LITTLE ROCK — A man who knew a lot about blues gave singer-songwriter Ruthie Foster some advice when she felt a need to sing the blues standard, “Stormy Monday,” in his Austin, Texas, club.
Clifford Antone, who had hosted many a musician during his life and times, told Foster she need not feel compelled to sing a song that had been sung by many folks down through the years.
“He told me I just needed to ‘sing what you feel,’” Foster says.
“I was a very young person who had moved to Austin, and Mister Antone pulled me aside and introduced me to James Cotton, along with other folks who could also give me helpful advice. But the best thing I heard was when Mister Antone told me I could sing gospel, reggae or whatever I wanted to in his club and it was all right by him.
“I’ve been singing whatever I wanted ever since, thanks to him.”
In late January, Foster released Let It Burn, a collection that includes a trio of originals sprinkled among some of her favorite cover songs: Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain,” Los Lobos’ “This Time,” William Bell’s “You Don’t MissYour Water,” The Black Keys’ “Everlasting Light,” Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” The Band’s “It Makes No Difference,” Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Long Time Gone,” Pete Seeger’s “If I Had a Hammer” and John Martyn’s “Don’t Want to Know.”
She opens and closes the CD with guest vocals from The Blind Boys of Alabama, who also appear midalbum, and she’s backed by bassist George Porter Jr. and drummer Russell Batiste - the rhythm section of The Funky Meters - who were recruited by her New Orleans-based producer.
“It’s my first album where I didn’t play guitar,” she says. “John Chelew, my producer, told me to just focus on my singing, rather than worrying about what chords to play, and as a result, I think we were able to give people a different look at the songs. I had wanted to include three songs by John Martyn, for instance, whose songs are just gorgeous. What he did was so innovative, as was the way he tuned his guitar.”
Foster - who will play guitar at her show - will bring her drummer and bassist to back her in Eureka Springs, and she thinks that another performer there, Hadden Sayers, will also join her.
“I might even get a longtime friend to join me,” she adds, “since Crow Johnson lives in Northwest Arkansas and might come to the concert. We go way back; when I was in college in Waco, Texas, she came and did a master class in guitar, which inspired me to want to do something on that instrument.”
Growing up in central Texas, on the Brazos River on property where her grandfather had lived, Foster had a Baptist church background, with a mother who was a gospel fan and a father who loved the blues. She listenedto the music of Arkansas native Sister Rosetta Tharp and to Mahalia Jackson, Johnnie Taylor and Sam Cooke, and she considered the Rev. C.L. Franklin, Aretha Franklin’s father, to be as much of a celebrity as his daughter.
“I discovered how music moves you through the church experience,” she says. “The congregation changed when there was a great singer there, so that laid the groundwork for me wanting to be like that. And I came to where I wanted to inject a little reggae into the gospel, and also the energy I get from a singersongwriter such as Lucinda Williams.
“I’ve gotten a little flak for not doing enough sad songs, from some blues purists,” Foster says, “but I like to use music to keep myself on a higher plane. I can also get down in the dumps, and when I’m down there, I like to have some company, so there are songs that do that for me.”
Her performance career began while she was serving in the U.S. Navy. Foster released her debut album in 1997, followed by six more in the ensuing 15 years. Her 2007 CD, The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster, was produced by former Little Rock resident (and Killer Bees member) Malcolm “Papa Mali” Welbourne, and her 2009 release, The Truth According to Ruthie Foster, was nominated for a Grammy Award.
In May 2010, she was named Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis.
“I’ve got a 1-year-old, a great partner, and we live in Austin,” Foster says. “I get to travel the world with people I love and respect. Who could ask for anything more?”
There will be other bluesoriented performers in restaurants, bars and clubs around town, including The Ariels, Angelo’s Drum Circle, Baby Jason, Blew Reed, Bob Alder, Brandon Santini, Brick Fields, Brody Buster, Crosseyed Cat, Doghouse Daddies, Dorrian Cross, Isayah’s Allstars, Jesse Dean, Jones van Jones, The Eureka Jug Band, Klear Ambition, Kris Lager, Levee Town, Mary Bridget Davies, Oreo Blue, Patrick Sweany, Shawn “Lil’ Slim” Holt, Smokin’ Joliet Dave, Smooth Down Under, Stella Blue and Steve Jones.
Ruthie Foster Eureka Springs Blues Weekend
2 p.m. doors open, show
at 3 p.m. Saturday, City
Auditorium, Spring Street,
Eureka Springs
Admission: $30
Blues Weekend also fea
tures Tommy Castro, Ken
ny Neal, Lazy Lester, The
Cate Brothers, Marquise
Knox, The Super Reverbs,
Hadden Sayers, Nathan A
& Max RPM, and a Tribute
to Michael Burks, at local
venues
Free Basin Park shows to
day through Saturday
(888) 581-7763
eurekaspringsblues.com
Weekend, Pages 35 on 05/31/2012