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Grammy-nominated Chicago blues icon Lonnie Brooks, whose music Rolling Stone called, "witty, soulful and ferociously energetic...simply astonishing guitar work," died on Saturday, April 1, 2017 in Chicago, according to his son, Ronnie Baker Brooks. He was 83. Guitar Player described him as “...like a fire-and-brimstone preacher, testifying the blues from the bottom of his soul.”

With his "booming, gritty vocals and fierce six-string firepower” (Chicago Tribune), Brooks created an instantly recognizable signature sound. It combined Chicago blues, rock ‘n’ roll, Memphis soul, swampy Louisiana grooves and country twang into a style that his fellow musicians called "voodoo blues." He was inducted into the Port Arthur Historical Society Hall Of Fame in 2001 and the Blues Hall Of Fame in 2010. On June 12, 2012 Mayor Rahm Emanuel declared Lonnie Brooks Day in Chicago.

Lonnie Brooks was born Lee Baker, Jr. on December 18, 1933. Over the course of his 60-year career, he recorded 11 full albums and dozens of 45s for a number of labels. His career began in Port Arthur, Texas in the mid-1950s. Recording under the name Guitar Junior, he scored a string of regional hits, including Family Rules and The Crawl for the Goldband label.

The success of his singles led to numerous southern tours and a busy performance schedule that included dancehalls, juke joints and roadhouses across Texas and Louisiana. In 1959, Lonnie befriended the great Sam Cooke, who suggested his move to Chicago. Once settled, he changed his name to Lonnie Brooks (Chicago already had a Guitar Junior) and became infatuated with the sound of deep Chicago blues. He soon landed a job as a sideman with blues hitmaker Jimmy Reed, with whom he toured and recorded. Brooks cut a handful of singles throughout the 1960s, as well as appearing on a number of Chicago blues and R&B recording sessions. He played nightly in the bars on the South and West sides of Chicago and in Gary and East Chicago, Indiana. In 1969, Capitol Records released Brooks’ first album, Broke an’ Hungry, under his old stage name, Guitar Junior.

In 1978, Brooks recorded four songs for Alligator Records' Grammy-nominated Living Chicago Blues anthology. This led to a full contract with the label. His Alligator debut, Bayou Lightning, was released in 1979. The album, along with Brooks' roof-raising live performances, brought him to the attention of Rolling Stone, which ran a six-page feature on the legendary musician. The album won the prestigious Grand Prix du Disque Award from the 1980 Montreux Jazz Festival. While appearing in Montreux, Lonnie befriended country star Roy Clark. Clark was so impressed with Lonnie that he arranged an appearance for Lonnie on the popular country music television show Hee Haw.

Constant touring in the U.S. and abroad kept Brooks in the public eye. His scorching 1980 live performance of Sweet Home Chicago on the Blues Deluxe album (resulting in Brooks' second Grammy nomination) is now considered the quintessential version of the song. A 1982 trip to Germany resulted in an hour-long Lonnie Brooks special shown on German television. BBC radio broadcast an hour-long live performance across all of Great Britain in 1987. Brooks spent the summer of 1993 on a national concert tour with B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, Junior Wells and Eric Johnson. In 1995 Eric Clapton honored Brooks by inviting the bluesman on stage for an unforgettable impromptu jam at Chicago's Buddy Guy’s Legends club. In 1998 alone, he appeared in the film Blues Brothers 2000, performed on The Late Show With David Letterman and co-authored (along with his son Wayne Baker Brooks and music scribe Cub Koda) the book Blues For Dummies.

His final two releases, 1996's Roadhouse Rules and 1999's Lone Star Shootout (recorded with fellow Gulf Coast blues veterans Long John Hunter and Phillip Walker), showed Brooks at his very best -- an electrifying guitarist with full-throated vocals, clever original songs, and a dedication to having fun. His recording of It's Your World from Roadhouse Rules was featured in an episode of HBO's The Sopranos. In 2008, Brooks appeared in the film The Express -- The Ernie Davis Story. Lonnie also appeared in two award-winning Heineken beer commercials.

Among Brooks' proudest accomplishments was the success of his talented guitar-playing sons, Ronnie Baker Brooks and Wayne Baker Brooks. Lonnie always encouraged and mentored the boys as they were growing up. Ronnie even toured with his dad while still a teenager. Both Wayne and Ronnie lead their own bands and have released critically acclaimed recordings. In 2011 and 2012, Lonnie, Ronnie and Wayne toured as The Brooks Family Dynasty, showcasing three world-class blues guitarists -- a father and his sons -- standing shoulder to shoulder, delivering thunderous performances. Lonnie's last recording appearance was as a guest on Ronnie's latest album, Times Have Changed.

Lonnie Brooks' larger-than-life personality and abundance of pure talent made him beloved worldwide, leading The Chicago Tribune to declare his music "a joyful paean to the power of the blues."  

Brooks is survived by sisters Erma, Geraldine, Jerryline, Carol, Patricia (preceded him in death), brothers Herman, Cliff, Joe, MC (all preceded him in death), Ahal and Willie, Shirley, mother of his son Lee Baker III and daughter Linda Baker Williams (preceded him in death), Jeannine, mother of his sons Ronnie Baker Brooks, Wayne Baker Brooks, Russell Baker, Robert Lauderdale and daughters Denise Baker Parker, Jackie Graham and Gina Baker Landers, with a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren.

The family would like to thank all of his worldwide fans for their love, support and loyalty over his 60 year long career.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

“A remarkable contemporary bluesman...a powerhouse young guitarist and soulful vocalist. A major player...highly recommended.” –Rolling Stone

“Selwyn Birchwood is a master storyteller—both lyrically and musically. He’s an impressive, hard-crunching, modern blues guitarist. His fretwork is high-energy, raw and vivid...knife-edged leads and roadhouse-rattling grooves. He is graced with a depth and maturity that would be impressive in a grizzled veteran, let alone a fresh-faced young man.” –Living Blues

Award-winning young blues star Selwyn Birchwood is set to release Pick Your Poison, his forward-looking new CD, on Friday, May 19, 2017. On Pick Your Poison, Birchwood, along with his band—saxophonist Regi Oliver, bassist Huff Wright and drummer Courtney “Big Love” Girlie—takes a major step forward, crafting visionary blues for a new generation of forward-looking fans.

With his fiery guitar and lap steel playing, his trailblazing, instantly memorable songs and gritty, unvarnished vocals, Birchwood is among the most extraordinary young stars in the blues. His deep familiarity with blues tradition allows him to bust the genre wide open, adding new sounds, colors and textures, all delivered with a revival tent preacher’s fervor and a natural storyteller’s charisma.

Birchwood, who attacks his guitar and lap steel with searing intensity, wrote and produced all 13 songs onPick Your Poison. His richly detailed, hard-hitting originals run the emotional gamut from the humorously personal My Whiskey Loves My Ex to the gospel-inflected Even The Saved Need Saving to the hard truths of the topical Corporate Drone and Police State to the existential choice of the title track. The cutting-edge songs are made all the more impactful by Birchwood’s gruff vocals, his untamed musicianship and his band’s seemingly telepathic accompaniment. “I write and sing what I know,” says Birchwood, whose innovations are as expansive as his influences. “This album has a broad reach. It’s for young, old and everyone in between.”

Birchwood’s high-octane blues—at once deeply rooted, funky and up-to-the-minute—are played with passion and honest emotion. With his band feeding off his drive and exuberance, the striking 6’3” young man with his trademark Afro roams the stage (often barefoot), ripping out memorable guitar licks with ease, his soulful, rocks-and-gravel vocals firing up the crowd. His ability to win over an audience—any audience—is proven night after night on the bandstand. With his warm, magnetic personality, Birchwood is as down-to-earth as his music is fun, thought-provoking and vital. His mission is to spread his music far and wide, to share his joy, to play his heart out, and to push the blues into the future. “There’s nothing I’d rather be doing than playing the blues,” he says. “And I try to convey that with every song and with every performance.”

Since the 2014 release of his Alligator Records debut, Don’t Call No Ambulance, Birchwood’s meteoric rise from playing small Florida clubs to headlining international festival stages is nothing short of phenomenal, as he continues to set the contemporary blues world on fire. The album received the Blues Music Award and Living Blues Critics’ Award for Best Debut Album Of 2014, and he won the 2015 Blues Blast Rising Star Award. Selwyn and his band have crisscrossed the U.S. and Europe repeatedly, delivering unforgettable live performances. Rave reviews ran in publications from Rolling Stone to The Wall Street Journal, from The Chicago Tribune to The San Francisco Chronicle.

The Selwyn Birchwood Band has been touring non-stop since before the Alligator debut came out. In 2011 the self-released FL Boy helped the band land gigs outside of their Tampa base, where they were becoming local heroes. Birchwood and his band won their way to spots at the 2012 and 2013 International Blues Challenges in Memphis. After taking ninth place in 2012, they came back determined the next year, taking first place. The victory opened more doors for Birchwood, increased his exposure and helped the band land a deal with Intrepid Artists booking agency, which led to more and better gigs

Birchwood has performed at festivals including The Chicago Blues Festival, The Waterfront Blues Festival, The Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, The Tampa Bay Blues Festival, The North Atlantic Blues Festival, The King Biscuit Blues Festival as well as on The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise and Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping The Blues Alive Cruise. Internationally, they have performed at The Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival, Jazz a Vienne in France, the Rawa Blues Festival in Poland, the Moulin Blues Festival in The Netherlands, the Ottawa Blues Festival in Canada, as well as performing in Spain, Switzerland, Norway, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Belgium and Mexico.

With Pick Your Poison’s urgent, uncompromising music, Selwyn Birchwood is forging new directions for the blues. The Washington Post calls him a “tough, indelibly modern next generation bluesman.” The Wall Street Journal says he is “fiery and original.” The hard-hitting, cutting-edge songs on Pick Your Poison, along with his incendiary live performances, prove without a doubt his status as the blues’ most sensational young talent.

World-renowned blues harmonica master James Cotton, whom Rolling Stone called, “One of the greats of all time, burning with brilliant virtuosity,” died on March 16, 2017 of pneumonia at St. David's Medical Center in Austin, Texas. He was 81. His overwhelmingly powerful harmonica playing was one of the iconic sounds of the blues. He toured worldwide for over 60 years.

James Henry Cotton, known as “Mr. Superharp,” recorded nearly 30 solo albums, winning one Grammy Award, six Living Blues Awards and 10 Blues Music Awards. He was inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame in 2006. The New York Daily News called him, “The greatest blues harmonica player of all time.” NPR Weekend Edition said, “Conjure up a list of all-time great blues harmonica players, and high up on it you'll see the name James Cotton.”

Born on a cotton plantation in Tunica, Mississippi on July 1, 1935, Cotton was a working musician by age nine. He learned harmonica directly from Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller), toured with Williamson and Howlin’ Wolf, and recorded for Sun Records in 1953 before spending 12 years touring and recording with Muddy Waters (starting at age 20). Cotton was featured on Muddy’s famous 1960 At Newport LP on Chess Records, including  the iconic version of Got My Mojo Working, one of the classic recordings of Chicago Blues.

After his 1953 Sun sessions, Cotton didn’t record under his own name again until the mid-1960s, with tracks included in the groundbreaking Chicago/The Blues/Today! series of LPs on Vanguard. Along with Otis Spann, he cut The Blues Never Die! for Prestige.

In 1966 he formed The James Cotton Band, quickly earning a reputation as one of the most commanding and potent live blues performers in the world—a man who could literally suck the reeds out of his harmonica from the pure force of his playing. He made his initial solo albums, three for Verve and one for Vanguard, in the late 1960s. With bands featuring outstanding musicians including famed guitarists Luther Tucker, Matt “Guitar” Murphy and Hubert Sumlin, he quickly rose to the top of the blues and rock worlds. It wasn’t long before Cotton, with his gale-force sound and fearless boogie band, was adopted by the burgeoning hippie audience as one of their own. Cotton shared stages with Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, B.B. King, Santana, Steve Miller, Freddie King and many others.

Cotton’s blistering talent and full-throttle energy kept him in demand at concert halls all over the country. He played the Fillmore East in New York, the Fillmore West in San Francisco and every major rock and blues venue in between. During the 1970s, he cut three albums for Buddah and one for Capitol. He rejoined his old boss Muddy Waters for a series of Muddy albums produced by Johnny Winter, starting with Hard Again in 1977. Cotton also guested on recordings by Koko Taylor, Steve Miller, Memphis Slim, Hubert Sumlin and many others. He was joined on his own albums by stars like Todd Rundgren, Steve Miller, Johnny Winter, Dr. John, David Sanborn, Charlie Haden, Michael Bloomfield and Cissy Houston.

Cotton signed with Alligator Records in 1984, releasing two solo albums and the famed Harp Attack! with Junior Wells, Carey Bell and Billy Branch. He won a Grammy Award in 1996 for his Verve album, Deep In The Blues and recorded four albums for Telarc Records before returning to Alligator in 2010. His most recent recording was 2013’s Grammy-nominated Cotton Mouth Man.

In June 2010, Cotton was honored by New York’s Lincoln Center, where his friends Hubert Sumlin, Pinetop Perkins, Taj Mahal, Shemekia Copeland and others paid tribute to him in an all-star concert. The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal honored Cotton with their 2015 B.B. King Award for his seven decades of contributions to the blues.

Throughout his entire career, Cotton’s blast-furnace harmonica sound and larger-than-life personality always remained a true force of nature, described by USA Today as “devastating and powerful…carrying the Chicago sound to the world.”

Cotton is survived by his wife Jacklyn Hairston Cotton, daughters Teresa Hampton of Seattle, Washington and Marshall Ann Cotton of Peoria, Illinois and son James Patrick Cotton of Chicago, Illinois, as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Award-winning soul and blues singer Curtis Salgado will undergo triple bypass surgery at a Lebanon, New Hampshire area hospital on Friday, March 10, 2017. Salgado was admitted to the hospital on March 7 after what doctors described as a mild heart attack. A cardio catheterization revealed arterial blockage. According to Salgado's manager, Shane Tappendorf, "We expect the surgery to be successful and anticipate a full recovery."

All of Salgado's regular performance dates have been cancelled through April, though he still intends to perform at the 2017 Blues Music Awards ceremony in Memphis on May 11, where he is nominated for three top awards, including Album Of The Year (for his recent release The Beautiful Lowdown), Soul Blues Artist Of The Year, and Song Of The Year (for Walk A Mile In My Blues). He won the 2010, 2012 and 2013 Blues Music Awards for Soul Blues Artist Of The Year. In 2013 he also won the coveted BMA for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year—the highest honor the blues world has to offer—and took the statue for Soul Blues Album Of The Year for his Alligator debut, Soul Shot.

Born February 4, 1954 in Everett, Washington, Salgado grew up in Eugene, Oregon. His home was always filled with music. His parents’ record collection included everything from Count Basie to Fats Waller, and his older brother and sister turned him on to the soul and blues of Wilson Pickett and Muddy Waters. He attended a Count Basie performance when he was 13 and decided then and there that music was his calling. Curtis began devouring the blues of Little Walter and Paul Butterfield, fell in love with the harmonica and taught himself to play.

By his early 20s, Salgado was already making a name for himself in Eugene’s music scene. He developed into a player and singer of remarkable depth, with vocal and musical influences including Otis Redding, O.V. Wright, Johnnie Taylor, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson I and II, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Howlin’ Wolf, Otis Spann and Magic Sam. Once Salgado joined forces with Robert Cray and they began playing together as The Robert Cray Band, he found himself sharing stages with many of his heroes, including Muddy Waters, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Albert Collins and Bonnie Raitt.

In 1977, comedian/actor John Belushi was in Eugene filming Animal House. During downtime from production, Belushi caught a typically ferocious Salgado performance and introduced himself during a break. Once Salgado started sharing some of his blues knowledge, a fast friendship grew. Salgado spent hours playing old records for Belushi, teaching him about blues and R&B. Belushi used his new awareness to portray “Joliet” Jake Blues in The Blues Brothers, first as a skit on Saturday Night Live and then as a best-selling record album (which was dedicated to Curtis) and finally as a major motion picture (Cab Calloway’s character was named Curtis as an homage).

After Salgado and Cray parted ways in 1982, Curtis went on to front Roomful Of Blues, singing and touring with them from 1984 through 1986. Back home in Oregon, he formed a new band, Curtis Salgado & The Stilettos, releasing his first solo album in 1991. His friend and fan Steve Miller invited Curtis and his band to open for him on a summer shed tour in 1992. Two years later, Salgado spent the summer on the road singing with Santana. Salgado signed with Shanachie Records in 1999, putting out four critically acclaimed albums. He successfully battled back from liver cancer in 2006 and lung cancer in 2008 and 2012, reemerging stronger and more determined to share his music with the world.

Salgado joined Alligator Records in 2012, releasing Soul Shot that year and The Beautiful Lowdown in 2016. The strength of his records and live performances has led Salgado to tour far and wide, appearing at major festivals including Portland's Waterfront Blues Festival, The San Francisco Blues Festival, The Chicago Blues Festival, Memphis' Beale Street Music Festival, The Tampa Bay Blues Festival, Denver's Mile High Blues Festival, Toronto's Waterfront Blues Festival, Thailand’s Phuket International Blues Festival, Poland’s Blues Alive Festival, and recently in the Philippines, Guam, Brazil, Saipan and Panama.

Legendary blues-rock guitarist and vocalist Coco Montoya has announced a major North American Tour in support of his new album, Hard Truth, which is set for a March 24 release. The tour will take the guitar master from Denver to Chicago, from Memphis to New York, from Canada to Florida, with multiple stops along the way, with many more dates to be announced. Full tour schedule is below, and is also available (and constantly updated) here.

Taught by the “Master of the Telecaster,” Albert Collins, and schooled by John Mayall, Montoya -- who cut three successful CDs for Alligator between 2000 and 2007 -- has a hard-edged sound and style all his own, mixing his forceful, melodic guitar playing and passionate vocals with memorable songs, delivering the blues’ hardest truths.

On Hard Truth, Montoya unleashes one career-topping performance after another, the music immediately ranking among the best he’s ever recorded. Produced by Tony Braunagel  (Eric Burdon, Curtis Salgado, Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt), the album features eleven songs, each delivering a hard truth of its own. From the radio-friendly, gospel-inspired celebration of love, I Want To Shout About It, to the haunting Devil Don’t Sleep to the icy-hot cover of Albert Collins’ The Moon Is Full, Hard Truth covers substantial emotional ground. Montoya’s unpredictable guitar playing and smoking soul vocals blend effortlessly with a backing band featuring renowned musicians bassist Bob Glaub (Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Jerry Lee Lewis), keyboardist Mike Finnigan (Jimi Hendrix, Etta James, Taj Mahal), guitarists Billy Watts (Eric Burdon) and Johnny Lee Schell (Bonnie Raitt), and Braunagel on drums. Slide guitar master Lee Roy Parnell guests on Lost In The Bottle.

Montoya earned his status as a master guitarist and soul-powered vocalist through years of paying his dues as a sideman with Albert Collins (first as a drummer) and then as a featured guitarist with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, before launching his solo career in 1993. Five years of constant touring with Collins and ten years with Mayall turned him into a monster player and dynamic performer. Montoya has released eight previous solo albums to great critical and popular acclaim, and has played at clubs, concert halls and major festivals all over the world. Guitar Player says Montoya plays “stunning, powerhouse blues with a searing tone, emotional soloing, and energetic, unforced vocals.”

 

Still an indefatigable road warrior, Montoya continues to pack clubs and theaters around the world, and brings festival audiences to their feet from New York to New Orleans to Chicago to San Francisco. Across the globe, he’s performed in countries including Australia, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, England, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Mexico, Ecuador, Italy, Poland, Russia, Czech Republic and Canada. Vintage Guitar says, “Coco just keeps getting better and better...rockin’ blues with guitar that cuts straight to the heart of the matter. His guitar playing is funky and blistering; it’s perfect. Whatever he plays, he does it with fire and passion rarely seen in this day and age.”

The 2017 North American HARD TRUTH Tour:
March 24 - The Historic Aztec Theater, Aztec, NM
March 25 - Ute Theater, Rifle, CO
March 26 - The Oriental Theater, Denver, CO
March 29 - The Zoo Bar, Lincoln, NE
March 30 - Chrome Lounge, Omaha, NE
March 31 - Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant (7:00pm and 9:30pm performances), Minneapolis, MN
April 01 - Buddy Guy's Legends, Chicago, IL
April 02 - The Jazz Kitchen, Indianapolis, IN
April 03 - City Winery,Nashville, TN
April 04 - City Winery, Atlanta, GA
April 06 - Porky's Roadhouse, Port Charlotte, FL
April 07 - The Funky Biscuit, Boca Raton, FL
April 08 - Tampa Bay Blues Festival, St. Petersburg, FL
April 09 - Springing the Blues Festival, Jacksonville Beach, FL
April 10 - Beaches Museum Chapel, Jacksonville Beach, FL
April 12 - The Rabbit Hole, Charlotte, NC
April 13 - The Concourse at The International, Knoxville, TN
April 14 - Rum Boogie Cafe, Memphis, TN
April 15 - Rum Boogie Cafe, Memphis, TN
April 18 - B.B. King Blues Club, New York, NY
April 19 - Daryl's House, Pawling, NY
April 20 - Bull Run Restaurant, Shirley, MA
April 21 - Mauch Chunk Opera House, Jim Thorpe, PA
April 22 - Chan's,Woonsocket, RI
April 23 - StageOne, Fairfield, CT
April 25 - The Tin Pan, Richmond, VA
April 26 - MexiCali Live, Teaneck, NJ
April 27 - The State Theatre, Falls Church, VA
April 28 - Bldg. 24 Live, Wyomissing, PA
April 29 - Musikfest Cafe - ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, Bethlehem, PA
April 30 - Bridge Street Live, Collinsville, CT
May 03 - Jergel's Rhythm Grille, Warrendale, PA
May 05 - Callahan's Music Hall, Auburn Hills, MI
May 06 - Callahan's Music Hall, Auburn Hills, MI
July 13 - RBC Bluesfest, Ottawa, ON, CANADA
July 15 - Peter's Players, Gravenhurst, ON, CANADA

Deceptively loose but always tight…the raspy chuckle in Bishop’s singing and the sharp sting of his guitar are forceful and fresh, enduring and fun.     --Fresh Air, NPR

I love these guys; Bob and Willy are great musicians. With a trio there’s no place to hide – you’ve got to be pourin’ everything you got right out front, totally goin’ for it all the time. If you’ve got some real good musicians who are willing and able to do that, you’ve got something that will move people. And it’s fun!     --Elvin Bishop

 

On Friday, February 10, 2017, Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer and blues master Elvin Bishop – along with his friends, guitarist/pianist Bob Welsh and percussionist/vocalist Willy Jordan – unleashes his latest album, Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio (AL 4973). The music is rootsy, spirited and soulful, performed by serious musicians hell-bent on having a good time.

The album premiered on 100,000 watt WBGO-FM in Newark, NJ, on the taste-making radio program The Radar, and can be heard in full by clicking the link.

Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio features Bishop’s down-home delivery, deep blues picking and slide guitar playfully meshing with Welsh’s piano and guitar licks and Jordan’s soul singing and propulsive cajón playing. The album’s laid-back, front-porch vibe mixes four rollicking Bishop originals with three co-writes and five raucous, well-chosen covers of songs by Lightnin' Hopkins, Fats Domino, Sunnyland Slim, Ted Taylor and Bobby Womack. And because one can never have too much fun, Bishop’s pals Kim Wilson, Charlie Musselwhite and Rick Estrin stop by the sessions, each adding his distinctive harmonica talent (and in Musselwhite’s case, vocals too) to a song. Listening to the proceedings, it’s easy to see why the Chicago Sun-Times enthusiastically declared, “It’s impossible not to like Bishop. He’s always singing something lowbrow and uplifting.”

When it comes to the formation of The Big Fun Trio, it’s best to let Elvin tell the story himself:
Me and a couple of fellas got to jamming in my studio one day and we lucked up on The Big Fun Trio. I knew Willy Jordan from when he played percussion on some of my albums, and I liked his singing and rhythm feel. This time he brought a cajón, a South American percussion instrument. It's a square box you sit on to play it, and he got some amazing sounds out of it---bass drum, snare, anything---and he's a real strong singer. Bob Welsh is a member of my regular band, an amazing talent. He plays great guitar or piano and can get a tremendous "bass" sound on his guitar.

In a trio, there's no place to hide. You need to be totally into it all the time and you got to have the right guys. The combination of the three of us clicked big time. We went out and played a couple of gigs, and it was really cool to see how the people reacted to the goin’-for-it feel of the music.

We decided we better make a CD, so here 'tis. We enjoyed the hell out of playing this music, and we hope you do the same listening to it.

According to San Francisco Bay native Jordan, who has 27 years of experience playing drums with artists including John Lee Hooker, Joe Louis Walker and Angela Strehli, making this album was “crazy different. It’s rootsy but also new. We all stayed simple to stay strong.” Welsh, originally from Covington, Louisiana, has performed and toured with Bishop, Rusty Zinn, Charlie Musselwhite, Billy Boy Arnold, James Cotton and others. Welsh says he too was blown away by the sessions. “Recording this music was fun and fresh and new to us. I had to practice more, learn some new things. The result is fearless.”

Bishop's previous release, 2014's Grammy-nominated Can’t Even Do Wrong Right, turned the music-loving world on its head. Reviews poured in from NPR’s Fresh Air, Rolling Stone, Living Blues, No Depression and many others. He appeared on TBS-Television’s CONAN and performed twice on A Prairie Home Companion (the second time, in 2015, with The Big Fun Trio). He toured across the country, bringing his smile-inducing blues music to eager fans around the world. He was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and soon after into the Blues Hall Of Fame. He won the Living Blues Award for Best Blues Album Of 2014 and three 2014 Blues Music Awards: Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year (for the title track) and The Elvin Bishop Band took the award for Band Of The Year.

Now, with Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio, Bishop confidently debuts his new -- yet satisfyingly familiar -- sound, ready to share the group’s happy-go-lucky vibe with listeners near and far. The trio’s instrumental, vocal and songwriting talents guarantee a boisterous good time.

ALLIGATOR RECORDS PRESIDENT BRUCE IGLAUER NAMED

"PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR" BY POLAND'S TWOJ BLUES MAGAZINE

 Edges Out Bob Dylan, Buddy Guy, John Mayall and Eric Clapton

 

Poland's award-winning blues magazine Twoj Blues named Alligator Records president Bruce Iglauer its 2016 Personality Of The Year. Iglauer won the award ahead of a field of candidates that included Bob Dylan, Buddy Guy, John Mayall and Eric Clapton.

According to Iglauer, "I didn't realize I was so well-known in Poland. I assume my Nobel Prize is next."

Twoj Blues magazine (established in 2000) is Poland’s only printed publication devoted entirely to the blues. Twoj Blues received the 2011 Keeping The Blues Alive Award in the print category from The Blues Foundation.

The New York Times calls Alligator "the leading record label for the blues." Rolling Stone says, "Prestigious, scrappy independent blues label Alligator Records has reached dizzying heights in celebrating the blues."

The label celebrated its 45th anniversary in 2016 with the two-CD Alligator Records 45th Anniversary Collection. No Depression says, "If Alligator didn't exist, somebody would have to invent it. Over the years, it’s become one of those things you take for granted, but one no blues fan could do without. You can forget about shuffling though the selections looking for good ‘uns. Anywhere you jump in you hit paydirt."

"Stratocaster-fueled, fierce slash-and-burn guitar work...dramatic, smoldering Southern soul-rooted intensity. Montoya’s voice is as expressive as his guitar." –Washington Post

"Montoya is a show-stopper...heartfelt singing and merciless guitar with a wicked icy burn. He swings like a jazz man and stings like the Iceman, Albert Collins. He is one of the truly gifted blues artists of his generation." –Living Blues

Legendary blues-rock guitarist and vocalist Coco Montoya returns to Alligator Records with his new album, Hard Truth, set for March 24 release. Taught by the “Master of the Telecaster,” Albert Collins, and schooled by John Mayall, Montoya -- who cut three successful CDs for Alligator between 2000 and 2007 -- has a hard-edged sound and style all his own, mixing his forceful, melodic guitar playing and passionate vocals with memorable songs, delivering the blues’ hardest truths.

On Hard Truth, Montoya unleashes one career-topping performance after another, the music immediately ranking among the best he’s ever recorded. Produced by Tony Braunagel  (Eric Burdon, Curtis Salgado, Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt), the album features eleven songs, each delivering a hard truth of its own. From the radio-friendly, gospel-inspired celebration of love, I Want To Shout About It, to the haunting Devil Don’t Sleep to the icy-hot cover of Albert Collins’ The Moon Is Full, Hard Truth covers a lot of emotional ground. Montoya’s unpredictable guitar playing and smoking soul vocals blend effortlessly with a backing band featuring renowned musicians bassist Bob Glaub (Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Jerry Lee Lewis), keyboardist Mike Finnigan (Jimi Hendrix, Etta James, Taj Mahal), guitarists Billy Watts (Eric Burdon) and Johnny Lee Schell (Bonnie Raitt), and Braunagel on drums. Slide guitar master Lee Roy Parnell guests on Lost In The Bottle.

Montoya earned his status as a master guitarist and soul-powered vocalist through years of paying his dues as a sideman with Albert Collins (first as a drummer) and then as a featured guitarist with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, before launching his solo career in 1993. Five years of constant touring with Collins and ten years with Mayall turned him into a monster player and dynamic performer. Montoya has released eight previous solo albums to great critical and popular acclaim, and has played at clubs, concert halls and major festivals all over the world. Guitar Player says Montoya plays “stunning, powerhouse blues with a searing tone, emotional soloing, and energetic, unforced vocals.”

Montoya will hit the ground running in support of Hard Truth, with dates for a North American tour beginning in March (full tour dates will be announced in early February). Still an indefatigable road warrior, Montoya continues to pack clubs and theaters around the world, and brings festival audiences to their feet from New York to New Orleans to Chicago to San Francisco. Across the globe, he’s performed in countries including Australia, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, England, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Mexico, Ecuador, Italy, Poland, Russia, Czech Republic and Canada. Vintage Guitar says, “Coco just keeps getting better and better...rockin’ blues with guitar that cuts straight to the heart of the matter. His guitar playing is funky and blistering; it’s perfect. Whatever he plays, he does it with fire and passion rarely seen in this day and age.”

Crain’s Chicago Business, the influential Windy City publication, has taken up the cause of convincing local government and business leaders to develop the visibility of the city’s blues scene to promote tourism.

In a January 21 editorial, the weekly backs writer Mark Guarino's argument in his January 13 Crain's story that the city of Chicago can and should do more to promote one of its greatest creations and most recognizable exports.[NOTE: after clicking the links above, click on "ALREADY A MEMBER Login Here" to access full article.]

Although the city produces the largest free blues festival in the world every June, the government otherwise does almost nothing to acknowledge its internationally known blues music heritage. Nor does the city government support or publicize the local clubs dedicated to presenting blues year-round, as cities such as Memphis and New Orleans do to great success.

Internet powerhouse The Daily Beast included rising star Chicago bluesman Toronzo Cannon among their 30 Most Intriguing Musicians Of 2017. Writer Ted Gioia says, "Toronzo Cannon is a bus driver for the Chicago Transit Authority by day. But by night, he is one of the hottest blues performers on the Chicago scene."

Cannon was recently nominated for four Blues Music Awards, including Album Of The Year and Contemporary Blues Album Of The Year for his Alligator debut, The Chicago Way. He was also nominated for Song Of The Year (for Walk It Off) and Contemporary Blues Male Artist Of The Year.

Cannon's songs – from searing blues anthems to swinging shuffles to soulful ballads to roof-raising rockers – tell timeless stories of common experiences in uncommon ways. MOJO magazine named his Alligator Records debut, The Chicago Way (produced by Cannon along with label president Bruce Iglauer), the #1 Blues CD Of 2016. The album earned the 2016 Living Blues Producer Of The Year Award for Cannon and Iglauer. The Chicago Way features all self-penned songs, inspired by Cannon's deep, homegrown Chicago roots and powered by his blistering guitar playing and soul-baring vocals.

Through the sheer force of his music, his songs and his live charisma, Cannon has become one of the city's most popular and recognizable blues artists. He’s battled his way to the top of the ultra-competitive Windy City blues scene, has already played multiple tours of Europe and continues to

Texas' Delaney Guitars recently built a signature model for Alligator artist Tommy Castro. The company has now announced the guitar -- "The CastroCaster" -- is available to the public.

The San Francisco Chronicle says Castro plays "“funky Southern soul, big city blues and classic rock… silvery guitar licks that simultaneously sound familiar and fresh.”

DownBeat calls the band's latest release, Method To My Madness, "a high water mark in their career."

Watch for a new album from Tommy Castro & The Painkillers later this year.