Tag: Joanna Connor

Rise from Joanna Connor Highlights a Good Run

  By , ,
Rise - Joanna Connor

So I succeeded in avoiding running all weekend. My excuse Saturday was it was too cold in the morning. Then in the afternoon we babysat Logan while his parents took their new puppy to obedience training. After that there was College Football as I watched the end of the Gators game, followed by the LSU-Alabama game. The Georgia game ended the night.

The Run

So after my EKG which looked Like last years which was very good, I hit the road. It was actually the first time I’ve run in the late afternoon. Not knowing how traffic would be on some of the major roads in town, I ran a course where I don’t have to cross any main roads. Basically, it was the same course I ran last Tuesday with a different first 3/4 mile.

I even seriously thought about not running today. However, when I saw that it’s going to rain tomorrow morning which is the only time I can run tomorrow. I knew I had to run today .

It was a strong easy run, slightly slower than last Tuesday’s run. Here are the nerdy details….

The Nerdy Details

Total Distance:  3.24   Total Time: 32:31  Pace: 10:02-

Splits  Mile 1: 9:53 Mile 2 – 10:12  Mile 3: 10:16 0.23 9:08

Avg HR: 140  Max HR 171 Calories Burned: 407 cals

 

The Soundtrack –  Joanna Connor’s Rise

The soundtrack for the run was Rise  the new release from Joanna Connor I first discovered Ms. Connor’s music which is highlighted by here dynamic guitar work,  when I listen to her 2916 release Six String Stories.  I was impressed with that album and Rise is just as impressive more even more impressive.

While Joanna stretched herself musically on Six String Stories, she went even farther on Rise providing touch of jazz, Celtic music and even hip-hop. And while I don’t love the hip-hop it works on the album. The songs on the album provide a personal statement from Joanna…..

“It’s all about rising in life, rising to know yourself, rising to meet the challenge of exploring yourself deeper. Putting it out there.”

She also has a new backup band– drummer Tyrone Mitchell and Cameron Lewis, bassist Joewaun Jay Red Scott and keyboardist Delby Littlejohn. The group adds some fresh energy to the album. Joanna says the following about the album and band…

“The whole record is me and a bunch of younger men,” she says. “So there was some kind of power coming through them to me.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that  Rise from Joanna Connor is a great album, with some terrific guitar work from Joanna. Some folks say that the highlight of the album is “Bad Hand”a duet with Joanna’s long-time friend Mike Zito.

As for me two highlights for me were the two instrumental tracks “Joanna in A” and “If You Want to Stay”. Two others that were standout tracks for me were: “Earthshaker” and  “Blues Tonight” which may be my favorite track”

So Check Out  Rise and while you’re at it also check out Six String Stories.

I’ll end with Guitar World’s comment about Joanna…


Joanna Connor might be the best — or most original — blues-based slide guitar player you’re likely to come across today. Or tomorrow. 

Links for the Further Exploration of the Blues of Joanna Connor

  1. Artist’s  Website
    Facebook
    Twitter
    YouTube
    Amazon

Here’s one of the highlights of Rise a Joanna Connor – Mike Zito duet.

 

Joanna Connor – Six String Stories.

  By ,

Six String Stories – Joanna Connor –  The Best Blues of 2016?

A couple of weeks ago, I spotted an album titled Six String Stories on the Roots Music Report Blues Chart. The artist was Joanna Connor. Since the title of the album was interesting and I had never heard of Ms. Connor, I went to Spotify and gave it a quick listen. Wow! It sounded great! But then my ADD kicked in and I was soon off listening to other albums and Six String Stories was set aside.

Somehow at the end of last week the album caught my attention again and I went back to Spotify and listened to it again. Boy am I glad I did! Ms. Connor is one hell of a slide guitarist! She may even give my favorite slide guitarist Dave Hole a run for his money!

How Have I Missed Joanna Connor?

So why have I never heard of Ms. Connor? Well, it seems that her career started out way back in 1989 with the release of her debut album Believe It released on Blind Pig Records. Eight more albums followed over the next ten years. After the release of The Joanna Connor Band in 2002, decided to take a break from recording ad touring to raise her daughter. She has continued to play live locally in her adopted home Chicago.

The reason I have never heard of Ms.Connor may be that she began he career during MY period of child rearing. In 1989  Sharon, Lois and Bram and Raffi spent more time on my turntable than blues! Additionally, she hasn’t released any albums during the time, when I  rediscovered the blues, and started exploring new artists more fully. So now back to Six String Stories!

About Six String Stories

One of the things that I really liked about Six String Stories was the variety in Joanna;s music.Joanna’s fiery slide blues licks are mixed in among some soul, gospel and funk! Of the ten tracks on the album Joanna co-wrote eight of them with  Marion Lance Lewis, a multi-instrumentalist and mainstay of her live band.

In his review in Elmore magazine Jim Hynes writes….

….Connor sings like she wields her axe, fiercely with a “take no prisoners” approach.  The opener, “It’s a Woman’s Way” and “By Your Side” feature her trademark slide.  She takes the slow blues route on “We Stayed Together,” trading some verses with Lewis.  She treats Jill Scott’s “Golden” with the right jazz-soul feel as it morphs into funk over her spoken part.   The bayou-inspired “Swamp Swim” shows the improvisational side of her playing especially when offset by the guitar heavy “Halsted Street.”   The centerpiece of the album is “Heaven” which brings in the gospel with horns and the Lewis Family Singers..  Connor says, “I wrote that as more of a political song with West African feel, but Lance gave it more of a gospel sound. His brothers are pastors and have churches so they brought that kind of feel to it.”  The much covered “Sky is Crying’ sounds like a completely different tune here  Read More

Bottom – Line

Six String Stories may be my favorite blues album of the year! It has everything I love in an album, Fantastic guitar playing coupled with well-written and sung songs. A couple of great covers are also thrown in the mix. .My favorite tracks so far are “It’s a Woman’s Way” and “By Your Side” and the two instrumentals “Swamp Swim” and “Halsted Street”. So Check it Out! And as per usual I have a lot of back-catalog music to explore!!

Artist’s Website
Facebook
Twitter
AllMusic
Amazon

The Video

Here is that video from The North Atlantic Blues Festival……enjoy!