Harp wizard Billy Gibson on DVD

At the risk of repeating myself, there are so many fine blues musicians around the country that it's hard to keep up.

I've had a DVD on the desk for a while now, that I just kept moving to the bottom of the stack, even though it was released in February. It's by Billy Gibson, a Memphis harp player whose stage presence is part blues harp guy and part whirling dervish. He was the Beale Street Entertainer of the Year in 2005, and earned the nickname, "The Prince of Beale Street." Watching this DVD, it's clear why that happened.

The DVD, aptly titled "The Prince of Beale Street," was recorded at the 2007 North Atlantic Blues Festival in Rockland, Maine. It only contains six tracks, but Gibson seems to have the ability to turn every song into a blues marathon of singalong, wicked harp solos, vocals, interaction with the audience.

He's constantly on the move on the stage, whether talking to fans in the front row, jumping ecstatically up and down to the music, or focusing intently on the harp with his back to the audience, Gibson is relentless.

The six songs on the DVD, which almost all turn into extended jams, are: "Down Home," "Keep Doin' What Ya Doin'," "Bad Boy," "Funny How Time Slips Aways, " "Tell It Like It Is" and "Polk Salad Annie."

It's just the right format for a festival crowd, but all the action leaves you a little hungry for a few track of pure music, without all the concert bells and whistles. And he does sound like he has excellent harp chops. DVDs are are a great way to check out the excitement that live performances generate.

 A blues holiday

BlueNotes will be taking a long holiday weekend, no doubt leaving a hole in your soul. But that doesn't mean you have to stop listening to the blues, or stop reading your favorite BlueNotes posts.

Also, I'd like to hear from you, either by e-mail or comments, on what you'd like to see in the blog. Seems like there's a lot of potential here for some kind of blues community.