Jackson Free Press

At the 29th annual Jackson Music Awards, held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Aug. 4, much of the action happened in the hallway. Yes, great music was going on inside, with Jacksonian Bobby Rush headlining, and the awards ceremony honored a veritable who's who from the Southern soul-blues community: Tyrone Davis, Little Milton Campbell, Benny Latimore, Willie Clayton, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Bobby Rush, J.T. Watkins, Cadillac George Harris, Jesse Robinson, Big Moody Coney, King Edward, and Henry Rhodes.

But some serious schmoozing was happening in the hall. On a Monday night, often the only non-working night for these hard-working performers, the men and women could mix it up, make contacts, reconnect. They had a rare opportunity to interact with each other in a non-competitive setting, and from Rush to Eddie Cotton, King Edward to Rhodes, they did, throughout the ceremony and afterward.

Originally regional in nature, the awards have increasingly taken on a national scale, reflecting Jackson's role as the capital of the soul-blues scene. Headliner Rush recently released the CD "Undercover Lover" on his newly launched Deep Rush label. Eddie Cotton, this year's Local Male Vocalist of the Year and Local Blues Artist of the Year, got to shine in front of national bookers, his band augmented by a horn section. Also performing were Jeff Floyd, 24/7, Jonathon Burton and Sir Charles Jones, last year's and this year's winner of the International Etertainer of the Year.

Other winners were Jeff Floyd, Male Vocalist of the Year; Syleena Johnson, Female Vocalist of the Year; "Blues at Midnight" by Bobby Bland, Best Blues Album; and "It's Friday" by Sir Charles Jones, "Best Recording."