by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
What: The Blind Boys of Alabama with Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
When: Friday & Saturday, February 22 & 23, 8 pm
Where: Jacoby Hall at the Florida Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts
Steeped in gospel music tradition, the Blind Boys of Alabama have toured and delighted audiences since 1939. The group has changed with the times and gone through many stylistic and musical incarnations from traditional gospel to modern electric music inspired by gospel. Original member Jimmy Carter leads the band today with the firm conviction of presenting joyous music continually updated with modern arrangements and players.
EU had the opportunity to speak to the group’s drummer, Ricky McKinnie.
“The group was started in Birmingham, Alabama. Billy Bowers and Jimmy Carter are blind and still live in Alabama. Ben Moore is also blind, but he lives in Florida. I’m blind also and I play drums and sing backup vocals. I live in Atlanta. Joey Williams on lead guitar lives in NYC. Tracy Pierce on bass lives in Augusta, Georgia. Caleb Butler on guitar lives in North Carolina. So we all get together for the gigs. Usually, we fly into the city where the gig is located. Occasionally, we go out on a bus tour. We come together to make it happen!”
The Blind Boys now present a fusion of gospel and blues-influenced grooves assimilated from past and present modern music. Recently, the Blind Boys have recorded an album influenced by the spirit of New Orleans titled Blind Boys down in New Orleans with distinguished New Orleans musicians as guest artists.
“We had some great New Orleans legends on that record like Allen Toussaint and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. We made adjustments to our style to accommodate the New Orleans style of Dixieland jazz. We had to get used to the beat, but they were so nice and patient with us. We worked with our producer Chris Goldsmith and our manager Charles Driebe to make this project happen,” said McKinnie of the tour to support the new release.
“Our involvement with New Orleans was for the inspirational music and to help support the people while they rebuild after Katrina. Some of us can’t get up on a ladder and pound nails, we mostly gave them moral support by singing gospel songs to uplift their hearts. For that reason, the album we made in New Orleans has special significance to all of us, since New Orleans was the epicenter of the emergence of spirituals, blues, and jazz in the old days. To have such a historic city destroyed by a hurricane was tragic, and we want to do our part to restore this great music city back to its glory.”
On the Blind Boys’ website Jimmy Carter said, “The opening track of Down in New Orleans rearranges the old spiritual ‘Free at Last’ as a second-line funk. We also rearranged a song by one of the city’s premier writers, the late Earl King, ‘Make a Better World.’ We did it as a secular piece rather than a sacred hymn, but the message was about making a better world spiritually and secularly. ‘If I Can Help Somebody’ has a hurricane healing message of moral support. Just making the record was a spiritual journey that made everyone feel better about New Orleans’ future.”
Ricky went on to say, “Our sound is still rooted in gospel but we have learned to work with different artists such as Peter Gabriel and Robert Randolph and many other musicians to come up with new spins on our original gospel sound. It’s our chorus of voices that distinguish us from other groups. Our hearts and soul are in gospel, but we are continually changing our sound to accommodate our guest artists and keep our sound new and vibrant,”
Yes, Ricky’s words came across with righteous truth and confirm my high opinion of this roots music group. The Blind Boys’ New Orleans music came along at just at the right time when the folks in the Big Easy are struggling to rebuild after being let down by our government and FEMA. Having recently appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (on February 1st) the Blind Boys are now coming to the River City to be accompanied by the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, which will be conducted by Henry Panion. The two performances are sponsored in honor of the City Rescue Mission staff and tickets range from $25 to $65.
Article Published in the 2-21-08 Issue of EU Jacksonville
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