Westsylvania: The Lineup

The first annual Westsylvania Jazz and Blues Festival will be held in Indiana, PA, on May 24. Either the organizers had more money than I thought, or they've negotiated some real bargains. The headliners are the Poogie Bell Band, with guest star, Pittsburgh trumpeter Sean Jones, and Louisiana slide guitarist Sonny Landreth. Biographies of the headliners can be found here, so I'll just give you some samples of their music.

Sonny Landreth

What you need to know about Sonny Landreth is that he is one of the best slide guitarists in the country. You'll want to get a front seat, so you can watch his hands. He is based in Lafayette, LA, in the Southwestern part of the state, between Baton Rouge and the Texas border. It's known as the gateway to Acadia, and ground zero for Cajun culture. Landreth plays a combination of zydeco, New Orleans R&B and Louisiana swamp blues, not unlike the repertoire of folks like Tab Benoit or Kenny Neal. Here he is playing "Zydeco Shuffle."

Landreth is known for his guitar playing rather than his singing. In fact, his latest CD, Elemental Journey, is all instrumental. To give you a sample of his singing, here is one of his signature tunes, "Congo Square."

Poogie Bell

Poogie Bell is a drummer, known primarily as a sideman with Marcus Miller and a number of other jazz, funk and R&B groups. For the least ten years, he has led his own group. Here they are doing the Crusaders' song, "Keep That Same Old Feeling."

Sean Jones

Sean Jones is one of our best contemporary post-hard bop jazz trumpeters, as can be heard on his six Mack Avenue CDs. He is the director of the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra, whose future is uncertain, since they were associated with the now defunct August Wilson Center. (It's not their fault; they always filled the place.)

Here's a favorite of mine, "Look and See," from his latest CD.

Jones and Bell might appear to be a stylistic mismatch. However, Jones is extremely versatile, and, in fact, he also played with Marcus Miller. (A two hour Miller concert featuring Jones can be found here.) The danger, however, is that in adjusting his style to play with Bell, he will give a performance that is less than that of which he is capable.

The rest of the lineup consists of one local blues band, the Jukehouse Bombers, and five jazz groups, the Chop Shop, the Dad Band, the Electromotives, the Old Masters and the Westsylvania Jazz All-Stars, a high school group. The Jukehouse Bombers will pay tribute to the late Indiana County bluesman, Jeff Kelley, who died last year. You can read more about these groups and get updated information about the festival here. When I get a time schedule, I'll post it.

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Westsylvania Jazz and Blues Festival

Update: Westsylvania Jazz and Blues Festival