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Songs from women's souls
The all-female Women's Blues Revue has an eclectic repertoire, which the band uses this weekend to raise money for a good cause.
By PHILIP BOOTH, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 9, 2002
TAMPA -- What's the best way to measure the success of the annual Mother's Day concerts organized by the Women's Blues Revue to benefit victims of domestic violence?
Try the bottom line: The all-female band, led by guitarist-singer Patty Sanphy, has raised $30,000 since 1996 for CASA of St. Petersburg, the Haven of Clearwater and the Spring of Tampa.
The nine-piece group's seventh annual benefit show, slated for Sunday at Skipper's Smokehouse, will double as a CD-release party. About 600 people are expected to attend the concert, which will feature performances from the Blues Revue's new Tell It! disc and a variety of special guests.
Sanphy, a full-time musician and music teacher, sees a direct connection between the good time -- the band's mix of blues, R&B, soul, jazz and swing -- and the good cause represented by the concert.
"I think that the cry of the blues comes from a woman's soul," she says. "And the blues is a form of expression that has a good affinity with women's suffering. Women have always been involved in the blues idiom, and they've been instrumentalists, going way back to (guitarist) Memphis Minnie.
"But it's also celebratory for us," she says. "We're trying to celebrate the strong side of womanhood, to empower women. We sing out loud. We really aren't afraid to express ourselves. It's not just for women. It's for everybody, to empower and celebrate the strong, independent woman spirit."
The group, organized by Sanphy in 1996 for that first Mother's Day show, rapidly gained a reputation for impassioned singing by Sanphy and Denise Moore, among others, and solid rhythm-section playing and horn work.
Their repertoire, centered on "woman-strong" songs, includes a growing body of original compositions, along with danceable tunes by the likes of Marcia Ball, Bonnie Raitt and Aretha Franklin, and ballads by Billie Holiday and others.
The Blues Revue's eclectic mix of tunes and good-time approach to performing have impressed audiences at clubs, concert halls and festivals throughout Florida. Three years ago, the band topped the Virginia Slims Dueling Divas competition for the region's best female band.
More than 30 musicians have participated as members of the Blues Review over the years. But the lineup has stabilized over the last 18 months or so: Sanphy, Moore and Nancy Johnson are the featured vocalists. The band also includes keyboardist-singer Linda Faust, saxophonists Stacey Knights and Victoria Scuteri, trombonist Jennifer Meggs, bassist Sandy Ross and drummer Susan Patrick.
That stability is one reason Sanphy decided to produce the group's overdue debut CD.
"I've gone through so many different people," she says. "Everybody that's played with the group, I've admired and respected, but there wasn't always a great (personal) connection. This is the first time I've had a group of gals that really gets along great together. We've finally got a solid lineup."
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PREVIEW: Mother's Day benefit by the Women's Blues Revue, 5 p.m. Sunday,Skipper's Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road, Tampa. Tickets: $6 advance (at Skipper's and Bridget Books in St. Petersburg), $8 at the door. Call (813) 971-0666.
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