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Osgood & Blaque: News

Someone Touched My Life - August 16, 2010

Back in the early '90s when the famous group The Chi-Lites came to Jackson, Mississippi for the Annual Lynch Street Festival, a very interesting thing happened to me that had a tremendous impact on my music career. Here's the scenario: The Chilites were scheduled to perform at the Masonic Temple as the headlining act. Of course, their performance would be preceded by other locals, including myself. On this very night I found myself onstage as a solo act before an audience of 800+ music lovers who appeared to be in good spirits. Of course, my general area of expertise was on the mucickeyboard as a rhythmic improvisationist of classic jazz, easy listening and romantic tunes. This time, however, I chose a more urban flavor like Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On", Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine", The Isley Brothers' "Footsteps In The Dark", and my very own "Chicago Morning". The feeling that I experienced when my fingers touched the keyboard can only be described as "innovative". Judging from the looks and gestures of the attendees, I knew I was onto something, something they had not seen before. So, I kept playing. After forty-five or so minutes passed, I ended my set with a standing ovation and quickly yielded to the next act. The most memorable thing about this performance was that even the lead singer of The Chilites gave me a compliment, saying that he thought my performance was "very good". Its been over ten years since that spellbinding night and I can honestly say that my early achievements in the music business have been directly related to that one event thanks to good people like Marilyn Harris, Carol Robinson, Howard Boutte', the staff of WMPR radio station in Jackson, Mississippi and others who helped get me to that pivotal point in my life. I've learned that whatever profession or occupation we have spent our lives in pursuit of we all have others to thank for whatever success we have experienced. Whether knowingly or unknowingly, someone touched my life! - Greg Osgood, Master Keyboard Artist

Me And Mississippi - August 13, 2010

Who doesn't remember well the famous bluesman Robert Johnson. To quote the Los Angeles Times, "Johnson's music was so good, other men said, that his talent could not be natural: Delta legend has it that one day at a backcountry crossroad, Johnson waited for the devil to come by. After that, Johnson could play any song he wanted...". While we remember Robert Johnson's legacy and music we should take some time to reflect on other bluesmen and women whose lives have also had an impact on their hometown in this way.

Certainly, we remember bluesmen Tommy Johnson and Mott Willis, both natives of Mississippi. Tommy Johnson was born near Terry, Mississippi in 1896. Later, he moved to Crystal Springs where he lived most of his life. After learning to play the guitar, he married and moved to a plantation near Drew, Ms, where he met Charlie Patton, Willie Brown and other blues musicians who had a tremendous impact on his life. Tommy Johnson is best known for his original rendition of "Canned Heat Blues". Mott Willis recorded "Traveling Man Blues", "Someday Blues" and "Bad Night Blues" during his tenure with Hy-Tone Records. Both men appeared and disappeared almost before many of us were old enough to hear the story about them. Yet, it seems that more and more gifted personalities are emerging out of this small, often overlooked section of Mississippi.

For example, men like Greg Osgood was born and raised in the small community of Gatesville on the outskirts of Crystal Springs, Ms. Osgood has entertained audiences around the world. From America to Asia and back to America he has experienced the musical cultures of Thailand, Taiwan, Okinawa and Tokyo and Germany, experimenting with various genres including classic jazz, soul, pop and R&B. Having toured with Purple Haze in the early '80s, he is no novice to the stage. Since then, he has performed with several bands including his latest duo-band project. Now a gifted blues musician in his early forties, Osgood has teamed up with a female vocalist and harmonica player, Cee Blaque, from Vicksburg, Ms. Together they comprise Osgood & Blaque Duo Band who were welcomed with warm and cheering applause at their debut performance at the Robert Johnson Blues Foundation during Crystal Spring's Annual Tomato Festival in 2006.

On the other side of the coin, Cee Blaque's history originates as a young child at the Holly Grove Baptist Church where she grew up. Needless to say, she got folks up in Rolling Fork where Muddy Waters was born. Her fire for singing was fueled by Mrs. Adlay Thomas, a superb vocalist at her church. "She is, to me, my greatest mentor! I have always, since I was a small girl, wanted to sing just like her. Her singing would reach out around you and stand you up, and fill you with the presence of spirit! Whenever I can, I go to hear her sing. She is still my teacher and still sings as great today as she did during my childhood!", Blaque admits.

Blaque's harmonica style has been compared to that of Louisiana-born Little Walter who achieved a saxophone-like sound with his harmonica. Blaque's vocal delivery and careful harmonic phrases are a deep personification of her heartfelt yearnings while growing up in and around the Mississippi Delta and Catfish Row. Blaque's vocal performance offers intriquing embellishments to whatever she's singing, whether cover tunes or original material. Adding her own variety of harmonic calls, vocal scats coupled with authority and resilience, Blaque brings returns an era of Big Mama Thornton, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Koko Taylor and Etta James, offering much more than meets the eye. It has even been said that "Greg Osgood is a master keyboard artist and vocalist and is the perfect complement to the passionate torch singer and harp-playing Cee Blaque".-Ernest McBride, The Jackson Advocate

Osgood & Blaque Duo Band presents melodies that are carefully blended against a backdrop of beautiful keyboard-fingered piano, strings and organ coupled with well-synced bass and drums. In 2009, Greg Osgood and Cee Blaque were both honored on a blues marker in Vicksburg, Mississippi alongside other African American musicians of note including Willie Dixon, Louisiana Red, Artie "Blues Boy" White, Percy Strothers, Little Joe Blue, Milt Hinton, Muddy Waters, among others, who have lived in communities along the southern stretch of Highway 61 in Mississippi that are included along the blues trail.

The next time you're in Vicksburg, you may view this blues marker at the corner of Washington and Grove Streets in downtown Vicksburg. "[These] musicians have and are setting the precedent for twentieth and twenty-first century music".-Mississippi Development Authority and the Mississippi Blues Trail Commission.

Greg Osgood shares a story about growin' up in his Mississippi birthplace: "Raised in this quiet, rural, predominantly black community with its lush fruit trees that range from plum, apple, pear, apricot, peach and persimmon and abundant muscadine, black berry, rasp berry and huckleberry vines, life as a child seemed very close to paradise and provided much in the way of pleasantry for children living in this sparely populated community. The typical day started early. You might hear a rooster crow and you could always hear crickets chirping and birds singing. If you lived by the river there were also other sounds of nature that filled the air. On Sunday mornings almost everybody in the neighborhood went to church. For everyone in my family, it was mandatory. After church we had Sunday dinners and cookouts, barbecues often accompanied by the local pastor, who almost always got more than his share of delicacies. Sunday evenings were set aside for scripture readings, singin' hymns and holding prayer meetings. I remember how my mother used to sit in her rocking chair that was on the front porch. She’d sang the words to “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” so beautifully, she'd rock me and herself to sleep. Yeah, me and old Mississippi. It might take us a while but we could tell you some stories".

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The Main Event - July 14, 2010

Osgood & Blaque Duo Band had big fun last night performing for the Mississippi Main Street Association event at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Everyone had a ball! Noteworthy was the cordial and friendly atmosphere of many of Vicksburg's most prominent personalities. From Johnny River's "Poor Side of Town" to Willie Dixon's "Hoochie Coochie Man", Osgood & Blaque Duo Band played on while the attendees participated in cheerful and well-concerted dancing throughout. The spirit of the event was, indeed, one of friendship and enjoyment. Other musical selections included Turn Back The Hands of Time, Play That Funky Music, At Last, Straighten Up And Fly Right and many more.

Also, Osgood & Blaque would like to express their sincere thanks to all who attended. No doubt, this event will come to mind when we reminisce the annals of Vicksburg and Mississippi history!

Setting the Precedent For Twenty-First Century Music - October 28, 2009

Osgood & Blaque Duo Band is one of the most widely-acclaimed new musical acts to come along in years, performing over 150 live shows annually with clients residing all over the United States. Before the reemergence of solo and duo performers, focus was primarily on acoustical performances. However, the development of compact musical acts known as "duo-band" in recent years has contributed to a significant change in the direction that live musical solo and duo performances has taken.

Louis Jordan (July 8, 1908 - February 4, 1975) was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Jordan exhibited a brilliant sense of showmanship that brought audiences first-rate entertainment "without any loss of musical integrity." Against the backdrop of house parties, fish fries, and corner grills, Jordan performed songs that appealed to millions of black and white listeners. Able to "straddle the fence" between these two audiences, Jordan emerged as one of the first successful crossover artists of American popular music. What comes to mind are Jordan's words: "We do with our little band what they do with their big band. We make the [music] jump!"

Though almost everyone enjoys a good performance by a big name band, experience has shown that big bands are often too large and too problematic to meet the entertainment needs of conventional facility proprietors who own restaurants, coffee shops, art galleries, museums, country clubs and the like. Then too, who will meet the personal needs of individuals who both want and enjoy live musical performances at their home. Fortunately, there is no need to fret over this dilemma. You won't have to hire a six-piece band to do the job. Thanks to the development of compact musical acts known as "duo-band", first-rate, live musical entertainment is available upon request whenever you desire it, whether for business or pleasure. As pioneers of this trend, Osgood & Blaque Duo Band have found a way to offer the big band "sound" without the "big band" complications through a concept that transforms the theories and ideals of American showman, Louis Jordan.

The 'musical integrity' of Osgood & Blaque Duo Band's performance at Handy's Blues Hall on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, is well noted. There was well over a hundred people packed into this little blues club and the ones who couldn't get in were standing on the outside looking through the windows and peeping over peoples heads, seeing for the first time in their lives a duo-band that operates much like a real six-piece band. "All eyes were on the two of us. They could smell the blues. It was beautiful! We had that place rockin'! We got rave reviews! It was a great show! It was a great event", recalls Cee Blaque. Joe Whitmer, director and coordinator for the International Blues Challenge event said regarding [Osgood & Blaque Duo Band's] 2006 performance: “I want to personally congratulate as well as thank you for making this year’s challenge the best in history. You should be very proud of your performance on Beale Street! Everyone is raving about the great talent that you brought to town for the International Blues Challenge. My hat off to you!”

Many people associate live music entertainment only with wedding ceremonies and receptions, but you can add a special touch to any event or party, be it a conference, a graduation ceremony, a birthday, a cruise, a garden party, a special dinner, a dance, a theatrical show or a romantic evening when you just want to propose to your girlfriend. Enjoy a casual barbecue with friends and loved ones. Organize a group and hold a book signing or book reading with very soft classic tunes from your favorite era. Help your local charity by arranging a fund raiser to benefit the needy. Send your youngsters to a movie with the babysitter while you sneak away to bask in the glow of your own private anniversary party or show.

Of course, you may have an idea of your own. The thing to remember is: Fun is the name of the game. Osgood & Blaque Duo Band is happy and willing to work with you in your desire to experience live musical performances for your indoor and outdoor activities. If you're ready, go to Osgood & Blaque's Official Website and contact them directly.

"[These] musicians have and are setting the precedent for the twentieth and twenty-first century music". -Mississippi Development Authority and the Mississippi Blues Trail Commission

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