Josephine Howell and the Atlantics Bring the Blues to Sudden Valley Jazz Series

The blues and jazz have always been close. A lot of people say that jazz actually came out of the blues that was first sung in Southern fields by slaves picking cotton. Other people argue that jazz and blues are two distinct forms of black music and that jazz actually preceded blues.

Then there are the people who don’t give a darn and just want to enjoy the music. That’s our feeling at Sudden Valley as we explore the connection of blues and jazz at the Dance Barn on Saturday, Oct. 7th from 3-5pm.
Opening the concert with a dancing set is Bellingham’s premiere rhythm and blues band, The Atlantics. They haven’t played the Dance Barn for years although they used to appear here quite regularly. Two of the band members, Cary Stevens and Jeeb Johnson, have actually lived in Sudden Valley.

After a brief intermission, Josephine Howell and her men will take the stage. To predict what Josephine is going to do is like predicting the weather in Bellingham in October. You might take an educated guess, but odds are that you’ll be wrong. Josephine can sing blues, gospel, jazz, broadway and sometimes it seems like even she isn’t sure of where the performance is going. One thing that is predictable is that she’ll always wow the audience and they’ll be calling for more.

Both bands will combine for a final jam session which will rock the old Dance Barn, but, as with all jazz, we’ll have to see what happens on the day.

Tickets for the concert can be purchased at Village Books, the YMCA desk at Sudden Valley, on-line at www.fswl.org or by calling K.C.Sulkin at 360-671-1709. Proceeds go to the running of the South Whatcom Library which is located at Gate 2 in Sudden Valley.