S.E. Willis Presents an Evening of Flagstaff Blues

Saturday November 15 will be an evening of Flagstaff Blues featuring S.E.Willis, Tommy Dukes, Bob Blasi, Roger Smith, Dale Caddell, Chuck Curry and Greg Varlotta.

I started playing music in bands while attending Coconino High in Flagstaff. I was playing rock’n’roll music as it existed in 1969, for fraternity parties, high school dances and teen dances at Oddfellows Underground on Arrowhead. At that time, aside from other teen bands and country groups, the other side of town was represented by Winslow’s Tommy Dukes. Tommy was a grown, if young man at that time and he was the star of South Side, an area we didn’t venture into much. Back then Tommy wasn’t playing a lot of hard core blues (though he did play some killer Jimmy Reed), mostly soul and R&B. But Tommy came to Winslow from Hattiesburg Mississippi and had the look and the sound and as time went by he was more influenced by B.B. and Albert King, among others. And Tommy Dukes is still here and still playing great blues music.

Meanwhile, I was searching out the few Blues records that arrived here. Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Albert King, and, most of all for me, Robert Johnson. My piano models were Memphis Slim, Otis Spann and Johnny Johnson.

Local musicians through the 70s, 80s and on mostly played in bars (and still do). Concerts were for touring, more respectable acts.

In 1984 I started Monday Night Blues at Charly’s in the Weatherford Hotel with my brother John on bass, Charlie Mossman (RIP) on drums and Dave Duncan on guitar. And I tracked Tommy down—I didn’t see how we could claim to be playing Blues without him.

It was very popular and is still happening now, though on Wednesday night.

We all moved on. I went to San Francisco where I got to perform with a lot of great blues musicians, most not widely known, but also Elvin Bishop, Charly Musselwhite, Bo Diddly, Chuck Berry, Albert King, Pinetop Perkins, James Cotton and many others.

Now I’m back in Flagstaff and Tommy is still here playing excellent blues. We’re older, and I don’t know how many more opportunities we’ll have, but Saturday November 15 we’re bringing the old school Flagstaff Blues to Coconino Center for the Arts. I’ve put together a band that includes four members of the Arizona Blues Hall of Fame: myself, Tommy, Bob Blasi (drums and vocals) and Roger Smith (bass). We also have Flagstaff’s own Dale Caddell on guitar. I met Dale at Coconino High and have played with him off and on ever since, notably in a popular local 80s band, the Shake. Dale recorded with Tommy as Tommy Duke and the Blue Bloods (also featuring Bob Blasi), so he seemed like the best choice for this show. Tommy’s blues has frequently featured horns, and local hero Chuck Curry (trumpet) agreed to be a part of this, along with Greg Varlotta on trombone.

I wanted the people of Flagstaff to have a chance to support their local bluesmen, and to present Tommy’s music (and mine and Bob’s, with Roger, Dale, Chuck and Greg) in a concert setting. I hope everyone will come and support real homegrown Blues Music!

– S.E. Willis

Host or Publisher Coconino Center for the Arts