A Vital Link; Calgary Midwinter Blues Fest

Ask any Alberta-based promoter of roots, jazz, or world music about the important role CKUA plays in the equation of presenting a show or a festival and the answers are consistently similar.

Those comments can basically be distilled down to the fact that this Radio Network “is a vital link in that chain between the artist and promoter.”

CKUA continues to play a key role in enlightening us. Producers and announcers stir the daily musical brew with new sounds, and many listeners also make us aware of new artists and releases that are worth investigating. This interaction and equation coincides with
programmers continuing to champion artists who have been mainstays on the network playlists for years if not decades.

It doesn’t matter whether the promoter is a non-profit organization in the Peace Country, or in Athabasca, which is the home of the Heartwood Folk Club, or in Turner Valley where Beneath The Arch annually produces a strong concert season.

The promoters could be the proprietors of free-standing venues in Calgary, like the Beat Niq jazz club or the Ironwood Stage and Grill, The Matchbox Theatre in Red Deer, or the Commercial Hotel Tavern, aka Blues On Whyte, in Edmonton.

Not only are announcers of both eclectic and genre specific shows rattling off strings of dates every shift, the CKUA website boasts an incredibly comprehensive Alberta Arts and Culture Events Listing guide that is updated on a daily basis.

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One individual who understands the benefits of CKUA “spreading the word” in one fashion or another is promoter Maurice Ginzer who is one of the producers of the Calgary Midwinter Bluefest, which runs from February 21-26. Long before Maurice got into the festival business he was responsible for keeping the doors of Kaos Café open on 17th avenue and the venue was one of the destination points for quality music for a number of years.

It was during his run at Kaos that Ginzer started producing a small yet inviting event that he felt could “help patrons get through the last stretch of winter blahs.”

At Kaos he produced a few thematic events over the course of a late winter week. It would build towards a grand finale that presented a trio of heavyweight guitarists who were capable of laying down memorable solo sets before banding together for a full-out assault of blues and blues-based rock and roll.

These days Ginzer’s vision is understandably broader than the one he put forth at Kaos, as he has a number of venues to operate from. That he’s had the experience of producing a summer sister event for a number of years has only given him more experience to draw on. Not surprisingly he and festival co-producer Cindy McLeod are currently in overdrive as they put in last minute preparations for the slate of events they have programmed for this edition of Midwinter Bluesfest.

“We’re pretty happy with the way the 'Singing The Blues Vocal Camp and Competition' has come along. This year the participants, and we max out at ten, will work with Donald Ray Johnson at the Cantos Foundation in a workshop setting on the Monday night. These young singers couldn’t ask for a better mentor than Donald Ray, and then on the following night which is Tuesday February 22 they all gather at the Red Fox Tavern in the Ramada Downtown Hotel and perform in front of a panel of industry professionals who will offer them all additional advice. That’s a free event and it’s great to see these new talents emerge,” says Ginzer.

Donald Ray Johnson

The Red Fox is the site of another free event the following night when Donald Ray, who is without question one of the finest vocal talents in the country, hosts the Twilight Blues Jam, which is preceded by the CBMA Blues Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony.

When it comes to the imported headliners for the Midwinter Bluesfest, these are acts that are familiar to many CKUA listeners, particularly those who tune into Friday Night Blues Party and Natch’l Blues.

Harp-playing Mark Hummel, who has been including Alberta on his tour itinerary for over two decades now, kicks off two nights of music at the Parkdale Community Hall on the Friday evening. Along for the ride is Bay Area guitarist Rusty Zinn, who is reportedly leaving the Hummel band after this tour. Zinn is a superb technician, a soloist who will give a nod to an influence or two in mid-flight, then after referencing one of those blues and jazz greats add bursts of color with his unique Zinn spin.

That he is possibly heading out on his own doesn’t come as any surprise, as Zinn has recorded a number of solo albums. One that stands out for this listener is the decade-old release The Chill which appeared on Alligator, where he added some fiery playing to Kim Wilson’s dynamite Tiger Man recording.

Debbie Davies

The Calgary fest nabbed Debbie Davies, who plays the Parkdale Hall on Saturday, and Ginzer has no worries about this blues guitarist/vocalist and her band being able to ramp up the crowd as the night moves along.

On the opening end of both bills is Robbie Laws. Though Laws hasn’t visited this province in a while, you don’t need to know much more than the following to pique your interest if you are a blues hound: he has been honoured with 18 Portland Cascade Blues Association Muddy Awards, seven of which were for ‘Best Electric Guitarist", and most recently, the ‘Best Blues Act 2010' award from the Seattle based Washington Blues Society.

“Albert Collins used to refer to Robbie as 'the white Buddy Guy',” says Ginzer, who first caught Laws in action at the old King Eddy Hotel. “He can do it all, from jump blues to electric Chicago stuff and he is bringing his own quintet to the festival.”

So it is all in place, and the Calgary Midwinter Bluesfest is set to go. Tickets are available via the festival website or through Campus Tickets, and you can expect to hear your fair share of the artists playing this festival on CKUA over the next week.