CDs

Bull Goose Rooster

Bull Goose Rooster
Watermelon Slim & The Workers
(NBM0064)

Release:June 2013

Blues reunion!

 

 

And For The Dark Road Ahead

And For The Dark Road Ahead
Samuel James
(NBM0063)

Release:September 2012

Robert Johnson's little brother!

 
 

20,000 Miles
Slide to Freedom
(NBM0062)

Release:October 2011

Incredible Journey
into World Music!

20,000 Miles

 

 

 

 

Okiesippi Blues

Okiesippi Blues
Watermelon Slim Super Chikan
(NBM0061)

Release:June 2011

2 Blues Virtuosos Join Forces!

 

 

Live at the Ground Zero Blues Club
Watermelon Slim
(NBM0060)

Release:September, 2010

Terrific live DVD
Lots of extras!

 

 

 

 

Miracles & Demons

Miracles & Demons
Eddie Turner
(NBM0057)

Release:July, 2010

Blistering guitar

 

 

Ringers
Watermelon Slim
(NBM0059)

Release:June, 2010

A blues hero goes country

Ringers

 

 

 

 

For Rosa, Maeve and Noreen

For Rosa, Maeve and Noreen
Samuel James
(NBM0056)

Release:September, 2009

O.Henry put to music by Son House

 

 

Escape from the Chicken Coop
Watermelon Slim
(NBM0054)

Release:July, 2009

Watermelon Slim Goes Nashville!

 

 

 

 

Come Out Swingin'
The Twisters
(NBM0049)

Release:June, 2009

Swingin' Jump Blues

 

 

I Got Blues For You
Homemade Jamz Blues Band
(NBM0055)

Release:June 9, 2009

Smash-hit Sequel

 

 

 

 

Slide to Freedom 2 - Make A Better World

Slide to Freedom 2
Doug Cox & Salil Bhatt
(NBM0053)

Release:March, 2009

Incredible Blues-Indian Fusion

 

 

From the Root
Zac Harmon
(NBM0052)

Release:April, 2009

Guitar-driven, hook-laden contemporary blues

From the Root

 

 

 

 

Steady Movin'

Steady Movin'
Carlos del Junco
(NBM0051)

Release:September, 2008

Incendiary harmonica

 

 

SugarBird
Paul Reddick
(NBM0050)

Release:October 14, 2008

Amazing music from the blues' poet-laureate

Sugar Bird

 

 

 

 

Pay Me No Mind

Pay Me No Mind
Homemade Jamz Blues Band
(NBM0048)

Release:June, 2008

Youngest blues band in America

 

 

No Paid Holidays
Watermelon Slim
(NBM0047)

Release:June, 2008

One of a kind
Okie dynamo

 

 

 

 

 Bluelisted

Bluelisted
JW Jones
(NBM0046)

Release:May,2008

Swing like Texans, jump like
Californians

 

 

1861
Moreland & Arbuckle
(NBM0044)

Release:March, 2008

Raw blues from the Heartland

 1861

 

 

 

 

 Songs Famed for Sorrow & Joy

Songs Famed for Sorrow & Joy
Samuel James
(NBM0043)

Release:March, 2008

Traditional blues with a hip twist

 

 

Sofa King Badass
Mason Casey
(NBM0042)

Release:September, 2007

An incredible new musical voice

Sofa King Badass

 

 

   

Live: A Night at Tipitina's
Mem Shannon
(NBM0041)

Release:July, 2007

Mem Shannon live in New Orleans

 
 

Revue: The Best of Paul Reddick
(NBM0040)

Release:March, 2007

Retrospective of Canada's Finest Bluesman

Revue

   
   

Slide to Freedom

Slide to Freedom
Doug Cox & Salil Bhatt
(NBM0039)

Release:April, 2007

Blues-Indian Fusion

 
 

The Wheel Man
Watermelon Slim & the Workers
(NBM0038)

Release:April, 2007

Hottest Name in Blues, Period!

The Wheel Man

   
   

After The Storm

After The Storm
The Twisters
(NBM0037)

Release:October 17, 2006

The Masters of Hot Jump Swing Blues!

 
 

Run Neil Run
Kevin Breit
(NBM0034)

Release:August 29, 2006

Ferociously original interpretations of Neil Young

Run Neil Run

« 2007
JUNO Award Winner
for Instrumental Album
of the Year

 
   

The Turner Diaries

The Turner Diaries
Eddie Turner
(NBM0036)

Release:June 6, 2006

Envelope-pushing electric blues

 
 

Kissing in 29 Days
JW-Jones Blues Band
(NBM0035)

Release:April 18, 2006

Blistering blues

Kissing in 29 Days

   
   

Do I Move You?

Do I Move You?
Janiva Magness
(NBM0033)
Release:
March 7, 2006

Powerhouse of vocal styling

 
 

Watermelon Slim & the Workers
Watermelon Slim
(NBM0032)
Release:
February 14, 2006

Well-seasoned blues

Watermelon Slim & the Workers

   
   

Bluesman's Prayer

Bluesman's Prayer
Glamourpuss
(NBM0031)
Release:
January 17, 2006

Raw energy, passionate songwriting

 
 

Overqualified for the Blues
Brian Blain
(NBM0011)
Release:
September, 2005

Wry, authentic 21st century blues

Overqualified for the Blues

   
   

Hungry Ghosts

Hungry Ghosts
Doug Cox
& Sam Hurrie
(NBM0030)
Release:
July, 2005

Zen Masters of acoustic blues

 
 

Live Wire
Chris Beard
(NBM0028)
Release:
May, 2005

Live blues/rock/funk in your face guitar

Live Wire

   
   

I'm From Phunkville

I'm From Phunkville
Mem Shannon
(NBM0029)
Release:
April, 2005

Barbed wire and vaseline funk, jazz & rock

 
 

Rise
Eddie Turner
(NBM0027)
Release:
February, 2005

Incredible psychedelic guitar

Rise

   
   

Blues Mongrel

Blues Mongrel
Carlos del Junco
(NBM0026)
Release:
February, 2005

Harmonica blues, jazz & country fusion

 
 

African Wind
Dan Treanor & Frankie Lee
(NBM0023)

Release:
October 5, 2004

Stripped-down blues with an African feel

African Wind

   
   

Villanelle

Villanelle
Paul Reddick
(NBM0025)

Release:
October 5, 2004

Original look
at pre-war blues and Americana music

 
 

Ocean Or A Teardrop
David Jacobs-Strain
(NBM0024)

Release:
September, 2004

Transcending the blues genre

Ocean or A Teardrop

   
   

Bury Him At The Crossroads

Bury Him At The Crossroads
Janiva Magness
(NBM0022)

Release:
September, 2004

Unabashed style, dynamic vocals

 
 

My Kind of Evil
JW-Jones Blues Band
(NBM0021)

Release:May, 2004

Big Band sound with Colin James

My Kind of Evil

   
   

John and the Sisters

John And The Sisters
with Kevin Breit
(NBM0020)

Release:
April, 2004

Crazy burning cosmic blues

 
 

Smarten Up!
Taxi Chain
(NBM0019)

Release:
March 2, 2004

Bagpipe blues with a country twist

Smarten Up

   
   

Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot
(BCDNBM500)

Release:
October 7, 2003

Salute to Canada's premier songwriter

 
 

Wire and Wood
Glamour Puss
(NBM0018)

Release:
September 2, 2003

 High-energy blues,
blues-rock & Zydeco

   
   

Johnny's Blues: A Tribute to Johnny Cash
(NBM0017)
Release:July, 2003

 Best of Cash by chart-topping musicians

 
 

Been So Long
Toni Lynn Washington
(NBM0016)
Release:June, 2003

Great Blues, Soul and Jazz vocalizing

   
   

High Side of Low Down
James Cohen
(NBM0015)
Release:
April, 2003

Flamenco, gypsy jazz and blues fusion

 
 

Jubilee
Manx / Breit
(NBM0014)
Release:
February, 2003


A magical collaboration of two giant musicians

   
   

Saved!
NorthernBlues Gospel Allstars
(NBM0013)
Release:
October 1,2002

Four incredible new gospel voices!

 
 

Stuck On The Way Back
David Jacobs-Strain
(NBM0012)
Release: June 18, 2002

Neo-realist acoustic blues

   
   

Bogart's Bounce
JW-Jones Blues Band
(NBM0010)
Release: June 18, 2002
  

Non-stop fun!

 
 

Respect The Dead
Otis Taylor
(NBM0009)
Release: April 2, 2002

Hard poetry from the creator of White African

   
   

Defibrillatin'
JW-Jones Blues Band
(NBM0001)
Release: March 6, 2001

Fresh take on the west coast jump blues explosion

 
 

White African
Otis Taylor
(NBM0002)
Release: March 6, 2001

 
America's most topical blues artist

   
   

Rattlebag
Paul Reddick + The Sidemen
(NBM0005)

Release: July/August 2001

Hard Blues for Modern Times

 
 

Archie Edwards:
The Toronto Sessions,
Volume 1

Archie Edwards
(NBM0006)

Release: Nov 6, 2001

The best recorded sound ever for Archie Edwards!

   

 

The Future of the Blues, Volume 3
The Future of the Blues Volume 3

"Few record labels are as musically adventurous or as diverse as NorthernBlues. Fred Litwin has developed and nurtured a cadre of musicians that break down barriers and stretch musical boundaries; he's helped me to discover new ways to experience the blues."

-Eric Steiner
Washington Blues Society

Artists on the sampler include Watermelon Slim, Doug Cox & Salil Bhatt, Homemade Jamz Blues Band, Moreland & Arbuckle, Samuel James, Paul Reddick, Eddie Turner, Carlos del Junco, JW-Jones, The Twisters, Mason Casey, Zac Harmon and Mem Shannon.

Review
Tim Holek
Blues Bytes
March 2009
The da-da-da-da-dat riff - made famous by Muddy Waters on "Hoochie Coochie Man" - has been a blessing and a curse to the blues. It is one of the most recognized riffs ever recorded, but by today's heady standards, it sounds dull. For those who think modern blues is boring, this sampler (and record label) is for you. Samplers like The Future Of The Blues, Volume 3 (NorthernBlues) are a great (and inexpensive) way to get exposure to various styles of blues and to a specific label. Even in this day of commercial free non-stop satellite radio, samplers are an excellent way to discover the blues.

There are 15 tracks - including five previously unreleased - on this 70-minute disc. Three of them are from Watermelon Slim, who has taken the blues world by storm over the past few years. NorthernBlues head honcho Fred Litwin is obviously looking to cash in on this popularity as well as try to feed the insatiable craving for the trucker turned bluesman. I don't care for his unpleasant vocals and common music. But even critics like me will enjoy the butt-kickin' boogie "Blues For Howard" that features searing slide guitar. A galloping beat makes one of his other songs, "Blue Freightliner," rock.

Doug Cox and Salil Bhatt unite classic east-Indian music and blues for the common goals of peace and humanity. Together they perform outstanding acoustic guitar and mohan veena, and the vocal harmonies are surreal. On "Penny Waiting On Change," Homemade Jamz displays great potential to blossom into huge blues stars. Here, the guitar crescendos from a leisurely pace and then explodes into fiery passion. The slurred and intoxicated-sounding vocals on the track from Moreland & Arbuckle only hints of the faux Mississippi hill country blues they perform so well.

Samuel James is a multi-instrumentalist who plays mean, acoustic country blues. His voice sounds like the folky Bob Dylan has met rapper Jay-Z. Eddie Turner combines grey modernism with genre-blending experiments. On a swinging instrumental, Carlos del Junco shows why he is one of Canada's best harpists and why he is ready to compete internationally for the harmonica crown. His playing is based in the tradition but strays from it in a positive and exciting sense. He may play his scintillating swing blues into his retirement years, but 28-year-old JW-Jones isn't planning to wait until then to make his mark on the industry.

Mason Casey's Sofa King Badass was one of the most over-looked releases. With the following contributors, Don Covay, Steve Cropper, Jimmy Johnson, and Jon Tiven, how could it have been anything but great? Depending on how you feel about repetition, Mem Shannon's 13-minute hypnotizing rhythm will either put you in a trance or a slumber. Zac Harmon's track is lively enough, but it's the most stereotypical blues sounding song on the sampler. It's not what you expect from this label, which was incepted in 2001, because it's too predictable.

Thanks to the forward-thinking of NorthernBlues and their innovative artists, the future of the blues sounds very hopeful.

Review
Eric Steiner
Washington Blues Society
October 2008
NorthernBlues' third sampler features 15 cuts and 70+ minutes of blues, and is a good introduction to the 2008 Keeping the Blues Alive award-winning label. Label founder Fred Litwin selected a diverse group of artists that call Canada home (The Twisters, Paul Reddick and Carlos del Junco), as well as U.S. artists whose blues stars are ascendant (Homemade Jamz Blues Band, Moreland and Arbuckle, Samuel James). Retailing at $7.98 USD, the third volume of The Future of the Blues is a bargain; perhaps more importantly, it will introduces the considerable back catalogue of the NorthernBlues label. Eddie Turner's Mr. Blues and Mason Casey's Chesterfield County Jail repay repeat listening, but I think the real gems on this release are two unreleased cuts from Watermelon Slim: Blues for Howard and Blue Freightliner. Vol. 3 does what great samplers do: it piques my interest to learn more about other releases from other Northern Blues artists like Zac Harmon, JW-Jones, Mem Shannon - all well-represented on this compilation.

Full disclosure: Fred Litwin used one of my quotes on the cover sticker to promote this release. Even if my quote didn't make the cut, I'd still support NorthernBlues as an important and diverse blues resource.


Review
Don Crow
Music City Blues Society
October 2008

Fred Litwin's Northern Blues label has always been a purveyor of cutting-edge sounds, believing it to be better to be a risk-taker rather than to fall into too much of a routine. This label has just marked its seventh anniversary, and with the release of
Future Of The Bues, Vol. 3, it is easy to understand why over half of the releases from its catalog have been nominated for an award of some sort.

Just like the label's slate of talent, there's something for every taste on this sampler. Newcomers Samuel James, Moreland and Arbuckle, and Homemade Jamz Blues Band lend a modern feel to the sounds of traditional blues. Guys like JW-Jones and the Twisters lean toward a swingin', jump-blues sound. (An excerpt from our review on the Twisters appears in the liner notes!) And, multiple-Blues Award winner Watermelon Slim has three cuts, two of 'em unreleased gems. "
Blue Freightliner" is a slide-drenched romp from the "No Paid Holidays" sessions, and a live audio track from the soon-to-be-released DVD of "Watermelon Slim Live At The Ground Zero Blues Club" is the "trash man's anthem," "Dumpster Blues," from his self-titled 2006 release.

Our favorite comes courtesy of Doug Cox and Salil Bhatt, with "
Make A Better World," a cut from their upcoming 2009 release. Written by Earl King and introduced to us by Levon Helm on vinyl back in the early 80's, this Crescent City classic really shines with the string works of Cox and Bhatt, as well as having a decided "home court advantage" with New Orleans native John Boutte's vocals. This will definitely be one to watch for in the coming year.

It is the mission of Northern Blues to entertain by not only keeping the blues alive, but forever moving forward and in new directions as well. Give a listen to
Future Of The Blues, Vol. 3 and then check out a full-length CD from any or all of these artists!

Review
Mick Rainsford
Blues in Britain
September 2008

The Future Of The Blues Vol 3 is an excellent sampler of NorthernBlues impressive back catalogue with tracks by artists such as Watermelon Slim, Paul Reddick, the wonderful Samuel James, JW-Jones, Mem Shannon, the precociously talented Homemade Jamz Blues Band, Moreland & Arbuckle, Mason Casey, The twisters and Eddie Turner - all of which have been reviewed in this magazine.

But - like all good samplers - this set does not only entice you to visit the label's back catalogue, but also provides a few tasty samplers for delights yet to come. So we get previews of the forthcoming Watermelon Slim DVD -
Live At The Ground Zero Blues Club where the band lay down a righteous groove on Dumpster Blues underpinning Slim's fine downhome harp and half spoken, half growled vocals. Make A Better World is a soulful East-West fusion from Slide To Freedom 2 by Doug Cox and Salil Bhatt - whilst Hattie Mae from the aptly titled Juke Joint Blues finds Zac Harmon in tremendous form as pulsing bass lines, churning harp and deep blues vocals meld the influences of Willie Cobb and Billy Boy Arnold - a killer track.

That leaves
Blue Freightliner an unreleased track from Watermelon Slim's No Paid Holidays - a churning slide piece with deep, but melancholy, blues vocals that had me thinking of Slim as a modern electric reincarnation of Blind Willie Mctell.


Review
Bob Mersereau
The Telegraph-Journal
September 2008

If the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival inspired you to pick up some new music, here's a great disc that introduces several new acts. It's called T
he Future Of The Blues, Vol. 3 (Northern Blues), a phrase that a few years ago might not have been taken seriously. But the highly respected Canadian blues label has proven in its short existence that there is life and movement forward. The label is home to one of the highlight bands of this year's festival, Homemade Jamz Blues Band, the young sibling trio from Mississippi, reviewed last week. In fact, much of the company's roster has appeared on Harvest stages, including Watermelon Slim, Paul Reddick, JW Jones, Carlos del Junco and, this year, Brian Blain. All but Blain appear on this set, with Slim contributing three cuts, two of them previously unreleased. Slim's a great example of how the blues is moving forward, with his authentic C&W soul mixing with fiery and inspired playing. New Orleans' Mem Shannon brings a whole lot of funk to his sound and Doug Cox and Salil Bhatt fuse classical Indian music to the blues. The blues world has been pouring accolades and awards on the label the last couple of years, and Watermelon Slim and Paul Reddick's albums were the top two blues releases this past year in England's Mojo Magazine. To paraphrase Buddy Guy, damn right Canada's got the blues.

The Future of the Blues Volume 2
The Future of the Blues, Volume 2
is still available from our online store
»


Review
Play Blues Guitar
May 2005

NorthernBlues in Canada has brewed up an unsurpassed catalog of blues in just four short years because it's about the music, first and foremost. Our good neighbors above the border have "big ears" and the strength of conviction to record what they dig and then trust their audience to have the same taste and sense of adventure. Rich and intoxicating aural treats await those willing to imbibe and this sampler should be enough to wet any fan's whistle for more. From the sweet sass of singer Janiva Magness to the genre-bending songs of country blues and rock young blood David Jacobs-Strain, the barely-contained, off-kilter energy of John and the Sisters and the African and American musical stew of Dan Treanor and Frankie Lee comes an unsubtle hint of the major talent lurking within. Boston's "Queen of the Blues," Toni Lynn Washington, will tear your heart out with her classic country blues and soul while Paul Reddick has absorbed prewar blues and filtered them through his own fresh sensibility.

As would be expected there is no shortage of high wattage electric guitar heroes on the label, but these fret-benders are never content to play it safe.
J.W. Jones may be the most traditional with his houserocking jump blues, but the cat knows how to make his Strat honk with unquestioned authority. Eddie Turner, the voodoo axeman who was Otis Taylor's instrumental foil for years, is represented with the hypnotic, interstellar country blues title track from his solo debut CD. Perhaps the two pickers who best exemplify the rambunctious spirit of the label are Kevin Breit and Harry Manx. To call their approach to the blues surrealistic is to only begin to describe just how wacky, but totally cool, these two idiosyncratic string-ticklers are as they mesh chops with an otherworldly bent. Breit also makes an appearance on harp-virtuoso Carlos del Junco's track where they turn Little Walter's "Blues With A Feeling" into a grinding, loopy shuffle for the next millennium, appropriate to the CD's title.

- Dave Rubin



Review
Blues Bytes
February 2005


Without fear, NorthernBlues' President, Fred Litwin, releases music that he truly believes in. Proudly and openly he states his label's mission is to stretch the boundaries of the blues. He has been doing that for four years, and his novel label isn't going without notice. So far his 27 releases (not including samplers) have received Juno, W.C. Handy, Independent Music, and Maple Blues Award nominations. Some of those nominations have turned into winners. There are 15 songs by 16 artists on this 70-minute
Future Of The Blues, Vol.2 sampler. Interspersed with the familiarity of American Blues, Dan Treanor and Frankie Lee contain the right blend of foreign rhythms and sounds. Treanor plays his hand-built African instruments on their innovative cut. New Brunswick's Glamour Puss combines their unrestrained talents to create happy, upbeat, groovin' music that celebrates life. Janiva Magness' NorthernBlues CD was really Colin Linden's project. His distinctive production and robust guitar provides strong evidence for this proposition. It is great to see an artist mature with every record. Listeners, who have graduated along with JW-Jones' previous two releases, experience that when they hear "Let's Have A Ball." Incorporating a slew of uncommon instruments (highland bagpipes), Taxi Chain is not your stereotypical roots music band. "Back Water Blues" combines one classy lady, Toni Lynn Washington, with one classy band. The stringed instruments, performed by David Jacobs-Strain, are dreamy. His impressive slide and deep vocals carry his pop country offering found here. Harry Manx's Eastern music influences are obvious. He and Kevin Breit mix East Indian music with acoustic Delta guitar for an extremely unique sound on the disc's oldest track from February 2003. Carlos del Junco mixes his hurling harp and uninspired vocals with Breit's grunge-like guitar. Well into the song, Breit gains control and cranks out an assaulting tone. Charismatic piano and sly organ carry you away on John And The Sisters' hand-clapping, foot-stomping hoedown. Their unreleased, poignant instrumental is the CD's highlight. James Cohen's brilliant flamenco guitar has a feel of vaudeville and the roaring '20s. Brian Blain uses an interesting twist on words via his cheeky number. Although the word blues appears in this label's name, the sounds and rhythms of Litwin's progressive artists are all over the map. Litwin chose the artists since he felt "they are making music that is fresh, original and simply sublime." He also challenges the sampler's purchasers to "open your ears, your minds and your hearts." Litwin continues to release modern music that no other label will. For blues fans, it looks like the best is yet to come. 2005 will deliver debut NorthernBlues releases by Chris Beard and Mem Shannon. Too bad they aren't included on this sampler.

-Tim Holek

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