Dallas businessman brings the blues to classrooms

By Cortney Harding

NEW YORK (Billboard) - A nonprofit record label? Sounds like the punch line to a joke.

But the Blue Shoe Project, a Dallas-based nonprofit aimed at educating school kids about the blues, isn't kidding around.

Co-founder Jeff Dyson describes himself as "not really a musician or a music business person, but just a huge fan of the blues." The telecom executive says he started the Blue Shoe Project with his son Michael when he realized that blues legends were dying off, taking with them stories that would be lost if young people didn't learn about them.

In 2004, the Dysons produced a concert in Dallas featuring acclaimed Mississippi Delta bluesmen Pinetop Perkins, Henry James Townsend, David "Honeyboy" Edwards and Robert Lockwood Jr.

The event, the first that father and son had ever produced, came with a catch: The audience was limited to local college students, who were required to write an essay on the history of the blues in order to gain admission. In addition to performing their songs, the musicians took questions from the audience and told the stories behind their songs.

The Dysons arranged for the concert to be filmed and recorded, thinking it would make a valuable historical document. After incorporating the Blue Shoe Project as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, the Dysons made CDs of the concert and sold them online to raise money. One of the album's producers passed along copies of "Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live in Dallas" to some friends who were members of the Recording Academy. The album went on to win a 2007 Grammy Award for best traditional blues album.

Thus far, the Grammy win has yet to translate into sales -- the album has sold fewer than 1,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. But the Dysons say the album reached stores only recently, through Burnside Distribution.

"Having a record label hasn't been our priority," Jeff Dyson says. But if they can find funding, they'd like to prepare more releases.

DVD IN THE WORKS

"We're getting to the point where we have enough material for a small catalog," Michael says, noting that he and his father are working on a DVD of the Grammy-winning concert, which they hope to release by September. "We also staged and recorded another concert in 2006, and we would like to release that as a CD and a film."

Since the first concert, the Dysons have started two educational programs that travel around schools in Texas, aiming to teach kids about the history and relevance of the blues.

"We go in and use references that are meaningful to their lives," Jeff says. "We ask kids if they know who Lil Jon is, and of course they all cheer, and then we compare him to a session player who was a really in-demand guest musician on a lot of blues records. Or we talk about Henry Townsend, who makes up all his lyrics as he performs, and how he's the grandfather of freestyling."

The Dysons also use the programs to teach kids another valuable and timely lesson -- that they should pay for their music. "We're a nonprofit, but we still pay all the artists their full fees," Jeff says. "Young people have to know that artists should be compensated for their work and that music is not free."

Of all the Blue Shoe Project's endeavors, releasing "Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen" has provided the greatest satisfaction, Michael Dyson says.

"It captured the essence of the concert in such a great way," he says. "When I look at all the albums I have in my collection, you kind of take for granted that you'll always be able to hear more records by those artists, but they're getting older. We need to make sure as many people as possible hear them before it's too late."

Reuters/Billboard

http://uk.reuters.com/article/musicNews/idUKTRE5090MK20090110

Who needs to play the Inaugural Ball?

We recorded the Legends '08 program and received the tapes late last week. The footage is nothing short of amazing. We used some of the video footage to submit a video to the inaugural ball committee in Washington D.C. in an effort for Pinetop and Honeyboy to take part in the festivities. Needless to say they are two Americans that deserve more than anyone to take part in that event.

Here is the video we created, spread it far and wide! Also, call Washington and tell them you want Pinetop and Honeyboy to play the inaugural ball.

(202) 691-2247 or (202) 691-2244

Delta Blues Men Took To Dallas

photo: Anne E. Dyson / The Blue Shoe Project

The Last Of The Great Mississippi Delta Blues Men Took To Dallas

Mon Nov 10, 2008 at 12:31:49 PM

By Dianna Wray / The Dallas Observer

They wheeled David "Honeyboy" Edwards, 93, to the edge of the stage. People in the shadows helped him to stand, and he crossed into the spotlight, taking slow deliberate steps, carefully placing each foot until he reached the plain wooden chair placed in the stage's center.

The crowd, full of students from across the metroplex, was on its feet screaming from the moment he appeared.

Handed his guitar, he takes it in hand, strums the instrument, and tunes its strings. With a glance at the audience, a small knowing smile crosses his face, and he begins to play. His hands pull sound out of the instrument with incredible power considering his age, and his voice rips and wails across the chords and figures.

“It’s wonderful to me,” he says later. “All of the people. The bigger the crowd I play for, the better I play.”

Takenya Byers, an Oak Cliff music school teacher looks back at her children as everybody else is clapping enthusiastically--but not quite on the beat. She lays it out for her fifth grade charges, a solid snap landing right in the groove, and her class is looks cool and knowing, snapping on the beat in the front row of the Meyerson.

The reason the Meyerson Symphony Center looked like it had been attacked by a horde of yellow school buses on Friday morning was because schools from districts across the region, including Plano, Lewisville and Dallas, had brought their students for fifteen dollars apiece (with scholarships for those who couldn’t afford it) to see David "Honeyboy" Edwards and Pinetop Perkins.

They are two of the last living links to the blues tradition.

Edwards was a friend or acquaintance of some of the greatest names of the age. He knew…well, he knew everybody. Big Joe Turner was his mentor. He drank with Tommy Johnson. He was friends with Robert Johnson, King of the Mississippi Delta Blues, who famously recorded thirteen of twenty seven known tracks (including “Me and the Devil Blues” and “Hellhound on My Trail”) at 508 Park Avenue in Dallas. Edwards was there the night Johnson was poisoned (when the hounds of hell caught up with him as legend has it). Edwards used to play Dallas, too, and recalled performing in Deep Ellum and hanging around Oak Cliff with T-bone Walker. He was around for some of the great moments in blues history, but not having died tragically or young, he has never been quite as famous as his contemporaries. Pinetop Perkins, 95, is called the King of Boogie Woogie Piano, and he'd played with Muddy Waters as part of the Chicago electric blues sound.

The show was organized by The Blue Shoe Legends Program, a creation of Jeff Dyson and his son Michael, in an effort to expose children to the blues and teach them about it. Since establishing the educational program in 2004, over 30,000 students have been introduced to the blues tradition through it.

Back in 2004, the father and son recorded a live album in Dallas with four bluesmen (only "Honeyboy" and Pinetop are still alive) called Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Blues. Unexpectedly, the album won a Grammy earlier this year, and the Dysons have been trying to get the two surviving artists to come and perform for the project itself ever since.

“It’s funny, you know, because they weren’t really doing much before, and then after they won this Grammy with us, it’s been almost impossible to get them,” Mike Dyson says, laughing. “But it’s still awesome to get to see them play.”

Dyson, in a navy pinstriped suit, white backwards baseball cap and blue and white sneakers acted as the emcee for the event. During the two performances (at 10:30 am and 12:00 pm) he comes bounding onto the stage, a smile almost splitting his face as he speaks into the microphone over the steady din of 2,000 students from fifth grade to high school who chattered and wriggled excitedly in the plush velvet seat.

Many of the schools who attended on Friday had already had introductory programs at the schools themselves. “I’m here to see the Honey man,” a fifth grader says, while her friends nod I agreement. “He plays the blues.”

Asked if he has any advice for the kids Edwards says, “What you like to do--music, or singing or whatever--don’t stop doing what you’re doing. Just keep on doing it. That’s what I did and if you just keep on doing what you love. Things’ll work out.” --Dianna Wray

Legends 08 Recap

First and foremost, I'm sorry it's been a while since you have heard from me. The Blue Shoe Legends Program 2008 has usurped much of my time and the blog has fallen on the back burner as a result.

The good news is that the event was amazing and we're planning our next event now. Jen Friedberg from the Star-Telegram came out and put together an awesome piece that we invite you to check out. Keep your eyes out for my next posts, there is a lot to cover!

Posted by: Blue Shoe Mike

Everything is not okay, but it's going to be alright!

Everything is not okay, but it's going to be alright! This week has not been a good one in the blues. We have sustained heavy losses one of which was Maurice Reedus, Robert Lockwood, Jr.'s long-time saxophone player. Maurice was a staple of The Robert Lockwood, Jr. Allstars for decades and also appeared on the Grammy award-winning album Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen - Live in Dallas. The album won Best Traditional Blues Album of the Year for 2007.

We are saddened at this loss as he was one of the many artists who participated in the Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen - Live in Dallas project.

Our friend Bob Corritore out of Phoenix has also reported the losses of Little Arthur Duncan, Phil Guy, and Hosea Leavy this week. Last week marked the passing of Jerry Wexler and Issac Hayes as well.

Maurice Reedus

* RIP Maurice Reedus 3/24/1930-8/18/2008: Maurice Reedus is best known as Robert Lockwood, Jr.'s longtime saxophonist. Word came from Mary Lockwood that Maurice left us on Monday, August 18, 2008 at 1:30pm in the Cleveland VA Hospital, after a long battle with cancer. His spare, jazz-tinged sax style was the perfect foil to Lockwood's stylized guitar, and that combination appeared over the years on classic Lockwood albums such as Contrasts, Does 12, and I Got To Find Me A WomanMaurice was associated with the . Lockwood sound for 35 years. His resume also includes work with Nancy Wilson, Jimmy Smith, Red Holloway, Hank Marr, Lou Rawls, and many others. There is more information and photos on Robert Lockwood, Jr.'s website, which you can see by clicking here, and then clicking on Maurice's name. Goodbye to a good man and a great player who was essential to that Robert Lockwood, Jr. sound that we loved.

Little Arthur Duncan

* RIP Little Arthur Duncan 2/5/1934-8/20/2008: It is with great sadness that we report yet another passing in this terrible week of losses to our blues community. Chicago harmonica ace Little Arthur Duncan passed away Wednesday morning, August 20, 2008 at Kindred Hospital in Northlake, IL. He was 74. He had been incapacitated for months with little hope of recovery. Born February 5, 1934 in Indianola, Mississippi, Arthur moved to Chicago at age 16, where he heard and befriended Little Walter, who inspired him to take up the harmonica. While holding down a construction day job, he began performing around Chicago with John Brim, Floyd Jones, and Hip Lankchan. He would later own and operate the Artesia Lounge on Lake Street, which moved to West Madison Street and reopened as Backscratcher's Social Club. Owning a club gave Arthur a regular place to perform, and he became a popular neighborhood attraction on the West Side. Twist Turner produced some of Arthur's first recordings, which appeared first on cassette and then on Cannonball Records' Blues Across America series. As Arthur's stature grew in Chicago, he recorded more, cutting two beautiful CDs for Delmark (Singin' With The Sun and Live At Rosa's Blues Lounge), and one for Random Chance (Live In Chicago). He was a simply great vocalist, with tremendous power and expressiveness; and his sparse harmonica was always on the money. He specialized in third position and chromatic harmonica. His final band included Illinois Slim, Rick Kreher, and Twist Turner. He had a warm and gracious personality, and his passing leaves a huge hole in the Chicago blues scene, as he was one of a handful of the dwindling old school harmonica masters. We will miss you, Arthur.

Phil Guy

* RIP Phil Guy 4/28/1940-8/20/2008: This news form Steve Hecht of Piedmont Talent and Buddy Guy's Legends: Guitarist/vocalist Phil Guy, the younger brother of the legendary Buddy Guy, passed away today at St. James Hospital in Olympia Fields, IL, after a battle with kidney and liver cancer. He was 68. Born April 28, 1940 in Lettsworth, Louisiana, Phil learned to play guitar as a child. He followed in Buddy's footsteps, playing after him with Baton Rouge artists Big Poppa and Raful Neal. He recorded as accompanist for his brother in 1957, for Raful Neal around 1958, and for Slim Harpo in the mid-60s. He joined his brother's band in Chicago in 1969, and has been based there ever since. He has worked and recorded with many of the city's leading artists, such as his brother, Junior Wells, Byther Smith, and Jimmy Dawkins. Phil began focusing his efforts on advancing his own musical career during the 80's and he developed a solid reputation as a tough, electrified Chicago blues guitarist. He toured all around the world; and though he never achieved the fame or recognition that his brother did, he was considered a star in his own right. His recordings are numerous and appear on labels such as JSP, Wolf, Isabel, and Red Lightning. Memorial info forthcoming.

Hosea Leavy

* RIP Hosea Leavy 11/26/1927- 08/12/2008: Another great one is gone. Fresno, California blues singer and guitarist Hosea Leavy died on Monday, August 12, 2008 of liver cancer. He was 80 years old. Born in Altheimer, Arkansas, just outside of Little Rock, he learned blues guitar from his father, and played throughout Arkansas before venturing out west during the 1960s. In 1968, Hosea's younger brother Calvin Leavy would record the hit record “Cummings Prison Farm” for Soul Beat Records, featuring Hosea's combo as the backing band. This led to a string of subsequent singles for both Calvin and Hosea. In 1977, Hosea settled permanently in Fresno, where he became a major part of that town's blues scene. In the 1990s, drummer Chris Millar produced sessions with Hosea that led to his only CDs, You Gotta Move, and a collaboration with Harmonica Slim called Cold Tacos and Warm Beer on the Fedora record label. A few additional cuts appear on the now out of print CD West Fresno Blues Masters, also on Fedora. A stirring vocalist and down home guitarist, Hosea had toured Europe and recently made a well-received appearance at the San Francisco Blues Festival. Don Heflin of Central Valley Blues Society and Deja Blues reports the following funeral information: The funeral service for Hosea Leavy (Granddaddy of the Blues) will be held this Friday, August 22, 2008 at 1pm. It will be at the Cooley Funeral Home, located at 1830 S. Fruit Ave, Fresno, CA 93706, tel. (559)268-6123. Afterwards, there will be a music celebration of life at the Hinton Community Center, 2385 S. Fairview Ave, Fresno, CA 93706, tel. (559)497-0795. To read the Hosea’s obituary in the Fresno Beehive, click here.

May these great men Rest in Peace.

Blue Shoe Bootcamp!

photo: Dean Knuth / azstarnet.com

When we ramp up a series of education events, it's a whirl-wind. The latest whirlwind took place at the John H. Wood Charter School District. They operate the educational infrastructure within several juvenile detention centers throughout Texas. Debi Christensen, the director of curriculum for the district reached out to us after hearing about one of our programs through word of mouth.

Each detention center housed kids under the age of 18 that had been convicted of serious crimes: aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, and sex offenses.

These detention centers are sort of an intermediary between the Texas Youth Commission and other alternative programs.

We decided that we would need to work with this kids on a more one-to-one basis which made a harmonica workshop program a perfect fit. Each kid was furnished with a real Hohner harmonica that we had custom-made with Blue Shoe insignia laser engraved on each instrument. After leaving the facilities, each kid will get to take the harps home with them.

You would think that starting from scratch and working with this population of at-risk kids would be seemingly impossible. This was quite the opposite. It was amazing how quick the kids picked up the harmonica lesson. Some of them even worked ahead in the book and you could hear them hammering out When the Saints Go Marching In before we even got to that part in the lesson.

Overall the program was a huge success. Around 175 kids had the opportunity to participate. Strong life-lessons were blended into the program and most of the kids attentively listened. They asked lots of questions and were genuinely inspired by the opportunity to learn how to play the harmonica.

John H. Wood Charter District wants to have us back and we are really looking forward to the opportunity to return in the 2008-2009 school year. Many of the kids many choose to continue to play the harmonica and maybe we’ll have our next Sonny Boy Williamson, by way of the Texas Juvenile Justice system? One thing is for certain, the kids will never forget the day that The Blue Shoe Project visited their campus. Time will only tell!

It was an amazing experience for Blue Shoe and we really appreciate John H. Wood Charter School District and specifically Debi Christensen for providing the opportunity to visit their wonderful students.

If you want to learn more about the John H. Wood Charter School visit their websites: http://www.jhwoodcharterschool.com/ and the new website (coming soon) http://www.woodcharter.com/

If you would like to support programs like this, visit The Blue Shoe Project website and donate today!

Posted by: Blue Shoe Mike

Honeyboy, Shuman, and Gibson

Alonzo Townsend, Scott Shuman, Jeff Dyson, Honeyboy Edwards, and Michael Dyson at the 50th Annual Grammy awards in Los Angeles

We have a google alert set up that lets us know about anything going on with The Legends. A cool article came across in the Washington Post today. Honeyboy received a brand new Les Paul from Gibson guitar in recognition of the recent Grammy win for Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen - Live in Dallas. It was presented to him at the show he played at Blues Alley in Washington D.C. It was cool to learn that our good friend Scott Shuman backed him up on guitar. We talked today and I asked him how he managed to do that!?

Honeyboy can be a bit challenging to follow on guitar...at least for me! Scott was able to pull it off though. Scott co-produced and engineered Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen - Live in Dallas and also performed on the album backing up the legendary Henry James Townsend. He is currently working on major label projects.

You can read more about the show and the recognition they received via The Washington Post website.