THE SHOW WILL GO ON . . .CEDELL DAVIS WILL MAKE A RETURN ENGAGEMENT, SAME TIME, SAME PLACE.  SEE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN SEPARATE ANNOUNCEMENT.

Big Jack Johnson to perform at
annual Delta Blues Symposium

Mississippi bluesman Big Jack Johnson will perform Thursday, March 27, the first day of Arkansas State University's upcoming "Delta Blues Symposium IX: Defining the Delta." The symposium is a three-day public program that provides opportunities to explore how the Delta is defined through its environment, history, music, arts, and culture. 

Johnson's blues concert, which starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Reng Center Ballroom, is co-sponsored by ASU's Lecture-Concert Series. A Nashville-based blues duo, Rob Nasatir and Dean Masullo, will open the concert. 

Born in Clarksdale, Miss., in 1940, Johnson became very proficient at guitar at an early age, sitting in with his dad's band by the time he was 13. In 1962 Johnson joined Frank Frost and Sam Carr to form one of the best blues trios around, which became known as Frank Frost's Nighthawks during the 1960s and 70s. The trio recorded for Phillips International and Jewel during this time, eventually forming the recording company Earwig. Johnson's first recording as a singer may be heard on Earwig's 1979 album, Rockin' the Juke Joint Down." 

It was his 1987 album for Earwig, The Oil Man, that was one of his most intense performances, and includes what one critic dubs a "hair-raising rendition of 'Catfish Blues.'" In 1990s, Johnson released two more studio albums, We Got to Stop This Killin' (1996) and All the Way Back (1998). Johnson was in documentary filmmaker Robert Palmer's Deep Blues, and also may be heard on the soundtrack.

Blues enthusiasts have described Johnson's rough-hewn vocals a "siren call to Delta passion." While blues fans and scholars recognize Johnson as one of the best blues guitarists around, Johnson has also gained international fame from tours throughout Europe; however he is best known throughout the Mississippi River Delta and has performed at several blues festivals in the South, including the annual King Biscuit Blues Festival held each October in Helena. 

He was a recent winner of a W.C. Handy Award for "Blues Album of the Year" for his The Memphis Barbecue Sessions that was released in 2002. He was also named "Best Live Performer" by Living Blues Magazine Critics' Poll and his "We Gotta Stop This Killin'" was voted best song. 

For more information on this year's schedule of ASU's "Delta Blues Symposium IX: Defining the Delta," visit the symposium's web site at www.clt.astate.edu/blues. Except for two writing workshops, all events in the program are open and free to the public. For additional information, contact Delta Symposium Committee, P.O. Box 1890, State University, AR 72467. Phone 870-972-3043, or e-mail delta@astate.edu.

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