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  • HOLLYWOOD BOWL BLUES NIGHT CELEBRATES GRAMMY-WINNERS ETTA JAMES AND BUDDY GUY
  • Jul. 27, 2005
  • WEDNESDAY, JULY 27 AT 8 PM

    Sponsored by Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts;
    Media support provided by KKJZ and Charter Communications

    Electrifying and passionate, Blues Night at the Hollywood Bowl promises an evening of stellar entertainment featuring powerful vocals backed by down 'n' dirty grooves on Wednesday, July 27, with two Grammy award-winning blues legends. Queen of the Blues and Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Etta James, returns to the Bowl with the Roots Band, with fellow Rock-n-Roll Hall of Famer and Chicago Blues King Buddy Guy.

    The Bowl's Wednesday night Jazz Series annually pays tribute to blues pioneers, many of whom - including James - are celebrated and admired for their work in both genres. Dianne Reeves, Los Angeles Philharmonic Creative Chair for Jazz, has helped program eight concerts featuring legends and rising stars as part of the Bowl's two four-concert jazz series on Wednesday nights. In addition to Etta James/Buddy Guy, Jazz at the Bowl continues with Gladys Knight and Chaka Khan (August 3); A Night with Concord Records, (August 10); Celebration of Jobim (August 17); Hot Summer Nights with Al Jarreau, Cassandra Wilson and The Rippingtons, featuring Russ Freeman (August 24); Jazz Sophistication (August 31), with George Duke & Friends featuring Christian McBride, Billy Cobham, Airto, Kenny Garrett, Roy Hargrove, Bobby Hutcherson, and Shirley Horn, who opens the evening.

    Known for her live performances, Etta James belts out the blues with trademark passion and earthshaking vocal power. Since age 16, she has been composing and performing jazz, blues, gospel, country, R&B and rock 'n' roll. The two-time Grammy winner and eight-time Grammy-nominee was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 and won her first Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance in 1995. Let's Roll (Private Music) earned James her second Grammy in 2003, in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category. Nominated for a Grammy earlier this year, Blues to the Bone (RCA) triumphantly returns James to the source of her own inspiration. From Robert Johnson to Sonny Boy Williamson and beyond, Blues To The Bone pays homage to blues pioneers from an artist who is, herself, a pioneer. Etta James performed at the Hollywood Bowl in 2004.


    Classic blues guitarist/singer Buddy Guy has sold more than two million albums, earned five Grammys, and won 19 WC Handy Blues Awards, more than any single artist. On his most-recent album, Blues Singer (Silvertone/Jive), Buddy is joined on selected tracks by BB King and Eric Clapton. Other artists he has recorded with include Bonnie Raitt, Dr. John, Jimmy Vaughan and Robert Cray. Born 1936 in Lettsworth, Louisiana, George "Buddy" Guy is, today, an internationally celebrated symbol of the living blues. He owns the Chicago club Buddy Guy's Legends, and continues to tour the world with his dynamic live show. Of his 2003 performance at New York's Radio City Music Hall's gala "Salute to the Blues," an all-star show that included BB King, Macy Gray, Alison Krauss, the Neville Brothers and Aerosmith, Billboard magazine wrote, "the evening seemed to belong to Buddy Guy." Buddy Guy performed as part of ensemble line-ups at the Bowl in 1994 and 1999, where he appeared at the Playboy Jazz festival.

    One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the HOLLYWOOD BOWL has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and in 1991 gave its name to the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, a resident ensemble that has filled a special niche in the musical life of Southern California. The 2004 season introduced audiences to a revitalized Hollywood Bowl, featuring a newly-constructed shell and stage and the addition of four stadium screens enhancing stage views in the venue. To this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's concerts. While the Bowl is best known for its sizzling summer nights, during the day California's youngest patrons enjoy "SummerSounds: Music for Kids at the Hollywood Bowl," the Southland's most popular summer arts festival for children, now in its 37th season. Attendance figures over the past several decades have soared: in 1980 the Bowl first topped the half-million mark and close to one million admissions have been recorded. In February 2005, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue at the 16th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards; it is no wonder that the Bowl's summer music festival has become as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers, and Disneyland.

    EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

    WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 8 PM

    Blues Night

    HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood

     

    ETTA JAMES

    BUDDY GUY

    Sponsored by Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts
    Media support provided by KKJZ and Charter Communications

    Tickets ($1-92) are on sale now at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office, by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, at all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons May, Tower Records and Ritmo Latino locations), or online at HollywoodBowl.com. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount, subject to availability; call 323.850.2050 for further details. For general information or to request a brochure, call 323.850.2000.

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  • Contact:

    Adam Crane, 213.972.3422; Cathy Williams, 213.972.3689; photos: 213.972.3034