Last November we “published” an in depth interview with Al Blake. The interview I conducted with him concluded with his discussion of one of his original tunes which will appear on his upcoming album. It is called Precious Time. The album was something he always wanted to do and he said he didn’t want to put off making this very personal record any longer. It is a very good thing he didn’t wait because in December of last year Al’s life took a very unfortunate turn.

Al was in the process of doing what he had told me he had done thousands of times and that is, remove a pit from an avocado. On this occasion the knife went through the pit, the skin of the avocado and made a deep incision in his left hand. Suddenly a kitchen became the site of a blood splattered triage. He was soon in the back of an ambulance racing toward the hospital.  

After emergency surgery on his left hand Al was on his way back home with the guitar playing component of his career in severe jeopardy. The devastating irony in all this is that while Al Blake is also known for his songwriting skills, his relaxed one of a kind vocal delivery and unique yet deeply rooted harp playing, his guitar playing skills are on full display on his yet to be released mostly solo, acoustic album. The working title of this CD is The Road Less Traveled. It is, as far as I am concerned, a perfect title for an album that sounds to me like it could be a crowning achievement in his career. It feels like true legacy album. One of the greatest things about this record is the deep, raw gut bucket guitar playing that, as Al likes to say, captures that greeeezy sound he loves. His guitar playing puts me in mind of Lil’ Son Jackson and Lightnin’ Hopkins but it is really like everything Al does in that it is a very personal sound.

With a heavily bandaged left hand and in a lot of pain, Al was on a doctor prescribed regimen of pain medication. Two days after returning home from the hospital Al had a violent reaction to this medication and his intestines twisted in a knot. He buckled over in his home with what he described to me as the most excruciating pain he had ever experienced.

Now it was back in an ambulance and back over to Hoag Hospital. He was having his second emergency surgery in three days, this time for a life threatening intestinal blockage. He came out of the surgery looking a little worse for wear but even by the next day he had some color back in his skin and was showing signs of some of the energy and vitality that is one of his hallmarks. The problem was he was now in the hospital for an extended stay. Al Blake does not like laying around but their he was on his back with tubes up his nose and taking nourishment through an IV. I don’t like to use clichés but Al was not a happy camper. He desperately wanted to be home for Christmas.

If you have to be in a hospital you could do a lot worse than Hoag. From Al’s hospital room you could see spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean in the background and Newport Bay in the foreground. The huge facility sits on a bluff right off Pacific Coast Highway about half way between our two residences. It is like a Club Med with meds.  It looks like a resort with respirators or a Ritz-Carlton with catheters.

So there we were in a hospital room listening to old blues music that Al had downloaded onto his phone. If it wasn’t for the excruciating pain and all the tubes up the man, this would have been a fairly typical get together. We covered a wide range of topics. As Al told me during one of my hospital visits, “My family never made small talk around the dinner table.”  Even when that dinner is an IV, Al doesn’t make small talk. That is fine with me.  The world is filled with that. Meaningful conversation suits me just fine and I feel very lucky I know where to find it.

The discussions that took place under these bizarre circumstances are what led to the article in this month’s ezine entitled Blake’s Blues. 

Al made it out on the hospital on the afternoon of Christmas Day. He is doing well and is participating in an exhaustive physical therapy regimen for his left hand. He hopes to make a full recovery and is very anxious to pick up the guitar again. He has been back on a normal diet for a few weeks now and is able to sing and play the harmonica. He will be making festival appearances this spring and summer as part of the Delta Groove Harmonica Blasts. We will keep you posted on his rehabilitation.

With all this in mind, we re-posted the original interview with Al Blake that dealt with his career in music to go along with the interview that deals with Al’s thoughts on the blues past, present and future.

This past week I wondered over to the Jukebox at the JUNCTION and wouldn’t you know if I found Big Al Blake bent over the machine picking out some tunes. He has us covered this month with a whole bunch of his favorite pre and post war gems. These recordings represent a true treasure trove of timeless blues classics.  

On a sad note, I am sure Bob Corritore is as tired as I am of writing obituaries but he wrote a remembrance and an appreciation of his friend Louisiana Red that was very moving. Thanks Bob for sharing this with our readers.

I encourage you to check out Bob’s Sunday evening radio show entitled, Those Lowdown Blues on www.kjzz.org out of Phoenix, AZ.  When in the Phoenix area, check out Bob’s world famous Rhythm Room. Bob also has an album that is also coming out on the 20^th of this month. It is on Delta Groove records and features Henry Gray on piano Kirk Fletcher and Chris James on guitar. The fine rhythm section of bassist Patrick Rynn and drummer Brian Fahey round out the lineup on this fine album. Bob who blows harp on the album also produced the record. The album is a collaboration with his longtime friend in the blues, Tail Dragger and is entitled “Longtime Friend in the Blues”. It is big helping of originals, firmly rooted in the Chicago style blues tradition.

Bob also is the producer of another album that just came out called Son of the Seventh Son by another vocalist who has ties to the City with Big Shoulders. That singer is named Mud Morganfield. Check out that Severn Records release as well. It is a solid recording. I only wish Bob could find a way to stay busy.

Last Monday, I watched a broadcast on PBS entitled In Performance at the White House:Red White and Blues. I thought the broadcast asked more questions than it answered. Some of these questions are discussed in a missive by yours truly in a piece called Black and White and Blues in the House.

We also have another fascinating essay by the one and only Erwin Bosman. Enjoy his missive on the Hambone.

The Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa, CA was the site of not one but two extraordinary blues concerts in one weekend. On Saturday, February 11^th, John Nemeth put on show at the Tiki Bar that has been described as spectacular. Nemeth was joined on stage for a few numbers by Kim Wilson who himself said he was knocked out by Nemeth’s performance. The following evening tenor sax man and soulful vocalist Terry Hanck and his band delivered the second blow in a one two knockout punch of soulful blues at the Tiki. See a photo essay from the great Alex Gardner from the Terry Hanck show.

Also check out the tab on our site that gives you a heads up on this month’s Tiki Gig. World Class Blues in the O.C. is proud to host the CD release party for the Delta Groove Records debut of Nathan James and the Rhythm Scratchers featuring very special guests James Harman and his Bamboo Porch Revue. This show on Sunday, March 11^th, like all the Tiki shows is bound to be a lot of fun. I hope to see many of you out at the gig.

It is a busy weekend of great blues as Art Martell’s Straight Up Blues Productions is putting on a huge show in San Dimas, CA on Saturday, March 10^th. Check out a rare concert appearance by the Rick Holmstrom Trio. Rick will be backed by multi–instrumentalist Jeff Turmes and one of the great percussionists in our time and place, Stephen Hodges. Turmes is primarily a bassist and Hodges is a drummer but calling Jeff a bassist and Hodges a drummer is only a part of the story. Check out the gig and you will find out what I’m talking about. Also on this show will be Lil “A” & the Allnighters and San Diego’s own Red Lotus Revue.

Last year Holmstrom, Turmes and Hodges played in Southern California over at the prestigious Doheny Blues Festival. They are the backup band for Mavis Staples and spend a great deal of time traveling the globe with the gospel and soul legend. Lil “A” and the Allnighters as well as Red Lotus Revue will be playing at this festival this May in Dana Point, CA. Check them out in an intimate venue with Art Martell spinning the Wheels of Steel between sets. As always you can find out what is going on in the Martellian blues universe by clicking on the tab that reads Straight Up Blues - Coming Events.

Lastly, and with a heavy heart, I share with you that our friend Candye Kane is again struggling with some health issues. Her battle with pancreatic cancer is continuing. With very mixed emotions I would like to direct your attention to the tab that reads Big Love. It will give you information to an extraordinary benefit concert taking place in April at the Belly Up Tavern in the northern San Diego enclave of Solana Beach. The great writer and blues music purveyor Michael Kinsman is at the helm of this benefit concert. Kudos to Michael for all his hard work in putting this show together.

We will have more on this as the event draws closer in the April edition of BLUES JUNCTION. If you would like to read a fine piece about Candye, I would like to direct you to the ever expanding archive section of this site. The piece was written last year by Julie Jenkins who has been Candye’s health care advocate for the past few weeks and will continue to be at her side during this difficult period in her life. Candye, you remain in our thoughts.

Thanks for taking the time to read and enjoy the contributions from our guest writers and photographers. It is real joy to be able to have created a forum where a large audience can enjoy their talent. Your thoughts on any content you see here at BLUES JUNCTION is always welcome.

Be well and be in touch.

- David Mac