Jonn Richardson, Diunna Greenleaf, and Bob Corritore — Image by kenne
I didn’t realize how much I needed a “Diunna Fix” till I was out doing a morning walk listening to my iTunes music. I like to shuffle through the music, when “Growing Up and Growing Old” (On the CD, Trying To Hold On) started playing, which is one of my favorite Blues/Gospel tunes. I knew then, I would be listening to more Diunna today.
“I Aspire to Inspire Before I Expire” — Diunna Greenleaf
Video by kenne
Jonn Richardson and Diunna Greenleaf — Image by kenne
We are pleased to have known Diunna for about twenty years. Joy and I consider her a very close friend. And when it comes to singing the Blues, there’s none better. Here’s another video from the same show, in case you also need a “Diunna Fix.” Get a load of Jonn’s guitar playing need the end of this video, the Del Toro really comes out!
A Song of Silence — Mean Gene Kelton Computer Art by kenne
A Song of Silence
Music is
what enables you
in your work,
soothes you
when you rest
reminds you
of images past
of dreams yet fulfilled.
It is not the words,
nor the beat,
nor the instruments,
nor the relationships.
It is the rhythm
of the moments,
composed by
the silence between.
Double Bayou Dance Hall (October 19, 2002) — Image by kenne
Down the road from Jackson’s Grocery the blues was hangin’ on the hot, humid breeze at Pete’s place where Bar-B-Q was served on white bread off the back of an old pick-up truck.
On weekends the blues would be swinging through the tall gulf coast pines of southeast Texas attracting outsiders from Houston to hear Pete sing and play The Blues at the Double Bayou.
By chance the life of Pete and the dance hall ended in 2008 — Hurricane Ike destroyed the dancehall in September, and after years of poor health, Pete passed away the following December. He was 70 — for Pete’s sake!
Archie Bell, Ken and Mary Harris (May 20, 2017) Image by kenne
Video by kenne
Hi everybody I’m Archie Bell of the Drells, from Houston, Texas We don’t only sing But we dance just as good as we walk In Houston, we just started a new dance Called the Tighten Up This is the music we tighten up with
First tighten up on the drums Come on now, drummer I want you to tighten it up for me now, oh, yeah Tighten up on that bass now Tighten it up, ha, ha, yeah Now let that guitar fall in Oh, yeah . . . (click here for all the lyrics)
Ken & Mary’s Blues Project — The Last Waltz
Computer Art by kenne
Down the east Texas road, there is rain in the wind as the musicians’ setup for an evening of the blues with friends gathering the last time at Ken and Mary’s Blues Project,
the best house concert ever.
In recent years we’ve missed some of the concerts in
the woods having moved
to the desert southwest, then last February, we received word of the “Last Waltz” for the Blues Project — plans were made immediately.
With Coleman cooler,
yard chairs and
cameras in tow we walked over old
bottle caps toward the Blues Project stage, to be greeted with hugs and kisses — Welcome!
Mary announced the food
was ready, and Ken shared some
background on the beginning
of what became the Blues Project.
Not long after the music began, lighting lit up the darkening clouds with thunder adding to
the magical evening.
Other than an occasional drop or two, the music played on until, as if the plug was pulled, the dark sky began to fall. A rain delay was called as the tarps were brought out to covered the equipment.
Using our smartphones we could see radar showing the rain would be lasting for an hour or more. As has happened in the past, the musicians gathered inside to continue an evening of music.
Most of those who remained were inside or on outside porches, knowing the best of the evening was yet to come — jamming the night away on a hot, humid night in the piney woods of east Texas.
It may be the last waltz
for the Blues Project
but that doesn’t mean
the party is over,
the music still plays on
and on, and on — may
we stay forever young.
We’ve got to go, but our friends will stick around.
Lady Bikers at an Ice House in East Texas in a “Show Us Your Tits” Contest — Computer Art by kenne
The Perfect Trilogy
On a hot Sunday we ride a twisting two-lane highway to a Texas Ice House Near Cut & Shoot where the beer and blues music releases bikers inner desires listening to “My Baby Don’t Wear No Panties” fueled by women showing their tits — blues, beer, and tits, the perfect trilogy.
Ray Bonneville at Ken and Mary’s Blues Project, November 18, 2009 — Images and video by kenne
I believe that all the little things in life add up to one’s life. So, it’s important to get them right, otherwise nothing else matters. I’m here to tell you that Ken and Mary Harris have been getting it right for a long time.
They love people and they love the Blues, and for years now have been doing a lot of little things that have been adding up in the form of the “Blues Project.”
Several times a year, Ken and Mary open their home to friends and their guests to experience the best in blues music this side of Texas. Sadly, many have no idea what they are missing, and sometimes it can get lonely in the promise land by yourself.
One of the many musicians who have appeared at Ken and Mary’s Blues Project is Ray Bonneville. Just as Ray may write about a place he has lived, e.g., New Orleans, he is not from there. He is a traveler in other people’s reality, writing stories that serve as a portal to his existence.
“Firefly comin’ this way
a flickering light is to say
time ain’t but this long
here tonight, tomorrow gone.” — from “Goin’ By Feel”
As a fellow traveler in the reality of others, I hope our paths will cross again soon.
Calvin Owens, known for two periods of work as bandleader for blues legend B.B. King, A.J. Murphy who played with 60’s R&B band Archie Bell and the Drells and A.J.s wife Francine. Image by kenne
On Memorial Day I can’t help but think of our dear friends A.J and Francine Murphy and the image that appeared in the Houston Chronicle “Remembering The Fallen” on Memorial Day, 2009. Francine is probably in “quiet reflection” at the US Houston National Cemetery today.
Houston Blues Legend, Little Joe Washington, — 2003 Image by kenne
From the Houston Blues Society’s Newsletter:
On Wednesday afternoon, bluesman Little Joe Washington passed on, leaving a hole in the blues community’s heart that belies his diminutive 5′ 5″ frame. One of Third Ward’s legendary blues guitarists, comprising Albert Collins, Johnny Clyde Copeland, Johnny “Guitar” Watson and Joe “Guitar” Hughes, Little Joe displayed a raw and sparkling talent that earned great respect from his peers.
It’s true to say that he knew more than a few dark days in his 75 years, but with surprising tenacity he’d always bounce back to delight audiences with his virtuoso guitar skills, often finishing his set by running around the room and using his hat for a tip jar before disappearing into the night on a rickety bicycle.
******
Roger Wood wrote of the Third Ward eccentric guitarist in his 2003 book on Houston blues, Down In Houston: Bayou City Blues:
“I first picked up a guitar when I was playing drums with Albert Collins. I taught myself after that,” Washington explains. “I figure it out on my own.” Once he began to experiment with the guitar, however, the diminutive and now perpetually scruffy-looking fellow developed a unique style that is best described as raw and unpredictable — some would say wild. “I play with my teeth, my tongue, my head. I used to hang on the rafters when I was in Old Mexico,” he said.
“. . . Little Joe Washington has evolved into a Houston folk hero of sorts.”
Montgomery County Friends of the Blues, 2002 Fund Raiser — Image by kenne
Jonn Richardson, Diunna Greenleaf, and Bob Corritore — Image by kenne
Jonn Richardson and Diunna Greenleaf — Image by kenne
Diunna & Joy, my Zen Women — Image by kenne
A Song of Silence — Mean Gene Kelton Computer Art by kenne
Double Bayou Dance Hall (October 19, 2002) — Image by kenne
Archie Bell, Ken and Mary Harris (May 20, 2017) Image by kenne
Ken & Mary’s Blues Project — The Last Waltz
Lady Bikers at an Ice House in East Texas in a “Show Us Your Tits” Contest — Computer Art by kenne
Seduction (Chris Duarte at the Cactus Moon)– Computer Art by kenne
“The Blues Is In the Air” — Computer Art by kenne
Ray Bonneville at Ken & Mary’s Blues Project (November 14, 2009) — Image by kenne
Houston Blues Legend, Little Joe Washington, — 2003 Image by kenne
Becoming is Superior to Being 