Curtis Salgado
Waterfront Blues Festival
Portland, Oregon
July 6, 2018

Another year is here and I'll try to get as much of it as I can again. The Festival is again being broadcast by KBOO FM. They are a community radio station which is listener funded. Please support them if you can. Only four day's this year since the 4th is on a Wednesday. Again, I've tried to find and "fix" all the blemishes. Enjoy the show's....twofthrs

The Beautiful Lowdown is Curtis Salgado�s most fearless and adventurous release to date. For the first time in his career, he wrote or co-wrote virtually the entire album himself. He co-produced the 2016 release along with Marlon McClain and Tony Braunagel and contributed to the horn arrangements and background vocal parts. �My heart and soul are in this,� he says proudly. �I worked my tail off and let the songs lead the way.� As for the title, Salgado explains, �During a recent show, I turned to my guitarist and said, �Play something lowdown. But make it beautiful.� Then I thought, �Keep that.�.�

The Beautiful Lowdown is a major step forward for Salgado. �I wanted to write memorable songs with strong melodies that stick to you, and that�s what�s here.� He arrived at the studio with 17 originals and whittled the list down to 11, adding Johnny �Guitar� Watson�s Hook Me Up to close the set. Each track is delivered with the vocal power and passion of a musical master. Living Blues says, �Salgado navigates dynamic soul, swaying balladry and funky grooves with equal confidence. He is a formidable performer.�

Born February 4, 1954 in Everett, Washington, Salgado grew up in Eugene, Oregon. His home was always filled with music. His parents� record collection included everything from Count Basie to Fats Waller, and his older brother and sister turned him on to the soul and blues of Wilson Pickett and Muddy Waters. He attended a Count Basie performance when he was 13 and decided then and there that music was his calling. Curtis began devouring the blues of Little Walter and Paul Butterfield, fell in love with the harmonica and taught himself to play.

By his early 20s, Salgado was already making a name for himself in Eugene�s bar scene with his band The Nighthawks, and later as co-leader of The Robert Cray Band. Salgado quickly developed into a player and singer of remarkable depth, with vocal and musical influences including Otis Redding, O.V. Wright, Johnnie Taylor, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson I and II, Lightnin� Hopkins, Howlin� Wolf, Otis Spann and Magic Sam.

In 1977, comedian/actor John Belushi was in Eugene filming Animal House. During downtime from production, Belushi caught a typically ferocious Salgado performance and introduced himself during a break. Once Salgado started sharing some of his blues knowledge, a fast friendship grew. Salgado spent hours playing old records for Belushi, teaching him about blues and R&B. Belushi soaked up the music like a sponge and used his new awareness to portray �Joliet� Jake Blues in The Blues Brothers, first as a skit on Saturday Night Live and then as a best-selling record album (which was dedicated to Curtis) and finally as a major motion picture (Cab Calloway�s character was named Curtis as an homage).

Once Salgado joined forces with his friend Robert Cray and began playing together as The Robert Cray Band, he found himself sharing stages with many of his heroes, including Muddy Waters, Bobby Bland, Albert Collins and Bonnie Raitt. After Salgado and Cray parted ways in 1982, Curtis went on to front Roomful Of Blues, singing and touring with them from 1984 through 1986. Back home in Oregon, he formed a new band, Curtis Salgado & The Stilettos, and was once again tearing it up on the club scene, where he honed his band to a razor�s edge before releasing his first solo album in 1991. His friend and fan Steve Miller invited Curtis and his band to open for him on a summer shed tour in 1992. Two years later, Salgado spent the summer on the road singing with Santana. Salgado signed with Shanachie Records in 1999, putting out four critically acclaimed albums. He successfully battled back from liver cancer in 2006 and lung cancer in 2008 and 2012, reemerging stronger and more determined to share his music with the world.

Salgado joined Alligator Records in 2012, releasing the award-winning, critically acclaimed Soul Shot. The Los Angeles Times said Salgado is �keeping the classic flame of soul music alive.� The strength of the record led to Salgado touring far and wide, with gigs in Manilla, Guam, Brazil, Saipan and Panama. He has performed at major festivals including Portland�s Waterfront Blues Festival, The San Francisco Blues Festival, The Chicago Blues Festival, Memphis� Beale Street Music Festival, The Tampa Bay Blues Festival, Denver�s Mile High Blues Festival, Toronto�s Waterfront Blues Festival, Thailand�s Phuket International Blues Festival and Poland�s Blues Alive Festival.

Set List
01 Intro
02 Lowdown Dirty Shame
03 A Woman Or The Blues
04 Hard To Feel The Same About Love
05 Nobody But You
06 Love Man
07 Gonna Forget About You
08 I Want Everyone to Know How Much I Love You
09 Summertime Life
10 I Don't Want To Discuss It