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{{Short description|American rock band}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2010}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2010}}
{{Infobox musical artist
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = The Blues Project
| name = The Blues Project
| image = Blues Project.png
| image = Blues Project.png
| caption = The Blues Project in 1966:<br>(l-r) Andy Kulberg, Roy Blumenfeld,<br>Danny Kalb, Al Kooper, Steve Katz
| caption = The Blues Project in 1966:<br>(l-r) [[Andy Kulberg]], Roy Blumenfeld,<br>[[Danny Kalb]], [[Al Kooper]], [[Steve Katz (musician)|Steve Katz]]
| image_size = 250px
| image_size = 250px
| background = group_or_band
| background = group_or_band
| alias =
| alias =
| origin = [[Greenwich Village]], [[New York City|New York]], United States
| origin = {{nowrap|[[Greenwich Village]],}} {{nowrap|New York City,}} U.S.
| genre = [[Blues]], [[Rock music|rock]], [[psychedelic rock]], [[garage rock]]
| genre = {{Flatlist|
* [[Blues rock]]
* [[psychedelic rock]]
* [[garage rock]]
}}
| years_active = 1965–1968; 1970–1973; sporadically 1973–present
| years_active = 1965–1968; 1970–1973; sporadically 1973–present
| label = [[Verve Records|Verve]]<br>[[Capitol Records|Capitol]]
| label = [[Verve Records|Verve]]<br>[[Capitol Records|Capitol]]
| associated_acts =
| associated_acts =
| website =
| website =
| current_members = [[Danny Kalb]]<br/>[[Steve Katz (musician)|Steve Katz]]<br/>[[Tommy Flanders]]<br/>[[Al Kooper]]<br/>Roy Blumenfeld
| current_members = [[Steve Katz (musician)|Steve Katz]]<br/>Roy Blumenfeld<br/>Scott Petito<br/>Ken Clark<br/>Chris Morrison<br/>
| past_members = [[Andy Kulberg]]<br/>John McDuffy<br/>[[David Cohen (musician)|David Cohen]]<br/>Don Kretmar<br/>John Gregory<br/>Bill Lussenden<br/>Eric Pearson<br/>Richard Greene
| past_members = [[Danny Kalb]]<br/>[[Al Kooper]]<br/>[[Andy Kulberg]]<br/>[[Tommy Flanders]]<br/>John McDuffy<br/>[[David Cohen (musician)|David Cohen]]<br/>Don Kretmar<br/>John Gregory<br/>Bill Lussenden<br/>Andy Musar<br/>Richard Greene<br/>Brian Cummings<br/>John Kruth<br/>Jesse Williams<br/>Mick Connelly<br/>
}}
}}


'''The Blues Project''' is a [[musical ensemble|band]] from the [[Greenwich Village]] neighborhood of [[New York City]] that was formed in 1965 and originally split up in 1967.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography">{{cite book
'''The Blues Project''' was an American band formed in New York City's [[Greenwich Village]] neighborhood in 1965. The group's original iteration broke up in 1967.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography">{{cite book
| first= Martin C.
| first= Martin C.
| last= Strong
| last= Strong
Line 27: Line 32:
| page= 95
| page= 95
| isbn= 1-84195-017-3}}</ref> Their songs drew from a wide array of musical styles. They are most remembered as one of the most artful practitioners of pop music, influenced as it was by folk, blues, rhythm & blues, jazz and the pop music of the day.
| isbn= 1-84195-017-3}}</ref> Their songs drew from a wide array of musical styles. They are most remembered as one of the most artful practitioners of pop music, influenced as it was by folk, blues, rhythm & blues, jazz and the pop music of the day.

On February 14, 2023, the group, still led by Steve Katz and Roy Blumenfeld, released a new collection of tunes, called "Evolution".


==Career==
==Career==
In 1964, [[Elektra Records]] produced a [[compilation album]] of various artists entitled, ''The Blues Project'', which featured several white [[musician]]s from the Greenwich Village area who played [[acoustic music|acoustic]] [[blues]] music in the style of [[black people|black]] musicians. One of the featured artists on the album was a young guitarist named [[Danny Kalb]], who was paid $75 for his two songs. Not long after the album's release, however, Kalb gave up his [[acoustic guitar]] for an [[electric guitar|electric]] one. [[The Beatles]]' arrival in the [[United States]] earlier in the year muted the [[folk music|folk]] and [[acoustic blues]] movement that had swept the [[United States|US]] in the early 1960s.
In 1964, [[Elektra Records]] produced a [[compilation album]] of various artists entitled, ''The Blues Project'', which featured several white [[musician]]s from the Greenwich Village area who played [[acoustic music|acoustic]] [[blues]] music in the style of [[black people|black]] musicians. One of the featured artists on the album was a young guitarist named [[Danny Kalb]], who was paid $75 for his two songs. Not long after the album's release, however, Kalb gave up his [[acoustic guitar]] for an [[electric guitar|electric]] one. [[The Beatles]]' arrival in the [[United States]] earlier in the year muted the [[folk music|folk]] and [[acoustic blues]] movement that had swept the US in the early 1960s.


Kalb formed the Danny Kalb Quartet in early 1965, with rhythm guitarist [[Artie Traum]], [[Andy Kulberg]] on bass and drummer Roy Blumenfeld.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wrtcfm.com?p=3660|title=Steve Katz, ex-Blues Project, BS&T, talks about new book |website=Wrtcfm.com|access-date=2016-07-06}}</ref> When Traum went to Europe during the summer, guitarist [[Steve Katz (musician)|Steve Katz]] (like Kalb, a former pupil of guitarist [[Dave Van Ronk]]) joined as first a temporary replacement and then a permanent member. Later in 1965, the group added singer [[Tommy Flanders]] and changed its name to The Blues Project, as an allusion to Kalb's first foray on record.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|pages=155/6}}</ref>
Kalb formed the Danny Kalb Quartet in early 1965, with rhythm guitarist [[Artie Traum]], [[Andy Kulberg]] on bass and drummer Roy Blumenfeld.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wrtcfm.com?p=3660|title=Steve Katz, ex-Blues Project, BS&T, talks about new book |website=Wrtcfm.com|access-date=2016-07-06}}</ref> When Traum went to Europe during the summer, guitarist [[Steve Katz (musician)|Steve Katz]] (like Kalb, a former pupil of guitarist [[Dave Van Ronk]]) joined as first a temporary replacement and then a permanent member. Later in 1965, the group added singer [[Tommy Flanders]] and changed its name to The Blues Project, as an allusion to Kalb's first foray on record.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|pages=155/6}}</ref>
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Late in the year, the band auditioned for [[Columbia Records]]. During the session for the auditions, producer [[Tom Wilson (record producer)|Tom Wilson]] hired session musician [[Al Kooper]], who had worked with him on [[Bob Dylan]]'s "[[Like a Rolling Stone]]," to provide piano and organ.<ref name="Larkin"/> Kooper, who had worked with Blumenfeld and Kulberg during sessions for his contribution to the ''[[What's Shakin']]'' compilation,<ref>{{cite book|title=Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards|date=1998|publisher=Billboard Books/Watson-Guptill Publications|isbn=0-8230-8257-1|edition=First|location=New York|pages=51|last1=Kooper|first1=Al}}</ref> was invited to join the group.
Late in the year, the band auditioned for [[Columbia Records]]. During the session for the auditions, producer [[Tom Wilson (record producer)|Tom Wilson]] hired session musician [[Al Kooper]], who had worked with him on [[Bob Dylan]]'s "[[Like a Rolling Stone]]," to provide piano and organ.<ref name="Larkin"/> Kooper, who had worked with Blumenfeld and Kulberg during sessions for his contribution to the ''[[What's Shakin']]'' compilation,<ref>{{cite book|title=Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards|date=1998|publisher=Billboard Books/Watson-Guptill Publications|isbn=0-8230-8257-1|edition=First|location=New York|pages=51|last1=Kooper|first1=Al}}</ref> was invited to join the group.


When Columbia declined to sign the band, Wilson, who by late 1965 had moved to [[MGM Records]], signed the Blues Project to MGM's [[Verve Forecast|Verve/Folkways]] subsidiary. The band began [[sound recording and reproduction|recording]] their first album live at [[Greenwich Village]]'s [[Cafe Au Go Go]] in late November 1965.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" /> Entitled ''[[Live at The Cafe Au Go Go]]'', the album was finished with another week of recordings in January 1966.<ref name="Larkin"/> By that time, Flanders had left the band and, as a result, he appeared on only a few of the songs on this album.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> ''Live at The Cafe Au Go Go'' was a moderate success, and the band toured the U.S. to promote it. While in [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]], [[California]] in April 1966, the Blues Project played at the [[The Fillmore|Fillmore Auditorium]] to rave reviews. Members of the [[Grateful Dead]] who were in attendance were impressed with their performance.(Source: ''Rock Family Trees'' - [[television program]])
When Columbia declined to sign the band, Wilson, who by late 1965 had moved to [[MGM Records]], signed the Blues Project to MGM's [[Verve Forecast|Verve/Folkways]] subsidiary. The band began [[sound recording and reproduction|recording]] their first album live at [[Greenwich Village]]'s [[Cafe Au Go Go]] in late November 1965.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" /> Entitled ''[[Live at the Cafe Au Go Go]]'', the album was finished with another week of recordings in January 1966.<ref name="Larkin"/> By that time, Flanders had left the band and, as a result, he appeared on only a few of the songs on this album.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> ''Live at the Cafe Au Go Go'' was a moderate success, and the band toured the U.S. to promote it.


Returning to New York, the band recorded their second album ''[[Projections (The Blues Project)|Projections]]'' in the fall of 1966, with MGM releasing it in November.<ref name="Larkin"/> ''Projections'' contained an eclectic set of songs that ran the gamut from [[blues music|blues]], [[rhythm and blues|R&B]], [[jazz]], [[psychedelic music|psychedelia]], and [[folk-rock]].<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> The centerpieces of the album were an 11-and-a-half minute version of [[Muddy Waters]]' blues standard "Two Trains Running" featuring Kalb on vocals and lead guitar, and Kooper's [[instrumental]] "Flute Thing" featuring Kulberg on flute.
Returning to New York, the band recorded their second album ''[[Projections (The Blues Project)|Projections]]'' in the fall of 1966, with MGM releasing it in November.<ref name="Larkin"/> ''Projections'' contained an eclectic set of songs that ran the gamut from [[blues music|blues]], [[rhythm and blues|R&B]], [[jazz]], [[psychedelic music|psychedelia]], and [[folk-rock]].<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> The centerpieces of the album were an 11-and-a-half minute version of [[Muddy Waters]]' blues standard "Two Trains Running" featuring Kalb on vocals and lead guitar, and Kooper's [[instrumental]] "Flute Thing" featuring Kulberg on flute.
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The Blues Project's last hurrah was at the [[Monterey International Pop Festival]] held in [[Monterey, California]], in June 1967. By this time, however, half of the band's original line-up was gone. Katz left soon thereafter, followed by Kalb.<ref name="Larkin"/> Kooper was at the festival in the capacity of "assistant stage manager" to "Chip" Monck.<ref>Kooper (1998), pp. 91–97.</ref> A fourth album, 1968's ''Planned Obsolescence'', featured only Blumenfeld and Kulberg from the original lineup, but was released under the Blues Project name at Verve's insistence. Future recordings by this lineup were released under a new band name, [[Seatrain (band)|Seatrain]].<ref name="Larkin"/>
The Blues Project's last hurrah was at the [[Monterey International Pop Festival]] held in [[Monterey, California]], in June 1967. By this time, however, half of the band's original line-up was gone. Katz left soon thereafter, followed by Kalb.<ref name="Larkin"/> Kooper was at the festival in the capacity of "assistant stage manager" to "Chip" Monck.<ref>Kooper (1998), pp. 91–97.</ref> A fourth album, 1968's ''Planned Obsolescence'', featured only Blumenfeld and Kulberg from the original lineup, but was released under the Blues Project name at Verve's insistence. Future recordings by this lineup were released under a new band name, [[Seatrain (band)|Seatrain]].<ref name="Larkin"/>


In 1968, Kooper and Katz joined forces to fulfill a desire of Kooper's to form a rock band with a horn section. The result was [[Blood, Sweat & Tears]].<ref name="Larkin"/> While Kooper led the band on its first album, ''[[Child Is Father to the Man]]'', he did not take part in any subsequent releases. Soon after, Kooper, then a producer for Columbia Records, recorded with Bloomfield, [[Stephen Stills]] and Harvey Brooks for the album entitled ''[[Super Session]]'',<ref>Kooper (1998), pp. 131–132</ref> before doing several solo albums including one with Shuggie Otis. Katz, on the other hand, remained with the band into the 1970s.
In 1968, Kooper and Katz joined forces to fulfill a desire of Kooper's to form a rock band with a horn section. The result was [[Blood, Sweat & Tears]].<ref name="Larkin"/> While Kooper led the band on its first album, ''[[Child Is Father to the Man]]'', he did not take part in any subsequent releases. Soon after, Kooper, then a producer for Columbia Records, recorded with guitarist [[Mike Bloomfield]], [[Stephen Stills]] and Harvey Brooks for the album entitled ''[[Super Session]]'',<ref>Kooper (1998), pp. 131–132</ref> before doing several solo albums including one with Shuggie Otis. Katz, on the other hand, remained with the band into the 1970s.


The Blues Project, with a modified line-up, reformed briefly in the early 1970s, releasing three further albums: 1971's ''Lazarus'', 1972's ''Blues Project'', and 1973's ''The Original Blues Project Reunion In Central Park'' (which featured Kooper but not Flanders).<ref name="Larkin"/> These albums did little to excite the public and since then, the group's activity has been confined to a few sporadic reunion [[concert]]s, such as when the Blues Project played a fundraising concert at [[Valley Stream Central High School]] in New York, promoted by [[Bruce Blakeman]] with the proceeds going to the Youth Council and the US Olympic Committee.
The Blues Project, with a modified line-up, reformed briefly in the early 1970s, releasing three further albums: 1971's ''Lazarus'', 1972's ''Blues Project'', and 1973's ''The Original Blues Project Reunion In Central Park'' (which featured Kooper but not Flanders).<ref name="Larkin"/> These albums did little to excite the public and since then, the group's activity has been confined to a few sporadic reunion [[concert]]s, such as when the Blues Project played a fundraising concert at [[Valley Stream Central High School]] in New York, promoted by [[Bruce Blakeman]] with the proceeds going to the Youth Council and the US Olympic Committee.
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In 1969, flutist/bassist Andy Kulberg and drummer Roy Blumenfeld of Blues Project formed the band [[Seatrain (band)|Seatrain]] with Jim Roberts, ex-Mystery Trend guitarist John Gregory, former Jim Kweskin Jug Band violinist/fiddler Richard Greene, and saxophonist Don Kretmar. Seatrain recorded their first album, ''Planned Obsolescence'', in 1968, but had to release it as a Blues Project album for contractual reasons. In 1969, they released a self-titled A&M LP (''Sea Train''), but faced a major change in membership a few months later. Three more albums, 1970's ''Seatrain'', 1971's ''The Marblehead Messenger'' (on Capitol) and 1973's ''Watch'' (on Warner Bros.) followed.
In 1969, flutist/bassist Andy Kulberg and drummer Roy Blumenfeld of Blues Project formed the band [[Seatrain (band)|Seatrain]] with Jim Roberts, ex-Mystery Trend guitarist John Gregory, former Jim Kweskin Jug Band violinist/fiddler Richard Greene, and saxophonist Don Kretmar. Seatrain recorded their first album, ''Planned Obsolescence'', in 1968, but had to release it as a Blues Project album for contractual reasons. In 1969, they released a self-titled A&M LP (''Sea Train''), but faced a major change in membership a few months later. Three more albums, 1970's ''Seatrain'', 1971's ''The Marblehead Messenger'' (on Capitol) and 1973's ''Watch'' (on Warner Bros.) followed.


In the period between 2001 and 2007, Roy Blumenfeld drummed in the [[Barry Melton]] Band (Melton of [[Country Joe and the Fish]] fame).<ref>[http://www.capayvalleyvision.org/Rockin.Capay.pdf ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705132402/http://www.capayvalleyvision.org/Rockin.Capay.pdf |date=July 5, 2008 }}</ref>
In the period between 2001 and 2007, Roy Blumenfeld drummed in the [[Barry Melton]] Band (Melton of [[Country Joe and the Fish]] fame).<ref>[http://www.capayvalleyvision.org/Rockin.Capay.pdf] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705132402/http://www.capayvalleyvision.org/Rockin.Capay.pdf|date=July 5, 2008}}</ref>


==Albums discography==
==Albums discography==
===Studio & live albums===
===Studio & live albums===
* ''[[Live at The Cafe Au Go Go]]'' (Verve/Folkways, 1966)
* ''[[Live at the Cafe Au Go Go]]'' (Verve/Folkways, 1966)
* ''[[Projections (The Blues Project)|Projections]]'' (Verve/Folkways, 1966)
* ''[[Projections (The Blues Project)|Projections]]'' (Verve/Folkways, 1966)
* ''Live at Town Hall'' (Verve/Forecast, 1967)
* ''Live at Town Hall'' (Verve/Forecast, 1967)
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===Best-known lineup===
===Best-known lineup===
*Tommy Flanders - [[Singing|vocals]] (born circa 1944) (1965-1966, 1972-1973, -present)
*[[Tommy Flanders]] – [[Singing|vocals]] (born circa 1944) (1965–1966, 1972–1973, -present)
*[[Danny Kalb]] - [[guitar]] (born September 19, 1942, [[Brooklyn]], [[New York (state)|New York]]) (1965-1967, 1969–present)
*[[Danny Kalb]] – [[guitar]] (September 9, 1942, [[Brooklyn]], [[New York (state)|New York]] – November 19, 2022) (1965–1967, 1969–20??)
*[[Steve Katz (musician)|Steve Katz]] - guitar, [[harmonica]], vocals (born May 9, 1945, [[New York City]]) (1965-1967, 1973–present)
*[[Steve Katz (musician)|Steve Katz]] – guitar, [[harmonica]], vocals (born May 9, 1945, [[New York City]]) (1965–1967, 1973–present)
*[[Al Kooper]] - [[Keyboard instrument|keyboards]], vocals (born February 5, 1944, Brooklyn, New York) (1965-1967, 1973–present)
*[[Al Kooper]] – [[Keyboard instrument|keyboards]], vocals (born February 5, 1944, Brooklyn, New York) (1965–1967, 1973–present)
*[[Andy Kulberg]] - [[bass guitar]], [[flute]] (April 30, 1944, [[Buffalo, New York]] &ndash; January 28, 2002, [[California]]) (1965-1967, 1973-2002; his death)
*[[Andy Kulberg]] – [[bass guitar]], [[flute]] (April 30, 1944, [[Buffalo, New York]] – January 28, 2002, [[California]]) (1965–1967, 1973–2002; his death)
*Roy Blumenfeld - [[drum]]s (born May 11, 1944, [[Bronx]], [[New York (state)|New York]]) (1965-1967, 1969–present)
*Roy Blumenfeld – [[drum]]s (born May 11, 1944, [[Bronx]], [[New York (state)|New York]]) (1965–1967, 1969–present)


===Later members===
===Later members===
*John McDuffy - keyboards, vocals (1967-1968)
*John McDuffy – keyboards, vocals (1967–1968)
*John Gregory - guitar (1968-?)
*John Gregory – guitar (1968–?)
*Don Kretmar - bass, [[saxophone]] (1969-1973)
*Don Kretmar – bass, [[saxophone]] (1969–1973)
*[[David Cohen (musician)|David Cohen]] - keyboards (born August 4, 1942, Brooklyn, New York) (1972)
*[[David Cohen (musician)|David Cohen]] – keyboards (born August 4, 1942, Brooklyn, New York) (1972)
*Bill Lussenden - guitar (1972-1973)
*Bill Lussenden – guitar (1972–1973)
*Eric Pearson - keyboards (1972)
*Eric Pearson – keyboards (1972)
*[[Richard Greene (musician)|David Greene]] - violin (1968)
*[[Richard Greene (musician)|David Greene]] – violin (1968)


===2012-Current===
===2012–Current===
*[[Steve Katz (musician)|Steve Katz]] - guitar, [[harmonica]], vocals (born May 9, 1945, [[New York City]]) (1965-1967, 1973–present)
*[[Steve Katz (musician)|Steve Katz]] – guitar, [[harmonica]], vocals (born May 9, 1945, [[New York City]]) (1965–1967, 1973–present)
*Roy Blumenfeld - [[drum]]s (born May 11, 1944, [[Bronx]], [[New York (state)|New York]]) (1965-1967, 1969–present)
*Roy Blumenfeld – [[drum]]s (born May 11, 1944, [[Bronx]], [[New York (state)|New York]]) (1965–1967, 1969–present)
*[[Joe Bouchard]] - bass
*[[Joe Bouchard]] – bass
*[[John Kruth]] - mandolin, flute, vocals
*[[John Kruth]] – mandolin, flute, vocals
*Kenny Margolis - keyboards
*Kenny Margolis – keyboards
*Scott Petito – bass


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.wirz.de/music/kalbdsc.htm Illustrated Danny Kalb discography (including Blues Project recordings with Kalb)]
* [http://www.wirz.de/music/kalbdsc.htm Illustrated Danny Kalb discography (including Blues Project recordings with Kalb)]
* {{discogs artist|The Blues Project}}
* {{imdb name|2227167}}

{{Al Kooper}}
{{Al Kooper}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}

Latest revision as of 20:08, 20 January 2024

The Blues Project
The Blues Project in 1966: (l-r) Andy Kulberg, Roy Blumenfeld, Danny Kalb, Al Kooper, Steve Katz
The Blues Project in 1966:
(l-r) Andy Kulberg, Roy Blumenfeld,
Danny Kalb, Al Kooper, Steve Katz
Background information
OriginGreenwich Village, New York City, U.S.
Genres
Years active1965–1968; 1970–1973; sporadically 1973–present
LabelsVerve
Capitol
MembersSteve Katz
Roy Blumenfeld
Scott Petito
Ken Clark
Chris Morrison
Past membersDanny Kalb
Al Kooper
Andy Kulberg
Tommy Flanders
John McDuffy
David Cohen
Don Kretmar
John Gregory
Bill Lussenden
Andy Musar
Richard Greene
Brian Cummings
John Kruth
Jesse Williams
Mick Connelly

The Blues Project was an American band formed in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood in 1965. The group's original iteration broke up in 1967.[1] Their songs drew from a wide array of musical styles. They are most remembered as one of the most artful practitioners of pop music, influenced as it was by folk, blues, rhythm & blues, jazz and the pop music of the day.

On February 14, 2023, the group, still led by Steve Katz and Roy Blumenfeld, released a new collection of tunes, called "Evolution".

Career

[edit]

In 1964, Elektra Records produced a compilation album of various artists entitled, The Blues Project, which featured several white musicians from the Greenwich Village area who played acoustic blues music in the style of black musicians. One of the featured artists on the album was a young guitarist named Danny Kalb, who was paid $75 for his two songs. Not long after the album's release, however, Kalb gave up his acoustic guitar for an electric one. The Beatles' arrival in the United States earlier in the year muted the folk and acoustic blues movement that had swept the US in the early 1960s.

Kalb formed the Danny Kalb Quartet in early 1965, with rhythm guitarist Artie Traum, Andy Kulberg on bass and drummer Roy Blumenfeld.[2] When Traum went to Europe during the summer, guitarist Steve Katz (like Kalb, a former pupil of guitarist Dave Van Ronk) joined as first a temporary replacement and then a permanent member. Later in 1965, the group added singer Tommy Flanders and changed its name to The Blues Project, as an allusion to Kalb's first foray on record.[3]

Late in the year, the band auditioned for Columbia Records. During the session for the auditions, producer Tom Wilson hired session musician Al Kooper, who had worked with him on Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone," to provide piano and organ.[3] Kooper, who had worked with Blumenfeld and Kulberg during sessions for his contribution to the What's Shakin' compilation,[4] was invited to join the group.

When Columbia declined to sign the band, Wilson, who by late 1965 had moved to MGM Records, signed the Blues Project to MGM's Verve/Folkways subsidiary. The band began recording their first album live at Greenwich Village's Cafe Au Go Go in late November 1965.[1] Entitled Live at the Cafe Au Go Go, the album was finished with another week of recordings in January 1966.[3] By that time, Flanders had left the band and, as a result, he appeared on only a few of the songs on this album.[1] Live at the Cafe Au Go Go was a moderate success, and the band toured the U.S. to promote it.

Returning to New York, the band recorded their second album Projections in the fall of 1966, with MGM releasing it in November.[3] Projections contained an eclectic set of songs that ran the gamut from blues, R&B, jazz, psychedelia, and folk-rock.[1] The centerpieces of the album were an 11-and-a-half minute version of Muddy Waters' blues standard "Two Trains Running" featuring Kalb on vocals and lead guitar, and Kooper's instrumental "Flute Thing" featuring Kulberg on flute.

Soon after Projections was completed, however, the band began to fall apart. Kooper left the band in the spring of 1967,[3] and the band completed a third album, Live At Town Hall without him.[3] Despite the name, only one song was recorded live at Town Hall in New York; the other songs were live recordings from other venues, or studio outtakes with overdubbed applause to feign a live sound.[1] One song in the latter category, Kooper's "No Time Like the Right Time," was the band's only charting single.

The Blues Project's last hurrah was at the Monterey International Pop Festival held in Monterey, California, in June 1967. By this time, however, half of the band's original line-up was gone. Katz left soon thereafter, followed by Kalb.[3] Kooper was at the festival in the capacity of "assistant stage manager" to "Chip" Monck.[5] A fourth album, 1968's Planned Obsolescence, featured only Blumenfeld and Kulberg from the original lineup, but was released under the Blues Project name at Verve's insistence. Future recordings by this lineup were released under a new band name, Seatrain.[3]

In 1968, Kooper and Katz joined forces to fulfill a desire of Kooper's to form a rock band with a horn section. The result was Blood, Sweat & Tears.[3] While Kooper led the band on its first album, Child Is Father to the Man, he did not take part in any subsequent releases. Soon after, Kooper, then a producer for Columbia Records, recorded with guitarist Mike Bloomfield, Stephen Stills and Harvey Brooks for the album entitled Super Session,[6] before doing several solo albums including one with Shuggie Otis. Katz, on the other hand, remained with the band into the 1970s.

The Blues Project, with a modified line-up, reformed briefly in the early 1970s, releasing three further albums: 1971's Lazarus, 1972's Blues Project, and 1973's The Original Blues Project Reunion In Central Park (which featured Kooper but not Flanders).[3] These albums did little to excite the public and since then, the group's activity has been confined to a few sporadic reunion concerts, such as when the Blues Project played a fundraising concert at Valley Stream Central High School in New York, promoted by Bruce Blakeman with the proceeds going to the Youth Council and the US Olympic Committee.

In 1969, flutist/bassist Andy Kulberg and drummer Roy Blumenfeld of Blues Project formed the band Seatrain with Jim Roberts, ex-Mystery Trend guitarist John Gregory, former Jim Kweskin Jug Band violinist/fiddler Richard Greene, and saxophonist Don Kretmar. Seatrain recorded their first album, Planned Obsolescence, in 1968, but had to release it as a Blues Project album for contractual reasons. In 1969, they released a self-titled A&M LP (Sea Train), but faced a major change in membership a few months later. Three more albums, 1970's Seatrain, 1971's The Marblehead Messenger (on Capitol) and 1973's Watch (on Warner Bros.) followed.

In the period between 2001 and 2007, Roy Blumenfeld drummed in the Barry Melton Band (Melton of Country Joe and the Fish fame).[7]

Albums discography

[edit]

Studio & live albums

[edit]
  • Live at the Cafe Au Go Go (Verve/Folkways, 1966)
  • Projections (Verve/Folkways, 1966)
  • Live at Town Hall (Verve/Forecast, 1967)
  • Planned Obsolescence (Verve/Forecast, 1968)
  • Lazarus (Capitol, 1971)
  • Blues Project (1972)
  • Reunion in Central Park (MCA/Sounds of the South, 1973)

Compilations

[edit]
  • Tommy Flanders, Danny Kalb, Steve Katz, Al Kooper, Andy Kulberg, Roy Blumenfeld Of The Blues Project (Verve, 1969)
  • The Best of The Blues Project (Verve, 1969)
  • The Blues Project (MGM, 1970)
  • Back Door Man (Capitol, 1987)
  • The Best of The Blues Project (Rhino, 1989)
  • The Blues Project Anthology (Polydor, 1997)

Members

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Best-known lineup

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Later members

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  • John McDuffy – keyboards, vocals (1967–1968)
  • John Gregory – guitar (1968–?)
  • Don Kretmar – bass, saxophone (1969–1973)
  • David Cohen – keyboards (born August 4, 1942, Brooklyn, New York) (1972)
  • Bill Lussenden – guitar (1972–1973)
  • Eric Pearson – keyboards (1972)
  • David Greene – violin (1968)

2012–Current

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. p. 95. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
  2. ^ "Steve Katz, ex-Blues Project, BS&T, talks about new book". Wrtcfm.com. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 155/6. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  4. ^ Kooper, Al (1998). Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards (First ed.). New York: Billboard Books/Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 51. ISBN 0-8230-8257-1.
  5. ^ Kooper (1998), pp. 91–97.
  6. ^ Kooper (1998), pp. 131–132
  7. ^ [1] Archived July 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
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