Stony Plain Artist Jeff Healey Remembered By Canadian Music Community At Maple Blues Awards

TORONTO, Canada (Top40 Charts/ Stony Plain Records) - The much beloved musician Jeff Healey, who died last March, was remembered by the blues community with no less than seven awards at the Maple Blues Awards, held in Toronto's Phoenix Theatre last night (Monday February 19).

Healey won awards for Entertainer of the Year, Electric Artist of the Year and Guitarist of the Year.

His final blues recording, Mess of Blues (produced by Healey and bassist Alec Fraser) was voted Recording of the Year. The record was released by Edmonton-based roots music label Stony Plain Records in Canada, - to whom Healey was exclusively signed. Mess of Blues was released by the German company, Ruf Records, in Europe, the United States and other foreign territories.

His awards were accepted by his wife. Cristie, and his father Bud Healey, who thanked the blues community - in Canada and around the world - for their support, and cited the guitarist's passion for all kinds of music.

Three of the trusted sidemen with whom Healey toured until his death, Alec Fraser, Al Webster and Dave Murphy, won awards, respectively, as Bassist, Drummer, and Keyboard Player of the Year.

Another Stony Plain recording artist, guitarist Amos Garrett, won the Maple Blues Lifetime Achievement prize, the Blues with a Feeling Award. Accepting the prize, the Alberta-based musician - who has recorded with everyone from Maria Muldaur to Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Wonder and even Anne Murray - jokingly told the audience that now that he was receiving Government of Canada pension cheques he might be able to indulge an ambition to play jazz on a more regular basis.