A.J. Croce –
By Request (Compass): “Over the past three decades, A.J. Croce has established his rep as a piano man and serious vocal stylist who pulls from a host of American traditions and anti-heroes it’s part New Orleans, part juke joint, part soul. While his last album, JUST LIKE MEDICINE, paired him with soul legend Dan Penn and an all-star cast of players, his new album was born of memories of favorite artists and shows, but mostly, of late-night gatherings with groups of friends, many of them fellow musicians, with Croce at the piano taking requests. Croce revisits these musical evenings with BY REQUEST, 12 personally curated covers that traverse decades and genres, propelled by his spirited, loose-and-easy piano mastery and emotive vocals. It’s a tribute to Croce the music fan as well as Croce the musician that both the variety from pop to RnR to soul and execution is inspired, aided by a full band and horns. BY REQUEST is the first album Croce has released
Lucky Clark On Music: Curtis Salgado
Alligator recording artist to release 11th album of his 40-year career on Feb. 26.
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Curtis Salgado Photo by Dragan Tasic
The last time I chatted with Curtis Salgado was back in February of 2017 when he was coming to the Time Out Pub in Rockland for a show on March 6 of that year. He was out supporting his newest Alligator album, “The Beautiful Lowdown.” Not long after our conversation I learned that he had undergone quadruple bypass heart surgery, so when I got word that he was going to have a brand new CD out this month, I really wanted to interview him again, especially seeing that it was called “Damage Control.” I reached him at his home in Portland, Oregon, but before I got the chance to question him about that seemingly cryptic title he shared some pertinent information.
Curtis Salgado and his Damage Control life February 23 2021
Longtime blues star navigates pandemic with same vigor as past, welcoming new album but yearning to perform live.
Curtis Salgado s life, along with the lives of about 8 billion other people, changed about this time last year. And, in his now 67-year-old wisdom, he saw it coming. The music industry, in particular, would be on proverbial life support.
Salgado, the longtime Portland bluesman and singer and nine-time winner of Blues Music Awards, played at a full-house gig in Everett, Washington, last February, walked off the stage and heard the news. The coronavirus had reached Washington state. But it didn t stop Salgado, who, along with guitarist Alan Hager, kept a commitment to do a show in Saipan, Japan, in March 2020.