Blues on Sunday with Nelson Checkoway, Per Hanson & Jon Ross

“They may not be household names, but they’ve played with people who are.”  This is how Saco River Theatre owner Dana Packard introduced a recent concert by the Blues on Sunday Quartet.

The Blues on Sunday Quartet or BOSQ was founded last year by area musician Nelson Checkoway and two regional luminaries, drummer Per Hanson and guitarist Jon Ross, as a Sunday afternoon blues residency at Cadenza.

Hanson, a founding member of Ronnie Earl’s Broadcasters, has played and recorded with a who’s who of blues musicians including Little Milton, Debbie Davies and Pinetop Perkins, while multi-instrumentalist Ross has appeared with guitar great Duke Robillard, Joe Louis Walker, and Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds.

Ross and Hanson also toured together with blues harmonica legend James Cotton, and they share a long-standing area connection, having appeared countless times in the region as the rhythm section for local legends, Lex & Joe.

Diane Blue, lead singer and harmonica player with Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, will make her first solo Maine appearance at Cadenza, 5 Depot St. in Freeport on Saturday, November 25th where she will be special featured guest of Cadenza regulars, the Blues on Sunday Quartet. Diane, a “multi-talented performer who’s equally at home belting out a blues standard or cutting loose with a ferocious harmonica solo.” (Bill Van Siclen, Providence Journal). A multi- nominated and award-winning artist, Diane has shared the stage with many greats including Muddy Waters’ guitarist Luther “Guitar Jr.” Johnson, Irma Thomas, Toni Lynn Washington and the late Big Jack Johnson of Clarksdale, Mississippi who called Diane a “monster on the harp.” The Cadenza date will unite Diane, a current member of Ronnie Earl’s Broadcasters with one of its founding members, Blues On Sunday Quartet drummer Per Hanson, who has since played and recorded with a who’s who of blues musicians including Little Milton, Debbie Davies and Pinetop Perkins and who toured extensively with the late blues harmonica legend James Cotton.

“Our originals and covers showcase traditional Chicago-style blues, New Orleans R&B, throwback country, Memphis soul and more,” says Checkoway, who has appeared on stage with as diverse artists as Commander Cody and Mike Bloomfield. “It’s music we love and it doesn’t get enough play these days. We’re hoping to change that!”

The connective tissue in the band is the late Freddie King and Bonnie Raitt pianist Dave Maxwell:  both Hanson and Ross played with Maxwell in James Cotton’s band and he was a teacher, mentor and friend to Checkoway.  Rounding out the quartet at the upcoming Cadenza show on September 9th is standout bass player Steve Norris, who has also appeared with Maxwell, as well as Maria Muldaur, Sleepy LaBeef, Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson.