The Jazz Room at the Stage Door Theater: Premiere Thursdays

Overview

Mac Arnold and the Plate Full ‘o Blues plays Muddy Waters, bringing the foundation of blues, soul, and funk to this month’s JAZZ ROOM.  

Premiere Thursdays presents a fresh kaleidoscope of exclusively themed programming for one-night only.  As always, The JAZZ ROOM provides a casual and intimate setting with tables and a full bar, reminiscent of the classic jazz rooms of yesteryear.

Muddy Waters was a singer-songwriter and guitarist, cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues", and an important figure on the post-war blues scene.  Muddy Waters' influence is incalculable, on blues as well as Rock music.   In the early 1950s, Muddy Waters and his band recorded several blues classics, including "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "I'm Ready". His electric blues sound at the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival fit in well with the "love generation."  Waters continued to record with rock musicians throughout the 1960s and '70s, and won his first Grammy Award in 1971 for the album They Call me Muddy Waters. He captivated audiences with his performance known as "The Last Waltz," an exceptionally star-studded affair that was released as a film by Martin Scorsese in 1978.

South Carolinian, band leader and guitarist Mac Arnold’s first band included James Brown on piano. In Chicago, Arnolds toured and recorded with none other than the Muddy Waters Band, helping shape the electric blues sound that inspired the rock and roll movement.  Moving to LA, his music career reads like a “who’s who” list of blues and R&B:  producer on Soul Train, backup band for Otis Redding, B.B. King, and the Sanford & Son TV show.  He has shared the stage with Eric Clapton, Big Mama Thornton and John Lee Hooker.  Back to his South Carolina roots, Mac is serving up a mess of Blues with his own band, “Mac Arnold & Plate Full O’ Blues”. The band consists of Austin Brashier on guitar and vocals, Max Hightower on keyboards, harmonica, guitar, bass, and vocals, Scotty Hawkins or Dizzy Dizzy on drums and vocals, and Mac Arnold on vocals, bass and Gas Can Guitars.