Tag Archives: Downchild Blues Band
Chuck Jackson’s All Star Band Plays Meaford Summer Concert Series
By Bill Monahan
On Friday, July 27th, Chuck Jackson and The All Stars headline the second concert in the free Meaford Summer Concert Series, at Market Square in downtown Meaford (beside Meaford Hall).
Chuck Jackson, from his home base in Port Credit, has become familiar to fans of the blues in the Southern Georgian Bay area, where he has brought his talents to a number of different venues, with different band line-ups. He is a highly respected blues singer and harmonica player, honoured in 2002 with a Blues With A Feeling Award from the Toronto Blues Society in recognition of his distinguished career. He’s also won Maple Blues Awards in 1999 and 2007 for Male Vocalist of the Year.
Chuck Jackson with Donny Walsh of Downchild
Although he originally made his name as lead singer of the Cameo Blues Band, he joined the Downchild Blues Band in 1990, replacing their original vocalist Hock Walsh, and has been touring with the band ever since, along with contributing original songs to the band’s repertoire. His All-Stars line-up usually includes Michael Fonfara and Pat Carey from Downchild as well. He has often teamed up with Tyler Yarema, including a duo concert last year which packed the Gayety Theatre in Collingwood as a Chris Scerri Presents event.
In addition to his busy career as a performing musician, Chuck is the founder and director of Port Credit’s popular annual fall bluesfest, called the Southside Shuffle, which has been running for twenty years. He relishes the opportunity through the festival to introduce some new acts to a devoted audience alongside the well-known headliners. In an interview last year with Mississauga News, he pointed out the he had introduced Jimmy Bowskill to the festival when he was just eleven years old, and since then Bowskill has gone on to win Maple Blues Awards and has become a member of the Sheepdogs.
Chuck Jackson and Tyler Yarema
It’s expected that Tyler Yarema will join the All-Stars for the show in Meaford, which starts at 7 pm and runs rain or shine.
Opening for the band will be Sophie Wensley, a rising local talent with an engaging R & B style.
Clap For The Sinners Choir
This Saturday, CROW Bar and Variety in Collingwood is bringing The Sinners’ Choir to town.
The best bands are always those that evolve naturally from a shared love of the music they play. That’s the case with this trio, in which players from three generations have come together to blend their talents. They also blend their voices, with an easy harmony that falls sweetly on your ear.
Working as a full-time musician, as with any job, can wear on you. The thing about musicians, though, is that more often than not when they take a break from their regular gig, their idea of relaxation is to get together with somebody else and play something different. That’s how this band came together. Their shared joy in what they do is so infectious that it has led to another regular gig for them. Their private jam sessions became public with a longstanding residency at The Rex in Toronto. As the public caught on to their sound, they found themselves having to set aside the occasional date at the Rex to take other offers, for which they are increasingly in demand. And now they are bringing their sweet harmonies to the sweet air of Georgian Bay.
The most seasoned pro of the group is bass player Terry Wilkins, whose name will be familiar to any fan of 80’s Toronto rock and blues. He was already established in Australia in the 60’s with a popular band called The Flying Circus. When they tried their luck in San Francisco, a chance meeting with members of McKenna Mendelson Mainline brought them to Toronto.
Making Toronto his permanent home, Terry played bass with Rough Trade from 1978 to 1982 and did stints with Lighthouse and David Wilcox. At the same time he played with a variety of visiting artists of wide-ranging styles, including Dr. John, Maria Muldaur and Levon Helm. Consistently working through the decades, he has worked more recently with Freeman Dre and The Kitchen Party.
Drummer Adam Warner has a similar history of being an in demand player, except he started a couple of decades later. He’s been around, playing at legendary clubs like The Cavern in Liverpool, CBGB’s in New York, and has played at a command concert for Paul Anka and birthday celebrations for the Queen of Holland. As a writer and composer, he has released solo works, composed musical backdrops for David Suzuki, and performed or recorded with various members of The Barenaked Ladies,The Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, Sloan, Great Big Sea, Big Sugar, and Moist.
Guitarist Adam Beer Colacino was busy growing up while his bandmates were making their international reputations. He’s worked with Devin Cuddy, Whitney Rose and members of Downchild Blues Band. He’s teamed up with blues guitarist Fraser Melvin and an 8-piece horn section in the The Melvin-Colacino Band.
The band takes turns on lead vocals, with the other two providing harmonies, as they mix it up with originals that reflect the wide-ranging experience and tastes of the players. When a band loves playing together as much as these three obviously do, it is always a delight for the audience.
A Night To Remember At The Gayety Theatre
Review by Bill Monahan of Tyler Yarema Chuck Jackson concert Oct. 5th, 2017
With their show last night at The Gayety Theatre in Collingwood, Tyler Yarema and Chuck Jackson wanted to record a live CD that would capture the excitement of their live shows when they perform as a duo. They succeeded. The theatre was filled with fans who showered them with an outpouring of love from start to finish.
It was clearly as exciting for the performers as it was for the audience. They approached the show with the discipline required to assure that it resulted in a good recording but that didn’t stop them from pulling out all the stops to fill the room with energy.
“I’ve been performing for forty-seven years,” said Chuck, whose regular gig is as vocalist and harmonica player for the Downchild Blues Band, while taking a sip between songs, “ and this is the first time I’ve drunk water on stage.” After a pause, he added, “And the last!” He also said it’s the first time they have performed with a set list. Each of them has such a wide-ranging repertoire and they’ve been playing with each other as a duo long enough that they usually can wing it on stage, following their whims.
The Thursday Outlook – Sept. 28 to Oct. 2, 2017
Live music fans have some tough choices to make on a very busy Thursday night tonight.
Meaford Hall presents Measha Brueggergosman tonight on a return visit. This year she has released a memoir called “Something is AlwaysOn Fire”, reflecting on the ups and downs of her life in opera on the world stages. Her work is not restricted to opera. On stage she explores spirituals, gospel hymns and jazz standards, following her own personal path. Earlier in the year she released “Songs of Freedom”, a collection of songs that, as she told Vision TV, “were born out of a time when my people were oppressed and needed to find a way not only to communicate with each other, but also to express themselves”. Selections include Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Got Tell It On The Mountain, This Little Light Of Mine, He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands and, Amazing Grace. With her four-piece band, she usually mixes in some jazz standards like My Funny Valentine. All of these elements will combine tonight to give the audience a sense of the things that are most meaningful to her.
Fans of local talent are excited about the CD release party tonight at Heartwood Hall in which Drew McIvor performs his new recording with a 10-piece band, with an opening set by Luke Martin. Drew will have copies of “Through The Tangle of Trees” hot off the press for sale at the concert.
Piano man Tyler Yarema, who specializes in stride piano and boogie-woogie, will be joining Tamica Herod and The Harbour Street Band tonight at the Harbour Street Fish Bar for what is sure to be a rocking show. Tyler will be back in Collingwood a week from tonight with a special concert at The Historic Gayety Theatre. He and Chuck Jackson, lead vocalist for the Downchild Blues Band, play a lot of duo dates together and at next week’s concert they will be recording a live CD in a celebrative event that gathers a number of friends to join them.
This Saturday at The Gayety Theatre, rockabilly fans will be treated to a performance by Robert Gordon, voice of the rockabilly revival that engulfed England in the late 70’s. Celebrated for his authentic sound, his debut album paired him with Link Wray, a guitarist who didn’t mimic the early rockers but actually was one. Gordon’s repertoire spans early Elvis, Gene Vincent and others from that era who defined a new sound that disappeared all too quickly for some people. His show in the town that hosts the world’s largest annual Elvis festival, should attract a cohort of discerning fans.
