Sac Blues Hall of Fame

Raised in Alabama, Lena grew up singing gospel in her grandmother’s church. She moved to Sacramento with her family in 1966. In 1976, Gene Chambers heard Lena sing and encouraged her to sing the blues, taking her around town and introducing her to such influences as Johnny Heartsman, Arbess Williams, Johnny Knox and Mick Martin.

Lena performed regularly for many years with local bands before forming her own band, “Lena Mosley and The Badd Shoes Blues Band,” When Mike Balma decided to record a CD entitled “The Sacramento Blues,” it featured 10 local blues bands that included Lena’s. All the groups on the recording then toured from Sacramento to Tahoe, San Francisco, Redding, stopping at many of the surrounding cities. The Rhythm and Blues Magazine interviewed and featured an article on Lena’s participation in the tour and the CD.

Lena’s performance with the Sacramento Blues Society events span many years, performing at Christmas parties, fund raisers, jam sessions and the Blues In The School program. Lena also brought the “Blues” to the CSUS Student Body, and her band regularly performed at the Sacramento Blues Festival during the many years that Phil Givant was the producer, leading to being asked by the Jazz Jubilee to perform on subsequent occasions.

In 2006, Lena joined “The Sacramento Blues Revue,” an eight person band, as the only female vocalist. Recently the group received a SAMMIE (Sacramento Area Music Award) for the “Best Blues Band,” recognizing the band as a prominent local act.

For more than 20 years, Mike Balma has contributed to Sacramento blues as a promoter and producer of blues festivals, concerts and shows and as an owner and producer of recordings by Sacramento blues musicians.

Mike volunteered for the Sacramento Blues Festival beginning in the 1980’s, eventually becoming a member of the executive staff, then went on to become President of the Sacramento Blues Society in 1992. Under his leadership with the SBS, there were 5 Blues in the Park concert series as well as the release of Sacramento Blues, a compilation CD of 16 Sacramento blues artists.

Mike is perhaps best known as the co-director of the Sacramento Heritage Festival, which was produced from 1994 to 2002 and sometimes drew over 10,000 attendees and featured many genres of music as an art form. From 1997 to 2011, Mike presented over 50 shows of multiple-themed acts in various venues, primarily the Sacramento Horsemen’s Association.

Several benefit concerts were held to generate funds for musicians and their families and thousands of dollars-worth of musical instruments were donated to a variety of Sacramento area school music programs.

During the past 20 years, Mike also produced blues programming for other Sacramento area musical programs, including the Rocklin Jubilee, Rainbow Festival, several SPCA Festivals, the Sacramento Downtown Concert Series and the Sacramento SAMMIES.

Omar was born David Alexander Elam in Shreveport, Louisiana and was raised in Marshall, Texas migrating to California in 1957 and settling in the Bay Area in the mid-60s. He recorded 3 LPs in 1968, 1972-73 and in 1975 he was rated the 3rd best piano player in the world by Contemporary Keyboard magazine (behind Ray Charles and Mose Allison).

After the rise of disco and changing to his Muslim name, Omar saw his gigs limited and he sank into obscurity. He relocated to the Fresno area during the 1980's and despite his distant location, Omar frequently gigged in Sacramento throughout the 80's at Melarkeys, the Torch Club and the Palms Playhouse in Davis and was the house band for extended stays at Sam's Hof Brau. In 1992, he moved to Sacramento and for the next 20 years had numerous appearances at Fulton's Prime Rib and Jazzman's in Old Sacramento.

Omar appeared at all the major national blues festivals, including many times at San Francisco. He appeared at every Sacramento Blues Festival from 1976-1993 and every Sacramento Heritage Festival held from 1994-2005. Omar also toured nationally and internationally.

Omar's repertoire includes over 5000 songs and dozens of outstanding, edgy original compositions, many of which involve uncomfortable subjects and brutally honest lyrics. While in Sacramento, Omar recorded 3 CDs for the Have Mercy Label and his songs also appear on both Sacramento Blues compilation CDs. In 1993, his song “House Built By The Blues” was nominated for a Handy award and Sacramento Bee music critic David Barton called it “one of the best songs of any kind to come from a local songwriter” and Omar “one of the country's best songwriters.”

In 2011, Omar returned to live as a honored musician in his hometown of Marshall, Texas at the request of the mayor, who declared the town “The Boogie Woogie Capital” upon Omar’s return.

Charlie Baty was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1953 and started playing harmonica during his high school days in Millbrae, California. While attending UC Berkeley in the early 1970’s, he picked up some harp pointers from Rick Estrin, who was already a veteran on the Bay Area Blues scene. After graduation, Charlie moved to Sacramento to land a job in state government. On the side, he formed Little Charlie and the Nightcats in 1975, named in deference to Little Walter’s first band. Charlie held down the harp position and began to explore the guitar.

In May 1976, Rick asked Charlie for work and moved to Sacramento. For about two years, their double harp attack was prominent but Charlie continued to woodshed, studying Christian recordings and honing his skills. He quickly became a guitar wizard and left the harp licks to Rick.

Charlie is known for his acrobatic finger picking prowess and mastery of many musical styles, including jump, swing, surf, rockabilly, jazz and slow, gutbucket blues. He is considered among the very few best blues guitarists in the modern era and has been the namesake of the band that made Sacramento famous in the blues world.

Rick Estrin grew up in San Francisco and started playing harmonica in 1965 at age 16. After dropping out of high school, he roamed the streets near clubs in black neighborhoods soaking up the sounds inside and practicing his harp. His first professional job was opening, as sort of a white novelty act in a black band, at a Hunter’s Point bar. Soon he met bluesman Rodger Collins, who influenced him to develop an energetic stage routine.

In 1976, he moved to Sacramento and hooked up with Charlie Baty and his band, “Little Charlie & the Nightcats.” For a decade they gigged all over the Sacramento and Bay Area, playing clubs like Melarkey’s, Tootsie’s, Vangari’s and the Sacramento Blues Festival. In 1986, the band sent a tape to Alligator Records which immediately launched them into a non-stop touring routine that was to last 30 years. They released nine CDs and became Sacramento’s best-known contribution to the blues world, headlining festivals all over the world. Rick’s witty original tune, “My Next Ex-Wife” won the 1993 Blues Music Award for Song of the Year. After Charlie’s retirement, Rick formed Rick Estrin and the Nightcats, which continues to tour regularly, issue exciting music and represent Sacramento.

In the blues world, Rick is famous for his sharpdressed man look, his wry and thoughtful original songwriting, his unique harp tone reminiscent of the masters, and his soulful vocals.

PHIL GIVANT was one of the seminal figures in Sacramento blues history and over a lifetime earned a national reputation as a blues expert. He was a mathematics professor at American River College for 41 years and a “blues professor” for nearly that long, teaching countless numbers of blues fans through his radio shows and festival productions from the mid-1970’s until his passing in 2002.

Phil was a co-founder of the Sacramento Blues Society in 1979. It is said the first meeting was in the living room of his Carmichael home. Phil cofounded the Sacramento Blues Festival in 1976, one of the few major blues festivals in the nation at that time. He produced the annual festivals from 1976 to 1993.

Born in Oakland, California in 1950, Johnny was the oldest child in a family led by Jack Knox, a local guitarist and former radio personality who had broadcast from his home as a teenager in the 1 9 4 0 ’ s . His dad encouraged him to learn music and he got his first guitar at the age of 14. Johnny moved to Sacramento to play the blues and while watching and playing with Little Charlie Baty and Rick Estrin, he started honing his skills in harmonica accompaniment. This prompted them to head down to Moon Studio to record their new 45’s. With Little Charlie and the Nightcats backing him in the studio, Johnny recorded the Muddy Waters classic “Honey Bee”, as well as Freddie King’s “Tore Down”, which Johnny re-released as a CD in 2010. Like many of his peers from that era, Johnny was no stranger to substance abuse issues, and went through a long spell where he would hit the streets daily with his guitar for his daily hustle. Through local musician Ray “Catfish” Copeland, Johnny met Mike Balma, local blues promoter/producer, at the Chicago Blues Fest ‘91, who soon booked studio time for a record. With a mix of solo tracks as well as additional tracks with backing by upright bassist Greg Roberts, Rick Estrin on harmonica, and Copeland on guitar, the record was released as “Johnny Guitar Knox, Hoboin’,” and won an award in Denmark!

Local guitarist Kenny Marchese sums it up nicely when he says "Johnny gave his help and support to the Sacramento blues scene by teaching and encouraging the younger players, and Sacramento has returned the favor by helping Johnny recover what he had tossed."

MICK MARTIN has played blues harmonica professionally since 1968 and, since 1983, led "Mick Martin and the Blues Rockers." Mick was an original co-founder of the Sacramento Blues Society, but had to rescind his presence due to conflicts of interest. He performed at Carnegie Hall for the nationally-broadcast "Blues in Jazz" concert with mentor Jimmy Smith, Jimmy Witherspoon, Grover Washington Jr., Carrie Smith and Mark Whitfield in 1994.

Mick shared the “Best West Coast Blues Harmonica Player” nod with Mark Hummel in 2001. Mick Martin and the Blues Rockers have won the Sacramento Area Music Award (a.k.a. the SAMMIES) for “Best Blues Band” three times, thus entitling them to a place in the SAMMIES Hall of Fame.

Mick has been producing and hosting the Blues for over 20 years, beginning with "The KZAP Blues Show" in August of 1989. He joined the staff of KXJZ in July 1991 to create "Mick Martin's Blues Party," currently heard on Saturdays from 1-5 p.m. Mick also serves as clinician for SBS Blues in the Schools program.

A multi-talented musician, Johnny Heartsman was proficient in playing a variety of instruments and sang with a rich, mellow voice. He is instantly recognizable by the way he used the volume control on his guitar to make his trademark moan. Born in San Fernando, California in 1937, Johnny started making records when he was 16 years old for Bob Geddins in Oakland in the 1950's.

Johnny played many instruments: the cello (his first instrument in high school), guitar, bass, piano and keyboards, organ, and blues flute. He was well respected while he toured in Europe and Japan.

He wrote, published, and recorded mostly his own music. His first hit was "Johnny's House Party parts 1 and 2" in 1957. He has worked with Lowell Fulson, Tiny Powell, Al King, Joe Simon, Etta James, Jimmy McCracklin and many others. He received the Big Bill Broonzy award from the Academy of Jazz in France in 1990 for his album "Sacramento" which he recorded in Germany for CrossCut Records. Other albums (cds) include "Music of My Heart", "The Touch" recorded at Alligator Records, and "Shine On" and "Still Shinin" recorded for Big Mike Balma in Sacramento. He also recorded albums with a group in Germany called Blues Company. He has influenced other musicians like Robert Cray and Joe Louis Walker. Johnny continued to be a versatile performer up to his death in Sacramento, CA in 1996.

Gene Chambers was a longtime Sacramento blues musician, teacher and mentor had always cared deeply about the blues scene and blues musicians around our area.

He was born in September 1936 in a small town called Coffeyville, Kansas. He started playing blues with his first guitar in the Air Force while being stationed in Japan. From that time on, his love for playing the blues never ceased. He was in the off-duty legendry band called The House Rockers and the Sensations throughout his duty in Japan, traveling to many Airforce bases and entertaining servicemen and their families. After almost a decade stay in Japan, he returned to the US to Austin, Texas. Here he played with locally well known Joe Valentines Band until his retirement from the USAF. After settling in Sacramento, he formed The Bits and Pieces Band where he continued playing the blues. He truly enjoyed playing the blues while sharing his talents and expertise with young blues musicians in Sacramento area and helping to promote the Sacramento Blues Society.

Gene passed away in January, 2008 but his deep love of blues echoes today as seen in the Gene Chambers Musicians Crisis Fund which was established to help continue his deep concern and love for fellow blues musicians in a time of need.

Arbess has been singing since she was 15 years old and is still singing the blues today to inspire people from every way of life. Arbess started singing in her church in San Diego in her childhood, and then went on to singing the blues which she calls "deep down thing". She sang at Tahoe while she had a barber job and also sang with Johnny Heartsman for quite a while "learning a lot" from him. Together they recorded, "I Just Want to Party All Night" for Mercy Me! Records. Her backup band for many years was a group from Sacramento known as The Luminators (Lew Fratis, Dave Garrity & Pat Balcom).

Today "blues diva" Arbess is continuing to sing and "make a connection with people of all ages and backgrounds. Arbess states, "Blues was created here. It's real American music ---it's spiritual and I like to sing to a mixture of people. Blues music is a universal language, and I like to have a little bit for everybody. (By Kimiko Chambers From Living Blues Magazine, No. 114, April 1994)