Jan 14      Thu            1:00am

Boogie & the Blues Diva
NETA Feed Sept. 2006

Station        Date        Day    Time          TZ                 Market