Sheila Ellis and the
Windy City Blues (& Jazz) Band
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'Sheila Ellis and the Windy City Blues Band'
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Sheila Ellis and The Windy City Blues Band
featuring Greg Ellis on guitar and vocals
To purchase singles or the album go to:
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search for the album
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Sheila Ellis and the Windy City Jazz & Blues Band, featuring Greg Ellis on guitar and vocals, plays a wide variety of music with roots in rag, blues, jazz and standards. Song selections are drawn from Sheila’s memories as a child growing up outside Chicago in a home where her mother would lull her to sleep playing Chicago-style stride piano on her baby grand. The music of the 20’s, ‘30s and ‘40s was an integral part of Sheila’s rich musical heritage. So songs range from wonderful old standards like Good Morning Heartache to Bessie Smith’s Kitchen Man and Cab Calloway’s Minnie the Moocher. Is You Is and Why Don’t You Do Right add the rhythm of a big band and there’s some old Preservation Hall Jazz Band tunes like His Eye is On the Sparrow to honor New Orleans jazz. Taj Mahal is a favorite so you’ll hear She Caught the Katie, Cakewalk, and Corinna, in additioin to many other jazz and blues favorites.
Album Review
NO DEPRESSION MAGAZINE
The Journal of Roots Music
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Sheila Ellis and the Windy City Blues Band
Roots: A Tribute
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BY STACEY ZERING
OCTOBER 13, 2015
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One listen to "Good Morning Heartache" is all takes to be completely blown over by Sheila Ellis and the Windy City Blues Band.
On "Good Morning Heartache," there is a heavy melancholy that can be heard in Ellis' voice; it is both soulful and passionate, brimming with a piercing ache that echoes midnight loneliness. Mike Hughes' lovely keyboards provide a blanket of warmth and hope in this knockout blues number.
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Track after track, this CD captures the spirit and flavor of the ragtime, jazz, blues, soul, and American standards that shaped Ellis' musical tastes while growing up in Chicago. Her late mother, a classically trained pianist, was a huge inspiration to her, and one has to think that this album is a much an homage to her mom as well as the original performers of these classics.
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A sprightly version of "Moonie the Moocher" showcases Ellis' versatility. Her vocals are deep and fueled by swagger, a playful rendition that offers a bit of comic relief. Among the most innovative tracks on the record is Ellis' cover of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." Opening with Ruben Ramos' moody, compelling bass, Ellis' sultry singing gives the song a mesmerizing slow jam vibe that is utterly refreshing. This is one superb album.
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