The Universal Blues Festival 2000 was a dream of Danny Loong's, founder of ublues network, to see people of all cultural backgrounds come together in a celebration of the blues and roots music. The festival showcased some of Australia's finest acts in the blues, jazz, gospel and roots genres, and represented many of Australia's ethnic groups - Aboriginal, Asian, European, in the artists as well as the audience - promoting the fact that the blues truly is a universal language, understood across culture.
As
a token of respect to Aboriginal community, the festival was opened with a
"Nyoongar" welcome by Aboriginal elder, Uncle Ben. Following the
Universal Blues Band's opening performance was one of WA's finest jazz singers,
Lois Olney. Her smooth, yet incredibly emotional voice set the perfect mood
for the afternoon crowd. Singing songs about her Aboriginal upbring, her struggles
and joys, her family and love life, she held the listener captivated by her
voice and lyrics. Her sincerity and honesty of her performance touched the
audience, regardless of age or race.
Next onstage was the energetic 3-piece Stingray, headed by Hamish Jacobsen. Hamish has performed and recorded in the USA several times, and is one of WA's young emerging blues talents. Pumping out some serious Texas blues, with Hamish's fiery guitar work and strong vocals at the forefront, the band played a set of covers and originals that showed their artistic maturity coming from playing countless gigs and touring on the road.
Following Stingray was Singapore's own Don Gomes, backed by the Perth Jazz Society band featuring some of Perth's finest jazz musicians. Don's mastery of the ivories left listeners in awe as the band played bluesy interpretations of jazz standards, as well as jazz-based interpretations of blues songs, highlighting what jazz owes to its roots in the blues. Don is known primarily as a pianist, but his super-cool vocal style also left a smile on the faces in the crowd.
Keeping that smile on their faces was the Mounty Gospel Choir, led by Travis Fitch. The 16-person choir delivered foot-tapping renditions of classic gospel numbers, as well as merging traditional gospel styles with more contemporary jazz, funk and reggae feels, adding a nice feel to the backdrop of the a clear West Australian sunset.
Under lights, West Australian blues-folk legend Rick Steele headed the Hot Biscuit Band, his road-hardened voice and harmonica ringing clear through the night air. Ever the stage attraction, Rick's personalised, interactive delivery had the audience at his fingertips as they played their mixture of classic covers and proven originals. The Perth Blues Club Band joined the stage to finish the set on a high note.
If there was anyone not already up and dancing, African Music Congress soon had most of the crowd up on their feet, singing along and participating in dance moves taught by the bandmembers. At this time of the night, no one could resist their hypnotic rhythms, singalong choruses and overall energy. The inclusion of AMC at the festival paid tribute to the roots of the blues, the African rhythms that melded with the heartfelt worksongs and cries of slaves in the cotton fields that brought about the music we know as the blues.
Finally,
the Universal Blues Band took to stage to close the event. The emotion level
was running high by now, and the band pumped out originals from "Get
on the blues train" and interpreted covers, fuelled by an energetic and
vocal crowd. A surprise finale saw the Mounty Gospel Choir take to stage once
more to back the ublues band on gospel version of the title track, with an
all-out jam session bringing the festival to a close. A memorable time was
had by all, taking home with them more than just a memory of an enjoyable
evening - this was a celebration of cross-cultural understanding through the
blues, a universal language.
ublues network would like to thank the following for their support: Murdoch University, Contact Singapore, British Airways, Perth Blues Club, Perth Jazz Society