Biography

Annieville Blues has been playing piano since the tender age of 5. She was born in Los Angeles, California on January 16, 1960. Her music education and training began with traditional classical music but she soon realized that there were more exciting piano styles to play besides Bach and Beethoven. Her first introduction to Rock ‘n’ Roll Boogie Woogie Piano was seeing Little Richard on American Bandstand in the 1960s. Annieville discovered Jazz and Blues while growing up in Los Angeles through her friends living nearby. These friends were the children of the famous performers, jazz drummer Louie Bellson and his wife singer/actress Pearl Bailey. Along with radio and television, her attraction and inspiration to learn more about boogie woogie, jazz and blues piano styles were sparked by collecting old recordings of legendary pianists. These included Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis, Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, Otis Spann, Fats Domino, Professor Longhair and Hadda Brooks, just to name a few. She also was fascinated by Jo Ann Castle’s Honky Tonk piano playing on the Lawrence Welk show. Thus began Annieville’s quest for knowledge and her continuing passion to play roots blues and boogie woogie music.

By age 11, Annieville’s family had moved to a farm in Oregon. Her parents made sure that she had piano lessons, not an easy task in the small town of Grants Pass! She soon began accompanying school choirs at all grade levels and several church choirs. She performed in classical orchestras and jazz/rock/blues bands. At age 14 she was performing professionally in restaurants and bars.

In the mid 1970s, Annieville began teaching private piano lessons. She was instructing her students in piano styles that she knew they would not learn through traditional training. Her first studio recording experience in 1977 was with Steve Miller of the Steve Miller Band. Steve Miller was a mentor to her about the business of music. In 1979, while attending junior college, Annieville at age 19 became, at that time, the youngest student teacher to receive certification in Oregon by the Oregon Music Teachers Association. In 1982, Annieville received her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance & Composition from the prestigious Cornish Institute of Allied Arts in Seattle. Another aspect of her younger years education was to sneak backstage at performances by boogie woogie, blues & jazz greats to hang out and talk with them. It was there the ultimate connection to performing music live was made and inspires her gigs, workshops and teaching to this day. Annieville maintains a private piano teaching practice and has taught students of many ages, but particularly elementary to high school age children. She has more than earned the name “Mother Goose of the Blues”. She currently publishes & sells a textbook that she wrote, teaching her favorite music styles, entitled “Music Sprouts” which is available as a book plus CD.

Annieville is a recording artist, currently signed with Raw Records, Port Angeles, WA and Blackwing Studios in Marysville, WA. Her recordings include:

2003

1999

1998

In 1996, Annieville started her own blues jam show featuring her piano students & other student musicians, giving them the opportunity to play with a live band. She found the venue at the Scarlet Tree Restaurant & Lounge in Seattle. This show ran until 2001 and was the only blues jam for kids on the West Coast during that time. Along with mentoring many young blues musicians, Annieville’s show was well attended by fans of all ages. The Seattle Times ran a full-page article in 1996 about Annieville and the show. The link to this article is Annieville Blues Jam Scarlet Tree, Seattle Times 1996. Annieville was the “Jam Queen” at Las Brisas Restaurant in Bothell for 4 years. She has been the jam hostess for many local & national benefit shows over the years.

Since 1990, Annieville’s teaching has placed her at two of the most prestigious blues camps in the U.S.A.

East Coast

West Coast

In 2003, Annieville began the Beginning Blues Piano Class at EMP (Experience Music Project) in Seattle. In 2007, at the “International Folk Life Festival”, Annieville taught the 1st Piano Blues Workshop in the 37-year history of the festival. Annieville has produced Blues Workshops for piano, full band ensembles and blues vocals. Her recent collaboration with Gaye Adegbalola of Saffire-Uppity Blues Women resulted in a week of very successful blues vocal workshops at the 2007 Port Townsend Country Blues Week. In August of 2008 at Port Townsend Country Blues Week, Annieville collaborated with Resa Gibb's as her accompanist on piano for Resa's blues vocals workshops & classes.

In Annieville’s 30-year music career she has shared the stage with legendary performers including Pinetop Perkins, Barrelhouse Chuck, Big Joe Duskin, Leon Blue, Henry Butler, Mr. B, Bob Seeley, Cash McCall, Cephas & Wiggins, Henry Gray, Hubert Sumlin, Saffire-Uppity Blues Women, Gaye Adegbalola, Ann Rabson, Andra Faye, Maria Muldaur, Kelley Hunt, Ricky Nye, Angela Strehli, Big Jack Johnson, Erwin Helfer, Tracy Nelson, Mark DuFresne (frequent duo partner and former lead singer of Roomful of Blues), Little Bill & the Blue Notes, Duffy Bishop, Lee Oskar, Lurrie Bell, Mitch Woods, Wendy DeWitt, the Charles Prevost Jazz/New Orleans band in Paris and so very many others.

Annieville has headlined in Northwest and U.S. national festivals including ♫ The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise 2008 ♫ Port Townsend Country Blues ♫ The 2005 New Orleans Musicians Clinic Benefit for Hurricane Relief at Jazz Alley in Seattle (co-organizer) ♫ Augusta West Virginia Heritage Blues ♫ Queen City Blues & Boogie Fest/Arches Stage, Cincinnati Ohio ♫ Annual Esprit Transgender Convention, Port Angeles WA 2002-2005 ♫ Bumbershoot ♫ EMP (Experience Music Project) ♫ National Folklife Festival ♫ Kirkland Performance Center, WA ♫ Biscuits & Blues, San Francisco ♫ Little Fox Theater, Redwood City CA ♫ Constable Jack’s, Newcastle CA ♫ Swinomish Blues ♫ Seattle Peace Concerts ♫ many State Fairs & winery festivals on the West Coast ♫ Ritzville Blues ♫ Earth Day ♫ Las Brisas Restaurant Blues Jam for 4 years ♫ Art on the Green, Idaho ♫ New Orleans Piano Night (a part of the annual Jazz Fest) ♫ Raven’s “Jam for Cans” Northwest Harvest Annual Benefit Show ♫ Les Matins Bleus, Le Sherwood & Harry’s Bar in Paris, France ♫ Il Paradiso in Venice, Italy ♫ plus many more venues ♫

Annieville has performed with her band on the Eastside of Lake Washington, near Seattle, at the Central Club and Calabria Ristorante Italiano, both in Kirkland, Washington, USA. She frequently has shows at Emery's Garden in Lynnwood and Coyote Creek Pizza at their newest location on Novelty Hill Road in Redmond, Washington. She has also appeared often at Pomodori Ristorante in the beautiful town of Florence on the Oregon coast.

Annieville Blues is available for solo, duo and up to a 5-piece Annieville Blues Band to perform for your function or club. Give Annieville a call at (206) 994-9413 or email her at info@annievilleblues.com to schedule her for your next show performance, private lesson or workshop.

For over 11 years, Annieville has hosted a weekly or bimonthly show on Thursdays called “Taste of the Blues” at Bad Albert’s Tap & Grill in the old town of Ballard in the Seattle, Washington area. She always has a special guest blues performer join her onstage for a lively evening of collaboration, humor and, oh yeah, great blues music! Together with great atmosphere, great people, really good food and drink and some of the best blues musicians the Northwest has to offer, it’s definitely worth a visit. Come join her and experience a taste of the blues!