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ArtistsPerformances and extensive interviews with the artists are recorded on video at our annual Blues and Boogie Woogie Festivals. Excerpted footage is used to produce programs for public television and associated DVDs. The complete raw footage remains in our archives. We are also engaged in an active quest to record the stories of the elder masters of American music, many of whom are no longer performing. Artists marked with an “*” are represented by performance only. Those marked, “**” appear only in interviews. Click on artists' names for more information.
For more information about our archival material, please contact The American Music Research Foundation at 866-270-5141, or by e-mail at boogie@amrf.net
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Alberta Adams, Detroit’s "Queen of the Blues," got her start in Paradise Valley in the 40's. She toured extensively with Louis Jordon and Duke Ellington among others, and her repertoire today consists primarily of "jump" style blues. Alberta performed at the 8th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2006.
Born in Chicago, Bernard is the son of legendary blues guitarist Luther Allison, and he performed on "Gen-2" blues night at our 7th annual festival in 2005. Bernard made his recording debut at age 13 with his father, and later performed with Koko Taylor and Willie Dixon, learning technique from the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Johnny Winter.
Pianist, vocalist and songwriter long, tall Marcia Ball is the reigning Queen of Bayou boogie woogie from the Texas-Louisiana border. She is the winner of five W.C. Handy Blues Music Awards, including three in a row for best pianist in 2005, 2006, and 2007. She has also received two Grammy nominations. Marcia performed at the 9th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2007.
Johnnie is one of the best known and loved blues guitarists in Detroit. He cofounded the Blue Notes with Joe Weaver right out of high school, which became the house band for Fortune Records. Johnnie has recorded numerous albums, received eight W.C. Handy Blues Music nominations and received 11 Detroit Music Awards.
David is an authentic prodigy who began playing clarinet at the age of 10 in 1994, learning Benny Goodman songs by ear. At 17 David won a high school competition that gave him the opportunity in perform as a guest soloist with the Count Basie Orchestra. Now in his 20's, David tours nationally with his Benny Goodman Tribute and performs regularly in venues throughout the midwest. David played with Bob Seeley and the Paul Keller Orchestra at the 8th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2006.
Leon Blue may just be the finest blues piano man you’ve never heard, but only because he has spent most of his career as a sideman, including lengthy spells with The Ike & Tina Turner Review, Lowell Fulsom, and Albert Collins to name but a few. Born in Texas in 1931, Leon was inspired by the boogie woogie recordings of Meade Lux Lewis and Albert Ammons in 1940. Leon continues to do session work and tours regularly throughout the U.S. and overseas. Leon performed at the 9th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival at the Music Hall in Dowtown Detroit in 2007.
The Maryland-based blues and boogie pianist / saxophonist combines the energy of 1930's style boogie piano blues with contemporary blues sounds emanating from places like New Orleans, Chicago and Memphis. "The goal when we play live," says Bogart, "is to create a fusion of all these different musical styles with the blues and boogie genuinely at the core." Deanna performed at the 9th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2007.
Charles Boles is one of Detroit’s great jazz pianists, comfortable with styles ranging from blues to boogie woogie to bebop. He first heard boogie woogie as a young child at rent parties in Detroit's "Black Bottom." His mother was related by marriage to Fats Waller, who convinced her that Charles should take piano lessons. Charles' family moved to Detroit's North End, where he participated in legendary jam sessions during Northern High's "7th Hour" with the likes of Donald Byrd and Paul Chambers, and was mentored by the legendary Barry Harris, "the father of us all" in the evolution of the Detroit jazz scene. Charles performed in our "Big Band Boogie Woogie" program in 2006 and continues to play regularly in Detroit.
Charlie grew up listening to country music in the tiny sawmill town of Flora, Louisiana. He discovered swing, jazz, and boogie woogie on the radio in the '30s. His boogie career began in 1943 when he was still in high school. Charlie has performed for us three times, and was an annual guest at our festivals.
Mark Lincoln Braun (a.k.a. Mr. B) was born in Flint Michigan, and gravitated to Ann Arbor in the 70's. He is a rare living link to the first generation of blues and boogie pianists, having learned his craft directly from the likes of Little Brother Montgomery, Boogie Woogie Red, and Blind John Davis. Mr. B performed during our first and third festivals in 1999 and 2001.
Eddie grew up in the Mississippi delta where his grandfather ran the local juke joint. He began playing harmonica and picked up the guitar after settling Detroit in 1948. Burns worked as a member of John Lee Hooker’s band and backed him on the legendary recording, “Real Folk Blues.” He has been a fixture in the Detroit Blues scene ever since, with numerous recordings and international tours to his credit.
New Orleans' native Henry Butler performed in the 2003 Motor City Blues and Boogie Woogie Festival, which can be seen on public television stations around the country. He started singing at age seven in the boy's glee club at the Louisiana School for the Blind. After completing his master's degree in music at Michigan State, Henry lived and performed in L.A. from 1980-87 while recording two albums for the MCA/Impulse label, working in radio, and as a music consultant for Motown and the Stevie Wonder organization.
The Tommy Castro Band is simply is one of the most exciting live blues bands on the circuit today. Hailing from the San Francisco Bay area, Tommy picked up the guitar at age 10 and was inspired by contemporary players like Mike Bloomfield, Eric Clapton and Elvin Bishop before reaching back to discover B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters and Elmore James. Castro was voted 2006 Blues Artist of the Year by readers of BluesWax, the largest subscribed blues publication in the country. The Tommy Castro Band performed during the 9th nnual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2007.
Otis is one of the premier deep soul and gospel singers working today. Born in Mississippi, Clay began performing with such legendary gospel groups as the Pilgrim Harmonizers and the Sensational Nightingales. He moved to Chicago and launched a solo career as a deep soul singer with a series of hit singles in the mid-60’s. His raw, fiery vocals drive an energetic and danceable blend of soul, R&B, and Blues.
Calvin was one of the most influential musicians in the House of God, Keith Dominion, an African American Holiness-Pentecostal church in which the electric steel guitar has been an important part of worship services since the late 1930's. For more than three decades Calvin served as the principal steel guitarist at the church's annual 10-day national General Assembly in Nashville.The music has deep roots in the blues - Calvin in particular brought boogie rhythms to the tradition - but evolved outside of the secular blues tradition. Indeed, the music had never been heard outside of the church until popularized by Calvin's protege Robert Randolph in the mid-90's. Calvin performed in 2006 at the 8th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival.
A native of Louisville, Kentucky and current resident of San Francisco, Caroline Dahl performed at the 5th Annual Boogie Woogie and Blues Festival. Caroline is a self taught master of the American roots styles of boogie-woogie, blues, vintage R&B, swing, and country-swing and has performed throughout the U.S. and Europe.
James Dapogny's Chicago Jazz Band performed with Maria Muldaur at the 6th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2004. Pianist Dapogny is Professor of Music at the University of Michigan, and one of world's most foremost scholars on the music of Jelly Roll Morton. He formed the 9-piece Chicago Jazz Band in 1976. They toured and recorded with Sippie Wallace, and have eight albums in their catalog.
The first inductee in the Boogie Woogie Hall of Fame in 1999, Cincinnati's Big Joe Duskin performed and was documented on videotape at the AMRF's first three Boogie Woogie and Blues Festivals. Big Joe was born in Birmingham Alabama in 1921, the son of a Baptist preacher. He fell in love with Gospel Music, and discovered the blues and boogie woogie when the family moved to Cincinnati. Big Joe taught himself to play the piano, and became active in the Cincinnati scene as a teenager.
The Austin Chronicle writes, "Foster's deeply soulful vocals dip into gospel and swing towards contemporary folk with R&B panache. When she sings a cappella, the heavens part." Or as Tommy Castro told us, "The first time I heard Ruthie Foster - my God!" Ruthie grew up in a small town in northern Texas where she was steeped in gospel music. She made a connection with the blues while in college, and her original music derives from both traditions. A vocalist, guitarist, and pianist, Ruthie Foster is in the top of our list, and that of anyone who has ever heard her, of artists deserving wider recognition. Ruthie performed at the 9th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2007.
Born in Helena Arkansas in 1927 and raised on Chicago's South Side,reedman Red Holloway is the living embodiment of the bridge between blues and jazz. He gained international acclaim in a quartet with organist Jack Mcduff, guitarist George Benson, and drummer Joe Dukes in the 60's. Red has played with everyone from Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon to Sonny Stitt and Dexter Gordon. Red was also talent coordinator and leader of the house band at Los Angeles' famous Parisian room for 15 years. Red performed on Big Band Boogie Woogie night at the 8th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2006. 
The Howling Diablos formed as the house band for legendary Detroit blues club Sully's in the early 90's, performing with the likes of Johnny Adams, Albert Collins, and Johnnie Johnson. They describe their own music as "funk/jam blues," and while their huge Detroit fan base may not think of them as a blues band, the Diablo's have never lost touch with their roots.
Kelley is best described as a Roots R&B singer/songwriter/piano player, and was a featured performer in the 2003 Motor City Boogie Woogie & Blues Festival, now in national distribution on public television. During her interview segment, Kelley sentimentally recalls her grandmother's love of gospel music and her own warm devotion to the boogie woogie style of Professor Longhair. Kelley grew up in the grasslands of Kansas' Flint Hills, listening to her parent's collection of blues, R&B, jazz and gospel recordings.
Legendary Motown Funk Brother Joe Hunter, who starred in the award winning biopic documentary "Standing In the Shadows of Motown", was Master of Ceremonies and gave the opening performance at the 5th Annual Boogie Woogie & Blues Festival. It was Joe's boogie-woogie keyboard style that set the "down-home" rootsy feel on most of the "Motown" label's early doo-wop and blues infused recordings.
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Tito Jackson (Jackson 5) made a special guest appearance at the "Gen 2" blues night of the 7th Annual Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival. His lifelong passion for the blues made for an unforgettable vocal and guitar-playing performance in 2005.
The legendary Johnnie Johnson ("Johnny B Goode") was a featured performer at our very first Boogie Woogie Festival in 1999. We are thrilled to have Johnie's performance and an extensive interview on videotape in our archives. Johnnie Johnson passed away in 2005, and our festival that year was dedicated to his memory.
Michael has performed at three of our annual Blues & Boogie Woogie Festivals, and he never fails to get the crowd going. Michael was classically trained in Germany, and at the age of 13 he fell in love with boogie woogie. By the time his family moved to Toronto four years later, he was already a veteran of the German club, concert, and jazz festival circuit.
Bassist and band leader Paul Keller served as Music Director for our 2006 "Big Band Boogie Woogie" program at the 8th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival, providing arrangements and leading the 15 piece Paul Keller Orchestra (PKO), augmented by guitarist George Bedard. PKO, first knows as the Bird of Paradise Orchestra, has been playing weekly in Ann Arbor for almost 20 years and has become one of Michigan's mot well-respected and well-travelled ensembles. Paul also tours regularly as a member of Diana Krall's band.
Hailing from Toulouse, France, Philippe LeJeune was a featured performer at 2005's Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival. When not performing, Philippe teaches piano workshops in music schools throughout France and is Artistic Director for the Aurillac Swing Festival and Jazz Series, Jazz au Mecure Toulouse.
Pianist David Mathews performed with Maria Muldaur at our 6th Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2004. Two of his many tattoos pretty much sum up his musical breadth: One is of Tower Of Power, with whom he played during its heyday in the 80's. The other is of Fat's Waller. David is best known as long-time organist for Etta James, but he is also a master of stride piano and a regular performer at an annual boogie woogie summit in his home town of San Francisco.
Boston's David Maxwell has performed at three of our annual Blues & Boogie Woogie Festivals, most recently in 2003. His soulful, energetic, gospel, blues and jazz-tinged virtuoso playing reflects years as a sideman to such luminaries as Otis Rush, Jimmy Rogers, Freddy King and James Cotton, and his long term relationships with Otis Spann, Sunnyland Slim and Pinetop Perkins.
Born in Detroit in 1928, pianist Harold McKinney was the patriarch of the city's leading jazz family and a driving force in Detroit's jazz scene for almost half a century. He played everything from bop to boogie woogie, and performed with such greats as Kenny Burrell, John Coltrane, and Wes Montgomery. He was a renown educator, teaching and inspiring generations of players. Harold's performance and an interview were videotaped during our first Blues & Boogie Woogie festival in 1999. Harold McKinney passed away in 2001.
Maria performed at the 6th annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2004 in a tribute to the blues divas of the 20's. Backed by James Dapogny's Chicago Jazz Band, she recreated the sound of such greats as Ma Rainey, Sippie Wallace, and Ethel Waters. The video production is in the final stages of editing, and should be available for broadcast on public television, and for sale on DVD, by May of 2006.
Kenny, a multi-faceted musician who has mastered the harmonica, guitar, vocals, bass, trumpet and piano performed and was interviewed at the 2005 Motor City Blues and Boogie Woogie Festival. Kenny is the eldest of ten children and the son of blues harmonica player Raful Neal. All the Neals are skilled musicians, and Kenny has said that, “between the Nevilles and the Neals, there are so many of us that we could be an entire music festival by ourselves.”
The PBB was our "house" band at the 7th Annual Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2005, performing alone and with Tasha Taylor, Kenny Neal, Bernard Allison, and Tito Jackson. The band was formed to back Taj Mahal on his CD, "Dancin' The Blues," and its members are all successful artists in their own rights. The PBB are two-time Grammy winners and recipients of the 2001 W.C. Handy Award for Band of the Year for their work with Taj Mahal.
Pinetop is the last of the original boogie woogie pianists. Perkins spent 12 years playing with Muddy Waters before going out on his own. The Blues Foundation named him Blues Pianist of the year so many times that it eventually “retired” him from the award and named it after him. In 2005 he was given a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement. Pinetop performed at the 10th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2008.
Ana Popavic was born and raised in Belgrade, where her father played blues guitar and hosted jam sessions at their home. Today she is a truly astounding player as well as a prolific songwriter. Ana has recorded four albums, three for Ruf and one for Delta Groove poduced by John Porter. She received w W.C. Handy Blues Music Award in but her soul resides in Memphis, where she has recorded three critically acclaimed albums. In 2003 she won three French blues awards and received a W.C. Handy nomination for Best New Artist. In 2006 was nominated for six Living Blues Awards.
Pianist Mike Przybylski began his career over 20 years ago performing with is father "Honky Tonk" Henry at Detroit's legendary Woodridge Tavern, and he has been performing professionally ever since. Mike is pictured here with the magnificent Redford Theater, on which he played some boogie woogie at our annual Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2002.
“Sir” Mack Rice and the Falcons (Joe Stubbs, Wilson Pickett, and Eddie Floyd) were one of the first black groups to appear on the Dick Clark Show in 1959. Rice then spent some 20 years commuting between Detroit and Memphis as he became a solo star and writer for Stax Records. Rice penned “Mustang Sally,” “Respect Yourself,” among many, many others. Mack performed at the 8th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2006.
Frank "Sugar Chile'" Robinson was one of the biggest child stars of the 50's, playing boogie woogie on records, on television, in movies, and on tour with Count Basie among others. He gave up the big time as a teenager to pursue other interests, which included earning a PhD, but he continues to play piano in the church. At the 2007 Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival Frank performed a set he called, "That was then," featuring boogie woogie piano; and "this is now," featuring gospel music sung by his church choir.
Bobby began performing in the juke joints of northern Louisiana as a teenager. He moved to Chicago in the mid-50’s, where his bands included the likes of Fredie King, Earl Hooker, and Luther Allison. Rush calls his music “folk-funk,” deeply rooted in tradition but decidedly modern. Rush was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2006.
Hailing from the Netherlands, Martijn's brilliant performance at the 5th Annual Boogie Woogie & Blues Festival combined with his insightful interview illustrates the European demand for and appreciation of this traditional form of American roots music. Martijn was introduced to boogie-woogie at the early age of 15 and credits his influences as boogie-woogie legends Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson and Meade Lux Lewis. Martijn has played virtually all the great Dutch jazz and blues festivals both solo and with his trio and has released seven successful boogie-woogie CDs.
In the world of boogie woogie, Detroit's Bob Seeley is legendary. He has performed at two of our annual Blues and Boogie Woogie festivals. Bob's early influences extend to Pat Flowers, Fats Waller, Meade Lux Lewis, Art Tatum, and Eubie Blake, all of whom he knew personally.
Alma Smith performed and was documented during the 6th Annual Motor City Blues and Boogie Woogie Festival in 2004. Raised in Detroit's North End, Alma began playing piano as a child, encouraged by her mother. When Alma came of age in the 40's she joined one of a burgeoning group of piano trios. They went on the road, opening for Art Tatum in Cleveland. In her interview Alma speaks of how, when the band landed a gig in LA, this "fine looking man" would come from the club across the street to hear her play. When she finally met him, he introduced himself as Erroll Garner. Alma's other influences are Tatum, Fats Waller and Nat "King" Cole.
In 1957, Willie started sitting in on drums with Muddy Waters' band and soon became a permanent member, appearing on all of Muddy's Grammy-winning albums. In 1980 Willie co-founded the Legendary Blues Band with Pinetop Perkins, Louis Myers, Calvin Jones, and Jerry Portnoy. The group was nominated for several Grammy Awards, recorded four critically acclaimed albums on the Ichiban label, backed up Buddy Guy, Howlin' Wolf and Junior Wells, toured with Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton. Willie performed with Pinetop Perkins at the 10th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2008.
The official pianos of the Motor City Blues and Boogie Woogie Festival have always been Yamahas, and as Coordinator for Yamaha Artist Services, James is one of our oldest friends. Born in Aruba, James started playing piano at the age of 5. He has a long association with the world of modern dance as an accompanist and composer. James is also an aficionado and performer of stride piano. While James attends our annual festival every year, he did perform and Emcee in 2002 for the 4th Annual Motor City Boogie Woogie & Blues Festival.
Gene Taylor of The Fabulous Thunderbirds performed at the 4th Annual Motor City Blues and Boogie Woogie Festival in 2002. He began to learn piano from a family of boogie woogie players who lived next door to his home in Norwalk, California at the age of 10. Gene has variously been a member of Canned Heat and The Blasters, and has been with the 'Thunderbirds since 1993.
Koko and her Blues Machine performed at the 9th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2007. With two Grammies, eight Grammy nominations, and a record 24 W.C. Handy Awards under her belt, Koko Taylor is one of the most celebrated blues performers alive today. She got her big break from Willie Dixon, who produced her first hit, "Wang Dang Doodle" in 1966.
Daughter of, "The Wailer," Johnny Taylor, Tasha performed on "Gen-2" night with The Phantom Blues Band at the 7th Annual Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2005. Tasha was raised in Dallas, where she absorbed the "old school" soul of her father. Tasha is a singer, songwriter, and compelling live performer. She is also a succesful actress, who has appeared in a variety of televison shows.
Butch performed at the 6th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2004. He is best known for his appearances on NPR's, "A Prairie Home Companion" in his native Minnesota, but among cognoscenti around the world he is known as a traditional New Orleans jazz master. He started piano lessons at the age of six, but heard a young "Sugar Chile" Robinson play boogie woogie a few years later. It changed his life. Butch has mastered the repertoires of the likes of James P. Johnson, Willie "The Lion" Smith, and Scott Joplin among others.
New Orleans writer, producer, arranger, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Allen Toussaint was inspired by Professor Longhair and later Fats Domino. As a producer for Minit Records in the 60’s, Toussaint played a primary role in defining the New Orleans R&B sound. Allen performed at the 10th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2008.
Kenny 'Blues Boss' Wayne (a.k.a. Kenneth Wayne Spruell) performed at the 7th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2005. Born in Spokane, Washington and raised in San Francisco, Kenny is now a Vancouver based blues pianist who has been hailed as a cross between Amos Milburn and Fats Domino.
Hamburg, Germany's Vince Weber performed at the 2000 Motor City Boogie Woogie & Blues Festival. Like many boogie players, he was classically trained as a young child, but discovered the blues, the Beatles, and boogie woogie as a teenager. After hearing Otis Spann and Pete Johnson, boogie and blues became his life.
"Uncle" Jesse White was born in Terry, Mississippi just south of Jackson, but lived in Detroit from 1950 until his death. He was considered by many to be the patriarch of the Detroit Blues scene, and his barrelhouse boogie style on the piano entertained blues fans for generations. Uncle Jesse White performed and was recorded at our first Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 1999.
Teenage boogie woogie sensation, Maryland’s Matt Wigler has appeared on stage with Buckwheat Zydeco, Bobby Rush, Tab Benoit, Sir Mack Rice, and many others. His debut album, "Matt Wigler XIII," named for his age at the time, was produced by Deanna Bogart. Matt played in our 9th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival in 2007. 
Memphis born pianist Jason D. closed out the 2004 Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival with a performance that rocked so hard it literally threatened to bring the house down. Jason is an incredibly talented and dynamic performer who plays everything from rockabilly to country to jazz to classic rock 'n' Roll in the Jerry Lee Lewis tradition.
Known as “King of the Blues Harmonica,” Little Sonny is known for his hot, driving sound and is one of the most respected artists in Detroit. Willis began singing gospel and spirituals in church as a child in Alabama and became interested in the blues after his mother gave him a toy harmonica. He moved to Detroit in 1953 and has been performing in the city and around the world ever since.
Boogie Woogie prodigy Silvan Zingg from Lugano, Switzerland is shown here at the 7th Annual Motor City Blues & Boogie Woogie Festival entertaining the crowd by interjecting witty dialogue throughout his performance. Silvan's exuberant performance combined with his bright banter charmed the audience.
Axel performed at our first annual Boogie Woogie & Blues Festival in 1999. Considered by many to be the driving force behind the boogie-woogie revival in Europe, Axel studied classical piano for 11 years. At the age of 17 he heard recordings by Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis, and Pete Johnson, and never looked back. Axel has recorded extensively in solo, trio, and small group formats, including collaborations with Jay McShann, Champion Jack Dupree, Big Joe Turner, Sippie Wallace, and The Lionel Hampton Orchestra to name but a few.