“There are two types of men in this world: those who are in love with Bonnie Raitt, and those who’ve never heard of her” Willie Nelson I must confess I’m one of the former. I remember the first time I saw Bonnie Raitt. It was at Buffalo State Teacher’s...
Rico Ferrara
Defining Dee Dee Bridgewater as just a Jazz singer is doing Ms. Bridgewater a disservice to the nth degree. Yes, Bridgewater sings Jazz brilliantly, but she’s so much more than that. Beginning in the 70’s, Bridgewater has had a rich and varied five decade long career, and has displayed...
ROBERT PALMER – More Than Meets The Eye Originally Posted on October 17, 2021 – Blues For A Big Town “In interviews I hardly ever get asked about music. I do, however, get asked about the ‘Addicted to Love’ video and my suits on a daily basis” Robert Palmer Say the...
THE WEST SIDE SOUL OF CHICAGO BLUES Originally Posted on August 22, 2021–Blues For A Big Town As told numerous times, the emergence of Urban Blues was a by-product of the Great Migration of African Americans from the southern U.S. to points north. Undoubtedly affected, (for different reasons), by the Great...
Nina Simone - The High Priestess of Soul
It was in the mid 80’s when Toronto’s short lived Village Vanguard North was advertising “Sunday Brunch With Nina Simone”
Posted on January 9, 2022 by Rico Ferrara – Blues For A Big Town Blog, 2022 During the peak of his career in the mid 50’s Prima summed up his appeal in a Downbeat interview: Like many families of my generation, we always gravitated towards the Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday evenings in the...
Posted on June 19, 2022 by Rico Ferrara – Blues For A Big Town Blog “He’s my favourite Blues singer.” BB King “Bobby Bland was just the man…He had exceptional delivery and understanding. He made you understand what the song means to him” Dan Penn, celebrated Southern Soul songwriter and singer “He...