Celebration of the Chicago Blues

You’d be hard-pressed to top this weekend’s 18th Annual Long Beach Blues Festival. In celebration of the Chicago blues, such notable veterans as James Cotton, John Lee Hooker, Koko Taylor, Otis Rush, Etta James, Bo Diddley and Buddy Guy are set to serve up plenty of the real thing.

As exciting as the festival promises to be, the recent death of Luther Allison brings sadness as well. Originally scheduled to headline Saturday night’s performance, the veteran singer-songwriter-guitarist died Aug. 12 of lung cancer. (According to a spokesperson for Allison’s label, Alligator Records, the cancer was diagnosed July 10, when it was in advanced stages.) Guy has been added to the bill to replace Allison.

In another change from the original lineup, Little Milton is replacing an ailing Junior Wells on Saturday.

Taylor, who performs with her Blues Machine on Sunday, knew Allison since she left Memphis for Chicago at 18. During a recent phone interview, Taylor said that she and Allison became close friends over the years and added that she was stunned by his sudden passing.

“To lose Luther is like chopping off my right arm. . . . We go back so many, many years,” she said from a hotel room in Toronto, where filming of the upcoming “Blues Brothers 2000” movie was taking place. (In the film, she makes a cameo in a jam session that also features Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Charlie Musselwhite, Junior Wells and Lonnie Brooks.)

“Luther, Buddy [Guy] and I hung out together, and sometimes long ago I would sit in at Luther’s rehearsals down in Willie Dixon’s basement,” recalled Taylor, 67. “We really had some good times. We became close friends who also happened to work together more times than I can count on my fingers and toes.

“Luther has a son named Bernard. He has his own band, and he sings and plays guitar just like his daddy. Keep an eye on that boy.”

Taylor said that while no one can take Allison’s place, blues musicians--young and old--can do their part to keep the idiom vital and fresh-sounding. She sees an audience ready and willing to embrace music that is undiluted and born from experience.

“I think the blues has become more popular than it’s ever been,” Taylor said. “All over the world, it’s on the upswing now--and it’s long overdue too.

The former gospel singer turned to a career in the blues when Willie Dixon took her under his wing and persuaded her to record what became her first big hit, “Wang Dang Doodle,” in 1966. Taylor earned Grammy nominations for five of her past six albums. She won the award in 1984.

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The enduring quality that gives Taylor a distinctive edge, particularly in the live setting, is her growl of a voice that’s perfectly suited for the blues. Recalling “Big Mama” Thornton, she grunts and growls, often exploding in such timeless tunes as Little Milton’s “Mother of Nature” or her own sexually charged “Come to Mama.”

“I do get energy directly from my fans,” said Taylor, who performs about 200 gigs a year. “Like last night, I was playing this outdoor festival in Detroit. Well, wouldn’t you know it, it starts raining. But they don’t mind; these are die-hard fans. They not only love the blues, but they love Koko Taylor. After I finished ‘I’d Rather Go Blind,’ they gave me a standing ovation. That’s what gives me the strength to carry on. I can’t let them down.”

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Only not everyone enjoys the blues so wholeheartedly. Taylor said don’t blame the music, though. She said stereotypes are at fault, and believes that if people keep an open mind before tuning the blues out, they’ll probably wind up diggin’ it.

“Some inexperienced listeners will say, ‘Man, I don’t like the blues because it’s so slow and depressing,’ ” Taylor said. “Or they say it makes you feel sad, or this and that. But ya know, with my music, it’s designed to bring people up, to make them feel good about themselves. Listen to ‘Jump for Joy’ or ‘Wang Dang Doodle’ and then tell me you’re not feeling any better.”

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In between tours, Taylor has been working on new material, which she hopes to see on her next release for Alligator Records before year’s end. If you’re anticipating anything experimental or trendy this time around, forget it.

“I won’t be changing my style any, I’ll tell you that,” Taylor said. “I try hard to please all of the blues fans by mixing things up between slower ballads and fun, up-tempo numbers. But it’s still all blues, and it seems that with the depth of my experience, more people can relate to what I’ve been through and sing about.

“I’m convinced that the harder you work and the longer you stick with it, good things are bound to happen. Like right now . . . I’m up here on location making a movie with Dan Aykroyd. I feel like I’ve finally caught a big fish, ya know what I mean?”

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LONG BEACH BLUES FESTIVAL

SATURDAY

* James Cotton

* Son Seals

* Little Milton

* Otis Clay

* Buddy Guy

SUNDAY

* Soul Stirrers

* Snooky Pryor

* Koko Taylor

* Otis Rush

* John Lee Hooker

MONDAY

* Chess All-Stars (Hubert Sumlin,

Billy Boy Arnold, Jimmy Rogers, Johnny Johnson)

* Ike Turner/Joe Louis Walker

* Bo Diddley with

the Derby Hastings Band

* Etta James

* Chuck Berry

The 18th Annual Long Beach Blues Festival takes place Saturday through Monday on the athletic field of Cal State Long Beach. $28 per day at the gate. Parking, $5. Children 12 and under are free. (562) 985-1686. Gates open at 9 a.m.; music runs from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Acts are listed in order of scheduled appearance.