AND THE TXAPELA GOES TO…… TAJ MAHAL
Taj Mahal receive the Hondarribia Blues Award 2014
The musician Taj Mahal will be awarded in this ninth edition of Bluesaldia with distinctive Txapela Hondarribia Blues Award.
This year we are especially excited this award because we had many years trying to have Taj Mahal in the cartel and finally in this issue has failed to materialize. Since recorded his first album in 1967, Taj has been concerned with boosting American roots music like blues or zydeco, among others, and in addition to his solo career, has worked with bands like Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead and the Rolling Stones.
Taj Mahal will perform in the Benta stage on Saturday 12 at 22:30 pm
Recall that the Hondarribia Blues Award born at the same time of Festival with the aim of rewarding the career of these living legends of the blues, perhaps, are not recognized as they should. in our country. To date, it have received musicians like Bob Margolin (2006), Hubert Sumlin (2007), James Cotton (2008), John Mayall (2009), Pinetop Perkins (2010), Johnny Winter (2011), Tail Dragger (2012) and Eric Burdon (2013).
2013 Singer Eric Burdon was placed the txapela that Festival gave o him
Undoubtedly, Eric Burdon was the star of the 2013 edition, or at least, one of the most anticipated artists. His performance on Sunday July 14 at the Benta stage will be remember for a long time. And it is not surprising if we consider that Burdon was the voice of The Animals and he was here, with us, in Hondarribia.
This trajectory we spoke next to The Animals was the reason that the Festival decided to award the 2013 Prize Hondarribia Blues. It was pretty and exciting to see the legendary singer of songs like "The House of the Rising Sun" wear the traditional "txapela" and receive the "Baluarte de la Reina" credited as worthy of this award.
2012 TAIL DRAGGER
James Yancey Jones (Arkansas 1940) known, as TAIL DRAGGER is the showman who has one of the most authentic blues voices no one has ever heard in Chicago.
His deep and gruff voice is a sign of the Tai Dragger's most obvious influence, Chester Burnett, known as Howlin' Wolf. In fact, Howlin was who started calling him Tail Dragger because Jones often showed up late for gigs
His songs blend aspects of both tragic and comic forms but nobody is indifferent to his capacity of transporting the cotton fields of his youth to the public or the Chicago dark slum nightclubs where he is still singing nowadays. His brilliant career as well as his mise-en-scène is the reason wherefore he earned the 2012 Blues Hondarribia Award.
2012 Blues Hondarribia Honorary award
This year, for the first time, the Hondarribia Blues Musical Association will present an honorary award. The reason for this is the decease of one of the greatest blues drums legends: Willie " Big Eyes" Smith. Willie had already visit us twice but never before had an award because of the reason we were convinced that he would visit us many more. His sudden death last year make us decide to give this award for the first time in seven years of the festival's history.
Willie "Big Eyes" Smith was born in Helena, AR (USA) in 1936. At the age of 17 he ventured to Chicago where he heard Muddy Waters for the first time. Immediately Willie was hooked on the blues and the attraction to the music persuaded him to stay in there.
In 1954 Willie, playing harmonica, formed a trio. The trio built a following in Chicago and gigged around the area for a few years. During this same time, Willie played harmonica with several other bluesmen including Bo Diddley, Arthur "Big Boy" Spires. In 1957 Willie joined Little Hudson's Red Devil Trio and switched to playing drums. After gigs or between sets, Willie started sitting in on drums with Muddy Waters' band. Muddy liked what he heard, and invited Willie to play drums on recording sessions. In 1961, he replaced Clay in Muddy's band till mid-1964.
The '60s were lean times for the blues so Willie packed up his drum kit and found himself doing odd jobs including driving a cab. In 1968 Willie decided to listen to Muddy rediscovering his desire to play, he asked Waters to start playing again
uddy Guy, Junior Wells,Portnoy, theyngagain. The next day Muddy asked Willie to rejoin the band till 1980.
After performing with Muddy Waters, Smith established by co-founding the Legendary Blues Band with Pinetop Perkins, Louis Myers, Calvin Jones, and Jerry Portnoy, they played with Bob Dylan, Howlin'Wolf, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton.
His last album, " Way Black ", brought out in 2010are, finds Willie holding on his first instrument, the harmonica.
Willie died last 16th September 2011 R.I.P.
2011 JOHNNY WINTER
John Dawson "Johnny Winter" (Beaumont, February the 23rd, 1944) became a star of the electric blues guitar at the end of the sixties; he was already a legend when he played at Woodstock Festival. And he also produced the last three CDs of Muddy Waters at the end of Muddy's career. Johnny Winter is now coming to Hondarribia not only to introduce us his last album but also to receive the 2011 Blues Hondarribia Award
2010. PINETOP PERKINS
Pinetop Perkins, one of the biggest bluesmen from Mississipi, gave one of his last concerts in Hondarribia along with some other big legends of the blues as Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Bob Margolin, Sugar Blue and Bob Stronger. He was 97 years old. He started playing blues around 1927 and had been considered as one of the best blues piano players untill his very end. Perkins created his own style and had been a source of inspiration for three generations of blues piano players and is still considered a huge master and a model for blues piano players.
