Teen guitarist and vocalist Matthew Davidson, of Shreveport, has won the 2011 Robert Johnson New Generation Award.
Davidson, 13, said it is an honor to be chosen for the award. About 25 young musicians were considered.
“It’s an award given out annually to guitarists 12 to 18 years old that helps young kids like myself keep interested in the blues and respect the blues,” Davidson said.
Johnson was a blues singer and guitarist who recorded 29 songs between 1936 and 1937 for the American Record Corp. According to the Robert Johnson Blues Foundation website, in the decades after his death in 1938, Johnson has become known as the King of the Delta Blues Singers, with artists such as the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and the Allman Brothers who have recorded his songs.
“Robert Johnson is one of the greatest blues players. He kind of started it all and paved the way for so many,” Davidson said.
Steven Johnson, grandson of Robert Johnson and vice president of the foundation, said it was Davidson’s style and professionalism that set him apart.
“His style was kind of advanced for his age,” Johnson said. “It was crisp; it was professional. His style with that electric guitar was amazing.”
As winner of the award, Davidson also will receive a Robert Johnson Signature Gibson L-1 guitar and a chance to play at a future foundation event.
Davidson’s musical influences include the Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Stevie Ray Vaughan, ZZ Top and Chuck Berry.
“I’ve always been a huge fan of the Beatles,” he said. “In the past couple of years, I’ve started getting into the blues, and that’s been great for me because I’ve gotten so many opportunities and honours in the blues world. But I still like classic rock and some pop.”
Davidson’s band, the Matthew Davidson Band, includes 15-year-old drummer Kyle McClanahan; Chris Campisi on bass; and 15-year-old Gregory Walton on keyboard.
“We’re playing at Holiday in Dixie in April and then my band and I are really excited to be playing at the New Orleans Jazz Fest on May 5,” Davidson said. “That’s also an honour to get invited to play there.”
(From http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20120105/NEWS01/201050320/Shreveport-teen-wins-Robert-Johnson-New-Generation-Award?odyssey=tab%7Cmostpopular%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE)
Teen Wins Robert Johnson New Generation Award
Tom Hill, WireImage
The Curaçao Tourist Board acquired the guitar and experts from Gibson Guitar confirmed it was, indeed, the missing guitar, long missing from Frampton’s collection.
Slash has been talking about his new in-progress album. It will feature singer Myles Kennedy for all tracks. After the festive break, Slash and Co. return to the studio to continue recording and mixing the as-yet-unnamed album, and the Les Paul-toting star predicts an April release.
Jazz saxophonist Sam Rivers, a leading figure during the strikingly innovative post-World War II jazz period, died on Monday from pneumonia, the New York Times has reported. Rivers was 88. A multi-instrumentalist, Rivers zeroed in on the tenor saxophone in the mid ‘40s, and soon became an integral part of the then-thriving Boston jazz scene. During the ‘60s he played with such seminal artists as Miles Davis, T-Bone Walker and Billie Holiday. In the ‘70s, working out of his loft-apartment studio in New York’s East Village, he made a series of albums that solidified his reputation as a central figure in New York’s avant-garde jazz “loft scene.” Later Rivers work extensively with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, who had been an early influence. After moving to Florida in the early ‘90s, he performed and recorded with his band, the Rivbea Orchestra, and with small combos. This past year saw the release of a 3-CD set titled Sam Rivers and the Rivbea Orchestra – Trilogy, which features recordings from 2008 and 2009.
While Bon Jovi fields death rumours (yes, he’s alive and well), his lead guitarist Richie Sambora is starting work on his third solo album at Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood. According toBroadcast Newsroom, Sambora has tapped Luke Ebbin, who manned the boards for Bon Jovi albums Crush and Bounce, for the project.
Ralph MacDonald, an esteemed percussionist and composer who co-wrote the hits “Just the Two of Us” and “Where is the Love?,” died on Sunday (December 18) of lung cancer. The Connecticut resident was 67.
‘Bat Chain Puller’ will now be released on what would have been Beefheart’s – real name Don Van Vliet – 71st birthday. Vliet died in 2010 at the age of 69, due to complications from multiple sclerosis.