Piano Blues at North Star

The North Star Lounge in Ann Arbor featured some exhilarating piano blues on May 15. The music was great and the setting intimate and friendly — so who could wish for anything more?

Mr B (Mark Braun) and Bill Heid were on the bill, but Rick Roe was invited to come up, so a two-way turned into a three-way concert. A number of classics from the blues literature were covered like “Trouble in Mind,” Wynonie Harris’ “Good Rockin’ Tonite.” They also did some ever standards; my personal favorite was their version of “I Thought About You” delivered as you might expect in a bluesy fashion. Both Heid and Mr B sang on most tunes and Heid played the electric keyboard in a Hammond B-3 setting which complemented the house upright piano just right.

It was a very memorable evening of music!

TOP: Mr B (left); Bill Heid (right)

LEFT: Rick Roe, piano