BLUES EXPLOSION FEAT. THE DYNAMIC MISS FAYE CAROL, FILLMORE SLIM, LADY BIANCA & ALVON JOHNSON(Sun, 7/5/26)

JaZzLine INSTITUTE presents Blues Explosion, a powerhouse lineup featuring four of the finest blues artists from the Bay Area and beyond. Get ready for blues, blues, and more blues as this slammin’ band and these legendary artists each raise the roof and let loose in their own unique style. Blues Explosion features four bona fide legends of the blues, including vocal powerhouse The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol, iconic bluesman Fillmore Slim, the piano stylings and soulful vocals of Lady Bianca, and award-winning blues entertainer Alvon Johnson, backed by a 7-piece blues band guaranteed to keep the fire hot. An all-star assembly of blues talent this ferocious is a testament to Oakland’s rich blues history, showcasing four legendary artists who have kept the bar sky high for decades with authentic, soul-stirring, down home blues that is sure to be a funky good time for all. Supported by the California Arts Council.

The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol is known as an icon in the Bay Area and beyond, highly regarded for her powerful voice, astonishing versatility, and gift of connecting with her audience. Equally at home in jazz, blues, R&B, gospel, funk, Latin, and hip-hop, she has developed her own authentic sound and unique delivery, delighting audiences young and old across the globe. After beginning her career with gospel music, Faye Carol made her name singing with Oakland blues and funk legend Johnny Talbot & De Thangs in the 1960s. She soon formed her own trio and gained fame in San Francisco’s jazz, blues, and cabaret clubs of the 1970s and 80s. Over a 60-year career in music, this living legend has developed her own unique acoustic sound and style in Black Music – drawing from funk, blues, gospel, and straight-ahead swingin’ – and cultivated an audience that remains as diverse as her uplifting music. She has maintained a high level of musicianship in her groups, mentoring some of the Bay Area’s brightest young talent, including Benny Green, Marcus Shelby, and her daughter Kito Kamili. Her vocal proteges include international superstars Kehlani and Ledisi. 

A tall, lean man and flashy performer, Fillmore Slim is definitely one of a kind – a stylish dresser and self- professor whose vocal delivery and guitar stylings are rooted in the past, but his often humorous, occasionally self-deprecating delivery has a timeless appeal.

Jovial, pleasant, and now in his early 90s, his recording legacy isn’t anywhere near that of his peers – only nine albums at last count. And among some circles, he’s far better known for his other, former trade — as one of the most visible and notorious pimps in the U.S. and the subject of a major movie documentary.

Fillmore Slim, iconic bluesman and cultural figure, blends gritty life experience with soulful guitar and vocals, an enduring legend of the Bay Area.

Lady Bianca is a blues, gospel, and R&B vocalist/pianist, artist, and producer with roots in Kansas City, MO. Raised by a father who taught her Texas Blues piano as a child, Bianca’s formal training began at age nine with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Alvon Johnson is one of the most versatile musicians, singers, and entertainers on the music scene today. He travels the world singing and swinging jazz standards with big bands. He also gallops the globe performing the songs that he performed while working with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group, The Coasters. When he travels to Russia, he is referred to as the “King of the Blues” and the “Ambassador of the Blues”. His love and respect for the American Art form is shared by large and enthusiastic audiences all over the world.