At first blush, blues harpist Jason Ricci's outward appearance would have old-school bluesmen like Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson spinning in their graves. Tattooed, with brightly dyed hair and a heavily-patched denim jacket, the openly-gay Ricci cuts quite a figure on stage, mixing Chicago-styled blues thunder with punkish blues-rock lightning. Once he starts singing, or wailing on the harp, Ricci will win over all but the most hidebound (and obviously hard-of-hearing) blues fan.

Jason Ricci & New Blood tour heavily, almost 300 dates each year, and they leave satisfied audiences in their wake wherever they play. Ricci and crew made their Eclecto Groove Records debut in 2007 with the electrifying Rocket Number 9. They followed up the critically-acclaimed release earlier this year with the equally well-received Done With The Devil album. Ricci's masterful harpwork is matched by the red-hot guitar licks of New Blood's Shawn Starski, and the rest of the band ain't half-bad, either! One of the bright young stars of the blues, it's well worth your time and money to check out Jason Ricci & New Blood when they make your town one of 300 tour stops over the next year.

Related Content: Jason Ricci - Rocket Number 9 CD review

Jason Ricci & New Blood Tour Dates

11/27 @ Salle des Fetes, Saint Antonin Noble-Val FRANCE
11/28 @ Espace Jean Racine, St. Remy les Chevreuse FRANCE
11/29 @ WDe, Bosuileert HOLLAND
12/02 @ Kornbrennerei/Radio Live, Broleck DENMARK
12/03 @ Nix BBBlues Club, Enschede HOLLAND
12/04 @ The Borderline, Djest BELGIUM
12/06 @ Doornroosje, Nijmegen HOLLAND
12/10 @ Capone's, Johnson City TN
12/11 @ A Dough Ra Mi, Mt. Pleasant SC
12/12/ @ Double Door Inn, Charlotte NC
12/13 @ Smith's Olde Bar, Atlanta GA
12/31 @ Ace's Lounge, Bradenton FL
01/01/10 @ Beach Shack. Cocoa Beach FL
01/22 @ Boca Raton, FL - Back Room w/Nick Moss
01/23-01/30 @ Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, Ft. Lauderdale FL
02/04 @ Green Parrot, Key West FL
02/05 @ Green Parrot, Key West FL
02/06 @ Buckingham Blues Bar, Ft. Myers FL
02/25 @ Callahan's, Auburn Hills MI
02/26 @ Midway Tavern, Mishawaka IN
02/27 @ Key Palace Theater, Redkey IN
03/03 @ Blues On Grand, Des Moines IA
03/04 @ Record Bar, Kansas City MO
03/05 @ Uncle Bo's, Topeka KS
03/06 @ Nathan P. Murphy's, Springfield MO
03/12 @ Boulder Outlook Hotel, Boulder CO
03/13 @ Boulder Outlook Hotel, Boulder CO

Photo courtesy Eclecto Groove Music

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Singer/songwriter Grayson Capps, whose music is an inspired blend of roots-rock, blues, and Texas-styled twang, makes his DVD debut with the December 8, 2009 release of Live At The Paradiso.

Capps is particularly popular in Holland, his fans enjoying his intelligent wordplay and Southern Gothic tales of troubled souls. In May 2008, Capps headlined at the famed Amsterdam music venue The Paradiso, performing an almost two-hour acoustic solo set for an enthusiastic audience. The performance was documented by a high-def, five-camera shoot, but after the show the footage disappeared.

Here's where it gets a bit mysterious. Flash forward to summer 2009, when a DVD of Capps' 2008 show was delivered to the Hyena Records office in Amsterdam. Whoever the anonymous benefactor was, the label used the concert footage from the DVD to create Live At The Paradiso, so that Capps' fans worldwide can share in their enjoyment of his performance.

Along with the concert DVD, an audio recording of Live At The Paradiso will also be released as an mp3 exclusive album. Check with your favorite vendor of digital downloads to grab the music, check with your local indie retailer for a copy of the DVD. Enjoy!

Related Content: Grayson Capps' Rott-N-Roll CD review @ Blurt magazine

Photo courtesy Hyena Records

Concord Music continues its "For Lovers" series with collections from R&B greats Isaac Hayes and Ray Charles; both albums are scheduled for release on December 22, 2009 at a budget price of $11.98. Previous releases in the series featured performances by artists like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Tony Bennett, and Sarah Vaughan.

Isaac Hayes' Sings For Lovers includes a pair of collaborations with his long-time Stax Records songwriting partner, David Porter - "Baby I'm-A Want You" and "Ain't That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One)" - from his 1972 album Wonderful. Hayes' volume in the series also features love songs like "The Look Of Love" and "Someone Made You For Me," among others.

Ray Charles' Sings For Lovers album features some of the soul legend's best-known love songs, including "I Can't Stop Loving You," "Baby It's Cold Outside," "You Are My Sunshine," "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye," and several more.

Both Hayes and Charles have benefitted by Concord's year-long campaign to restore and reissue key albums in each artists' back catalog. Hayes' deserving legacy has grown with the release of such classic albums as Hot Buttered Soul and Black Moses. Concord kicked off its restoration of Charles' early catalog with the release of Genius: The Ultimate Collection before reissuing albums like Modern Sounds in Country and Western and Genius Hits the Road.

Related Content:
Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul CD review
Ray Charles - Genius: The Ultimate Collection CD review

Photos courtesy Concord Music

Blues-rock guitarist Coco Montoya lives mostly on the road, chalking up close to, or better than 200 nights a year performing somewhere in the world. It comes as no surprise, then, that Montoya has a healthy tour schedule on his plate, live dates running through the end of the year and well into 2010, with shows in the United States as well as Canada and Europe.

Montoya has been touring behind his 2007 Alligator Records release Dirty Deal, and with the recent release of The Essential Coco Montoya, a collection of material from his first three albums for Blind Pig Records, he has more music to choose from for his onstage performances than you can shake a stick at! While many of Montoya's November tour dates feature the guitarist performing with fellow bluesman Tommy Castro, the remainder of his schedule has him taking the stage with his band and delivering the sort of six-string pyrotechnics that a true guitar-blues fan would salivate over. Be sure to check out Coco Montoya and his crew when they come through your town.

Related Content:
Coco Montoya Profile
Coco Montoya - The Essential Coco Montoya CD review

Coco Montoya Tour Dates

Nov 20 @ Mexicali Live, Teaneck NJ *
Nov 21 @ YMCA Boulton Center, Bay Shore NY *
Nov 22 @ Keswick Theatre, Glenside PA *
Nov 23 @ B.B. King Blues Club, New York NY *
Nov 25 @ The Birchmere, Alexandria VA *
Nov 27 @ Ramshead Tavern, Annapolis MD *
Nov 28 @ Stephen Talkhouse, Amagansett NY
Nov 29 @ Infinity Hall, Norfolk CT
Nov 30 @ Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton MA
Dec 02 @ L'Astral, Montreal, Quebec CANADA
Dec 03 @ Tucson's Roadhouse, Ottawa, Ontario CANADA
Dec 04 @ Peter's Place Live, Gravenhurst, Ontario CANADA
Dec 05 @ London Music Hall, London, Ontario CANADA
Dec 08 @ Zoo Bar, Lincoln NE
Dec 10 @ Boulder Outlook Hotel, Boulder CO
Dec 11 @ Little Bear Saloon, Evergreen CO
Dec 12 @ Crystola Roadhouse, Woodland Park CO
Dec 13 @ Evangelo's Cocktail Lounge, Santa Fe NM
Jan 09, 2010 @ Coach House, San Juan Capistrano CA
Jan 10 @ BriXton, Redondo Beach CA
March 09 @ The Pigalle Club, London ENGLAND
March 11 @ Witte Bal, Assen NETHERLANDS
March 12 @ De Kade, Zaandam NETHERLANDS
March 13 @ De Noot, Hoogland NETHERLANDS
March 14 @ Bosuil, Weert NETHERLANDS
March 15 @ Spirit, Verviers BELGIUM
March 27 @ Berks Jazz Festival, Wyomissing PA
June 05 @ Coloma Blues Live!, Lotus CA

* with Tommy Castro

Photo by Frank Vigil, courtesy Alligator Records

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