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Events
PRESS RELEASE
5 July 2009
LUNCHTIME CONCERTS ANNOUNCEMENT
As part of the Gloucester Blues Festival, the EBA will hold a free acoustic blues guitar workshop on Thursday 30th July from 11am to 1pm followed by a free one hour lunchtime concert from 1pm to 2pm. Michael Roach will conduct the workshop and perform at the concert. On Friday 31st July, the Ragtime Jug Orchestra will perform from 1pm to 2pm. The workshop and the concerts will take place in the EBA's resource centre on the 2nd floor of the Music and Drama Library in Gloucester.
_______________
PRESS RELEASE
17 March 2009
JUG BAND
WEEKEND IN CHELTENHAM 4th AND 5th APRIL
The 1st Great Weston’s Cider Jug Band Jamboree will
be held at the Fiery Angel, Hewlett Road, Cheltenham on Saturday
4th April from 12:30 until late, and from 12:30 until
4pm on Sunday 5th April.
The European Blues Association is organising a ‘Jug Band
Jamboree’. So, what is a ‘Jug Band’? According to Michael
Roach, Director of Development for the EBA, “Jug Bands were said
to be in existence in the early 1900s in Kentucky. They were
composed of black musicians playing mainly improvised
instruments, of which the whisky jug substituted for the
trombone or sousaphone in the vaudeville and Dixieland bands in
music halls and on riverboats. The style spread into Mississippi
and Tennessee where it provided entertainment in bars and on the
streets. Jug bands were essentially there for people to dance
to, so the music was up-tempo and uplifting. The popularity of
the bands peaked in the Great Depression of the late 1920s and
30s. It was good time music for bad times!”
We are very pleased that Dr. Paul Oliver, one of the leading
authorities on the history of blues and African American music,
will be giving a talk at the event on Sunday starting at 3:30.
His knowledge of the subject is encyclopaedic, and he met many
of the original performers when researching his book
‘Conversation with the Blues’.
The Jamboree is a fund raising event for the EBA organised by
trustee Dave Wade. Many musicians have volunteered to perform
at the event, including Gordon Wood and Phil Bird, Hey Negrita,
The Ragtime Jug Orchestra, Steve Kent, Abie Budgen, Swing from
Paris, Colin Hartley, Bill Pullen and My Name is Earl. The
range of musical styles reflects the diversity in jug band
music; blues, jazz, and country. Be warned, some performances
will involve serious audience participation! Kazoos, washboards
and jugs will be provided, so come along and jam. On Saturday
evening, internationally renowned bluesmen Michael Roach and
Eddie Martin will be playing in concert.
Further details on the event are available
from Dave Wade on (01242) 691 380, or via
www.myspace.com/jugbandfestival .
Tickets for Paul Oliver’s talk
are priced at £5 and the Concert tickets £10. These are
available from the venue. All other performances are free. The
event is being generously supported by Weston’s Cider.
_______________
On Saturday 1st November,
we will host a free one hour 'Introduction to Country Blues Guitar'
and 'Introduction to Blues Harmonica'
Workshop. The programme will start at 11am.
John Anderson from the ‘Ragtime Jug
Orchestra’, a popular acoustic group of which he is the leader, will
conduct the guitar session.
He
will teach the basic skills to play country blues guitar. The
harmonica session will be conducted by Peter Wheat, a well known
harp teacher with an instruction book published by Hal Leonard.
Peter will cover all aspects of how to get started playing blues
harmonica.
At 1 o'clock, we will present the film, ‘The
Land Where The Blues Began'.
Produced in the late 1970s, folklorist Alan Lomax travelled to
Mississippi with filmmaker John Bishop and folklorist Worth Long
and made this film about the African American music he found
there.
Following the film, there will
be an acoustic blues jam session led by John Anderson and Peter
Wheat. Bring along your instruments and join in on the
fun.
Schedule:
11am - 12 noon 'Introduction
to Country Blues Guitar'
–
John Anderson
12 noon - 1pm 'Introduction to Blues
Harmonica'
–
Peter Wheat
1pm - 2pm Film 'The Land Where The Blues Began'
2pm - 3:30pm 'Acoustic Blues Jam Session'
_______________
PRESS RELEASE
13 Oct 2008
The European Blues Association
incorporating the Archive of African American Music is proud to
announce the Grand Opening of our Resource and Activity Centre.
To mark the
occasion, we are organising a series of events and activities.
Starting with a joint presentation with the University of
Gloucestershire, we are co-hosting the ‘Celebration of the
Richard Wright Centennial’ on Friday 17th October at the
Francis Close Hall,
University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham GL50 4AZ. Richard Wright (1908
–1960) was one of the great African American writers of the mid
twentieth century. The event will run from 6pm to 9:30pm and
the admission fee is £5. It will take place in Lecture theatre
TC001, Foyer, and Chapel.
Schedule:
6.15pm -
7.15pm 'GROWING UP WITH RICHARD WRIGHT: A LEGACY OF PAIN
AND RESILIENCY' – Julia Wright, Paris
Julia Wright, the elder daughter
of Richard Wright is well known as a journalist working in
Africa during the 1960s and 70s and has been a long time civil
rights advocate.
7.15pm - 8.15pm 'RICHARD
WRIGHT AND THE BLUES' – Professor Paul Oliver, Oxford Brookes
University
Paul Oliver was a personal friend
of Richard Wright and is one of the world's leading authorities
on the Blues. Through the European Blues Association, Paul has
donated some of his extensive collection of material to the
university in the Paul Oliver Collection of African American
Music and Related Traditions.
8.20pm - 9.30pm Chapel –
Refreshments and Music by acoustic blues duo Michael Roach
(guitar) and Johnny Mars (harmonica)
Michael Roach is from Washington, D.C. He
sings and plays guitar in an East Coast
style of blues that dates back to the 1920s. A widely recorded
musician, and cultural arts performer, Michael has promoted
African-American culture through the use of blues music. Johnny
Mars is a
songwriter/harmonica player and vocalist born in
1942 in Laurens, South Carolina. He first recorded in 1967 with
his band ‘The Burning Bush’ for Mercury Records.
On Saturday 18th,
25th October and 1st November, we begin
with the first in a series of ‘Tuition, Films and Music Making’
programmes. This event is free to the general public and will
take place in our resource centre in the Music and Drama Library
in Gloucester. We will teach DJ’ing skills, blues guitar and
harmonica followed by a film. After the film, we will have an
acoustic jam session led by well-known blues artists.
On Saturday 18th
October, we will start at 12 noon with a ribbon cutting ceremony
to mark our official opening. We will present the film, ‘Blues
Like Showers of Rain’. Paul Oliver produced the film and he
will be on hand to give a brief talk before the broadcast.
Following the film, there will be an acoustic blues jam session
led by Michael Messer (the UK’s leading slide guitarist), Johnny
Mars (harmonica), and Michael Roach (country blues guitarist).
_______________
Our Most Recent Event
Thanks to everyone who attended our Grand
Inaugural Event in Gloucester on the weekend of Friday 30th
March to Sunday 1st April
2007.
Grand Inaugural Event:
The European Blues Association,
Euroblues Promotions Limited and the Gloucester Guildhall presented an ‘Acoustic Blues Weekend’ of workshops, jams and
performance. The event was part of the activities for
Gloucester City to celebrate the centennial of the Wilberforce
legislation that abolished slavery in Great Britain.
Other
activities included a talk by Paul Oliver called 'A
Conversation with Blues Enthusiasts - Founding the EBA Archive'.
The talk took place in the
Music
& Drama Library, Greyfriars, the future home of the EBA.
_______________
Past Events
The European Blues Association
presented a free guitar and harmonica workshop on
Wednesday, 2nd August and a series of
three lunchtime concerts at the Music and Drama Library (our
future home) in Gloucester city centre. The workshop and concert series
were all part of the
Gloucester International Rhythm and Blues Festival from the 29th
of July to the 6th of August 2006. The event was
sponsored in part by the Gloucestershire County Library Services,
Summerfield Trust and
the Central Gloucester Initiative.
Schedule
Tues 1st Aug, 13:00 –
Concert featuring ‘Jook Joint’ (John Anderson and Alan Draisey)
an acoustic duo who plays entertaining rag time and country
blues.
Wed 2nd Aug – Workshop
11:00 to 13:00 & Concert (13:00) featuring Jerry Ricks (guitar)
and Ben Hewlitt (harmonica). Jerry Ricks is probably the most
important active link to the past, present and future of
traditional blues. From 1959 to 1970, he became friends with,
learned from and performed with many of the great blues legends.
Ben Hewlitt is the author of ‘Chugging!’ which introduces the
concept of rhythm harmonica playing over a series of backing
tracks in a variety of styles.
Thurs 3rd Aug 13:00 –
Concert performance featuring Abie Budgen, a wonderful roots
music guitarist, singer/songwriter. Her debut CD, 'How Chakori
Found The Moon & Other Stories' is original and has a strong
blues base.
_______________
'Blues Week
2006'
'Blues Week 2006' is now managed by Euroblues Promotions Limited.
For
further details, click on this link:
http://www.euroblues.co.uk/workshops.htm _______________
'Acoustic Blues
Weekend'
18 - 20 November
2005
Pocklington Arts
Centre, Pocklington, Yorkshire
Our annual event of
workshops, jams and performance in the north of England was a great
success. The tutors were Little
George Sueref (harmonica), Michael
Messer (bottleneck slide guitar) and Michael
Roach (country blues guitar).
A review will be published in our next newsletter.
_______________
'Blues
Week 2005'
Sunday 14th - Friday 19th August
University College Northampton
This was the 6th year of Blues Week and the
dates for this year is set for the 6th to 11th of August.
If
you are interested in
learning how to sing and play acoustic blues guitar and harmonica, join us
for a full week of tuition, concerts and jams. You can view the brochure and
registration form by clicking this link:
http://www.euroblues.co.uk/workshops.htm
To view a copy of
the details from last year,
click on this link:
Blues Week 2005
Page
The following is a
list of classes offered and links to the websites of staff members:
Country Blues Guitar
'Bowling
Green' John Cephas (USA) website:
cephasandwiggins.net
Ari
Eisinger (USA) website:
www.secondmind.com
Michael Roach (USA) website:
michaelroach.com
John Miller (USA)
Bottleneck Slide Guitar
Mike
Dowling (USA) website:
mikedowling.com
Michael Messer (UK)
website:
michaelmesser.co.uk
Homesick Mac (Sweden)
website:
homesickmac.com
Kenny Sultan (USA) website:
tomballkennysultan.com
Harmonica
Phil
Wiggins (USA) website:
cephasandwiggins.net
Tom
Ball (USA)
website:
tomballkennysultan.com
Eddie Martin (UK)
website:
eddiemartin.com
Johnny Mars (USA)
Vocals
Ethel
Caffie-Austin (USA) _______________ 'An
Evening With Acoustic Blues and Gospel'
featuring
John
Cephas and Phil Wiggins
Ethel Caffie Austin
Mike
Dowling
Ari
Eisenger
This event was part of the
Blues Week 2005 programme at University College, Northampton. It was
a great night of high quality entertainment. A review will be
published in the October issue of our newsletter. _______________ 'Acoustic Blues
Weekend'
4 - 6 March
2005
South
Hill Park Arts Centre in Bracknell, Berkshire
What a weekend! John Miller, Eddie Martin and
Homesick Mac did a great job of teaching and performing. See the review in the
April edition of our newsletter. Special
thanks to all who attended, especially the staff at South Hill Park Arts
Centre for being a wonderful host. _______________ 'Acoustic Blues
Weekend'
26 - 28 November 2004
Pocklington Arts
Centre, Pocklington, Yorkshire
It was another great weekend in a wonderful town.
Johnny Mars, Michael Messer and Michael Roach brought the sound of blues
to Pocklington. The event was well attended and we look forward to
our return. Special thanks to coordinator Alan Smith and the staff
at the Civic Arts Centre.
_______________ 'Blues Week 2004'
Sunday 8th - Friday 13th August
University of Exeter
Our 5th
Year!
The following
is a list of the classes we had on offer.
Country Blues Guitar
'Bowling
Green' John Cephas (USA)
Michel Lelong (France)
Michael Roach (USA)
John
Miller (USA)
Bottleneck Slide Guitar
Paul Geremia (USA)
Michael
Messer (UK)
Homesick Mac (Sweden)
Harmonica
Phil
Wiggins (USA)
Keith Dunn
(USA)
Keyboards
Bob
Hall (UK)
Vocals
Hilary Blythe
(UK) _______________ The University of
Gloucestershire
and the European Blues
Association
Presents
'OVERSEAS
BLUES'
'EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES ON BLACK MUSIC'
A
Conference at the University of Gloucestershire
Oxstalls
Campus, Gloucester, United Kingdom
23
- 26
July 2004
Black musicians have found a wide audience in
Europe for well over a century. The
interest of Europeans in Black music, especially Blues and Jazz, is obvious
through the publication of journals and magazines, and the continued sale of
recordings. Performers as diverse
as The Fisk Jubilee Singers, Paul Robeson, Sydney Bechet, Josephine Baker, Cy
Grant and Big Bill Broonzy have all had enormous influence.
How and why that should be so, and its effects were the subject of this
conference organized by the University of Gloucestershire and European Blues
Association.
The focus was on the spread and influence of Black
music, particularly but not exclusively the Blues, from the Americas to Europe.
We
also considered the response of the European audience. The conference included academic and non-academic papers, and some performances.
A review was printed in Issue 5, November 2004 of our newsletter.
_______________
'Acoustic Blues
Weekend'
30 April - 2 May 2004
Pocklington Arts
Centre, Pocklington, Yorkshire
featuring
Keith Dunn, harmonica
John Miller, country blues guitar
master class
Homesick Mac,
bottleneck slide guitar
What a pleasure it was to be in
Yorkshire for a bright and sunny weekend of blues. Our members in
the north of England turned out in full force to support us for our first
ever event above Gloucestershire. Thanks to all that attended,
especially the staff of the Pocklington Arts Centre (Janet Farmer and
James Duffy) for being such great hosts in a lovely town and venue.
It was an additional treat to be featured 'live' on ITV Yorkshire's prime
time six o'clock broadcast of "Calendar News". We
will be publishing a review in the next issue of our
newsletter. _______________
'Acoustic Blues
Weekend'
28 - 30 November 2003
South Hill Arts Centre,
Bracknell, Berkshire
featuring
Ben Hewlett, harmonica
Rick Payne, guitar
master class
Michael Roach,
beginning country blues guitar
South Hill Park Arts Centre in Bracknell, Berkshire and the European
Blues Association has teamed up again for a repeat of the popular 'Acoustic
Blues Weekend' of workshops, jams and performance. The weekend is
a follow-up to the success that we have had with our 2 previous events at
Bracknell and our annual Blues Week programme held every year in August at
Exeter University. Special thanks to all that attended and to the
staff at South Hill Park. A review will be published in our next
newsletter. _______________
'Blues Week 2003'
Sunday 10th - Friday 15th August
University of Exeter
Thanks to everyone who attended
Blues Week 2003. It was our best year and it was definitely our
biggest. EBA Associate Member, Phil Thorne, who attended all four
years of the programme has agreed to write a review. This review
will be published in our next newsletter.
Country Blues Guitar
"Philadelphia" Jerry Ricks
(USA)
John Miller (USA)
Michel Lelong (France)
Michael Roach (USA)
Bottleneck Slide Guitar
Michael Messer (UK)
Homesick Mac (Sweden)
Harmonica
Lazy
Lester (USA)
Little George Sueref (UK)
Ian Briggs (UK)
Keyboards
Bob Hall
(UK)
Vocals
Hilary Blythe
(UK) _______________
'A Concert with Little George Sueref'
Saturday 28th June
2003,
8pm Cheltenham Town Hall
In an attempt to raise
our local profile, we decided to sponsor a concert featuring Little George
and his Blue Stars. The event was well attended and we found that
the Pillar Room is a great venue for blues. Little George put on a
great show. A review of the concert is in our latest newsletter
(Issue 3 July 2003).
_______________
South Hill Park Arts Centre
in Bracknell,
Berkshire and the European Blues Association would like to thank
everyone for attending the 'Acoustic Blues Weekend' of
workshops, jams and performance on the 24 - 26 January 2002. The
addition of the keyboards class to complement guitar and harmonica proved
to be a big success with Bob Hall as the instructor. Further,
Bob gave a powerful concert performance on Saturday night that was well
received by all in attendance. Ian Briggs continued to
attract harmonica enthusiasts with his vast experience. It was a
delight to see his students in the nightly jams, putting to practice the
techniques that he was teaching them during the day. Michel
LeLong from Tours, France is a great guitarist and a highly skilled
teacher. The reports that we received from his slide guitar class was
outstanding and he received the highest rating in our evaluations. Michael
Roach's country blues guitar class is always popular. His
dedication comes across in all of his workshops.
We
would like to thank staff members of the South Hill Park Arts Centre for
hosting a wonderful weekend. Special thanks to
Alan Smith for
his support as the coordinator for the event. _______________ 'Blues Week 2002'
Sunday 11th - Friday 16th August
University of Exeter
For the third year in a row, The
European Blues Association held its annual Blues Week programme.
The event attracted over 60 participants from over 5 different
countries. The establishment of the John Jackson Youth Scholarship
from Blues Week 2001, awarded over £2,300 to 6 young participants.
In addition to the classroom tuition, the week featured staff concerts, a
blues bar-b-que and a student talent showcase.
A highlight from the week featured Louisiana Red in a great concert
performance. The show reached its climax during the encore when Red
was joined by Phil Wiggins on harmonica and Diz Watson on piano. It
was special!
To summarize the week, the following
comments are examples from our evaluation forms and a letter we received
from one of the participants:
"Overall, it was fantastic and far
exceeded my expectations. Not only did I learn a lot, but I met a
lot of great people. There is a real community that I feel part of
and would like to continue with".
"Well done! Another enjoyable
and rewarding musical holiday"
"Now that my fingers have finally
stopped hurting and I've as last put down my guitar, I can write to say
thank you very much for giving me a scholarship at this year's Blues
Week. I've never enjoyed playing guitar that much - it inspired me
to play a lot more. I don't know whether this is because of the
quality of the teaching, the mind-blowing jam sessions, or just the bluesy
and friendly atmosphere - but my bet is it's all three".
The following is a letter posted to us
from EBA Associate Gordon Watson:
I went to the very first Blues
Week in 2000 not really
knowing what to expect. It was
the best decision I ever made. Everyone
was in the same boat, both participants and staff, but with the common goal
of being determined to make it work. I
believe we all succeeded as is proved by the growing interest and increase
in numbers attending. Each year I come back to Exeter for my ‘musical
holiday’ I meet up with all the familiar faces and friends I have met
during the last three years at Blues Week.
It’s also almost guaranteed that I will meet some of them at the
various concerts and festivals held around the country during the year
between. It certainly is like
being part of the ‘blues family’.
The ‘blues family’ feeling was truly brought home to me this year when I
was the victim of a very serious car accident and ended up in hospital
pretty well smashed up. It just
so happened that the Stamford Folk and Blues Guitar festival, one of my
favourite festivals, was taking place while I was stuck in hospital.
Mike Roach, who was appearing at Stamford, heard about this and he, Louisiana
Red (also at Stamford) and many of the Bluesweek people who were
there, sent me a wonderful signed get well card.
It was so unexpected I literally broke down and cried.
Not only did Mike send the card, he also telephoned the ward I was in to see
how I was doing. He told me
afterwards he tried to get some of the artistes appearing at Stamford to
come along to the hospital to give me and the other patients our own
concert! The nurses would have
loved it. Unfortunately time
did not allow. I made it out of hospital in time to make it to Blues
Week 2002 and I was
overwhelmed once again by the welcome and concern of the friends at Exeter.
I for one, and judging by the articles in the latest Newsletter I am
not alone, am fully committed to the continued support of the European Blues
Association and the wonderful music it preserves.
I hope this goes some way to expressing how I feel about what the
Association is trying to do and what it means to me.
Cheers,
Gordon Watson
_______________
The European Blues Association hosted a
Conference
as a part of the Gloucester Blues & Heritage Festival on Saturday 10th
of August. The event took place at the Gloucester Guildhall
from 10am to 3pm.
There were 4 one hour sessions which included 'Meet the
Authors' with Paul Oliver (Conversation with the Blues) and Bob
Brunning (Blues in Britain), 'Meet the Editors' with Tony Burke
(Blues & Rhythm), Fran Leslie (Blues in Britain) and Cilla Huggins
(Juke Blues), Alan Pearce (Blues Matters),
'Meet the Agents'
with Toni Weeks of GTA Music Consultants and a session called
'Meet the Record Companies' with Tony Sweet of Armadillo
Music. This event was well attended by
blues enthusiasts who were interested in the inner workings of
the blues music industry. Special thanks to the
organizers of the Gloucester Blues & Heritage Festival (http://www.gloucesterblues.co.uk/)
for allowing us to stage the event.. _______________
Stamford Arts Centre in Stamford, Lincolnshire hosted
'The 5th Stamford Folk and Blues Guitar Festival' from
Friday 7th June to Sunday 9th June 2002. The European Blues
Association was given permission to raffle off a 'Carlton
Guitar Case'. The case was donated by John Crabb during our
Blues Week 2001 programme to support the establishment of the John
Jackson Youth Scholarship Fund. Carlton Guitar cases retail for
£240 and they are world-renowned for their durability. The drawing
took place on Sunday 9th June and the winner was Tom Colborn. The
EBA raised £150 and all proceeds went directly
into the scholarship fund. Special thanks to John Crabb for his
donation and Dave Popple and staff at the Stamford Arts Centre for their
generous support. _______________
South Hill Park Arts Centre in Bracknell, Berkshire and the
European
Blues Association teamed up for an 'Acoustic Blues Weekend' of workshops, jams and performance. The event took
place on Friday 25th to Sunday 27th January 2002. The weekend was a
follow-up to our successful Blues Week programme sponsored by the EBA,
held every year in August at Exeter University. The event was well
supported by over 40 participants who came together for a
weekend of music and making new friends. Associate member Karin
Ringler, who flew over from Madison Wisconsin (USA) to exclusively attend
the weekend has agreed to write a review that will be published in our next newsletter. The European Blues Association would like
to thank everyone who attended and we appreciate your continued support. _______________
'Blues Week 2002'
Sunday
11th - Friday 16th August 2002
Exeter University, Southwest England
NEW - Keyboard & Vocal Classes added this year.
_______________
'Blues Week 2001'
Exeter University, Southwest England
_______________
'Blues Week 2000'
Exeter University, Southwest England
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Last updated August 2009 |
