New Pinetop Perkins & Karp/Foley titles from Blind Pig!

NEW RELEASES FROM BLIND PIG RECORDS! Noted roots music label Blind Pig Records will release new titles on April 17th by beloved blues piano icon Pinetop Perkins and the dynamic performing and songwriting duo of Peter Karp and Sue Foley. PINETOP PERKINS "HEAVEN" (AVAILABLE ON CD and LP) If there is a heaven - and God knows there ought to be for those blues musicians of The Delta who endured grievous deprivation and suffered countless indignities yet brought joy to so many - Pinetop Perkins is certainly there. It is unquestionably a little slice of heaven for us to hear Pinetop once again on this previously unreleased after-hours set of masterful music. The beloved dean of blues piano players and three time Grammy winner passed away last year, just four months shy of his 98th birthday. Heaven captures a beautifully intimate 1986 studio performance by Pinetop when he was "only" seventy three, and still at the peak of his powers. He performs solo on all but four tracks. The self-taught master pianist is in magnificent form, delivering thundering chords and glissandos, rolled chords, trilled notes, complex metrical substitutions, sly musical quotes - and of course his trademark lightly swinging boogie woogie. His strong, rough-edged voice conveys an authority that is complemented by a subtle playfulness and vulnerability. On this album, his vocals are supplemented by recently-recorded contributions from Willie Smith on "Sitting On Top of the World" (believed to be Smith's last recording, as he passed away in September 2011) and Otis Clay, who captures the sweet agony of "Since I Fell For You." Blind Pig is also issuing Pinetop's album on a limited edition 180 gram audiophile LP, the first title the label's simultaneously released on CD and LP since 1990. And in Pine's memory, we also urge support of the Pinetop Perkins Foundation (www.pinetopfoundation.org). PETER KARP & SUE FOLEY "BEYOND THE CROSSROADS" Beyond the Crossroads marks the newest chapter in the collaboration between these two noted singer-songwriter guitarists. A high voltage, plank spankin', piano boogyin', slide guitar stompin', blues-rocking CD that showcases twelve brilliantly crafted and unique original compositions. It's a loud celebration of triumph over tragedy, optimism over despair and faith over hopelessness It delivers on the promise of Karp and Foley's groundbreaking, critically acclaimed 2010 song-cycle, He Said She Said. That album hit the Top 10 on the Billboard Blues Chart and was #1 for 6 weeks on the national blues and roots music radio charts. Says Foley, "Beyond the Crossroads is a natural extension of what we started with He Said She Said in that we're writing songs with themes in mind. Positivity, renewal, absolution." Karp added, "These times are trying - in the heart and in the streets. Time to fire up the amps and blow heat."