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Artist Profile
ARTIST
Osgood & Blaque |
GENRE
Soul Blues |
LOCATION
Vicksburg , MS.USA |
HOME SITE
www.gregoryosgood.com |
BAND MEMBERS
Greg Osgood, Cee Blaque |
ORIGIN
Vicksburg, Ms |
FILE UNDER
Piano & Harmonica Blues |
KEY PERFORMANCES
Thalia Mara Hall, RiverFest, Ground Zero Blues Club, Masonic Temple, Vicksburg City Auditorium |
OPENED FOR
The Chi-Lites, The Delfonics, Pat Brown, Floyd Taylor |
PAST TOURS
The South |
FUTURE PLANS
Osgood & Blaque will be competing in the 2006 International Blues Challenge, Memphis, TN on January 26-28, 2006 |
CONTACT INFO
601-638-7821
osgoodandblaque@yahoo.com |
DESCRIPTION
Osgood and Blaque perform exciting shows, rotating from 400 to 500 popular songs ranging from acoustic blues& jazz, to juke-house and dance blues, both acoustic and electrical, including originals. The two of them alone often replicate the sound of a full size band, including drums, bass, strings and horns! |
BIOGRAPHY
This biography compiles the beginning of Greg Osgood & Cee Blaque’s history during their debut onto the music scene as the talented, professional, virtuoso-duo “Osgood & Blaque”, whose principal objective is “keeping the blues alive”! Though the historical impact of the sound they forged together began in the early 90s with Osgood performing as a solo artist, the duo’s union has resulted in a dynamic re-birth of the performance technique, particularly for duo artists. The two of them alone perform exciting shows using piano, organ, strings, horns, bass and drum sounds arranged on a state-of-the-art keyboard that enables them to sound like a six-piece band, pulling from a list of 400 to 500 songs they rotate from show to show. They have performed at coffee shops and restaurants where the atmosphere is soft and the music is low; and they have performed for large dance crowds where the music relfects the general club scene. On many occasions such as at weddings, a piano sound and vocals is all that is needed
They are superb vocalists. Osgood plays keyboard while Blaque occasionally plays harmonica. Osgood & Blaque performs over 70 events per year, performing songs as far back as Jimmy Reed’s “Bright Lights, Big City” to Lionel Richie’s “Three Times A Lady” and Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish”. Osgood & Blaque’s musical roots consists primarily of 40s, 50s, and 60s classic piano blues, soul, jazz and R&B mixed with contemporary music ideology, producing a combination of smooth vocals mixed with powerful, funky-fingered arppegios. The duo merged traditional blues and jazz songs with modern instrumentation, both acoustic and electrical, creating soulful, radio-friendly melodies with a driving beat and raw, blues/jazz-oriented overtones.
Born Gregory Dwayne Osgood on August 11, 1964 in Crystal Springs, Mississippi, Greg Osgood celebrated many talent show successes before graduating in 1982, and thereafter, enlisted in the United States Marine Corps for a term of three years. He has performed repeatedly in numerous cities throughout Mississippi including Jackson, Terry, Crystal Springs, Hazlehurst, McComb, Natchez, Pearl, Brandon, Decatur, Forrest, Raleigh, Meridian, Ridgeland, Madison, Belzoni, Greenwood, Greenville, Starkville, Como, Clarksdale, Clinton, Bolton, Edwards, Bovina, Vicksburg, as well as in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas; and also the countries and islands of Japan, Korea, Thailand and Filipines during his career as a singer and musician. Although a great performer himself, Osgood has never been signed with a record company but has opened shows for several star acts. He has shared the stage with great artists such as The Chilites, The Delfonics, Bloodstone, Vasti Jackson, O.B. Buchanan, Rick Lawson, Tina Diamond, Billy "Soul" Bonds, Virgil Brawley & The Juvenators, Casey Phillips, Mark Whittington, Jimmy Henderson (of Black Oak Arkansas), Clay Hamil, Floyd Taylor, Kenny Wayne, T.K. Soul, Pat Brown, Henry Rhodes & Mo' Money Band, King Edward, Jesse Robinson, J.T. Watkins, Patrice Moncel, Mister Bee and Robert "Juice" Lenoir, to name a few. Osgood’s influences include: Tyrone Davis, B.B.King, Lionel Richie, Jimmy Reed, Willie Dixon, The Beegees, Stevie Wonder, Oscar Peterson, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Lou Rawls, Howling Wolf, The Bar Kays, Donnie Hathaway, Deniece Williams, Bobby Womack and Johnny Taylor, among many others. He loves music and enjoys performing for both large and small audiences. His musicanship is noted both on and off stage for he is well known and respected by his contemporaries.
As an arranger, Osgood’s work is, of course, only one among many phases in his genre-blending career. Resurrecting styles and techniques of legends like Tyrone Davis, Stevie Wonder and Lionel Richie, to name a few, Osgood’s work “Back To Back”, “The Good Is In The Man” and “Walking On The Backstreet” stands as one of his finest soul/blues achievements. Techniques resembling blues icons Willie Dixon and Jimmy Reed can be observed in Osgood’s “Same Old Shake”, “It Aint No Harm” and “Piano Man” and clearly illustrate his versatility. Greg Osgood is, undoubtedly, one of the first musicians to bring this level of soulful, searing emotionality to the stage, and almost every song he performs bears the distinctive flair that is his signature.
As a songwriter and member of Broadcast Music Industry (BMI), an organization for songwriters, Osgood has proven that true love, romance, family devotion and happiness are still fundamentals of every good relationship. He is known for his perpetuous delivery and crying pleas during his performances. Osgood has written over 100 original songs and has released at least three albums to date.
Born Mildred Williams on September 9, 1957 in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Cee Blaque is a powerful, female vocalist with notable qualities that endear any listener. Her background begins with several years as lead singer for the Holly Grove M.B. Church in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Her influences include Billie Holiday, Koko Taylor, Etta James, Artie "Bluesboy" White, Dorothy Moore, Al Green, Tina Turner and, affectionately, her mother (late) Katie Hall-Harris and maternal grandfather (late) Mr. Willie Hall, among others. Blaque also sang as background vocalist for The Dominoes Band and The Mississippi-145 Blues Band (both from Jackson, Mississippi) before joining Greg Osgood as the dynamic-duo “Osgood & Blaque”. She learned to play harmonica on her own, but with the aid of her contemporaries, she continues to refine the art.
As a powerful songstress and performer, providing both background vocals and harmonica accompinament, Blaque brings to modern life songs from as far back as Billie Holiday’s “Come Rain Or Come Shine” and “God Bless The Child” to Etta James’ “At Last” and Dorothy Moore’s “Misty Blue”, touching the very soul of the blues. Also a songwriter, she demands recognition with songs like “Nickel And Dime Blues”, “Candy Man” and “Mississippi Blues Woman”, thus demonstrating the creativity and influence she adds to the group. Her charm and charisma is impelling to both young and old alike.
Regarding the future of Osgood & Blaque, a local newspaper once said: “Cee Blaque and her partner Greg Osgood are poised on the brink of something great...and they are destined to make it big as God's loving hand extends to make this beautiful young flower blossom!”-Ernest McBride/The Jackson Advocate. Indeed, those words are being fulfilled even as they are written, as you will see from a close examination of Osgood & Blaque's “LIVE” performance!!
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