Seven Days, Seven Nights: From big city blues to loving cityscapes
Monday, Jan. 26
Chicago native and old-school tenor/soprano saxman Johnny Beaudine headlines the downtown House of Jazz tonight with his band Deep Blue, featuring pianist Peter Mika, bass player Ben Comeau and drummer Jeffrey Simons.
“What we’re doing here is a kind of blues/jazz I used to see in Chicago,” says Beaudine, who learned to play the harp from his mentors Junior Wells and James Cotton. “Lesser known than the electric Chicago blues scene, which I was a part of, this music is more upscale, with jazz and R&B influences, but was very popular in the black community. I used to hear this music in black clubs like the Burning Spear and the Tropical Hut. More Ray Charles, early Lou Rawls, with touches of Sonny Stitt and Gene Aamons, two of my saxophone heroes. I wanted to do this for years, but you have to have a really good band to even attempt it. Now we do.”
Deep Blue headlines the House of Jazz (2060 Aylmer St.) every Monday night from 7:30 to 11. Admission: $10. Details: 514-842-8656 or www.houseofjazz.ca.