Wednesday, August 21, 2019

HaPpy Heavenly Birthday! Kanika Kress..Lioness on a Stratocaster!



A HaPpy Birthday letter 2 Kanika Kress..
a Leo.. and a Lioness on a Stratocaster!
Oooh .. Ooooh.. Ooooh Oooooh .. Ooooh.. OOOOOH  
'Cause  We MISS YOU...


Cosmic: I was just looking for a little something..something on the net ... and I stumbled across a video of u playing.. Kanika


 Kanika Kress 
Playing in Germany ...
Miss You - Rolling Stones 5:58 
 40 Days and 40 Nights - Muddy Waters 12:30 

Playing one of my favorie Rolling Stones songs.. MISS YOU..
and just killing it!

Oooh Oooh Oooh Oooh  Ooooh ' cause  I Miss you! 
What 'chu doing Girl?
Then you went on to  play 40 days  and  40 nights
by  Muddy Waters ....
and I was haPpy... 'cause I had never seen these videos... 
of you playing these songs.  

It was sO mystical to see you all over again... smiling and doing your thing..Just playing that Stratocaster with the long strips of leather on your  guitar strap just swinging...in the wind...
It was so uncanny to hear your voice and your sound... and to remember how you phrased your riffs on your guitar...and made it just talk!


Kanika... I just went to a Rolling Stones concert ... a coupla months ago in Chicago at Soliders Field ...and they killed it..Girl...

MICK ... Jagger was running all over the stage and it was on!!...

So...
I went looking for more music and photos to add 2 the collage 4 a shout out 2 your sons.. Shomari, Gynyasi and Nkosi 2 your family, fans and the universe.. 4 your birthday...‘cause we miss you! 


Kanika rocks  at the 1988  Chicago Blues Festival


I just kept remembering Kanika how you used to rock out with your  groups  Girlathon and  Peace Flower in the 70's when you all played Rock, Folk, and your original songs..

You and I , we would mix it up with some FUNK, R&B and JAZZ and play our originals songs all day!

Cecile Savage, Tony Robinson, 
Kanika Kress, Aki Antonia

And while I was thinking about  all that
I ran across a picture of Tony Robinson...
the drummer in your band when we played in the 80's.
These photos were from the Taste Zodiac Room in Chicago..
where we played Blues Mondays hosted by Ralph Metcalf Jr.

Back 2 the  Future... Cosmic Convergence...
Years later... Tony married  our cosmic musical sister, Tiona the flautist... and you played at their wedding... Wow..

I knew that you and Tiona had gone to South Shore High and she has told me all about how you tore it up with your guitar in the talent shows back then...

Because you and Tiona chanted as Buddhists I found it it interesting that all of our mystical connections flowed with 
Nam Myo Renge Kyo .. cause you sure did try to shakabuku me
into the principals by encouraging to chant.. back in the 70's. 
It was interesting to find out that we all had a musical and cosmic mystical connection over many decades but we just didn't know it at the time. 
And in the spirit of Cosmic convergence I wound up  chanting at the Buddhist Center and playing at a few festivals with  Tiona and Tony  in  Tiona's band named Melodious Communique. 

Then we had some 😎 cool moments with merging with my band AKIBOARDS 🎹🎹🎹
















Ray Ripperton, Tiona Toni, Aki Antonia, Julie Jam, Lothario Lee, Tony Robinson
Akiboards & Melodius Communique


Writing this letter made me pull out my Some Girls album..

just thinking 'bout  the Blues in my soul''  'cause we miss you!




Now.. Tony Robinson... the  Funkateer..  drumaster of the Funk is up there FUNKING up the grooves..'cause he 's playing on that heavenly plane with you as well.   

Go 'head ON... Y'all! 
Stay ON the 1 now!

HaPpy Heavenly Birthday! 
Kanika Kress.. 
Aug 17.. 
Leo.. the Lioness..
Gone way too soon...in 1993..
We miss you in the 'Chi! and in the world... and in the  Cosmic Universe...
Keep on playing the Blues up there with Lefty Dizz! 
Muddy Waters! Jimi Hendrix! and ere'body else! 
We know you're killing on that Stratocaster, girl! 
Kosen-rufu. Peace! ☮️

AA 8172019 by Aki Antonia c2019 
All photos by AA c 2019
All rights Reserved. 

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Sunday Night On the Train....

I was riding on the train
on the Green line to 63rd and Ashland..
heading back from Downtown 
through Bronzeville to Englewood
just checking out my folks...
sketching in my sketchbook...
and listening to the sounds
of the train moving..  
& people talking on their phones...
& hearing the tracks go 
clack, clak, clak 
 feeling the rocking  motions..
thinking my thoughts...
& trying to get it all down 
before I heard the final sounds of 
"Doors closing
All passengers must leave the train!"


8 2019 AA c 2019 All Rights Reserved

Saturday, August 10, 2019

I Got My Mojo Working!


I got my Mojo working…
Instead of sitting in my  bed ..
crying the blues
and wondering  ‘bout things, 
I don’t need to wonder about
no mo.
I decided 2 do mi own walkabout. ...
and wound up at the Motor City Mojo Jam
at the Motor Row Brewery on a Thursday night.

I went to go 2 sit in with Micheal Damani 
and the Chicago Blues All Stars
with Bassist, Deacon Freddie Dixon,  
Drummer, Dr Jimmy Lee Tillman,
Guitarist, Doktu Rhute Music,
Motor Row Bob
and several other  folks..
And it was so  good.. 
We wound up jamming with a harmonica player 
all the way from Australia…
Jay Moon..
That was fun!

The Original Chicago Blues All Stars were on fire.. 
Michael Damani has a deep wailing sound.. 
in his young bones and in his old soul.. 
as he moves around almost in a trance... 
going in deep....

The Chicago Blues All-Stars 
had a deep rich bottom.. 
as they laid a bayou-like foundation 
of solid bass, rhythm and drums.


It was great to sit in with the Blues jammers... but it was real cool when drummer,  Dr Jimmy Tillman invited me to play on keys with the 
Original Chicago Blues All Stars 
'cause
their sound
brought me back to my roots in Bronzeville
 back 2 a time
where I got a chance  
2 breath the Blues 
wafting out of  
Buddy Guy's Checkerboard Lounge
around the corner from my house..

smelling like some greens ... 
and beans cooking on the stove 
in the fall or the wintertime..
along with the smell of the 
cornbread baking in the oven 
2 go with  it.. 

that sound...
up in Motor Row Brewry
brought me back 2 my roots of being round the blues 

back to 43rd St 
(Muddy Waters Drive)

back 2 listening 
to folks playing at the Blues clubs like
Peppers and Theresa's
but even deeper ..

as I flashed back on 
playing the Blues and Jazz in 
Jam sessions at my home..

back in the day.. day
on an old Wurlitzer electric piano..
with B... 
and Bey the bassist from Koko Taylor’s band
as they taught me Jimmy Reed’s song

Baby, What You Want Me to Do
Jimmy Reed

You've got me runnin'
You've got me hidin'
You've got me run, hide, hide, run
Anyway you wanna let it roll
Yeah, yeah, yeah
You've got me doin' what you want me
Baby what you want  me to do



 I also flashed back on more  recently...
 when I've been jamming with the guitarist..
Mr. Oh Yeah from Tokyo ..
when he would come up to Bronzeville  2  43rd St 
with his blues students to see me.. 
and to learn about 
the Checkerboard back in the day..

He always likes to play Muddy’s ‘I got my Mojo Working’

So when the  musicians begin to play both songs
at the MOJO Jam
Yeah.. I felt right at home..
I  already knew things was gon’ be cool 
when  I started warming  up on my Melodica 
 in my Uber  ride to the club…
I had a cool older Nigerian cab driver 
who turned out 2 be a drummer 
and he was  jamming!! right with me ...
as we rolled down the Dan Ryan 
from Englewood 
2 Motor Row
and I was  playing that same Jimmy Reed  song 
and Muddy Waters’s...Got my Mojo Workin'
So ...
I was just a - smiling when they called them at the  Jam..
Um Um Umph!

I'm goin' up
I'm goin' down
I'm goin' up, down, down, up
Anyway ya wanna let it roll
Yeah, yeah, yeah
You've got me doin' what you want me
Baby what you want me to do

FYI:
Now Michael Damani 
This one right here?
This one is a youngin’ to watch 
y’all…better catch him while he’s here…
‘cause he’s got that Jimi spark…
and he’s such a  poignant and piercing player..
and 
he writes his own  music..
like ‘Black Bags’   
a song where the lyrics hit me hard  
when I first heard it… 
and even harder when  I played it…
  
It’s a Blues in A minor 
that  describes 
how it could be  any one of us
 in the black bags…today..

after the sirens and the shootings 
for any reason..
it could be any one of us..

Listening to him and playing with him and some 
veteran Bluesmen was  
Heaven for me..



Australian Hamonica player, Jay Moon, Guitarist , Michael Damani, Guitarist, Doktu Rhute, Keyboardist  and Melodica player, Aki Antonia.

The really cool thing was the jamming,  and the musical flow..
the sharing a vibe of music...
the tinkle of some keys..
a trumpet or two....
Some Bad azz  harmonicas..
lighting up the room
the  whine of  guitars.. 
howling at the moon...
Doktu Rhute shared his MUUZIC..
Deacon Freddie Dixon was holding  down that Bass...
The young players brought their energy... but the OLD school  players brought the stories and the grace....
Motor  Row Brewery
Chicago

8102019 by AA c 2019
All photos  by Aki Antonia c 2019. All rights Reserved