If you want to feel the power of old blues, watch the final films in "The Blues" series on Channel 9 tonight and Saturday and catch the Randy Oxford Band Monday at The Swiss.

This past Monday's segment of the seven-film PBS series was directed by Wim Wenders ("Buena Vista Social Club"). Highlights included Blind Willie Johnson's inspired 1930 recording of "Soul of a Man" and Lucinda Williams doing a version of the classic "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues." The way the film featured old and new recordings (with artists such as Bonnie Raitt and Los Lobos) made its point with the subtlety of a sledgehammer: These songs are timeless.

Oxford, a talented trombonist and showman, said audiences have been reminding him of that fact ever since he formed his six-member group last May.

"The song everyone's going nuts over is an old Memphis Minnie song called 'Bumblebee,' which she wrote in, like, 1929," Oxford said. "We're bringing back a lot of stuff from the '20s and '30s, and those seem to be our most popular songs.

"We're doing some Cab Calloway, 'Why Don't You Do Right?' and even the old Ma Rainey tune 'Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor.' That goes over well, and we're doing Bessie Smith's 'I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl.' We're putting a lot of those great old tunes on our CD, which will be out in December."

Oxford, who has been running blues jams for a couple of years, took his time after leaving Junkyard Jane before starting a band. He said the jams gave him a chance to find players who would have the right chemistry.

He ended up with guitarist Steve Blood, guitarist Jerry Lee Davidson, drummer Riky Hudson, singer and guitarist Virginia Klemens and bassist Jack Kinney.

"We clicked immediately," Oxford said, "but playing and rehearsing every week has really tightened things up."

That sentiment is shared by many. Oxford was asked to describe the process. What makes a band tight?

"You start thinking more alike, which helps with the timing," he said. "You know what a person's going to do or which direction they're going to go with their solo, and everyone feeds on that."

As an appetizer for Monday's show at The Swiss, check out tonight's installment of "The Blues" (9 p.m., followed by repeat episodes). Directed by Mike Figgis ("Leaving Las Vegas"), the segment will feature Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and others performing and talking about how the "British Invasion" of the '60s helped reintroduce the blues in America.

Saturday's concluding segment, "Piano Blues," was directed by Clint Eastwood, a pianist himself. It features rare footage, interviews and performances by artists such as Pinetop Perkins, Jay McShann, Dave Brubeck and Marcia Ball.

If you missed any of this remarkable series, KBTC will begin airing it on Monday.

(Published 12:01AM, News Tribune Newspaper, October 3rd, 2003)