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Photos by Arnie Goodman

You don’t have to know the origin of the blues or have a clue about how it got its name to be an aficionado of the style. You don’t even have to have lived a tough life to play the blues with passion—you can express joy while playing and listening to this music.

The Cutting Room recently hosted an event featuring musicians recording on the American Showplace Music label. It was a joyous event for the musicians as well as the audience. Much of the evening was a mix-and-match, with artists performing in various combinations and a finale with everyone on stage showing their love of the music and also displaying their talents and dedication to it.

The artists included John Ginty on Hammond B-3, Todd Wolfe on electric guitar, Chris O’Leary on blues harp, Bruce Katz on keyboard, Slam Allen on guitar (at one point playing for an extended time while walking around in the audience) and Alexis P. Suter on vocals.

Each band played several songs, both originals and covers, with John Ginty performing “Elevator,” the Todd Wolfe Band with John Ginty playing “Peanut Butter,” the Chris O’Leary Band playing “Give It” and “19 Cents a Day,” the Bruce Katz Band playing “No Brainer.” Slam Allen played “Feel These Blues” and the Alexis P. Suter Band played “You Don’t Move me No More.” Suter brought the house to tears with her rendition of “Let It Be.”

The finale with everyone on stage was “Night Time Is The Right Time” by Ray Charles. The audience was enchanted, and stood up and cheered for the entire song. It was truly a night to remember.

– Stanley Abraham