NorthernBlues Music

Just Arrived!

The Future of the Blues, Volume 3

Over 70 minutes of ground-breaking blues!
Includes 2 unreleased Watermelon Slim tracks!
For only $10.00 (postage included) »

"Few record labels are as musically adventurous or as diverse as NorthernBlues. Fred Litwin has developed and nurtured a cadre of musicians that break down barriers and stretch musical boundaries; he's helped me to discover new ways to experience the blues."

-Eric Steiner
Washington Blues Society

Artists on the sampler include Watermelon Slim, Doug Cox & Salil Bhatt, Homemade Jamz Blues Band, Moreland & Arbuckle, Samuel James, Paul Reddick, Eddie Turner, Carlos del Junco, JW-Jones, The Twisters, Mason Casey, Zac Harmon and Mem Shannon.

The Future of the Blues, Volume 2
is still available from our online store »

Review
Play Blues Guitar
May 2005
NorthernBlues in Canada has brewed up an unsurpassed catalog of blues in just four short years because it’s about the music, first and foremost. Our good neighbors above the border have "big ears" and the strength of conviction to record what they dig and then trust their audience to have the same taste and sense of adventure. Rich and intoxicating aural treats await those willing to imbibe and this sampler should be enough to wet any fan’s whistle for more. From the sweet sass of singer Janiva Magness to the genre-bending songs of country blues and rock young blood David Jacobs-Strain, the barely-contained, off-kilter energy of John and the Sisters and the African and American musical stew of Dan Treanor and Frankie Lee comes an unsubtle hint of the major talent lurking within. Boston’s "Queen of the Blues," Toni Lynn Washington, will tear your heart out with her classic country blues and soul while Paul Reddick has absorbed prewar blues and filtered them through his own fresh sensibility.

As would be expected there is no shortage of high wattage electric guitar heroes on the label, but these fret-benders are never content to play it safe. J.W. Jones may be the most traditional with his houserocking jump blues, but the cat knows how to make his Strat honk with unquestioned authority. Eddie Turner, the voodoo axeman who was Otis Taylor’s instrumental foil for years, is represented with the hypnotic, interstellar country blues title track from his solo debut CD. Perhaps the two pickers who best exemplify the rambunctious spirit of the label are Kevin Breit and Harry Manx. To call their approach to the blues surrealistic is to only begin to describe just how wacky, but totally cool, these two idiosyncratic string-ticklers are as they mesh chops with an otherworldly bent. Breit also makes an appearance on harp-virtuoso Carlos del Junco’s track where they turn Little Walter’s "Blues With A Feeling" into a grinding, loopy shuffle for the next millennium, appropriate to the CD’s title.

- Dave Rubin

Review
Blues Bytes
February 2005

Without fear, NorthernBlues’ President, Fred Litwin, releases music that he truly believes in. Proudly and openly he states his label’s mission is to stretch the boundaries of the blues. He has been doing that for four years, and his novel label isn’t going without notice. So far his 27 releases (not including samplers) have received Juno, W.C. Handy, Independent Music, and Maple Blues Award nominations. Some of those nominations have turned into winners. There are 15 songs by 16 artists on this 70-minute Future Of The Blues, Vol.2 sampler. Interspersed with the familiarity of American Blues, Dan Treanor and Frankie Lee contain the right blend of foreign rhythms and sounds. Treanor plays his hand-built African instruments on their innovative cut. New Brunswick’s Glamour Puss combines their unrestrained talents to create happy, upbeat, groovin’ music that celebrates life. Janiva Magness’ NorthernBlues CD was really Colin Linden’s project. His distinctive production and robust guitar provides strong evidence for this proposition. It is great to see an artist mature with every record. Listeners, who have graduated along with JW-Jones’ previous two releases, experience that when they hear "Let’s Have A Ball." Incorporating a slew of uncommon instruments (highland bagpipes), Taxi Chain is not your stereotypical roots music band. "Back Water Blues" combines one classy lady, Toni Lynn Washington, with one classy band. The stringed instruments, performed by David Jacobs-Strain, are dreamy. His impressive slide and deep vocals carry his pop country offering found here. Harry Manx’s Eastern music influences are obvious. He and Kevin Breit mix East Indian music with acoustic Delta guitar for an extremely unique sound on the disc’s oldest track from February 2003. Carlos del Junco mixes his hurling harp and uninspired vocals with Breit’s grunge-like guitar. Well into the song, Breit gains control and cranks out an assaulting tone. Charismatic piano and sly organ carry you away on John And The Sisters’ hand-clapping, foot-stomping hoedown. Their unreleased, poignant instrumental is the CD’s highlight. James Cohen’s brilliant flamenco guitar has a feel of vaudeville and the roaring ‘20s. Brian Blain uses an interesting twist on words via his cheeky number. Although the word blues appears in this label’s name, the sounds and rhythms of Litwin’s progressive artists are all over the map. Litwin chose the artists since he felt "they are making music that is fresh, original and simply sublime." He also challenges the sampler’s purchasers to "open your ears, your minds and your hearts." Litwin continues to release modern music that no other label will. For blues fans, it looks like the best is yet to come. 2005 will deliver debut NorthernBlues releases by Chris Beard and Mem Shannon. Too bad they aren’t included on this sampler.

-Tim Holek