Événement

Ann + the Annimators

Despite worldwide recognition as a distinguished and award-winning musician, Ann Rabson sees herself as simply the vehicle for her art. Seamlessly blending voice, guitar and piano, Ann delivers her music, the blues, in a pure form that delights audiences everywhere.

Ann Rabson sings in a distinctive contralto voice. Her smoky, gritty delivery draws from a wide vocabulary of bluesy bends, squeals, and sensual whispers to match the story she is telling. She recorded nine albums with the widely popular group Saffire—The Uppity Blues Women, which she co-founded in 1984, and she has also recorded with numerous other artists.

Ann still plays the first instrument she touched as a child—a guitar found in her father's attic. Attracted to the Piedmont style of guitar picking, Ann created a unique and ear-catching sound all her own. At age thirty five, Ann decided to learn the piano. Now honored as a member of the Boogie Woogie Hall of Fame and praised as having the "best left hand in the blues," Ann brings the historic blues, boogie-woogie, and barrelhouse styles front and center. Her ability to play challenging left- and right-hand melodies while singing is nothing short of magical! Downbeat magazine says Ann plays "with staggering authority."

This year Ann received her ninth nomination for a Blues Music Award (formerly W.C. Handy Award) as Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year. In 2008 she was nominated for Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year; her first solo album, Music Makin' Mama, was nominated for Album of the Year in both the Traditional Blues and Acoustic Blues categories; and her composition Elevator Man was nominated for Song of the Year.

An Ann Rabson concert is like an intimate family gathering, regardless of the size of the audience. Her relaxed and unassuming demeanor sets the stage perfectly for her earthy and unvarnished performance. Presenting her own music and that of blues pioneers such as Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie, Leroy Carr, Tampa Red, and Big Bill Broonzy, Ann takes the audience on an unrestrained musical journey. The New York Blues and Jazz Society says, "Ann has it all, the artful use of double entendres, a salty sense of humor, truly imaginative piano and guitar work."