The music world's Grammy nominations were announced last night (in a spiffy new TV concert special that I confess to not watching) -- and of course the published articles I saw ignored the two categories they have for blues.
So as a BlueNotes public service, here are the Grammy nominees in the blues categories for this year:
Best Traditional Blues Album (Vocal or Instrumental.)
The Blues Rolls On
Elvin Bishop [Delta Groove Music, Inc.]
Skin Deep
Buddy Guy [Silvertone Records]
All Odds Against Me
John Lee Hooker Jr. [Steppin’ Stone Records/CC Entertainment]
One Kind Favor
B.B. King [Geffen Records]
Pinetop Perkins & Friends
Pinetop Perkins & Friends [Stoneagle Music/Telarc]
Best Contemporary Blues Album (Vocal or Instrumental.)
Peace, Love & BBQ
Marcia Ball [Alligator Records]
Like A Fire
Solomon Burke [Shout! Factory]
City That Care Forgot
Dr. John And The Lower 911 [429 Records]
Maestro
Taj Mahal [Heads Up International]
Simply Grand
Irma Thomas [Rounder Records]
So, what do you think? Who should win? Who got left out?
I think B.B.'s "One Kind Favor" should be an easy choice for traditional album. He's always been one of the most popular blues players around, and this is an exceptional, career-defining look back at his blues life.
I'm not as sure about the others. Taj Mahal put together a fine album with "Maestro," his first in five years, and that could be a contemporary winner. But I think this caegory coould go to anyone on the list and not be a bad choice.
Posted
Dec 04 2008, 09:54 AM
by
Jim White