Jimmy Coe Dies

 Jimmy Coe, an Indianapolis bandleader and jazz saxophonist, died Thursday, February 26th at Methodist Hospital after a long illness. He specialized in alto and tenor saxophones. As an altoist, he replaced Charlie "Bird" Parker in Jay McShann's band in 1942. Upon returning to his adopted hometown after Army service in World War II, Coe led small and big bands here. He recorded rhythm and blues successfully for small labels in the 1950s. In his later years, Coe was known as an adept arranger for the big band he led under his own name. "He spent his life making people happy with his music," said Delores, his wife of 46 years. "He was something else." To support himself and his family, Coe held jobs with the city of Indianapolis, the Marion County juvenile court and the U.S. Postal Service. After retiring in the 1980s, he devoted himself to music. Despite health problems in recent years, he could be seen occasionally playing from his wheelchair at special events.

Estelle Axton Dies

 Estelle Axton, co-founder of the famed Stax Records Co., which generated hits from acts including Sam and Dave, Otis Redding Jr. and The Staple Singers, has died Feb. 24th of natural causes at the hospice at Saint Francis Hospital. She was 85. "Were it not for her, there's no way Stax could have become what it became,"
said David Porter. Porter and Isaac Hayes co-wrote numerous Stax hits, including Sam and Dave's "Soul Man" and "Hold On, I'm Coming." Between 1960 and 1975, Stax's roster also included Booker T. and the MGs, Rufus Thomas, Albert King, Johnnie Taylor, The Mar-Keys and the Bar-Kays. Stax began as Satellite Records in 1957 but was forced to change the name because a California company already was using it. The siblings combined their last names -- the "St" from Stewart and the "Ax" from Axton -- to come up with Stax, which became a rival to Detroit's giant Motown sound in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

A.C. Reed Dies

 Famed Chicago-based blues saxophonist, vocalist, songwriter and bandleader
A.C. Reed died Wednesday, February 25, from complications due to cancer. He was 77. During the course of his career, Reed played his fat-toned, elegantly simple tenor sax with artists like Albert Collins, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Son Seals both on stage and on record, as well as leading his own band, the Spark Plugs. Born Aaron Corthen in Wardell, Missouri in 1926, and raised in downstate Illinois he moved to Chicago in early 1942 and found work at a steel mill. While working at the mill during the day, Reed began gigging on weekends with a variety of blues combos, eventually coming under the tutelage of J.T. Brown, Elmore James' tenor sax player. By the end of the 1940s, Reed was gigging regularly with Willie Mabon and Earl Hooker. During the 1950s he toured across the Midwest and Southwest with Hooker and Dennis “Long Man” Binder. Returning to Chicago in the early 1960s, Reed became an in-demand session player for the Chief and Age labels, and recorded his first single for Age, “This Little Voice,” in 1961. He recorded more singles for Age, USA, Nike and a few other small Chicago labels during the rest of the decade, while playing regularly in the city's blues clubs. Reed joined with Buddy Guy and Junior Wells' band in 1967, toured Africa with Guy and Wells, and even joined the Rolling Stones tour (still as a member of Guy's band) in 1970. He left Guy's band in 1977 and joined first Son Seals and then Albert Collins, with whom he spent over a decade as a member of Collins' band, The Icebreakers. Reed recorded with Seals and Collins on their seminal Alligator Records albums, including Collins' groundbreaking releases "Ice Pickin'", "Frostbite", "Don't Lose Your Cool", and "Live In Japan", and Seals' "Live And Burnin'." Reed's exposure with Collins led to a reinvigorated solo career. He recorded four songs for Alligator's "Living Chicago Blues" anthology series in 1980 and an album for his own Ice Cube label, "Take These Blues And Shove 'Em," in 1982. Reed's 1987 Alligator album "I'm In The Wrong Business" featured cameos from Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Besides his Alligator and Ice Cube releases, he recorded for the Austrian Wolf label and appeared on albums by Lousie Miranda and Larry Davis & Byther Smith in the early 1990s. His two final solo albums – the 1998 "Junk Food" on Delmark and the 2002 "I Got Money" on the French Black And Blue label – both received positive critical acclaim and maintained Reed's status as a seminal Chicago blues figure.

J.J. Malone Dies

 JJ Malone passed away on Friday February 20, in Hawaii after a long fight with cancer. He was born in 1935 and raised in Decatur, Alabama. While serving in the air force in Spokane, Washington, he formed a rhythm and blues band called the Rhythm Rockers in 1957. Relocating in Fresno, the group was joined by singer-guitarist Troyce Key. Years later, the Rhythm Rockers became the houseband at Eli's Mile High Club, and internationally known Oakland establishment owned by Key. In the early '80s, J.J. recorded two albums with Key for the Red Lightnin label in England and toured Europe with him as part of a San Francisco blues Festival package. J.J.'s recording career first took off in 1971 with the release of his original composition, "It's a Shame" on the Fantasy-distributed Galaxy label. The single shot to No. 1 on Bay Area R&B charts and led to appearing in concerts with the likes of Al Green, Joe Simon, Etta James and Harvey Mandel. Producer Ray Shanklin, owner of the Galaxy label was impressed by Malone's talents as a composer and an arranger, gave him responsibilities in the expanding record company Galaxy/Fantasy. He advised Little Johnny Taylor, Big Mama Thornton, and Sonny Rhodes. He wrote -- without signing them -- a good many Creedence Clearwater Revival tunes. In recent years he cut two records for the Fedora label including 1997's "Highway 99" and 1999's "See Me Early in the Mornin'", cutting his final record "And the Band Played On" for the Blues Express label in 2001.

Blues Grammy Winners Announced

Best Traditional Blues Album:
Blues Singer - Buddy Guy [Silvertone Records]

Best Contemporary Blues Album:
Let's Roll - Etta James [Private Music]

Best Historical Album:
Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues - A Musical Journey Steve Berkowitz, Alex Gibney, Andy McKaie & Jerry Rappaport, compilation producers; Gavin Lurssen & Joseph M. Palmaccio, mastering engineers (Various Artists) [Hip-O Records]

Best Album Notes:
Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues - The Blues: A Musical Journey Tom Piazza, album notes writer (Various Artists) [Hip-O Records]

Best Long Form Music Video:
Legend (Sam Cooke) - Mick Gochanour, Robin Klein & Mary Wharton, video producers [Abkco Music & Records]

Bob Greenlee Dies

 Bob Greenlee, the founder of independent blues label King Snake Records, died at
home February 12th at age 59 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Singers Rufus Thomas, Lucky Peterson, Kenny Neal, harmonica master Raful Neal and saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts were among those who recorded at King Snake in its most fruitful period, in the late 1980s.

W.C Handy Nominees Announced

 The Blues Foundation turns its attention toward the upcoming 25th Anniversary of the W.C. Handy Blues Awards with the release of the 2004 nominees. "The 2004 nominees represent the diversity and vitality of the genre, and we are really excited about our new location for what will be a great celebration of the silver anniversary of this event," said Kevin Kane, Blues Foundation President. The Handy Awards ceremony and post-event jam session will be held April 29, 2004 at the Cook Convention Center on Main Street in downtown Memphis. For a list of the nominees click here.

E. Rodney Jones Dies

 Legendary radio personality E. Rodney Jones past away Jan. 2nd at his home in Baton Rouge. E.Rodney was a member of the Black Radio Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame. His half century of broadcast excellence' included two decades at Chicago's WVON, a station owned by the famous blues and rock 'n' roll record label, Chess, plus many years at Baton Rouge's WXOK-AM.

Clarence Butler Dies

 Long time Detroit Bluesman Clarence Butler of The Butler Twins died december 21st of a heart attack. Clarence and Curtis Butler were two longtime beacons on the Detroit-area blues scen. The brothers' recorded two albums for the JSP label including "Pursue Your Dreams" (1996) and "Not Gonna Worry About Tomorrow" (1995). Guitarist Clarence and harmonica player Curtis Butler grew up near W.C. Handy's birthplace of Florence, Alabama, about 30 miles from the Mississippi Delta. They took their earliest musical cues from their father, guitarist Willie "Butch" Butler, who was famous in the region but never recorded. The twins moved to Detroit in the 1960 and quickly found work in Motor City auto plants. The club scene at the time was booming, with the music of John Lee Hooker, Little Sonny, Bo Collins, Bobo Jenkins and dozens of others spilling out of the city's juke joints. The twins continued working and sitting in as much as they could, but by the late 1960s, the blues scene in Detroit had dried up. Civil unrest and the rise of the Motown sound didn't leave much room for a flourishing blues scene, but by the early 1980s, when the blues began a resurgence again nationally, the Butler Twins were still on the scene.

Al "TNT" Braggs Dies

 Dallas R&B musician and songwriter Al "TNT" Braggs, 65, whose songs became
hits for such musicians as Kenny Rogers, died on Dec. 4th after suffering a
series of strokes. He made his mark as an exciting entertainer and became known as AL ""T.N.T." Braggs, Mr. Dynamite. Mr. Braggs' best-known song was "Share Your Love With Me," which became a Top 5 single for Mr. Rogers and was also recorded by Aretha Franklin, Freddy Fender, Phoebe Snow and the Band. Other Braggs compositions include "Soul of a Man," recorded by Bobby "Blue" Bland and Ronnie Laws, and "Crying Man," which was recorded in 1966 by the Boogie Kings. Mr. Braggs toured for many years as an opening act for Mr. Bland. He also produced for a number of other R&B acts such as Little Joe Blue, Ernie Johnson and R.L. Griffin.

Keeping The Blues Alive Awards Announced

 Seventeen dedicated blues enthusiasts will receive The Blues Foundation's 2004 Keeping The Blues Alive (KBA) Award during a recognition brunch on Saturday, January 31, 2004 in Memphis Tennessee. Bob Porter, host of the syndicated blues radio program "Portrait in Blue," will host the awards. This year's Keeping the Blues Alive Award recipients are:

Advertising and Sponsor - Volkswagen
Art - George Hunt, Memphis, TN
Blues Club - Theodores', Steve Walbridge, Springfield, MA
Blues Organization - Suncoast Blues Society, Tampa Bay, FL
Education - Alabama Blues Project, East Tuscaloosa, AL
Film - American Folk Blues Festival, 1962-66, Vol. 1 and 2; David Peck & Jon Kanis, Reelin' In The Years Productions, San Diego, CA and John McDermott & Janie Hendrix, Experience Hendrix, Seattle, WA
Historic Preservation - European Blues Senter, Nottoden, Norway
Internet - BluesWax, Des Moines, IA
Journalism - Jeff Johnson, Chicago Sun Times, Chicago, IL
Literature - Sterling Plumpp, Chicago, IL
Manager/Agent - Bonnie Tallman, BC Productions Management, Hughesville, PA
Print Media - Southland Blues, Los Angeles, CA
Producer - Duke Robillard, Pawtucket, RI
Promoter - Chris Mackey, Bayfront Blues Festival, Duluth MN
Radio (Commercial - Andre Mosqueda, KGGO, Des Moines, IA
Radio (Public) - Robert Barclay, WCMU, Mt. Pleasant, MI
Record Label - Delmark, Bob Koester, Chicago, IL

Henry Qualls Dies

 Texas bluesman Henry Qualls died December 7th. He was 68. Taught as a youth by Emmitt Williams, Qualls supplemented his instruction by making regular visits to Dallas to watch Lightnin' Hopkins, Lil' Son Jackson and Frankie Lee Sims in action. Through most of his adult life, music was an intermittent hobby as he earned his living ploughing fields and mowing the lawns of the Dallas elite. Found by Dallas Blues Society men Scottie Ferris and Chuck Nevitt, Qualls became a reluctant local celebrity. He recorded "Blues From Elmo, Texas" in 1994 issued by the Dallas Blues Society. Three of his songs appeared on "Blues Across America: The Dallas Scene" issued by the Cannonball label in 1997 and two songs were showcased on "Texas Blues Guitar Summit" released by JSP in 1998.

Art Griswald Dies

 Arthur Griswold, an internationally known blues guitar player and mentor to
many young musicians in the Toledo area, died Nov. 18th. He was 64. Mr. Griswold played blues throughout his teenage years in Little Rock. He planned to relocate to Detroit in 1957, but stopped in Toledo to visit relatives. He ended up sharing the stage with Little Walter, the renowned harmonica player, and decided to set down roots here. He played the blues for several years with his sister Gladys, and brother
Roman. The three siblings played in the house band at Hines Farm during the
late 1950s and early 1960s, when the famous blues club in Swanton Township drew
acts like B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, and Freddie King. The Griswolds often took their act on the road, performing at blues festivals nationwide and in Europe. They recorded several albums, beginning with songs recorded throughout the 1960s and 1970s for Fortune Records, a well-known label in Detroit. They recorded their first album in 1987 for Blue Suit records and later on with several other record companies, including Mr. Griswold's own Buckeye label. Their most recent CD, "The Later It Gets The Better I Feel," was released last year.