Emanuel Young and Howard Glazer


LIVE at Stamford Arts Centre,
27 St Mary's Street,
Stamford,
Lincs.
PE9 2DL
Friday 18th January 2008

LIVE at Castor Village Hall,
Peterborough Road,
Castor,
Peterborough
PE5 7AX
Saturday 19th January 2008

Emanuel Young was born on the 9th November 1938 to Emanuel and Sally Young in Detroit. Illinois. His uncle, Ocie, played guitar and harmonica and gave him an early taste for blues music. In the late 1950's he learnt to play guitar and by 1959 was accomplished enough to work with John Lee Hooker at Old lee's Sensation Club – a job that he held down for 18 months until John Lee decided to move to California.

Whilst holding down a day job at the Ford Motor Company Emanuel spent his nights as a very much in demand guitarist working with various bands in bars and after hour joints backing a multitude of headliners including Howling Wolf, Albert King, Mr Bo, Little Junior Canaday and Martha Reaves. In 1978 he was asked by Cooley's Night Club to form a band for an indeterminate residency, eventually remaining there until it closed twenty seven years later.

Meanwhile, in 1999 he was brought in to the Blue Suit Recording Studio to lay down some tracks. Two numbers were issued in the 'Hasting Street Grease' compilation which was my first encounter with Emanuel's work, there was no follow up and we would not see or hear his name again until June this year when The Big City Blues Magazine ran an intriguing article on one of Detroit's 'best kept secrets' . A 'phone call later and Emanuel agreed, in principle, to a Shakedown gig subject only to us hearing and liking his Live demo recording with The Howard Glazer Band. The demo included the instrumental 'Ride That Train' that I just couldn't stop playing. Another 'phone call and Dave Popple and I had our January 2008 headliner.

Howard Glazer

Band leader Howard Glazer was born in 1959. His father played with the Don Pablo Orchestra in Detroit and his mother is a music teacher. It is therefore not surprising that Howard has been playing guitar since he was 8 years old and was 13 when he played his first professional gig. He sights his influences in the early days as Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Willie D Warren, Johnny Winter, Kim Simmons (from Savoy Brown) and Canned Heat.

He moved to Chicago in the 1980's with his bass player Bob Godwin only to return to Detroit in the 90's. Bob and Howard then started a weekly 'Jam night' in a local bar where they met drummer Charles Stuart and the three of them recorded Howard's first album 'Glazer 313'. Howard then hooked up with Harmonica Shah and they played and recorded together for the next six years issuing an album on Blue Track and another much better one on Electro-Fi. In 2004 Howard Glazer and The EL34s recorded a benefit show which was issued by Random Chance Records on CD as 'Brown Paper Bag'. On the back of this the band toured Canada, Japan, Australia and extensively in Europe. He currently has a new album 'Liquor Store Legend 'which has also been well received.

The Band

We have asked Tim Newcombe to put together a new version of Ma Grinders Blues Mission which will act as the houseband on this occasion. You will remember Tim as the fine pianist in the second version of Ma Grinders who backed Robert Penn, Billy Davis etc;. Joining him will be Mick Casterlano (bass) and Carlos Parlato (manic drummer with Joe Jonas' Whalers). Together with Emanuel Young and Howard Glazer this sounds like another winning combination. -->

The start of our winter/spring programme brought 69 year old 'unknown' Detroit bluesman Emanuel Young for a weekend of gigs with band leader Howard Glazer. In Stamford Howard took the first 30 minutes to play fine acoustic renditions from his Random Chance CD's. It was well received with the audience doing a sing-a-long with 'Gas Pump Blues' and 'Liquor Store Legend'. In Castor these were played two at a time at the start of each set with a similar reaction from the audience. For the remainder of both evenings Howard was content to play excellent guitar alternating with Emanuel between rhythm and lead. It was obvious that the two had played regularly together and their interplay and empathy was a joy to watch and hear.

Five minutes into Emanuel's first set in Stamford he taught us that 'obscurity' does not always equate with talentless. Similarly, playing standards does not have to result in slavish and boring copies. What we were presented with at both venues was a series of exciting interpretations of songs including 'Let Your Hair Grow Bald', 'C.C Rider', 'Hound-Dog', 'Down The Road I Go', 'I,m Tore Up', 'Wang Dang Doodle', and a wonderful 'Rock Me Mamma'. Each one was sung with so much feeling that you had the impression that these songs were autobiographical. Emanuel has an excellent voice, lovely guitar style and bucket loads of charisma. Why he has remained virtually unknown over the years is a mystery.

There was a wonderful atmosphere at both venues and Ma Grinder's Blues Mission (third edition) was choc-a-block full of great musicians happy to groove all night long. A quick name check Tim Newcombe, piano; Mick Castalano, bass; Carlos Parlato, drums; with horn players Alex Moore, trumpet; and Louis Slack, tenor. The highlight for me was the Castor version of Emanuel's signature tune and brilliantly funky instrumental 'Ride That Train'. What a show! .. --> The great guitarist, singer, song writer and raconteur from LA needs no introduction. This is his third Shakedown appearance - the last one at the Lakeside Café in Ferry Meadows sold out before the show. Don't miss out this time - book early and hear his latest take on Bukka Whites 'Panama Limited'. -->