10400 - MICHAEL PICKETT - CONVERSATION WITH THE BLUES (2000)
MICHAEL PICKETT
''CONVERSATION WITH THE BLUES''
2000
61:33
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1 Big Train (Shawn Kellerman) 05:08
2 The River 04:26
3 Love Don't Mean It 05:11
4 When I Lay My Burden Down 04:35
5 Look Out At The Weather 04:51
6 Conversation With The Blues 06:25
7 Cecil & Spadina 04:35
8 It Don't Matter To Me (Michael Pickett, Doug Romanow) 04:08
9 Bad Love (?) 04:55
10 Junk Thang (David Cordrey) 04:58
11 Mother Earth (Peter Chatman) 07:11
12 Night Comes (Molly Johnson, Doug Riley) 05:06
Tracks By Michael Pickett, Except As Indicated
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Troy Adams/Vocals (Background)
Richard Armin/Cello
Kevin Breit/Guitar (Electric), Mandolin
Paul Brennan/Drums
Steve Chadwick/Bass (Electric)
Marty Cordrey/Drums
Gary Craig/Drums
Dave Dunlop/Trumpet
Norman Hathaway/Violin
John Johnson/Saxophone
John Johnson/Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor)
John "Woog" Johnson/Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor)
Shawn Kellerman/Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Leslie)
Rick Lazar/Percussion
Ted Leonard/Guitar (Electric)
Bill McCauley/Hammond B3, Keyboards
Gord Myers/Trombone
Louise Pickett/Vocals (Background)
Michael Pickett/Guitar, Guitar (Resonator), Harmonica, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Jackie Richardson/Vocals (Background)
Doug Riley/Fender Rhodes, Piano
Doug Romanow/Keyboards
Lenny Solomon/Violin
Liz Tilden/Vocals (Background)
Liz Tilden/Vocals (Background)
Leo Valvassori/Guitar (Bass)
John Witmer/Arranger
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Larry Belanger
If one is searching for some tight, well-presented blues music by an artist who has experience and talent, Michael Pickett's, Conversation With the Blues is the album to pick up. Pickett presents blues music with the finesse and charisma which comes from years of study and soulful admiration of what the genre is all about. Blues music is a genre of music which contains a small percentage of composition and a large portion of emotional improvisational expression. Michael Pickett pours himself, body and soul, into each tune on the album, sending the listener on a unique refreshing journey within his conversation with the blues. Each tune on the album, with the exception of one that is a solo effort from Pickett, finds Pickett's expressive and melodic vocals and mind-blowing harmonica complimented by Shawn Kellerman's extensive blues guitar work. "Junk Thang," a blues instrumental done in the key of E, is sure to hook many a blues fan to Pickett's magnetic harmonica playing. Shawn Kellerman and Teddy Leonard shine on "Junk Thang" with some exhilarating electric lead-guitar jamming. "Look out at the Weather" gives one the impression that Pickett has experienced the blues with the same force felt by Stevie Ray Vaughan and others who have gained the respect of blues fans worldwide. Michael Pickett is a talented musician and an amazing artist who breathes a new life into the blues by bringing it back with original energy and charisma. His style is very much his own, but one can hear and feel early influences in his music lending the comfortable quality and familiarity so often associated with true blues at it's finest. So if in search of a real blues sound, call on Michael Pickett and have a conversation with the blues as never before.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Larry Belanger
Michael Pickett has had a musical career that has spanned more than thirty years. He is an award-winning recording artist who has always embraced the blues. As the lead vocalist and harmonica player for two pioneering bands, Whiskey Howl and Wooden Teeth, during the '70s and '80s, Michael Pickett successfully pushed the envelope for blues roots music in the Toronto area. He formed the Michael Pickett Band in 1981, employing an ever-changing roster of some of Toronto's finest blues musicians. With Pickett as their driving force, the band developed a reputation for delivering soulful and dynamic performances of both original and classic blues material. Their 2001 inaugural tour of Germany and Austria was a major success. 1998, a banner year for Michael Pickett, was when he released his long-anticipated debut CD, Blues Money. The completely original recording was nominated for a Juno award and received a Jazz Report and Real Blues award for Blues Album of the Year. He was also presented with the coveted Maple Blues: Blues With a Feeling Award in recognition of his passion and commitment to the blues. Conversation With the Blues, released in 2000, earned him another Juno nomination and won a Canadian Indie Music award for Blues Album of the Year. The recording is an eclectic mix of ten original compositions comprised of multiple styles. His lengthy career has included extensive recording, film, radio, and television credits. He has shared the stage with John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley, Koko Taylor, John Hammond, and Sunnyland Slim, and has opened for James Cotton, Taj Mahal, Muddy Waters, and Son Seals at venues ranging from Massey Hall to New York's Village Gate. Performing in clubs, as well as on jazz and blues festival stages across the U.S.A., Michael Pickett continues to mesmerize audiences with his vocals, harmonica, and pure musical genius.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
**********
''CONVERSATION WITH THE BLUES''
2000
61:33
**********
1 Big Train (Shawn Kellerman) 05:08
2 The River 04:26
3 Love Don't Mean It 05:11
4 When I Lay My Burden Down 04:35
5 Look Out At The Weather 04:51
6 Conversation With The Blues 06:25
7 Cecil & Spadina 04:35
8 It Don't Matter To Me (Michael Pickett, Doug Romanow) 04:08
9 Bad Love (?) 04:55
10 Junk Thang (David Cordrey) 04:58
11 Mother Earth (Peter Chatman) 07:11
12 Night Comes (Molly Johnson, Doug Riley) 05:06
Tracks By Michael Pickett, Except As Indicated
**********
Troy Adams/Vocals (Background)
Richard Armin/Cello
Kevin Breit/Guitar (Electric), Mandolin
Paul Brennan/Drums
Steve Chadwick/Bass (Electric)
Marty Cordrey/Drums
Gary Craig/Drums
Dave Dunlop/Trumpet
Norman Hathaway/Violin
John Johnson/Saxophone
John Johnson/Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor)
John "Woog" Johnson/Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor)
Shawn Kellerman/Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Leslie)
Rick Lazar/Percussion
Ted Leonard/Guitar (Electric)
Bill McCauley/Hammond B3, Keyboards
Gord Myers/Trombone
Louise Pickett/Vocals (Background)
Michael Pickett/Guitar, Guitar (Resonator), Harmonica, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Jackie Richardson/Vocals (Background)
Doug Riley/Fender Rhodes, Piano
Doug Romanow/Keyboards
Lenny Solomon/Violin
Liz Tilden/Vocals (Background)
Liz Tilden/Vocals (Background)
Leo Valvassori/Guitar (Bass)
John Witmer/Arranger
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Larry Belanger
If one is searching for some tight, well-presented blues music by an artist who has experience and talent, Michael Pickett's, Conversation With the Blues is the album to pick up. Pickett presents blues music with the finesse and charisma which comes from years of study and soulful admiration of what the genre is all about. Blues music is a genre of music which contains a small percentage of composition and a large portion of emotional improvisational expression. Michael Pickett pours himself, body and soul, into each tune on the album, sending the listener on a unique refreshing journey within his conversation with the blues. Each tune on the album, with the exception of one that is a solo effort from Pickett, finds Pickett's expressive and melodic vocals and mind-blowing harmonica complimented by Shawn Kellerman's extensive blues guitar work. "Junk Thang," a blues instrumental done in the key of E, is sure to hook many a blues fan to Pickett's magnetic harmonica playing. Shawn Kellerman and Teddy Leonard shine on "Junk Thang" with some exhilarating electric lead-guitar jamming. "Look out at the Weather" gives one the impression that Pickett has experienced the blues with the same force felt by Stevie Ray Vaughan and others who have gained the respect of blues fans worldwide. Michael Pickett is a talented musician and an amazing artist who breathes a new life into the blues by bringing it back with original energy and charisma. His style is very much his own, but one can hear and feel early influences in his music lending the comfortable quality and familiarity so often associated with true blues at it's finest. So if in search of a real blues sound, call on Michael Pickett and have a conversation with the blues as never before.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Larry Belanger
Michael Pickett has had a musical career that has spanned more than thirty years. He is an award-winning recording artist who has always embraced the blues. As the lead vocalist and harmonica player for two pioneering bands, Whiskey Howl and Wooden Teeth, during the '70s and '80s, Michael Pickett successfully pushed the envelope for blues roots music in the Toronto area. He formed the Michael Pickett Band in 1981, employing an ever-changing roster of some of Toronto's finest blues musicians. With Pickett as their driving force, the band developed a reputation for delivering soulful and dynamic performances of both original and classic blues material. Their 2001 inaugural tour of Germany and Austria was a major success. 1998, a banner year for Michael Pickett, was when he released his long-anticipated debut CD, Blues Money. The completely original recording was nominated for a Juno award and received a Jazz Report and Real Blues award for Blues Album of the Year. He was also presented with the coveted Maple Blues: Blues With a Feeling Award in recognition of his passion and commitment to the blues. Conversation With the Blues, released in 2000, earned him another Juno nomination and won a Canadian Indie Music award for Blues Album of the Year. The recording is an eclectic mix of ten original compositions comprised of multiple styles. His lengthy career has included extensive recording, film, radio, and television credits. He has shared the stage with John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley, Koko Taylor, John Hammond, and Sunnyland Slim, and has opened for James Cotton, Taj Mahal, Muddy Waters, and Son Seals at venues ranging from Massey Hall to New York's Village Gate. Performing in clubs, as well as on jazz and blues festival stages across the U.S.A., Michael Pickett continues to mesmerize audiences with his vocals, harmonica, and pure musical genius.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
**********