THE SHOWROOM SESSIONS: Streaming LIVE from Piedmont Piano Company
Macy Blackman and the Mighty Fines
Join Macy Blackman and the Mighty Fines as they offer up their “best of the last 14 years.” They will play music from their 4 albums, plus more that has sneaked through so far but will be recorded. The band has always specialized in New Orleans-style rhythm and blues from the 1950’s and 60’s, and have recently added some traditional New Orleans jazz to the mix, like King Oliver and Fats Domino.
Watch the LIVE STREAM on youtube or facebook
Donations/tips accepted via paypal.me/macyblackman or paypal.me/bingnathan
Macy Blackman and the Mighty Fines have existed since 2003, solidifying the current configuration in 2007. They have been honing their skills together for 14 years, and they are just getting started.
The leader, Macy Blackman, came to the Bay Area in 2000 to teach musicology and UC Berkeley extension. He lasted 3 years, and during that time met most of the Bay Area’s fine musicians. But his favorite was rhythm and blues from New Orleans, due in large part to his friendship with N.O. drummer Charles “Hungry” Williams. He quickly found great musicians with similar tastes. macyblackman.com
Bing Nathan studied doublebass with Stuart Sankey at the Aspen Festival and privately in NYC. He then attended the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he played in the Orchestra conducted by Igor Stravinsky. Bing has mastered many different styles of playing, from country swing to bebop, and classical to R&B, all with great sensitivity and authority. Since moving to the Bay Area in 1965, Bing has performed with Lost Weekend (western swing), Notes from the Underground (rock), Rockin' Daddy (rockabilly) as well as with several symphony orchestras. Bing was the bass player and recorded two CDs with Lavay Smith's Red Hot Skillet Lickers (early R&B). Since 2003, he has been a mainstay with The Mighty Fines, also handling backup vocals. He has also led his own band, The New Bing Thing.
Snakebite (Ken Jacobs), in the band since 2006, is our main claim to authenticity (except for the sound of the music), having spent most of his life in New Orleans where he played with just about everyone. At first he played tenor with us, but when Nancy came along in 2007, he switched to baritone. AND, as you will see, there’s the clarinet.
Nancy Wright came to San Francisco in 1983, establishing herself as a blues and R&B player. She has recorded and performed in the U.S. and abroad with artists including John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Elvin Bishop, Katie Webster, Joe Louis Walker, and Commander Cody. She has performed at a wide variety of venues, from Carnegie Hall to the Annual Sturgis Biker Rally, as well as the San Francisco, Chicago, and Delta Blues Festivals. Nancy plays King Curtis style tenor with great fire tempered by jazz sensitivities. She has been a treasured addition to the Mighty Fines since 2007. In 2013 Nancy was honored as the Golden Gate Blues Society's Sax Player of the Year. nancywrightmusic.com/bio
Larry Vann has made an impressive mark on the Bay Area music scene over the years with his authentic, piercing, all-encompassing musical technique. Authentic "roots music," the essential substance of his artistic source, is the foundation of this superbly seasoned artists's own music branding, which fuses the essence of soul-stirring blues, sweet, mellow jazz, and genuine soul, R&B, and funk. One listen to his compelling, penetrating, and intoxicating grooves clearly demonstrates why he has been in such huge demand for sessions and tours with the likes of Elvin Bishop and Merl Saunders. His top-notch drumming and percussion has garnered him popular and critical success throughout the United States and Europe. Vann has also wowed critics and crowds alike with his sultry singing voice, buoyed by his melodic, inventive songwriting. He is also Governor Emeritus with the San Francisco Chapter Board of the Recording Academy® (GRAMMYS). larryvann.com