by Mercy Moosemuzzle - SGN Contributing Writer

Curtis Salgado
Cuteness called Mercy's attention to Curtis Salgado because he won the 2010 Blues Music Award for Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year. Mercy was very happy to have seen him at Jazz Alley. The members of his tight band are Josh Fulero (guitar), Tracy Arrington (bass), Russ Kleiner (drums), and Dave Fleschner (keyboards.) The group was running late because they had traveled from the blues festival in Vancouver, which was a good thing, because Mercy and Cuteness were late getting there, too.

Salgado and guitarist Alan Hagar performed some numbers while the rest of the band was getting organized. Mercy had to agree with another audience member who told Hagar he was awesome. Cuteness said some of her favorite numbers that night had been the "Depot Blues" and "Delta Blues," some of the ones Salgado sang in his big, deep voice and with his expressive face in that impromptu concert. Mercy was happy when the full band assembled and Curtis pretended the warmup hadn't been happening. One of the high points once the full band arrived was "Clean Getaway," the title song from their new album, featuring Josh Fulero. Another was "I'm Too Loose," with a keyboard solo that made Salgado say, "Cut some in my monitor, so I can enjoy it, too." In "I Need a Woman," Curtis defended his PhD in harmonica. They also played an original, "Summertime Life," which delighted Mercy. The number "20 Years of BB King" was pleasing. ("I learned more about the blues/ in two weeks with you than 20 years of B.B King.") The band closed with down and dirty "You've Got to Move Away From Here." The audience gave out moans of contentment throughout the night.

Carbon Leaf
Carbon Leaf is another band Mercy is happy Cuteness turned her on to - to Mercy's delight. The band members are Barry Privett (voice, guitar, whistle), Carter Gravatt (guitar, mandolin), Jordan Medas (bass), Terry Clark (electric and acoustic guitar, vocals), and Jason Neal (drums). The group filled the Woodland Park Zoo with sweet music. They opened with "Long Days." Other favorites of Mercy's were "Life Less Ordinary," "Sloop John B," and "The War Wasn't in Color." Cuteness liked "What Have You Learned (Now That You've Been Burned)." The band provided music for the Curious George movies, part one and two, which they played, joking that children's songs only last a minute. They said the last time they played Zoo Tunes they had had to turn down the music, because the apes had been throwing logs. They closed nicely with the upbeat "Let Your Troubles Roll By."

Laughing Ladies Music Festival
Mercy and Cuteness took their friend Consistency to the Laughing Lady Women's Music Festival. Consistency says she loves curling up in one of the cozy chairs at the café and reading a book. Her favorite treat is the orange mocha. She appreciates how genuinely nice the staff is. Her service dog is always focused on owner Angela Rinaldi because Angela gives her big cookies. Cuteness is impressed that Angela finds such a great variety of acts.

Mercy and Cuteness's new favorite group is the Jillian Graham band. Jillian has a strong, melodious voice. The energy between her and the bass player, her husband Jim Graham, is fun to watch. Steve Torgerson played the drums well. Jillian's tunes are delicious, and her lyrics are moving.

"Out of the Blue" reminds Mercy of Cuteness and Cuteness of Mercy. ("You came out of the blue/into my heart/brought me out of the dark/saw me true/I let go of all my resistance/when I fell into you.")

Cuteness also likes "The Moon" ("Where do dreams go, when all the world is telling you you're crazy."). Also fun is the breakup song "Moving On." Consistency said, "Even though I am hard of hearing, this music comes through."

You can hear more of Jillian Graham's music at www.jilliangrahammusic.com

Paula Maya
Paula Maya also played that night. Cuteness found her a bit too in-your-face at first, but then came to like her. The band - Pat Hewitt on guitar, Ben Smith on drums, and Dave Pascal on bass - rocked. The music was so loud, Mercy had trouble understanding the lyrics. At one point Cuteness moved to the porch, and was able to get the words better. Consistency was impressed that Paula could play the keyboards standing up and sing at the same time.

Mercy's favorites were the covers, because she knew the words: "I Never Promised You A Rose Garden," "I Can See Clearly Now," and "Kind and Generous," which Maya dedicated to the café owner and organizer of the event, Angela.

Val D'Alessio
Val D'Alessio, also at the Laughing Ladies Music Festival, is another one of Mercy's favorite singer songwriters. Her voice is full and nice. The guitar is her friend. She opened with a Bonnie Raitt cover, "Papa Come Quick." Another nice cover was "At Last My Love Has Come Along."

Mercy liked D'Alessio's original "Perfect Imperfection." "Coffee stains on a clean white dress/spinach in your teeth for that first hot date/all the secrets you tried to keep/but couldn't wait." Also pleasing were "Late Night Song," "Home Highways and Bad Hair Days," and "Self-importance Weighs a Ton."

Maria Muldaur
Best known for her seductive '70s pop staple "Midnight at the Oasis," Maria Muldaur has since become an acclaimed interpreter of just about every stripe of American roots music: blues, early jazz, gospel, folk, country, R&B, and so on. While these influences were certainly present on her more pop-oriented '70s recordings (as befitting her Greenwich Village folkie past), Muldaur truly came into her own as a true roots music stylist during the '90s, when she developed a particular fascination with the myriad sounds of Louisiana. On the string of well-received albums that followed, Muldaur tied her eclecticism together with the romantic sensuality that had underpinned much of her best work ever since the beginning of her career.

Her newest album, Yes We Can!, showcases the work of some of the most socially conscious songwriters of the past half-century: Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, Allen Toussaint, Earl King, and Garth Brooks, to name a few. Throughout the album's 13 tracks, a host of well-known progressive voices, collectively dubbed The Women's Voices for Peace Choir, help Muldaur shed the light and sharpen the focus on the precarious state of the world and its future. Included on the high-profile guest list are Bonnie Raitt, Joan Baez, Jane Fonda, Odetta, Phoebe Snow, Holly Near, and several others. "Most of these women have boldly and tirelessly been lifting their voices for peace, non-violence and social justice their whole lives," says Muldaur, "and their commitment to these causes has been deeply inspiring to me over the years. It is our hope that our efforts here will inspire minds and hearts and that these songs will become a soundtrack to the change we must all become a part of."

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