Ravinia 2019, Issue 1, Week 2

6:00 PM FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2019 BENNETT GORDON HALL RAVINIA’S STEANS MUSIC INSTITUTE JAZZ GRANDSTAND This evening’s concert showcases the musicianship and original compositions of the participants in Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute Program for Jazz. The participants’ and faculty’s biographies can be found in the RSMI program guide distributed at this concert. 6:30 PM FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2019 PAVILION SHEMEKIA COPELAND † –Intermission– NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS † –Intermission– BUDDY GUY † Ravinia debut BUDDY GUY Though forever associated with Chicago, Buddy Guy began his musical journey in Lettsworth, LA, where at age 7 he constructed a makeshift guitar out of two strings, a piece of wood, and a hairpin. Once he got a real instrument, he used to hike out some distance from his home to practice, so as not to disturb his family with “that noise.” Striking out even farther to Chi- cago in 1957, Guy soon landed a steady gig at the 708 Club and became a fixture on the blues scene. Recording with Chess Records for much of the ’60s, he created several hit singles but primarily made his name as a session musician for Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, and many others. In the late ’60s and early ’70s, Guy often recorded with blues harpist Junior Wells, including the landmark 1965 Delmark album Hoodoo Man Blues and the 1972 Eric Clapton–co-produced Buddy Guy and Junior Wells Play the Blues , and they also ap- peared together at the 1974 Montreux Jazz Festi- val with Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones, who produced the album Drinkin’ TNT and Smokin’ Dynamite from the performance. In 1991 he cut a record deal with the Silvertone label and re- leased Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues— featuring fellow guitarists Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Mark Knopfler as guests—which was awarded the first of his six career Grammys, most recently includ- ing his 2015 album Born to Play Guitar . Guy has also won over two dozen Blues Music Awards (more than any other artist) and was the second recipient of Billboard ’s Century Award. He was also awarded the National Medal of the Arts in 2003 and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005, and he received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2012 and an honorary doc- torate from Louisiana State University in 2014. His latest album, The Blues Is Alive and Well , was released in 2018, the same year he appeared on David Letterman’s Netflix talk show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction and brought down the house in a sold-out performance for the closing of B.B. King’s Blues Club and Grill in New York. First appearing at Ravinia in 1999, Buddy Guy returns tonight for his 15th season at the festival. RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 10 – JUNE 16, 2019 92