Rejuvenated Curtis Salgado hits concert trail, radio airwaves after latest cancer scare

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Curtis Salgado is ready to get back to work. The soul singer, recovering from cancer surgery in July, is set to kick off a 30-date tour and make a national radio appearance this month.

Salgado, a key inspiration for “The Blues Brothers” movie, is scheduled to appear on August 25-26 on the nationally syndicated radio program “Elwood’s Bluesmobile.” The former Robert Cray, Roomful of Blues and Santana singer’s new tour will already be underway by then, as Salgado hits the road on August 18, 2012 for the first of 30 dates through the end of November.

Salgado was initially diagnosed with liver cancer in 2006, and underwent a transplant that same year. His more recent health scare involved successful surgery on July 18, 2012 to remove a cancerous growth from his lung, having already endured a similar procedure to remove a cancerous lung mass 2008.

Despite the cancer setback, Salgado is in the midst of a signature year: His newest solo project, Soul Shot, has received rave reviews, topping our own Nick DeRiso’s mid-year list of Top Blues and Jazz Albums for 2012. Salgado was also named winner of the 2012 Blues Music Award for soul/blues artist.

For more on Salgado’s new tour, head to the Alligator Records Web site: http://www.alligator.com/on-tour/artist.cfm/aid/172/t/Curtis-Salgado/. For stations and showtimes of “Elwood’s Bluesmobile,” go here: http://www.thebluesmobile.com/.

“I feel myself growing stronger with each passing day and my spirits are high,” Salgado says. “In the next couple of weeks I will look forward to getting back on stage to perform my music. Thanks to everyone for their love and support during my recovery.”

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Here’s a look back at our recent thoughts on Curtis Salgado. Click through the titles for complete reviews …

SOMETHING ELSE! INTERVIEW: SOUL BLUES SHOUTER CURTIS SALGADO: Curtis Salgado, who has kicked off 2012 with a sizzling new soul-blues debut for Alligator Records, has never been fated with an uninteresting life. From an early stint playing alongside Robert Cray in 1976-82 to playing an inspirational role for John Belushi’s character in The Blues Brothers film, from sitting in for a pair of 1980s recordings by Roomful of Blues to a 1990s-era stint with Santana, Salgado’s narrative has been as eventful as it has been full of great music. The tale took a dark turn more recently, as the Portland, Oregon, resident battled cancer through the latter part of the last decade, but even then Salgado never lost his fiery determination. And the story continues.

CURTIS SALGADO – SOUL SHOT (2012): Bluesman Curtis Salgado, over a career that’s included stops with Robert Cray, Roomful of Blues and Santana, has always had an abiding love for R&B, hard soul and nasty funk. Soul Shot brings all of that together, in what turns out to be his best solo effort yet. Look no further than the opener, an ass-shaking Bobby Womack composition called “What You Gonna Do?” You’ll find Salgado howling with all of the emotional abandon and sexual tension of great shouters like Otis Redding, O.V. Wright and Wilson Pickett.

CURTIS SALGADO ON ROBERT CRAY, O.V. WRIGHT, CAB CALLOWAY AND ALBERT COLLINS: Salgado goes in depth on a signature influence in O.V. Wright, takes us inside the sessions that produced Cray’s debut recording — and then backstage with jump-blues legend Cab Calloway. Salgado also talks about working with Albert Collins, and the many influences that make up his unique brand of “rocking soul.”

Something Else!