Dalannah Gail Bowen
For bookings, contact: Kristie Schneider, , Paul Mercs Concerts, 604-683-8763.
She’s opened for B.B.King, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, and Taj Mahal, and she’s worked with Willie Dixon, James Cotton, and Walter “Shakey” Horton. She has a truly spectacular set of pipes and a most commanding stage presence – but chances are that unless you frequent Canada’s major blues festivals or tune into blues radio, Vancouver’s Dalannah Gail Bowen may still be an unknown commodity to you.
That’s because Bowen only released her first blues CD, Mamma’s Got The Blues, in November of 2007. Since then there has only been one other offering: I Just Want To Talk To You, a limited release featuring remixed and remastered versions of some of her favourite jazz songs.
Bowen, who’s been honing her craft now for over 40 years, has one of those voices that lays claim to part of your soul the first time you hear her and never lets go. One listen to her version of the Booker T. Jones/William Bell classic “Born Under A Bad Sign” sold me on Bowen. I suspect I’m not alone.
That scenario kept repeating itself over and over again all the way through Mamma’s Got The Blues. Tracks like “You Can Take My Husband (But Please Don’t Mess With My Man),” the album’s title track, and her cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Up From The Skies” kept me going back for more.
It’s that voice. Smokey. Earthy. Soulful. Powerful.
At various times she reminds me of Billie Holiday, Etta James, Big Mama Thornton, and former Loading Zone lead singer Linda Tillery. But it’s not just the voice – it’s what she does with it. So much emotion. So much control. That she likes to mix things up is also a big plus. One minute it’s a blues standard, and the next an original blues treatment of a non-traditional blues song. Turn your head and she’s mining a jazz vein.
Categories: Showcase