BLUES JUNCTION Productions - Aloha the Big Five-O: Photo Essay

BLUES JUNCTION Productions
7343 El Camino Real
Suite 327
Atascadero, CA 93422-4697
info@bluesjunctionproductions.com

Aloha the Big Five-O: Photo Essay

In 1996 I met a man named John Paul “Jack” Reilly. He was working with a public radio station out of Long Beach, CA that was in those days producing the largest blues festival on the West Coast and arguably the best blues festival in the world. At the Long Beach Blues Festival, Jack was in charge of the transportation detail and I was one his volunteer lackeys. Jack and I hit it off immediately. His son John was his dad’s right hand man. His oldest daughter Liz also helped out. Jack’s kids, John and Liz, would soon become and remain very close friends. Through the many years working with the festival and the artists who played there John, Liz and myself would come to call many of our musical heroes our friends.

Ten years ago this past June, John or J.R. as he is known throughout the cosmos, put on a 40^th birthday party for his older sister Liz. Not surprisingly he hired a band. This group included singer Janiva Magness, guitarists Junior Watson and Kirk Fletcher, multi-instrumentalist Jeff Turmes and others. The event was held at a relatively small venue on Newport Beaches’ Balboa Peninsula.

Much has changed in the past 10 years. In some ways very little has changed. Most notably and sadly we lost the patriarch to this wonderful brood I think of as family, Jack. He passed away on March 5, 2010. Jack’s youngest daughter Bridget and her husband Matt had a child named Max. Bridget and Matt also opened their own brick and mortar business. The Bite Market is a gluten free retailer that is located in Orange, CA, Old Town Plaza. Jack’s other son Chris moved back to Southern California. Their mom, Mary who was at Liz Fest 2001: An Ageless Odyssey still looks as lovely as ever. Which has a lot to do with things staying the same. The Reilly’s don’t age. This always keeps me feeling young, even if I don’t look it.

This past June,it was time to commemorate the big 5-0. The event would have to be moved to a larger venue. Nearby Costa Mesa had a good sized room with terrific site lines, staging, lighting and sound. The Tiki Bar was contacted, was extremely cooperative and had no reservations about putting on a blues program on a Sunday afternoon and early evening. The themed establishment celebrating our exotic 50^th state was the perfect site to commemorate Liz’s 50^th birthday.

J.R.s friend, Kim Wilson was asked and readily accepted the offer to play the party. He was joined by fellow Liz birthday party alumni Junior Watson, along with their long time rhythm section of Larry Taylor and Richard Innes. A better band would be hard to imagine. Nathan James opened the show.

The party lived up to anyone’s wildest expectations and the music was exactly what you would expect from Kim and the band he has played with off and on for the past 20 years or so. For me it was touching to be in a room full of a hundred and fifty or so people and know almost everyone personally. That is not likely to happen again until Liz turns 60. She by then will probably look pretty much the same with a smile that can light up any room and eyes that not only emote beauty but strength, character and intelligence. I love you Liz.

Oh…BTW in case you missed it, here are some photos from what I call “Aloha the Big 5-0: Aliso Viejo Slim turns 50"(but I’d check her I.D. anyway).