Red Hot & Blues Reviews (Charlotte Blues Society)

Based out of a shack on the shores of the Salish Sea in British Columbia, Blue Moon Marquee are a gypsy blues duo composed of guitarist A.W. Cardinal and upright bassist Jasmine Collette who’ve been making major waves North of the Border since debuting five years ago. They’re aided here by a full band as they deliver a set of original music that’s a spellbinding blend of blues, jazz, Western swing and New Orleans funk and hints of everyone from Louis Armstrong and Django Reinhart to Memphis Minnie and Tom Waits. If you like modern music with an old-time feel, you’ll love “Big Black Mamba,” which was inspired by a Native American legend, the bittersweet “Hard Times Hit Parade,” which sings of the difficulties of trying to make a living in a world full of greed, “52nd St. Strut,” a tip of the hat to Billie Holiday, and “High Noon,” a tribute to Oglala Lakota holy man Black Elk and the perseverance of Indigenous people in g