Chicago Blues All-Stars

Chicago Blues All-Stars
Background information
OriginChicago, Illinois, United States
Genres
Years active2007 (2007)–present
LabelsAzure Music
Members
  • Daniel Ivankovich
  • Anji Brooks
  • Carl Copeland
  • Daron Walker
  • Kenny Anderson
  • Johnny Cotton
  • Garrick Patten
Past membersRay Allison
  • Jerry Porter
  • Roosevelt Purifoy Jr.
  • Johnny B. Gayden
  • Scott Dirks
Websitewww.chicagobluesallstars.com

Chicago Blues All-Stars is an American blues band based in Chicago that incorporates elements of funk, soul, R&B and hip hop.[1][2] Chicago Blues All-Stars is made up of musicians that have been together as friends and musicians for four decades.[3] The band includes numerous inductees in the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame and has been a headliner for shows such as Buddy Guy's Legends featured on PBS and at music venues Kingston Mines and House Of Blues.[3][4] "Killer" Ray Allison, a W.C. Handy Award winner, and Daniel "Chicago Slim" Ivankovich, who has played with Bo Diddley, Otis Rush and Buddy Guy, are the band leaders, co-founders, and Blues Hall of Fame inductees.[5][6] Chicago Blues All-Stars have recorded with and performed with Chuck Berry, Paul Butterfield, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, James Cotton, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, Albert King, B.B. King, Magic Sam, Gary Moore, Ohio Players, The Rolling Stones, Otis Rush, Koko Taylor, Big Mama Thornton, Muddy Waters and Johnny Winter.[7]

Chicago Blues All-Stars has also performed in festivals such as the "Rockin' For The Troops" concert, an event held in Chicago to support service men and women in the military and the Fifteenth Annual Fountain Blues Festival.[8][9]

History

Ray Allison, a featured performer in Muddy Waters and The Rolling Stones Live at the Checkerboard Lounge, Chicago 1981, and Daniel Ivankovich, an orthopedic surgeon who once was musical director for Otis Rush, met at the ChicagoFest Blues stage on Navy Pier in the 1980s.[3][10] In 2007, Allison and Ivankovich formed the Chicago Blues All-Stars to create a new millennium version of their sound.[11] They wanted to create a music revue that people unfamiliar with blues music could experience and get excited about.[12] Additionally, they wanted to reach a younger audience that was interested in a variety of music but to catch their attention with blues.[11]

Allison died in 2016, aged 60.[13]

Reception

Chicago Blues All-Stars has received radio play on over 200 stations in 22 countries.[14] Since the album's release in December 2013, the band has remained at the top of ReverbNation’s Chicago and US Blues charts. Red, Hot & Blue broke Top 25 on Living Blues Radio Report, as well as reached Top 30 on the Roots Music Report. The album has been listed as number 35 on AirPlay Direct’s – All Time Top 50 APD Blues/Jazz/Reggae Albums.[14]

Members

  • "Killer" Ray Allison - Guitar, vocals (June 20, 1956 – October 6, 2016)[15]
  • Chicago Slim (Daniel Ivankovich) - Guitar, vocals
  • Anji Brooks - Vocals
  • Carl Copeland – Bass
  • Scott Dirks - Harmonica
  • Roosevelt Purifoy Jr - Keyboards, Organ
  • Daron Walker – Drums
  • Kenny Anderson - Trumpet
  • Johnny Cotton – Trombone
  • Garrick Patten - Saxophone

Discography

Album Artist Year Label Number Notes
Red, Hot, & Blue Chicago Blues All-Stars 2013 Azure 1001 Features "Killer" Ray Allison, Chicago Slim, Anji Brooks & All-Star Horns
The Definitive Buddy Guy Buddy Guy 2009 Shout! Factory 11303 Features Ray "Killer" Allison As Session Musician
Buddy's Baddest: The Best Of Buddy Guy Buddy Guy 1999 Sony/BMG 653582 Features Ray "Killer" Allison As Session Musician
Hound Dog Taylor: A Tribute Various Artists 1998 Alligator 514855 Features Ray "Killer" Allison As Session Musician
Force Of Nature Koko Taylor 1993 Alligator 514817 Features Ray "Killer" Allison As Session Musician
Living In The Danger Zone Son Seals 1991 Alligator 514798 Features Ray "Killer" Allison As Session Musician
Harp Attack! James Cotton 1990 Alligator 514790 Features Ray "Killer" Allison As Session Musician
Live On WXRT Otis Rush 1984 WXRT Archives Features Daniel Ivankovich (Chicago Slim) As Session Musician
Stone Crazy Buddy Guy 1981 Alligator 514723 Features Ray "Killer" Allison As Session Musician
Checkerboard Lounge: Live In Chicago 1981 Muddy Waters With The Rolling Stones 1981 Eagle 30553 Features Ray "Killer" Allison As Session Musician

References

  1. ^ William Spain (February 15, 2015). "In Chicago, a spoon full of blues help the medicine go down". USA Today. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  2. ^ Matt Marshall (April 6, 2011). "Doctor Dan Ivankovich – Big bluesman, bigger heart". American Blues Scene. Archived from the original on October 29, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Eric Schelkopf (June 26, 2014). "Chicago Blues All-Stars continues to breathe new life into music scene". The Total Scene. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  4. ^ ""Buddy Guy's Legends presents the Chicago Blues" coming to PBS". Buddy Guy. 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2015.[permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ Eileen Quaranto (August 1, 2013). "Chicago Blues All-Stars: Red, Hot & Blue Review". Blues Rock Review. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  6. ^ Matt Marshall (January 5, 2012). "Chicago Blues All-Stars live & burnin' at Kingston Mines in Chicago, tonight". American Blues Scene. Archived from the original on October 23, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  7. ^ "Chicago Blues All-Stars: Red, Hot & Blue". Chicago Blues All-Stars. 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  8. ^ "33 years of rosters". Fountain Blues Fest. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  9. ^ "WLS-FM/WIND-AM/WYLL-AM Team up to sponsor 'Rockin' For The Troops 2015' concert". Chicagoland Radio and Media. June 22, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  10. ^ "Chicago Blues All-Stars". GHS. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  11. ^ a b Linda Cain. "The doctor is in!". Chicago Blues Guide. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  12. ^ "Chicago Blues All-Stars Live @ Buddy Guy's Legends". YouTube. 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  13. ^ Barry Kerzner, "Chicago Legend “Killer” Ray Allison Passes at 60", American Blues Scene Archived 2017-02-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 January 2017
  14. ^ a b Barry Kerzner (December 10, 2014). "Chicago Blues All Stars are creating a bold new vision for the Blues". American Blues Scene. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  15. ^ Record Collector #461, December 2016, p.144