Anyone up for some Chicago Blues? The loud and upfront stuff, loaded with attitude and belting slide guitar and soulful vocals? Joanna Connor has all that and a fair bit more besides.
She is actually a long time resident of Chicago (born in Massachusetts) so not merely playing in the style of but steeped in the culture and history of Chicago Blues.
Debuting at Chicago’s premiere blues club, Kingston Mines, in the 1980s, she played there three nights a week ever since, in between gigs at larger clubs and festivals, before the spread of the pandemic earlier this year. She has played with Blues royalty including Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Junior Wells and Jimmy Page and released 14 albums during her career.
Says Joanna, “We chose the album title “4801 South Indiana Avenue” because it was the actual street address of the hallowed funky blues sanctuary “Theresa’s Lounge.” We want the listener to open that door, walk in and feel to their core some of the magic that a place like that brought night after night. It was an honour to bring this to you the listener.”
The album is on Joe Bonamassa’s new label Keeping The Blues Alive (KTBA) and the great man produced it along with Josh Smith and they both play on it as well. The whole thing is a masterpiece of Blues/rock.
Frankly, there is nothing about the album I don’t like. Her guitar playing is spectacular – funky one moment, ripping out some speedy slide the next and tearing up the riffs the next – and her vocals are just on the right side of screamed – almost a punk attitude to her singing at timex. There is a terrific sense of fun about the album and I really couldn’t switch it off once I’d cued it up.
Music like this makes you realize just how vital Blues is and how it sits at the core of so much great music made in the last 60 years. Joanna Connor is a classic performer and this is right there at the top of the tree. Terrific album.
Album is released by KTBA Records on Feb 26th and can be pre-ordered from - https://jbonamassa.com/albums/2021/joannaconnor/4801/
