David Vest plays the music of Willie Dixon

Event Description

Maples Blues Award winner David Vest and his red hot band salute "the poet laureate of the blues." Blues piano legend Vest has been playing these songs since 1957, and he seems to be picking up speed rather than slowing down.

Think of a famous blues song and Willie Dixon probably wrote it. And that's him playing bass on the original recording. He's credited with writing more than 500 songs, including My Babe, Spoonful, The Seventh Son, Hoochie-Coochie Man, Little Red Rooster, I Just Want To Make Love To You, Back Door Man, Wang Dang Doodle, and I'm Ready. And oh yes, Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love sounds a lot like a song Dixon wrote for Muddy Waters (he sued them for plagiarism and won an out of court settlement).

Dixon played bass on most of Chuck Berry's early recordings, as well as many sessions with Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and others.

Expect Ryan Tandy to get quite a workout on upright bass!

Damian Graham (drums) is very familiar with the fact that most of the sessions Dixon played on featured a jazz drummer (often Fred Below) -- that's why they swing so hard.

Tom Bowler (guitar) often plays the music of Steely Dan or Pink Floyd, but he brings his own unique approach to classic blues.

Vest (piano) gets to revisit the playing of Memphis Slim, Otis Spann, Pinetop Perkins, and Lafayette Leake when he tackles the music of Willie Dixon.

As Dixon famously said, "The blues are the roots and the other music's are the fruits."