Big Blues Brings Big Fun to the Sanibel Blues and Jazz Festival
The blues rolled into town on a recent tropical weekend on Sanibel Island with blues legend Elvin Bishop and British guitar powerhouse Matt Schofield on board. Headliners Bishop and Schofield topped a day of blues on Sunday, November 5, at The Sanibel Blues and Jazz Festival, which also featured local artists including The Marty Stokes Band, 14-year-old guitar phenom Johnny Jensen, and the Florida Gulf Coast University Jazz Combo.
Now tiny Sanibel Island off the coast of Southwest Florida, with a full-time population of less than 7,000 residents (including moi), is the last place you’d expect to find international talent like Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Elvin Bishop and international blues sensation Matt Schofield. Yet there they were, each bringing the gospel of the blues to a boisterous and appreciative crowd that had come from as far away as Miami and Orlando to see them.
Young talents and openers Florida Gulf Coast University Jazz Combo and Johnny Jensen showed blues lovers in attendance that the genre was safe in the hands of the next generation. Jensen impressed many grizzled old blues aficionados that day with expert guitar work and heartfelt covers of such classics as “Southbound,” “Crossroads” and “Pride and Joy.” No doubt this young man would be around for a long time to come, with his talents ripening over time.
Next up, Southwest Florida favorites The Marty Stokes Band laid down their raw, melodic brand of progressive blues that included original tunes and covers of classics like “Hurricane Blues,” “I Wanna Know” and “Meantime Blues.”
Comprised of Marty Stokes on guitar, slides and vocals; Jennifer Mazziotti on tenor sax; Daryl Best on bass; Sonny Boy Williams on keyboards; and Rick Whiteman on drums, The Marty Stokes Band pulled out all the stops for original songs like “Slide Boogie” and “Leavin’ Blues,” the title cut off the band’s last release. Mazziotti’s sax solo wailed to the heavens on “It Ain’t About You,” and Stokes’s vocals and guitar reverberated with hard, deep blues in “Whiskey Drinkin’ Woman.” Stokes and company closed out the hour-long set with tight versions of “Down On My Knees” and “Pick Up The Phone,” both original tunes that had the already boogieing audience restless for more.
By the time Matt Schofield hit the stage, the crowd had swelled to a respectable size in anticipation of the British Blues Hall of Famer’s ace performance. Backed up by the young, uber-talented members of the Miami-based funk-fusion bands Electric Kif and The Lemon City Trio, Schofield filled the surrounding airspace with rich renditions of originals like “What I Wanna Hear,” “Live Wire” and “See Me Through.”
The foursome let loose each of their respective talents on an extended, funked-up version of “Siftin’ Thru Ashes,” where the full force of Schofield’s rhythmic guitar work and soulful vocals rocked the dancers down front. It was 12 minutes of bliss absorbing Schofield’s guitar and smokin’ hot solos by Lemon City Trio drummer Aaron Glueckauf and Electric Kif members, bassist Digo and keyboard player Jason Matthews.
A special treat came in a small package when Schofield brought out one of the best bluesy soul singers whom you’ve never heard of – Christine Tambakis. Hailing from the Big Apple, Tambakis’s diminutive size (don’t think she breaks five feet) hides a huge stage presence and an even bigger voice. Belting out the Junior Wells tune “Little By Little,” she left us wondering where and when we could see her again.
Schofield brought the crowd back down to earth with the deep, steaming blues of “Where Do I Stand” and then brought them back up with the his kinetic fret work on “Hindsight,” only to leave them breathless with “Troublemaker” as the closer. This was Schofield’s second time at the Sanibel Blues and Jazz Festival, but it won’t be his last, especially now that Florida can claim him as a one of our own with the recent purchase of a new home in the Sunshine State.
Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio is aptly named since that’s exactly what they turned out to be when they took the stage. With percussionist Willie Jordan on vocals and cajon box drum and Bob Welsh on guitar and piano, a delightfully crotchety Bishop took the audience through an exuberant romp through the band’s recent release called Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio. (Well, duh!)
From the opening jaunty beats of “Let’s Go” with Bishop and Jordan trading vocals to the stripped-down vibe of “Honey Babe” and the running tongue-in-cheek commentary about our current state of affairs with “Keep On Rollin,’” you knew this was going to be a funhouse ride.
The night was full of treats too, like Fats Domino’s “Let The Four Winds Blow” and Bobby Womack’s “It’s All Over Now,” with Jorda’s joyous vocals and skilled drumming on what amounted to a simple wooden box bringing the crowd to their feet to boogie.
I wondered how Bishop would pull off his only foray into pop with the monster ’70s hit “Fooled Around And Fell In Love” for this audience of blues purists. I was pleasantly surprised when he launched into a more soulful, bluesy version of the song with Jordan on vocals and an audience that happily sung along to close. It was a sweet and silly way to end a satisfying and uplifting evening under the stars on my little island.
