Blogfodder! (Crossposted with Jamilton.ca)

"Celebrity Chauffeur" Harry Manx
Yep, Harry showed up at Healey's the night I played there with Brian Blain, and he talked me into jumping into his luxury rental wheels and we headed on over to the Reservoir Lounge, where Margaret Stowe was playing with a fabulous swing band. Ultra fun night.

Harry Manx & Kevin Breit @ Hugh's Room
A few nights later, I went to Hugh's Room on Harry's invitation to catch his CD release for "In Good We Trust". I'm not alone in buzzing with afterglow from this concert. I was literally moved to tears, and I caught others in the same predicament. A must see if they should come to your area.

L to R: Lily Sazz, Mr. Rick, Brian "Colorblind" Blain, Michelle Josef at Healey's Roadhouse in Toronto

Mike Eastman and Jack Pedler @ the Good Friday Jam at the Squire in Hamilton

Highlights of late include, (in order of occurrence):

Tiffany Thompson's birthday celebration, which was a little shindig on March 10 at the Cootes Paradise Bistro. She was performing as part of her jazz duo with guitarist Jamie that night, and Doug Smith (another great guitarist, and also sound engineer at Pepper Jack) guested for a couple of tunes, and that was a treat.

A few days later, I was guesting with Rhythm and Bones, who were playing as part of a cancer benefit at the Coach and Lantern in Ancaster. An hour or so before the gig, I got a call saying the bass player was so ill, he couldn't possibly play. I called up Steve Hilbert from Groovecorp, picked him up, played him the CD of the most of the tunes we were going to play, talked him through the numbers on the way to Ancaster, and voila! The band sounded great. Yikes, though!

Kudos to Russ McAllister, who organized a terrific blues jam on Good Friday at the Squire on the mountain. It was like a reunion for some of us. I walked in the door, and didn't even have a chance to grab a drink or remove my jacket before I was plunked behind a piano and rockin' with the boys. Very fun!

Worlds collided one day at Mohawk College, when I attended a master class featuring Hamilton's Bill Dillon. Darcy Hepner arranged it, and I bumped into fellow Jamilblogger Gord Lewis (TeenageHead), plus Carl Horton (jazz master keyboardist), plus Christopher Hunt (who is not only Mohawk faculty, but also the music director at my husband's church). There was punk, jazz, blues, and the classics - all together for an afternoon of Dillon-speak. Freaky.

Probably the biggest highlight for me was going to Hugh's Room to catch Harry Manx and Kevin Breit's Toronto CD Release. That was one of the best concerts I've seen in a very long time. It was their first gig, really, and the magic was in the air. I was so moved by the emotion combined with amazing musicianship, and I know I wasn't alone with this opinion. Folks are still talking about it and buzzing away. Prediction: Juno Nomination 2008. You heard it here, first.

Brenda Whitehall's in town! Brendawas my business partner way back in 1990, when we started The Hammer Magazinetogether. She's been living in Vancouver for years, but was home for a visitrecently, and we spent her birthday together by going to the Jann Arden concertat Hamilton Place. Another great show. There's a whole bunch of historicinformation that includes stuff about The Hammer Magazine, including images on Alex MacDougall's blog that were recently posted. What a trip down memory lane. Check it out. He's got something fun and interesting going, and there's lots of local blueshistory there.

I'm really looking forward to the summer, and playing all these festivals. I hope to return with lots of blogfodder. (I think I just invented that word! I like it.) There are a quite few things brewing. For example, looks like we'll be doing a media release for the Women's Blues Revue Live CD. Although it was complete in November, the Toronto Blues Society really hasn't had a chance to properly launch the baby, so we'll be doing something for industry folks at the NOW Lounge in Toronto in June.

So that's about it. I'm still on my quest to help people understand that blues music is not just "Woke up this morning" songs. Blues is still so misunderstood. I remember when my husband and I merged our CD collections. He is a big fan of blues and jazz, but I had to file all of his recordings under "old or dead artists". I turned him on to Fathead, Paul Reddick, Harry Manx, and so many others. Hey, what can I say. He's a grateful guy, now. He still likes old and dead artists, but that's helped me revisit them, so it's all okay.

If you're free on April 28th, come and say hello at the Corktown Pub. I'll be rockin' with Groove Corporation, and the last time we were there, it was great.

Lily
www.lilysazz.com