by Les Pearson
Bonneville’s Blues Defy Race, Time, and Geography

Ray Bonneville is kicking off the 2005-2006 Folk Music Club’s Concert Series! I can hardly wait. He won a Juno in 1999 as Canada’s top blues artist. This is the same award that Harry Manx won in 2002. Both Manx and Bonneville play the rack harmonica. Both artists have amazing guitar skills. And if you loved Harry’s sultry sound, you will adore Ray’s laid back blues.

Like Manx, Bonneville has created his own unique blues sound. Manx looked to the East for his minor key licks. Bonneville’s musical roots greened in North America. Dual citizenship allowed Ray to commute between a Montreal apartment and an old house in Cotter, Arkansas. Yet it was New Orleans that left a brand on his musical style.

Of his stay in the Big Easy, Ray says, “It was infectious. In New Orleans, you learn that solid rhythm is like a tightrope on which the notes can do their dance.”

Ray’s lyric narratives have that “down home” Canadian feeling reminiscent of Hank Williams. He also uses an amplified plywood board for foot percussion. (Which Canadian icon springs to mind?)

One thing is clear. Bonneville is still the master blues craftsman. He has performed for more than thirty years in Canada, the United States, and Europe. Comparatively, Harry Manx is a rookie.

Other comparisons abound. Bonneville has been likened to Elvis, Jimmy Rogers, Woody Guthrie, Eric Clapton, Dire Straits, and more. His music has been called white blues, Cajun, and country. It is all of these and something more.

His five CDs and web site offer ample proof of Ray’s deft guitar picking. Collin Linden performed on and helped produce his last CD, Roll It Down (2003). Talent attracts talent.

Last Sunday I saw four Sandhill Cranes circling low over Ross Glen Coulee. Their size and wingspan amazed me. They were down along Ross Creek most of the summer. Occasionally, I saw them at a distance. But here, up close, they were majestically overwhelming.

Sometimes musicians are like that. You’ve seen or heard them at a distance—maybe on CKUA. Then you hear them in person. And all you can do is stand in awe and wonder. Ray Bonneville’s blues musicianship had that effect on me in 2003. Join us on Friday, September 30, at the Wahl-Harker Theatre in Crescent Heights High School for your own close-up thrills.

And remember. If you have a season pass for all five concerts, this one will only cost you $18.00. You will save $2.00 over the cost of a rush ticket, but at least $7.00 on the Esplanade concert on January 24. You have until noon on September 30 to purchase the series pass at one of our four ticket vendors. See the ads and posters.

This year, season ticket holders—besides saving cold, hard, cash—will also be eligible for special privileges including first dibs on seating at the Esplanade. Act now or be disappointed later!

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