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Maria Muldaur’s
latest album for
Stony Plain
Records,
Naughty, Bawdy &
Blue, is
a unique concept
that goes
well-beyond a
regular
“tribute” CD.
It’s the
combination of
her talent,
knowledge of the
music and
utilization of
musicians who’ve
played with some
of the artists
saluted on this
CD that enables
her to re-create
the sound,
passion and
presentation of
these songs. In
fact, it’s fair
to say that
Maria is
probably the
only present-day
singer who could
pull off an
album like this
with the kind of
authenticity
that surpasses
any others.
That’s because
for over 40
years as a
performer, she’s
literally lived
the life of
someone steeped
in the American
roots music
songbook,
whether it’s
blues, jazz,
gospel, folk,
country or
rhythm & blues.
She’s the real
deal, a true
natural resource
without any
artificial
affectations or
jive.
For Maria
Muldaur, the
inspiration to
sing and perform
literally
arrived in her
own backyard.
Born and raised
in the Greenwich
Village section
of
New York City,
Maria was at the
epicenter of the
burgeoning folk
and roots music
boom that
happened in the
early ‘60s, with
Greenwich
Village as its
hub. The pull of
this exciting
new music was
strong, drawing
singers,
songwriters and
musicians such
as a young Bob
Dylan from all
across the USA
to “The Village”
to be a part of
that scene.
“At the tender
age of 17, I ran
away from home,”
recounts Maria
in her new
album’s liner
notes. “I wound
up about seven
blocks away,
taking care of
two young girls
in exchange for
my room and
board, while
continuing my
senior year of
high school.
Every evening
when the kids
were in bed and
the parents were
out, I would
spend hours
exploring the
vast collection
of original
blues an jazz
recordings that
took up one
whole wall,
floor to
ceiling, God
must have sent
me to that
family because
on those shelves
was all the
great American
music I would
end up loving
and exploring my
whole life!”
During the same
time, Maria
discovered the
bluegrass and
“old timey”
music of the
American rural
south, which
also informed
her musical
upbringing. All
of these
elements
inspired Maria
to sing, learn
how to play the
fiddle and
perform,
eventually
becoming a
member of the
Even Dozen Jug
Band, whose
members included
John Sebastian,
David Grisman
and Stefan
Grossman. She
later joined the
Jim Kweskin Jug
Band, which
included her
future husband,
Geoff Muldaur.
It was also
around that time
that she met
legendary blues
singer Victoria
Spivey, who took
Maria under her
wing and taught
her the finer
points of blues
singing and
performing.
Throughout her
critically-lauded
career as a
singer and
performer, Maria
has held tight
to her roots,
carrying the
torch for these
truly American
music forms.
Even her
substantial
commercial
success with
songs such as
“Midnight at the
Oasis,” “I’m a
Woman” and
others, owes a
debt to the
music she loves.
Naughty, Bawdy &
Blue
completes the
trilogy of
albums the
acclaimed singer
has released as
a tribute to
classic women
blues singers
from the 1920s
through the
1940s. Both of
Maria’s previous
albums in this
series for Stony
Plain Records,
which is
distributed in
the U.S. by
Navarre
Corporation,
were nominated
for Grammy
Awards:
Richland Woman
Blues
(2001) and
Sweet Lovin’
Ol’ Soul
(2005).
Backing Maria
Muldaur on most
of the new album
is James
Dapogny’s
Chicago Jazz
Band, who often
performed with
blues great
Sippie Wallace,
one of the blues
women honored on
the new CD.
Dapogny’s band
provides the
perfect
accompaniment of
instruments
(clarinet, sax,
trumpet,
trombone, tuba,
banjo, guitar,
piano, bass and
drums) to these
songs, a sassy
mix of blues and
jazz.
Maria’s fellow
“blues sister”
Bonnie Raitt
makes a special
guest appearance
on
Naughty, Bawdy &
Blue
singing a duet
with Maria on
“Separation
Blues,” a song
written by
Sippie Wallace,
with whom Bonnie
toured in the
‘70s and ‘80s.
During that
time, both Maria
and Bonnie got
the opportunity
to sing the song
with Sippie, who
passed away in
1986
“How great to
hear these
classic blues
again, done up
right by one of
my favorite
singers and the
incredible James
Dapogny’s
Chicago Jazz
Band,” says
Bonnie Raitt
about the new
album. “I loved
joining in on
Sippie Wallace’s
‘Separation
Blues’!”
Other guests on
the CD include
Dave Mathews on
piano and Kevin
Porter on
trombone.
Naughty, Bawdy &
Blue was
produced
by Maria Muldaur
and Ron Harwood
and recorded at
Solid Sound in
Ann Arbor,
Michigan.
In addition to
Sippie Wallace,
the other blues
queens saluted
on the album
include Bessie
Smith (“Empty
Bed Blues,” “A
Good Man Is Hard
To Find”),
Victoria Spivey
(“TB Blues,”
“One Hour
Mama”), Alberta
Hunter (“Early
Every Morn”), Ma
Rainey (“Yonder
Come The Blues”)
and Mamie Smith
(“Down Home
Blues”), as well
as songs made
famous by Ethel
Waters and Sara
Martin, plus
another Sippie
Wallace classic,
“Up the Country
Blues.”
“These singers
presented a more
sophisticated,
polished and
urban blues
style compared
to the more
primitive sound
of the Delta
blues artists,”
says Maria.
“Appearing in
large theaters,
decked out in
lavish finery
and accompanied
by the most
accomplished
jazz musicians
of the day,
their music
resonated at the
crossroads where
jazz and blues
meet. In a way,
they were among
our very first
‘pop stars,’
selling millions
of records in an
era when times
were hard and
money was
scarce. These
women were
‘liberated’ way
before the term
was coined;
liberated
socially,
financially and
- most of all –
sexually from
the prevailing
confines and
mores of the
time. They
transformed
their personal
feelings and
experiences into
transcendent
artistic
expression,
skillfully
blending
ingredients of
heartbreak,
passion, desire
and joy in a way
that still
speaks to us
today.”
Maria Muldaur
has certainly
been a good
student of blues
and jazz, and
Naughty,
Bawdy & Blue
may be her
best statement
yet at
demonstrating
what she has
learned.
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