PODIATAISTS WILLED LIM Complete Family Foot & Ankle Care Brandon A est something new.) African-American musicians created the blues, of course. But on the tour bus with Goldberg is a veritable who's who of mostly white musicians and singers, who, as teenagers, were smitten by the blues and made it their life's work: guitarist Harvey Mandel, har- monica player Corky Siegel, singer-gui- tarist Nick Gravenites (who wrote "Born in Chicago") and singer Tracy Nelson. African-American drummer Sam Lay, who provided the backbeat for Howlin' Wolf, shares singing duties in CBR, and at 70, is the elder states- man of the group. (Drummer Gary Mallabar, bassist Rick Reed and gui- tarist Zach Wagner serve as a formida- ble CBR rhythm section on record and in concert.) The late guitarist Michael Bloomfield and harmonica player Paul Butterfield are honorary members of the band, their spirits channeled on record and on stage. Reminiscing As underage, blues-crazed kids, Goldberg and friends often disobeyed their parents, sneaking into black clubs on the south and west sides of Chicago to listen and learn from and eventually sit in with the music's fore- fathers: Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, B.B. King and others. The DVD offers surprising footage of some of these originators mingling and performing with their white disci- ples (as well as interviews with leg- endary guitarists King and Buddy Guy). The members of CBR also pro- vide touching and insightful anecdotes as they reminisce in front of the cam- era. One such moment finds Goldberg describing his chance to regularly sit in for Muddy Waters' piano player when the keyboardist took a break. One night, after five months of trying to capture the band's groove, Waters breaks into a big grin signaling to Goldberg that he'd finally nailed it. Says Goldberg: "Meeting and marry- ing my wife, my son's bar mitzvah and [that night Muddy smiled at me] are the three greatest moments in my life — not necessarily in that order." That was then, this is now, and Goldberg and the rest see themselves as torchbearers of the music and the offspring of the innovators who con- ceived it. "We've finally become the blues guys now," Goldberg says. "We're not exactly the masters, but we're as old as they were. We qualify. We belong here. Like a fine wine, we've all aged together in a nice, wonderful manner." The whole project came together in a wonderful manner, too. About five years ago, Goldberg began playing occasional gigs throughout California with Mandel, Gravenites and other Chicago alumni. That led to an offer to play the San Francisco Blues Fest in 2003, which led to an invite to play the Chicago Blues Fest last year, which led to a record company invitation to record a CD and DVD. Proud of the result, they all agreed to promote it with this year's tour. Hearing and feeling the power of the music and the exuberance with which CBR plays it on record, you can only hope the tour bus decides to keep on rolling. 3 Jews Jamming A Goldberg-Mandel tune called "GM Boogie" is proof that all geriatric jokes can be dispensed with. The song is a barnburner where age and time, sadness and regret fall away. Goldberg, Siegel and Mandel find that magic zone during torrid solo turns then converge into some kind of sonic euphoria. It is both seductive and cele- bratory, a soundtrack of triumph. "There's three Jews [jamming] on that," says Goldberg. Actually, there are four if you count Michael Bloomfield smiling down from rock 'n' roll heaven. "Michael (who died in 1981) is a special part of this," says Goldberg. "He's inside of us. He touched all of us, especially me and Nick." "[But] it's not about the Jewish thing this time," Goldberg says, refer- ring to his 1969 album 2 Jews Blues, a collaboration with Bloomfield that also featured Mandel on a pair of songs. Chicago Blues Reunion is a multi- cultural stew. "I think this whole thing is about ethnicity. Nick is Greek; Tracy, Norwegian; Sam is black, Butterfield was Irish. It's a multicultural, wonder- ful thing. Together, we've formed a warm, wonderful unit with a lot of love and soul. It's a great American melting pot, and it comes across in the music. Everyone's roots show." ❑ The Chicago Blues Reunion per- forms Saturday, July 30, at the Magic Stick, 4120-4140 Woodward Ave., in Detroit. Ages 18 and over. Doors open at 8 p.m. $20. (313) 833-9700, (248) 645-6666 or www.majesticdetroit.com/stick.asp. 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