Return to the Jazz Age with the Sounds of Bessie Smith

Monday, 27 March 2023 13:57

Arts Alive are bringing Ma Bessie’s Prohibition Party to All Stretton Village Hall on Friday, April 14. The music of Prohibition-era America will be provided by Ma Bessie & The Pig Foot Band.

Nicknamed the 'Empress of the Blues', Bessie Smith was one of the most popular female blues singers of the 1920s and 1930s and has been a major influence on blues and jazz singers.

With a passion for Bessie Smith’s work, Julia Titus formed the band in mid-2015 to share the music of Bessie Smith and her contemporaries with a new generation of listeners.

Mixing the rich, warm vocals of Julia Titus with a dynamic band that look and sound the part, Ma Bessie & The Pig Foot Band perform classic blues and jazz tunes from the inter-war years with a selection of original songs and hand-picked covers.

Ma Bessie & The Pig Foot Band will be performing the very best of 1920s and 1930s blues and jazz to the present day, focusing on the life and musical canon of the late, great Empress of Blues.

“There are several guarantees with JT [Julia Titus] - there will be smiles, a connection with the audience, superb music and you will be asked 'When is she coming back' a lot.” Andy Wilkin, Third Friday Blues Club, Reading.

The show is suitable for ages 14+. Tickets are available at artsalive.co.uk

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