Sunday 6th - Friday 11th
August
University of Northampton
United Kingdom
Blues Week 2005
provides an opportunity for blues enthusiasts to come together for a
full week of music making. It is a chance to broaden your skills
and knowledge in a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere. The
programme will offer morning and afternoon workshops and classes for
all levels. The beginners class is for those who have little or no
knowledge of their instrument. The intermediate and advanced
classes are for those who already play to varying degrees of
proficiency and are ready to learn new tunes, techniques and styles.
The evening activities throughout the week will consist of a concert
by the staff members, a student concert and nightly jam sessions.
In addition, there will be special presentations
for the entire group.
The Classes
Classes
will begin on Monday morning and run through Friday afternoon.
There will be 2 sessions in the morning beginning at 9:30 and
lasting until 10:45 and the second class will start at 11 o'clock
and end at 12:15. In the afternoon, the first class will start at
2:15 and end at 3:30. The second afternoon class will commence at
3:45 and end at 5:00. All classes and workshops during the week
will last for one hour and fifteen minutes.
The Staff
‘PHILADELPHIA’ JERRY RICKS, Guitar
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 such as Brownie
McGhee, Skip James, Rev. Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, Buddy
Moss, Lonnie Johnson, Son House, and Lightnin' Hopkins. From 1970
to 1990, Jerry lived and performed in Western Europe. Upon his
return to the U.S. in 1990, he has performed at numerous festivals,
concerts and cultural activities. In early 2000, Ricks recorded the
highly acclaimed "Many Miles of Blues", his second outing for the
Rooster Blues label. For Blues Week, Jerry's class will cover all
aspects of country blues guitar. For intermediate to advanced
students only.
ERNIE HAWKINS, Guitar
Ernie Hawkins,
from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is a master country blues guitarist
and a wonderful and patient teacher.
He has been building his reputation as one
of the finest
purveyors of solo acoustic blues guitar playing in the world. He
has a new CD release called ‘Rags and Bones’. Fred Kraus from Minor
7th wrote “The 14 tracks in this collection could amply
provide more than a semester's worth of study in a graduate-level
course in Americana music”. Ernie also has several instructional
DVDs on Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop including ‘The Gospel
Guitar of Rev. Gary Davis’, ‘Lightnin' Hopkins’, ‘Blind Willie
McTell’ and ‘Mance Lipscomb Vol 1&2’.
For Blues
Week, Ernie will teach a masterclass on country blues guitar styles
for intermediate to advanced students.
ARI EISINGER, Guitar
Ari Eisinger
is a guitarist and singer who plays blues from the early years of
its development. Ari Eisinger's long-awaited second album ‘That
Will Never Happen No More: Guitar Blues and Ragtime from the 1920s
and 1930s’ contains many of the best of Ari’s repertoire.
Andrew
Mullins from Weenie Campbell writes, “The
authenticity with which he recreates some of the best and
instrumentally complex country blues is downright spooky.” Ari
tours extensively in the northeast, the Midwest and the south. He has recently released 2 instructional
videos for Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop focusing on the music
of Blind Lemon Jefferson and Blind Boy Fuller. For Blues Week, Ari
will teach intermediate to advanced students focusing on alternating
bass fingerpicking styles.
MICHAEL ROACH, Guitar
Michael Roach has had years of
experience organising concerts, directing festivals and conducting
workshops. He is firmly established within traditional music
circles. Upon moving to Britain in 1995, he has travelled
extensively for the visiting artist-in-the-school programs
throughout Europe. Michael is the founder of the European Blues
Association and is the Director of Blues Week 2006. His class is
for beginners and intermediate guitarists. He will teach basic chord
progressions, rhythm, and playing alternating bass patterns in
country blues.
MARY FLOWER, Guitar
Mary Flower, now resident in
Portland, Oregon has garnered praise for her mastery of multiple
guitar styles. She has never been a simple traditionalist, content
merely to reproduce the great music of the past. Her innovative
spirit and long familiarity with the blues inspires her to break new
ground, mixing genres and creating fresh sounds that remain true to
the spirit of the blues originators. Twice, she finished in the top
three in the National Fingerpicking Guitar Championship. She has
six albums to her credit (her latest, ‘Bywater Dance’), and three
instructional DVDs ().
For Blues Week, she will be teaching beginning country blues guitar.
MIKE DOWLING, Guitar
Mike grew up in central Wisconsin and
now resides in Wyoming. He draws inspiration from deep in the
musical bag of American roots guitar styles. Influenced by
traditional Piedmont style fingerpickers like Mississippi John Hurt
and swing jazz legends like the great George Barnes, Mike developed
a style uniquely his own that translates fluently to arch top, flat
top, and resonator guitars alike. From bottleneck blues on a
well-worn National to elegant swing interpretations reminiscent of
the great old jazz artists, Mike Dowling can do it all. He has a
video on Homespun Tapes titled, 'Bottleneck Blues and Beyond'. For
Blues Week, Mike will be teaching intermediate to advanced slide
guitar, which will incorporate fretting chord forms with your slide
work, dampening techniques and refinements for vibrato.
MICHAEL MESSER, Slide Guitar
Michael Messer is a slide guitar master. His obsessive appetite for
knowledge of the art is virtually unequalled.
Michael has just released his eighth album, ‘Lucky
Charms’. Among his other releases, ‘King Guitar’ (2001) reached
number one in the chart of US publication ‘Living Blues’ and ‘Second
Mind’ (2003) was awarded ‘Blues Guitar Album of the Year’.
To further reflect the esteem in
which he is held, Newtone Strings in conjunction with National Reso-phonic
Guitars have a Michael Messer brand specifically made for National
guitars. For Blues Week, Michael will conduct a 'master class' on
bottleneck styles for intermediate to advanced students.
HOMESICK MAC, Guitar
Homesick Mac was born in Subotica,
Yugoslavia. He has been playing the guitar since the age of 15.
His love for blues began when he heard the music of Sonny Terry and
Brownie McGhee and he began his performing career in 1981. From
1983 to 1991, Mac formed 'The Blues Trio', an acoustic group that
released 3 cassettes, one Lp and 2 CD's. In 1992, he moved to
Sweden and started playing in clubs throughout Scandinavia, thus
building a solid reputation for his great guitar skills. Mac's
latest solo CD 'Leaving' is among the "top CD's of 2003" in the
choice of Acoustic Guitar Magazine, USA. For Blues Week, Mac will
be teaching beginning to intermediate slide guitar.
KENNY SULTAN, Guitar
Kenny has been playing guitar since the age of seven. Soon
thereafter, his brother introduced him to the blues of T-Bone Walker
and Lightnin' Hopkins. The effect was permanent. Confirming his
love for music and the blues, he graduated with honours from the
University of California at Santa Barbara, where he majored in
Music/Ethnomusicology. A noted teacher, he has taught music, guitar
and music history at the university level and has conducted
countless workshops and seminars. His published instruc-tional works
include three books and three videotapes for Centerstream/Hal
Leonard, the latest being 'The Blues Styles of Kenny Sultan'. For
Blues Week, Kenny will teach beginning to intermediate slide guitar.
TOM BALL,
Harmonica
Tom began playing
guitar at the age of eleven and took up harmonica three years
later. Chicago-style blues bands provided the milieu for his
talents throughout the '60s. He spent much of the '70s abroad before
settling in Santa Barbara, CA, in 1978. A noted blues historian, he
has written countless articles on the music for various
publications, and has taught harmonica at the university level.
His published instructional works for Centerstream/Hal Leonard,
include
Blues Harmonica,
A Comprehensive Crash Course and Overview;
The Sourcebook Of Sonny Terry Licks For Harmonica; and the
Sourcebook Of Little Walter/Big Walter Licks For Blues Harmonica.
For Blues Week, Tom’s class is for intermediate to advanced.
GRANT DERMODY, Harmonica
Grant Dermody is a harmonica player
and singer known for his rich tone, tasteful solos, and solid
rhythmic playing. Wayne Horvitz writes, "Grant has it all. Time,
phrasing, great ideas, and above all a stunning tone. Totally in the
tradition but with a real voice of his own." Grant started out as a
Chicago style blues harmonica player. He later concentrated more on
Delta and Piedmont blues, and branched out to other forms of
acoustic music including old-time, folk, and alt-country. His
latest CD, ‘Crossing That River’ is a dedication to blues legend
John Jackson who passed away in 2002. For Blues Week, Grant’s class
will focus primarily on tone, and how to thrive as a harmonica
player in an acoustic blues duo or small ensemble. His class is for
intermediate/advanced students.
JOHNNY MARS, Harmonica
Johnny Mars was born in Laurens, South Carolina. After graduating
from high school, he gigged around New York and recorded with his
band 'The Burning Bush' for Mercury Records. Johnny has an
instructional video out on 'How To Play The Harmonica' and has
conducted workshops throughout Europe for Hohner and Hering
Harmonicas. In
February 2003, Johnny received national attention in newspapers,
television, and radio throughout the UK in recognition for the
success of a pilot programme substituting the harmonica for the
recorder as a music teaching tool for primary and secondary school
students in Portsmouth. For Blues Week, Johnny's class is for
beginners to intermediate. He will cover all aspects of blues harp
playing.
EDDIE MARTIN,
Harmonica
Eddie Martin grew up
in London in the 1960's and started playing acoustic guitar at the
age of 16. He became a keen student of country blues music - and in
particular that of artists such as Dr Ross and Joe Hill Louis. His
commitment has led to him becoming the outstanding one-man blues
band in the UK today. For over 10 years he has run courses,
workshops, and private tuition for Acoustic and Electric Blues
Guitarists at Intermediate and Advanced levels and for Blues
Harmonica players at Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels, and
for those interested in the One-Man-Blues-Band Tradition. He has
published a Guide to Blues Harmonica, Stage 1 (for beginners) and
Stage 2 (intermediate). Eddie’s class is for beginners to
intermediate.
ETHEL CAFFIE-AUSTIN and DELNORA
ROBERTS, Vocals
Ethel Caffie-Austin is a formidable
pianist, vocalist, choir leader and educator who is steeped in the
traditions and styles of the black church. She is acclaimed as West
Virginia's "First Lady of Gospel Music". Ethel, assisted by Delnora
Roberts, has taught numerous vocal and piano workshops throughout
the world and her performance at Blues Week 2005 was a highlight of
the event. She is known to incorporate
spirituals and other pre-gospel age music into her workshops with an
ambition to expose people to various styles of Black Sacred Music.
For Blues Week 2006, her class will be called 'SOS for Voice -
African American Singing Techniques’. It will include vocal health
tips, covering aspects such as breathing, phrasing and finding your
true voice.
Registration
Fees 2006
On Campus: includes all classes, activities, room & board
£570 for Associates, £595 Non Members
Off Campus: includes all classes, activities and lunch
£370 for Associates, £395 Non Members
Per Day: includes all classes, activities and lunch
£100 for Associates, £110 Non Members
Vocals Only:
deduct £100 if you plan to attend as an On Campus student; £50 for
Off Campus and £10 for Day Rate
Space is limited and it is advisable
to book early to avoid disappointment. A £150 deposit will secure your place.
Please Make Payment To: Euroblues Promotions Limited
Our
John Jackson Youth Scholarship Fund
will provide a limited number of
subsidised
places for
young people between the ages of 14 to 21. Students between
the ages of 14 and 17 are eligible for a £200 subsidy. Students between the ages of 18 and 21 who are not in full time employment
are eligible for a £150 subsidy.
A parent or responsible adult must
accompany all students 16 and under. If you know of someone who
qualifies or have a family member that you would like to bring
along, please contact us for immediate consideration. This
scholarship is only available to first-time participants.
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