Jazz is basically a happy music, though it was born in conditions often not happy at all. That is perhaps especially true of blues songs. Converting sadness into happiness is what they are about.
We have recently lost a close friend, a real supporter of local music, of jazz, and of this band in particular. Betty Van Steenhuyse Rogers. We always enjoyed seeing her arrive at a gig. She almost always had a list of requests for Eddie, especially of tunes which had the word “blue” in the title. We loved her. We will miss her.
So, yes, we do know about the blues. And we will keep making happy music for the friends who are with us and the friends who are gone.