Hearing Macy Blackman is like stepping into an uptown New Orleans club such as the Dew Drop Inn circa 1955.
Indeed, pianist/vocalist Macy Blackman has been playing this music since it really wasn’t very old.
From the mid 70′s on he specialized in New Orleans R&B because of a friendship with one of its masters, drummer Charles “Hungry” Williams. Through Charles he met and performed with Mac Rebenneck (aka Dr John). Macy also played with a wide range of musicians regularly backing up The Drifters and The Coasters.
A renowned musicologist, Macy moved to San Francisco in 2000 to teach courses at UC Berkeley. These popular classes explored major American musical styles of the twentieth century – rhythm and blues, swing and classic jazz.
For the first few years in San Francisco, he featured himself as a jazz pianist, recording Something For Everybody with bassist Chuck Metcalf in 2000.
He drifted back to New Orleans R&B and formed The Mighty Fines in 2003. They recorded their first CD, 24 Hours a Day, in 2005.
The Mighty Fines’ music forges a synthesis between early New Orleans Jazz and the R&B of the early ’50′s. The versatile musicians also play swing and bebop.
The Mighty Fines’ second CD, Don’t You Just Know It, has just been released.
Local wisdom is that “If this band doesn’t make you move your feet, it’s amazing you got here at all.
More info about Macy Blackman and the Mighty Fines is at
http://www.macyblackman.com/Home.htm