"Preachin' in that Wilderness: Country Blues, Old Time Music and Gospel"

William Lee Ellis, Andy Cohen and Eleanor Ellis collaborated on the seminal 1993/2006 Cd, Preachin' In That Wilderness, released on Riverlark and Merimac Records. Check it out here.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QZTY0G/ref=dm_sp_alb

Cohen, Ellis, and Ellis have absorbed a plethora of musical influences to land squarely in the acoustic guitar style known as the Piedmont blues, promulgated by musicians such as Blind Boy Fuller, the Reverend Gary Davis, and Archie Edwards. Their performances pay homage to those who went before them, those who continue to keep this tradition alive.

WILLIAM LEE ELLIS. Born in Lynchburg, Va., William Lee Ellis (Bill to most of Memphis) is the son of banjo composer Tony Ellis and the godson of bluegrass patriarch Bill Monroe. An acoustic/blues musician and writer by profession, Ellis earned a Master of Music in classical guitar from the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music. He also spent nine years as the pop music critic for the Memphis daily paper, the Commercial Appeal.

Among his recordings are Conqueroo, picked by Acoustic Guitar magazine as one of 2003’s best albums. In 2004, a House of Blues Radio Hour special on “New Voices of the Blues” spotlighted Ellis, and he has toured extensively from the Kennedy Center to a Norwegian whaling village north of the Arctic Circle. Recently, he accompanied his dad in concert in Havana, Cuba, for the U.S. State Department as well as the New Yorker Festival with actor Steve Martin. He also co-produced with musical partner Larry Nager the Handy-nominated album "Big Joe Jumps Again" by Cincinnati blues piano master Big Joe Duskin.

An avid world traveler, Ellis lived through much of the 1990s in Japan. He is currently pursuing a PhD in ethnomusicology at the University of Memphis and has just recorded his latest album, God’s Tattoos, with acclaimed producer Jim Dickinson. Ellis records for blues and roots indie Yellow Dog Records.

http://www.myspace.com/williamleeellis

ANDY COHEN. Half A Century of Folk Music Andy Cohen grew up in a house with a piano and a lot of Dixieland Jazz records, amplified after a while by a cornet that his dad got him. At about fifteen, he got bitten by the Folk Music bug, and soon got to hear records by Big Bill Broonzy and the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, both of which reminded him of the music he grew up to. At sixteen, he saw Rev. Gary Davis, and his course was set.

He knew he had it in him to follow, study, perform and promote the music of the southeast quadrant, America¹s great musical fountainhead. Although he's done other things- a certain amount of writing, and physical labor from dishwashing and railroading to archaeology, playing the old tunes is what he does best.

http://www.myspace.com/andycohenblues

ELEANOR ELLIS. Louisiana native Eleanor Ellis has performed at clubs, festivals and concerts in the United States, Canada and Europe. She has also traveled and played with the late gospel street singer Flora Molton and bluesman Archie Edwards, and sometimes accompanied Delta Blues great Eugene Powell. She is a founding member of the DC Blues Society and the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation, has written about the blues for several publications, and is producer of the video documentary Blues Houseparty, featuring well-known Piedmont blues musicians John Jackson, John Cephas, and Archie Edwards. She worked at the Archive of New Orleans Jazz at Tulane University and the New Orleans Jazz Museum.

“an unsung heroine of the American acoustic country blues scene.” Folkroots

Her recordings include Comin' a Time on the Patuxent label, Backyard Blues, a CD of solo blues guitar and vocals; Preaching in That Wilderness on the Riverlark label with Bill Ellis and Andy Cohen; appearances on several anthologies, including the 25th Anniversary Kent State Folk Festival collection, Sisterfire: Music by Women, and Archie's Barbershop Blues, released by the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation; and two recordings with Flora Molton, I Want to Be Ready to Hear God When He Calls, on Mrs. Molton's own Lively Stone label, and Flora Molton, recorded for Radio France.

http://www.myspace.com/eleanorellis

The Memphis Acoustic Music Association is a non-profit organization that promotes the preservation and performance of acoustic and folk music. National touring musicians at our monthly concerts play everything from blues and old time music to traditional folk, contemporary folk, Celtic, and acoustic guitar.

http://www.mamamusic.org/

$10 tickets available at Otherlands and Davis Kidd. Doors at 7 pm. Show at 8 pm. All ages. Smoke free inside. Beer Coffee and Food. Large patio and deck. 641 S Cooper. 901-278-4994. www.myspace.com/otherlands.