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WEEK AT A GLANCE: April 20- 17
THURS. 24- Ricky @ ARNOLD'S
FRI. 25- Ricky @ MAURY'S TINY COVE
SAT. 26- Ricky performs with BULLETVILLE@ ARNOLD'S
SUN. 27- Ricky drummng for STRAW BOSS @
SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL
for more details click HERE...
_____________________________________________________ THANK YOU readers of CITYBEAT MAGAZINE for voting me
BEST LOCAL MUSICIAN 2014- very happy to be a part of
Cincinnati's rich musical scene!
_____________________________________________________
very pleased to be VOTED BLUES ARTIST OF THE YEAR in
CITYBEAT MAGAZINE'S
CEA AWARDS 2014 !
THANKS for your support!
____________________________________________________
back from a month-long tour of Europe (January 2- 28, 2014) full of harrowing travel tales, injuries and sickness, yet PLENTY of musical camaraderie, food, beverage and GREAT TIMES- THANKS TO FELLOW PIANISTS Lluis Coloma for an excellent week in and around Barcelona with his rhythm section Manolo Germain (upright bass) & Marc Ruiz (drums); Patrick Smet in Belgium for hospitality and good conversations; Renaud Patigny
for inclusion at his festival in Cambrai, France, and to organizer
Lionel Ovadia for making me a part of his 16th annual boogie event in
Massy-Paliseau, France...performed three nights in Paris @ Caveau de la
Huchette with dear friends The Paris Blues Band
(Anthony Stelmaszack, Thibaut Chopin & Simon "Shuffle" Boyer), met
up and played with old pals Axel Zwingenberger, Fabrice Eulry, Silvan
Zingg, Jean-Paul Amouroux, Mike Sanchez, Mr. Boogie Woogie, Boogie Phil
and Ilias Scotch PLUS met new
piano friends Joja Wendt, Victor Puertas, August Therrats, John Allair,
Paul Mac Bonvin, Nick Von Der Leyen, Luca Sestak, and brilliant 13 year
old Lucien Oisel...it's a big beautiful boogie woogie family over there!
_____________________________________________________
just heard the sad news that my steady Wednesday home away from home, Chez Nora
has locked its doors- I'l like to thank Jim & Pati Gilliece for
over thirteen years of support, enabling me to present outstanding
musicians from around the world in their Rooftop Jazz Club- too many
fond memories to list them all- and thanks to to all who shared in the
good times! the end of an era.
here's an explanatory article regarding the closing
________________________________________________
A GREAT BIG THANK YOU! to all who attended the
FOURTEENTH BLUES & BOOGIE PIANO SUMMIT
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 9th, 2013
@ the SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL
111 E. 6th St., Newport, KY (859-431-2201)
which featured STELLAR performances by:
MR. BOOGIE WOOGIE (Netherlands)
DARYL DAVIS (Silver Spring, MD)
ARTHUR MIGLIAZZA (Seattle, WA)
RICKY NYE (Cincinnati, OH)
and:
GEORGE BEDARD (guitar)
CHRIS DOUGLAS (upright bass)
PAUL ELLIS (drums)
a WHOLE LOTTA THANKS! to the SPONSORS that made it all happen:
WILLIS MUSIC/ STEINWAY & SONS; YORK VISION; CHEZ NORA;
DEWEY'S PIZZA; BANG BANG SALON; EAT WELL;
ESQUIRE/ MARIEMONT & KENWOOD THEATERS;
and CITYBEAT MAGAZINE
it was a SOLD OUT SHOW!!!!
my
apologies to folks that were turned away at the door, and for limited
seating, but it's guaranteed that won't happen again- next time it's TWO NIGHTS of the 15th ANNUAL BLUES & BOOGIE PIANO SUMMIT:
FRIDAY & SATURDAY NOVEMBER 7th & 8th, 2014-
make plans now to attend!
so proud to have been inducted into the
BOOGIE WOOGIE HALL OF FAME-
big thanks to Dr. Philip Leming & Dr. Robert Cody
for making the ARCHES BOOGIE PIANO STAGE
@ THE CINCY BLUES FEST possible!
________________________________________________
THANK YOU READERS of CityBeat Magazine for voting me
"Best Local Musician" in their "Best Of Cincinnati" 2013 Awards-
in a town full of outstanding musicians, I take this as quite an honor!
THANK YOU READERS for voting me "BEST BLUES ARTIST"
in 2013 CEA AWARDS presented by CityBeat Magazine-
the awards show took place Sunday January 27th
@ The Madison Theater in Covington, KY- happy to play a short set
with CHRIS DOUGLAS (upright bass), to be joined by 46 LONG,
and to take part in the tribute to HERZOG STUDIOS-
CONGRATULATIONS to all nominees and winners-
proud to make music here in Greater Cincinnati!
CURRENT CD RELEASES:
NEW SOLO RELEASE:
"THE THREE B'S: BLUES, BALLADS & BOOGIE WOOGIE"
LISTEN to a wonderful review by music historian
David Lewis, aired on NPR station WVXU 91.7 FM
exclusively available Cincinnati, OH record shops
Everybody's Records, Shake It Records, and all shows
"JUMP STEADY"- RICKY NYE & THE PARIS BLUES BAND
"HIGHLIGHTS from the 13th ANNUAL BLUES & BOOGIE
PIANO SUMMIT"
"TWISTIN' AT RAY'S" - FABRICE EULRY
(I co-produced this release, recorded in Cincinnati, OH)
these CDs are AVAILABLE NOW! @ CD Baby,
@ Cincinnati, OH record shops Everybody's Records
& Shake It Records, and all shows
THANK YOU! readers, voters and listeners for voting me
"Best Local Musician" in CityBeat Magazine's
"Best Of Cincinnati 2012" issue- I feel loved! :o)
happy to be voted in
the "Best Local Musician" category of
CityBeat Magazine's
"Best Of Cincinnati 2011" Readers Picks-
THANK YOU READERS!
I was honored to be voted "Blues Artist
of the Year 2010"
by CityBeat Magazine at their CEA AWARDS held at the
Madison Theater in Covington, KY on Sunday, November 21st-
thank you for your support and to all that voted- you make a
difference! R.N. :o)
OTHER CD RELEASES:
RICKY
NYE
&
THE
PARIS
BLUES
BAND- follow-up to 2008's
"Ville du Bois" disc, recorded
with
the
most
outa-sight
blues
players
in Paris: Anthony Stelmaszack (guitar); Thibaut Chopin
(upright bass/harmonica); Simon "Shuffle" Boyer (drums) and
special guest Nico Duportal (guitar)- available NOW @ www.cdbaby.com
TWELFTH ANNUAL
BLUES & BOOGIE PIANO SUMMIT
featuring BOB SEELEY (Detroit, MI), JULIAN
PHILLIPS (U.K.), PATRICK SMET (Belgium) & RICKY
NYE plus exciting rhythm section (Brian Aylor- drums; Buck
Stevens- upright bass; and George Bedard- guitar)-
available NOW @ www.cdbaby.com
ELEVENTH
ANNUAL
BLUES
&
BOOGIE
PIANO
SUMMIT
featuring LLUIS COLOMA (Barcelona, Spain),
BARRELHOUSE CHUCK (Chicago, IL), LISA OTEY
(Tucson, AZ) & RICKY NYE plus outstanding rhythm section (Brian
Aylor- drums; Steve Perakis- upright bass; and George
Bedard- guitar)- available NOW @ www.cdbaby.com
all the above titles are NOW also available as
DIGITAL DOWNLOADS!
PIANO KILLERS
All instrumental recording of Ricky Nye with Fabrice Eulry (Paris)
& Renaud Patigny
(Brussels)- solos, duet and trio compositions all performed on one
piano- recorded in Paris- available NOW @ www.cdbaby.com
VILLE DU BOIS
A disc recorded with the most outa-sight blues
players in Paris is available NOW @ CD BABY
***PRICES SLASHED on Boogie Summits #3
through #10- NOW only $9.97 @ CD BABY!!!***
CDs also available at all live shows and in
Cincinnati @ Everybody's
Records & Shake It Records
:
A TRIBUTE to BIG JOE DUSKIN (1921-2007) by Ricky Nye
I first met Big
Joe Duskin in ’82, before I ever started to mess around with boogie
woogie- that didn’t matter to Joe, he just knew I played piano, and
that made us friends. Through the time I’ve known him he has always
been very supportive of me, and of so many musicians. His playing and
singing was loved by blues enthusiasts and fellow piano players all
over the world- I can’t tell you how many times, upon encountering the
European leaders in blues & boogie in my travels, their first words
to me were “how’s Big Joe?”
I treasure the times we played together, the many phone calls, running
errands and especially meaningful were the times visiting Joe during
his last year, when he was bedridden- I’d come in, turn on his keyboard
and go at it, and Joe would lay in bed and sing his head off,
improvising blues I’d never heard from him before.
Because I loved Joe, it was inevitable that aspects of his style made
their way into my playing- his album “Cincinnati Stomp” was a template
for me to study boogie woogie, and I learned the title track to perform
as homage to him. When he played a blues, he was on “Joe time”- the
lazy tremolos, the space in his playing all added up to me. The message
in his style also came as words of advice he gave one day- he said
“Rick, take it from an old pro: don’t work so hard! Take your time,
talk to the people- they like that.” I knew exactly what he was talking
about, but I said “Joe, you have a commanding presence, a big booming
voice, you’re a great storyteller...I’m just a little white guy- what
am I supposed to do? If I start talking away, they’d just tell me to
shut up & play!” And he laughed, which is something I really miss-
his chuckling, and the sound of his laughter will always resound in my
mind.
Big Joe’s love of food is legendary- it mattered as much to him how you
were fed at a gig as any other aspect of the show. If I called to
relate tales of my travels, he’d always ask “how’d they feed you?”
After Joe played a prestigious concert at Music Hall in Cincinnati, I
called to see how things went- he said “Rick, it was so nice- they had
fried chicken, mashed potatoes, peas...”-nothing was said of the
performance! Once when visiting Joe in the hospital, he asked if I
would go downstairs to the Burger King and get him a cheeseburger &
french fries. When I asked if didn’t they have him on a particular
diet, he said “hell with them- I’m going home tomorrow”. So I indulged
him, and you would have thought he was eating the finest meal of his
life...food was a big pleasure for Big Joe.
His compromised health in the last years of his life did nothing to
dampen his hope and spirit. Joe’s performance at his 84th birthday
party was a perfect example of the transference of love from his fans
right back at them- it was the last time he was truly on fire, playing
and singing until he had nothing left to give. To see him hold court at
the Arches Stage at the annual Cincy Blues Fest was always beautiful-
his appreciation for the other pianists and their appreciation for him
always resulted in a truly inspired and joyous set.
I feel truly blessed to have had Joe as a friend and inspiration to me.
Years ago, after he was in the hospital on a regular basis, I wondered
when the day would come that Joe would leave this earth, and that day
arrived- May 6th, 2007. Yet his spirit is alive and strong, in myself
and every other musician he’s played with and encouraged. Whenever I
play, especially now, I offer it up for him...
God bless Big Joe Duskin.
R.I.P.
H-BOMB FERGUSON (1929-2006)
Historical information about H-Bomb Ferguson can be found @ www.cdbaby.com/cd/hbombf
Video footage & photo montage from documentary
filmmaker
John
Parker
"QUICK 'N'
DIRTY" & "Highlights from the THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH, SEVENTH, EIGHTH, NINTH & TENTH BLUES
& BOOGIE PIANO SUMMITS" ("PIANO IS
FUN!" & Highlights from the SECOND
SUMMIT are currently out of print, but a few copies remain at some of
the shops listed below...) are available worldwide through www.cdbaby.com, and
if
you're
in
Cincinnati,
they
are
available NOW @ Shake It Records, Everybody's
Records, Mole's and Joseph
Beth Booksellers (check out the CD
reviews of the Second Summit & Third
Summit from the Cincinnati Enquirer)...
***PRICES SLASHED on Boogie Summits #3 through #9-
NOW only $9.97 @ CD
BABY!!!***
and here's a review of "Quick 'N'
Dirty" from CityBeat
Magazine (12-24-03):
The title of Ricky Nye and
the Swingin' Mudbugs' sophomore release (the follow-up to 1998's Piano
is
Fun!) is a play on the recording philosophy behind the album.
Nye likes to record in as few takes as possible, and Quick was
done with little overdubbing or other fixes (just like Fun!).
But if you've seen Nye's trio perform live, you know that the local
prince of boogie-woogie-styled piano probably doesn't require many
"do-overs." There are certainly no holes in Quick 'N' Dirty.
The energy and spontaneity exhibited makes listeners feel like they are
dancing the night away in some sweaty bayou speakeasy. That intimacy
translates superbly as Nye and Mudbugs Tony Franklin (drums) and Nick
Lloyd (upright bass) rip effortlessly through a plethora of blues
stylings on songs written by a variety of composers (save "Oh Yes," the
sole Nye original). From the down-low blues of Muddy Waters' "What Is
That She Got?" and the more up-tempo R&B of "Grits Ain't Groceries"
(made famous by Little Milton) to the yearning, soulful balladry of
"Please Send Me Someone To Love" and Nye's trademark barrelhouse rolls
on "Downtown Boogie" and "Dixie Lullaby," you can take Quick 'N'
Dirty as a musical history lesson or, more appropriately, as a
joyous escapade through the repertoire of one of Cincinnati's most
talented musicians. Nye obviously has the deepest respect for the New
Orleans-spawned art form, but he doesn't treat the material too
preciously, raucously banging out the tunes with skill and grace, but
also with a genuine sense of glee, something that permeates from nearly
every note. Between quality releases like Quick 'N' Dirty,
Nye's organization of regular blues and boogie piano summits, featuring
like-minded artists from around the world, and steady European touring,
his place as one of the preeminent masters of the style is secure. --
MIKE BREEN
("QUICK 'N' DIRTY" also made
CityBeat's TopTwenty Local Releases of 2003)
Pick up a copy of BEKAH WILLIAMS
excellent debut CD @
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bekahwilliams
Produced by Ricky & Bekah, featuring The Swingin' Mudbugs with
special guests (Dave Haley & Sonny Moorman on guitars, and local
tenor sax icon Ray Heckman), and recorded by Erwin Musper @
his Bamboo
Room
Studio- it's a mighty fine songbook...get yours today!
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