MUSIC CALENDAR

Each week Aki brings with him a special guest performer!

www.akikumar.com/tuesday-night-blues-jam

About Aki Kumar:

Dynamic frontman & harp player Aki Kumar is a bonafide star among the next generation of West Coast blues artists and the world’s first professional blues harmonica player to hail from India. A master of the hugely influential Chicago blues sound, Kumar inherits his style from the harp legends of the 1950s and 60s. Aki has a unique voice in the blues, blending elements of blues harmonica pioneers of yesteryear with a signature sound of his own.

“..old school blues at its finest by way of India. And the lad has soul to spare.”
Dan Aykroyd aka Elwood Blues

Born and raised in Bombay (now Mumbai) – India, Kumar has long established his mark on the West Coast blues scene as a top-notch frontman, vocalist , entertainer and blues harp player. The Aki Kumar Blues Band has been the culmination of his journey through American roots music and constantly showcases his ever-evolving sound. This band performs vintage blues with tremendous skill and energy and is guaranteed to entertain audiences across all venues, from intimate listening rooms to large festivals.

“(Kumar) has a natural propensity for the music, with a rich, deep tone and a sensitive, economic style that emphasizes feel over flash.”
Jonny Whiteside, LA TIMES

In recent years, Aki Kumar has performed all across the United States and internationally (Norway, Finland, Sweden, Germany, UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Brazil, Chile, India), collaborating with some of the top blues artists on the scene. He has also contributed his blues harmonica licks to numerous recordings produced on the West Coast in the last decade, including several albums produced at the world renowned Greaseland Studios. This year marks another exciting year for Aki Kumar, with upcoming recording projects, internationals appearances and other musical collaborations across the world.

Thompson was born in Oakland, California, United States, and had mastered basic guitar and slide guitar techniques by his mid-teens.[1] He was educated at Newark Memorial High School, in Newark, California.[2] In the early 1970s, Thompson played backing to Little Joe Blue, and worked solo and as a sideman in San Francisco Bay Area clubs. He joined John Lee Hooker’s backing band in 1975, staying with him for three years. In 1980, Thompson formed his own group, the Resisters, and secured a recording contract with Takoma Records.[1] He played at the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1978, 1979 and 1983.

In 1983, he released his debut album, Treat Her Like Gold. Thompson also found employment separately working with Lowell Fulson, Etta James and Big Mama Thornton. Thompson’s second album Resister Twister was released in 1987 and nominated for a Grammy Award,[3] plus 1990’s Just Like a Devil, was taken from his work on Mark Naftalin’s Blue Monday Party radio show.[1]

Thompson’s 2007 album, Resonator was a purely acoustic production.[3]

Pianist Sid Morris as a teenager in the 60’s he began playing piano in a blues band with South Bay blues pioneer Gary Smith. Gary later introduced him to pianist Alberto Gianquinto, a San Francisco native who was a member of the original James Cotton Blues Band. For a short time in the early 70’s, Alberto was his mentor. Currently residing in San Jose, Sid has been performing since 1970 and continues to be an active member of the San Francisco Bay Area music community. Raised in Houston, Texas before his family moved to the South Bay, Sid performed at the very first San Francisco Blues Festival in 1973 and subsequently appeared at four other SF Blues Festivals. During his early years on the scene, Sid was mentored by Alberto Gianquinto. In 1976, Sid participated in the now legendary recording of the album, Blue Bay, an anthology featuring the elite of Bay Area musicians.

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“Mighty Mike Schermer is probably the best blues guitarist, singer and songwriter you’ve never heard of…and probably not for long!” – Tommy Castro

“Every time I play with him my booty hurts afterwards from him kicking it all night!” – Elvin Bishop

“Funky and authentic!” – Bonnie Raitt

Mighty Mike Schermer was a fixture on the Bay Area blues scene for over 20 years when he relocated to Austin TX in 2009 and joined the touring band of swamp-boogie piano legend Marcia Ball. He carved out a solid solo career, with four critically acclaimed CDs, an award winning single and thousands of performances at festivals and nightclubs the world over. He also became the “go to guy” sideman for such heavyweights as Elvin Bishop, Maria Muldaur, Angela Strehli, Bonnie Raitt, Howard Tate, Charlie Musselwhite, Sista Monica, Shana Morrison and many, many more. Oh yes…we may be judged by the company we keep, but when the spotlight shines a solo artist also must be able to bring the goods all on his own.

Mighty Mike Schermer delivers on all fronts.

Charlie Lange of Bluebeat Music writes “…equally at ease with hard-ass blues or the spare necessities of vintage soul, Schermer steps forward with clever tunes, sturdy vocals and loads of great guitar!” Paul Liberatore of the Marin Independent Journal calls him “… one of the most extraordinary guitarists of the new generation.”

Mike’s musical journey started at age ten…fumbling around with guitar, trumpet and clarinet. He played in school and in various rock and roll bands throughout his teens, but everything changed one night in 1984 when he plunked down three dollars to see The Master of The Telecaster – Albert Collins. “Albert hit that first note,” says Schermer ” and it was like a door slammed behind me and another one opened up in front. That was the sound and the soul and the feeling I’d been looking for in music up to that point.” He met Collins after the show and many times later until Collins’ untimely death. “One time I went to see him at the San Francisco Blues Festival” Mighty Mike remembers, “and I got backstage and went over to his bus to say hello. I knocked on the door and heard a voice…‘hey, I’m under here’…he was changing the oil!” That do-it-yourself, workingman’s attitude is what has kept Schermer in the blues all these years. It is a tradition he carries out on stage each and every night. From Collins Mike also learned that one note can say more than a million; to honor your heroes but have your own sound; to play your ass off at every single show; and that every guitar player in the world should listen to T-Bone Walker.”

When Albert Collins tells you to go out and get some T-Bone Walker records you RUN out to the nearest record shop and then get to work. Mike plunged headlong into the T-Bone Walker style and literally came up swingin’. Lee Hildebrand wrote in Living Blues that Schermer “…has thoroughly internalized the Walker vocabulary, which he uses as a jumping off point for his own highly personal improvisations…(he) stands shoulder to shoulder with Roy Gaines and Duke Robillard as a leading contemporary exponent of the Walker style.”

From T-Bone Walker, Schermer expanded his vocal and guitar influences to include a host of blues, R&B and jazz artists like Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett, Jimmy Smith, Charles Brown and Howlin’ Wolf. Ears began to turn…the next thing you know Mike had attracted the attention of west coast harmonica master Andy Santana. Along with drummer June Core and bassist Steve Ehrmann they formed The Soul Drivers, a legendary Bay Area band that had the rare ability to either steal the show on their own or provide superb backing to better known artists such as Willie Dixon, Jimmy Rogers, Billy Boy Arnold, Luther Tucker, Snooky Pryor, Elvin Bishop and Tommy Castro. Texas blues belter Angela Strehli had recently moved to California and quickly tapped the Soul Drivers as her touring band. Strehli’s “Deja Blue” (1998), with Mighty Mike as musical director and guitarist, was nominated for a California Music Award (BAMMIE) for Best Contemporary Blues Release. Schermer has more BAMMIE connections. The year before in 1997 the Soul Drivers were asked to be house band for the Bay Area Blues Showcase at the awards show where they backed up Bonnie Raitt, Booker T., Joe Louis Walker, the Gospel Hummingbirds and Strehli. Austin deLone was the musical director of the BAMMIES at that time. He and Mike have since worked together in several incarnations, including a big Tribute to R&B concert at Bumbershoot 2003 in Seattle, WA where they backed Bonnie, Howard Tate, Ruth Brown, Shemekia Copeland, Maxi Priest and more in front of 30,000 fans!

Willie Dixon told him, “Boy, you play your ass off,” while Snooky Pryor lauded his “stingin’ guitar.” At a show at the legendary Sweetwater in Mill Valley, CA in 1996 Bonnie Raitt dubbed Schermer her “new favorite guitar player.”

The Mighty Mike Schermer Band’s debut release 1st Set (2000) received rave reviews and success worldwide and is still popular on the scene today, but it was the 2005 release of Next Set that introduced Schermer to the modern blues world as one of the genre’s foremost songwriters. Propelled by the hit single “My Big Sister’s Radio” Next Set climbed the Living Blues Radio Charts, scored three and a half stars in Downbeat magazine and was #1 on XM radio for well over three months. The song also found it’s way into the Carolina Beach Music scene, and in 2006 it was awarded the CMBA’s National Song of the Year. Blues star Tommy Castro also covered the song on his Painkiller CD, which won a 2008 Blues Music Award (Handy Award) for best contemporary album.

In 2006 blues/rock legend Elvin Bishop hired Schermer on as his lead guitarist. The blending of their two unique styles proved a tough combination to beat. Elvin’s release The Blues Rolls On (2008) puts Mighty Mike side by side with some of the best guitarists in the business including Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks and even the king of the blues himself – B.B. King! In 2011 Mike was heavily featured on Marcia Ball’s Roadside Attractions CD. His extensive discography also includes recordings with Maria Muldaur, Howard Tate, Sista Monica and many more.

He has toured through a host of festivals including 3 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festivals, 5 San Francisco Blues Festivals, the Poretta Soul Festival in Italy, the Park Tower Blues Festival in Tokyo and as a hometown favorite at 8 Santa Cruz Blues Festivals. He has performed in all 50 US states and in 21 countries around the world, and the journey is far from over!

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Chris Cain’s jazz-tinged, blues soaked guitar and deep, warm vocals have the maturity and authenticity of bluesmen many years his senior. His expressive style is the result of a lifetime of study and the relentless pursuit of music mastery. His passion and intensity are a blend of his mother’s Greek ancestry and his father’s soulful black heritage.

“Nowadays most young blues players are Strat-wielding Stevie Ray Vaughan-a-bes. Not Chris Cain. With a voice that recalls B.B. King and a thick toned Gibson guitar sound reminiscent of Albert King, Cain is forging a unique style. With his own highly personalized songwriting, “Hall Of Shame” is a giant step in the development of one of the most compelling young bluesmen on today’s scene.”
-Larry Nager (syndicated Scripts-Howard music critic)

Biography
As a singer, he is by known by many as a “bourbon-esque” crooner, performing standards from the Great American Songbook, to others he is a curious oracle of soul and the blues. A pianist and songwriter since childhood, Johnny has arranged and produced two CD’s of his original compositions.
Currently hosting “In the Pocket with Johnny Fabulous” on SCTV, a Santa Cruz television show featuring music and art, Johnny Fabulous also is a performing artist with the Young At Heart Project which provides one hour music shows for senior communities throughout the Bay area. As a vocal coach and piano instructor, Johnny draws upon decades of experience to nurture the growth and development of his students. Johnny Fabulous continues to perform his unique and very distinctive style of music in the Bay area club scene.

Each week Aki brings with him a special guest performer!

www.akikumar.com/tuesday-night-blues-jam

About Aki Kumar:

Dynamic frontman & harp player Aki Kumar is a bonafide star among the next generation of West Coast blues artists and the world’s first professional blues harmonica player to hail from India. A master of the hugely influential Chicago blues sound, Kumar inherits his style from the harp legends of the 1950s and 60s. Aki has a unique voice in the blues, blending elements of blues harmonica pioneers of yesteryear with a signature sound of his own.

“..old school blues at its finest by way of India. And the lad has soul to spare.”
Dan Aykroyd aka Elwood Blues

Born and raised in Bombay (now Mumbai) – India, Kumar has long established his mark on the West Coast blues scene as a top-notch frontman, vocalist , entertainer and blues harp player. The Aki Kumar Blues Band has been the culmination of his journey through American roots music and constantly showcases his ever-evolving sound. This band performs vintage blues with tremendous skill and energy and is guaranteed to entertain audiences across all venues, from intimate listening rooms to large festivals.

“(Kumar) has a natural propensity for the music, with a rich, deep tone and a sensitive, economic style that emphasizes feel over flash.”
Jonny Whiteside, LA TIMES

In recent years, Aki Kumar has performed all across the United States and internationally (Norway, Finland, Sweden, Germany, UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Brazil, Chile, India), collaborating with some of the top blues artists on the scene. He has also contributed his blues harmonica licks to numerous recordings produced on the West Coast in the last decade, including several albums produced at the world renowned Greaseland Studios. This year marks another exciting year for Aki Kumar, with upcoming recording projects, internationals appearances and other musical collaborations across the world.

Thompson was born in Oakland, California, United States, and had mastered basic guitar and slide guitar techniques by his mid-teens.[1] He was educated at Newark Memorial High School, in Newark, California.[2] In the early 1970s, Thompson played backing to Little Joe Blue, and worked solo and as a sideman in San Francisco Bay Area clubs. He joined John Lee Hooker’s backing band in 1975, staying with him for three years. In 1980, Thompson formed his own group, the Resisters, and secured a recording contract with Takoma Records.[1] He played at the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1978, 1979 and 1983.

In 1983, he released his debut album, Treat Her Like Gold. Thompson also found employment separately working with Lowell Fulson, Etta James and Big Mama Thornton. Thompson’s second album Resister Twister was released in 1987 and nominated for a Grammy Award,[3] plus 1990’s Just Like a Devil, was taken from his work on Mark Naftalin’s Blue Monday Party radio show.[1]

Thompson’s 2007 album, Resonator was a purely acoustic production.[3]

Pianist Sid Morris as a teenager in the 60’s he began playing piano in a blues band with South Bay blues pioneer Gary Smith. Gary later introduced him to pianist Alberto Gianquinto, a San Francisco native who was a member of the original James Cotton Blues Band. For a short time in the early 70’s, Alberto was his mentor. Currently residing in San Jose, Sid has been performing since 1970 and continues to be an active member of the San Francisco Bay Area music community. Raised in Houston, Texas before his family moved to the South Bay, Sid performed at the very first San Francisco Blues Festival in 1973 and subsequently appeared at four other SF Blues Festivals. During his early years on the scene, Sid was mentored by Alberto Gianquinto. In 1976, Sid participated in the now legendary recording of the album, Blue Bay, an anthology featuring the elite of Bay Area musicians.

VIEW WEBSITE | VIEW A VIDEO

Here’s what folks are saying about The Ice Queen:

“She’s one of the most dangerous guitar slingers on the planet!” Billy F Gibbons (ZZ Top)

”The Ice Queen is on fire!” The Austin Chronicle

“…an exceptional modern blues album” AllmusicGuide

“Her playing and singing are of the highest order!” Exclaim!

“It’s time to consider Foley the very top tier of blues stars…” Bob Mersereau, CBC

Sue Foley is a multi-award-winning musician and of the one of the finest blues and roots artists working today. She is a veritable triple-threat of musical talent as a guitarist, songwriter and vocalist. As with many blues women of the past, Foley has a long history of defying convention, and being a positive role model for aspiring, young female musicians.

The Canadian has been working professionally since the age of 16, and by the age of 21, Foley had relocated to Austin, TX and began recording for Antone’s—the esteemed blues label and historic nightclub that helped launch the career of Stevie Ray Vaughan and many others. In the two decades that have followed, Sue Foley has been busy touring and recording steadily, all while toting her signature pink paisley Fender Telecaster. In 2001, she won the prestigious Juno Award (Canadian equivalent of the Grammy) and also holds the record for the most Maple Blues Awards and has earned three Trophees de Blues de France. She has also garnered several nominations at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis, TN.

With 11 recordings under her own name, an instructional DVD and book, as well as various compilations and projects, Foley is set to release her new album, The Ice Queen (March 2, 2018) on Stony Plain Records. “I’m extremely excited to be working with Holger Petersen and Stony Plain Records. Holger is one of the most knowledgeable “real music” people in the business”, says Foley. “Stony Plain is known to put out great music and I know The Ice Queen has found her home.”

Recorded throughout 2017, The Ice Queen represents Foley’s full circle journey – her return to the roots of her career in Austin with producer Mike Flanigin. The album was recorded with her long-time friends and collaborators Jimmie Vaughan and Billy F Gibbons (ZZ Top) as well Chris ‘Whipper’ Layton from Double Trouble, Charlie Sexton, and members of the Tedeschi Trucks and Gary Clark Jr bands.

“When I was a teenager I idolized Jimmie Vaughan and Billy F Gibbons,” Foley says. “They’re both legends now so this feels like an historical event (at least it does for me). And I grew up sitting at the feet of players like George ‘Big Beat’ Rains, Derek O’Brien and The Texas Horns. I spent many nights watching Charlie Sexton and the Arc Angels with Chris Layton. I learned and grew more musically in my years in Austin than at any point in my life. The fact that all these mega talented musicians have graced my album is beyond anything I hoped for. I am still pinching myself.”

A flood of inspiration and themes can be found on each of the tracks – ranging from lost love, anguish, and struggle to release, forgiveness and rebirth. Mostly recorded live-off-the-floor, Foley’s emotional vocal delivery, conviction, accessible yet inspired lyrics and intrepid guitar playing are all laid out, bare and raw for the songs to reveal.

Opening with the radio friendly and funky “Come to Me”, The Ice Queen also features upbeat and rollicking tracks “Run”, “The Lucky ones” (a duet with Jimmie Vaughan) and “Gaslight”. There are several bluesy and soulful tracks including “81”, “The Ice Queen”, “Fool’s Gold” (featuring Billy F Gibbons on vocals and harmonica)”, “If I Have Forsaken You”, and a cheeky, guitar-heavy cover of Bessie Smith’s “Send Me To The ‘Lectric Chair”. Foley also provides some more mellow and unexpected songs on The Ice Queen with the jazzy “Death of a Dream”, the flamenco-blues hybrid “The Dance” and a beautiful cover of the Carter Family’s “Cannonball Blues”.

The Ice Queen represents Sue Foley’s indefatigable commitment to her craft, and her transparency with the journey that birthed her, further proving that
you can’t keep a good blueswoman down, particularly when she is The Ice Queen.

suefoley.com

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Hailing from San Francisco, CA Wee Willie Walker and the Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra epitomize the time- honored, authentic spirit of American Soul Music. In 2015 they met and made their debut public appearance at the perpetually revered Porretta Soul Festival, in Porretta, Italy. Inspired by their magic of that performance and immediate mutual respect, they agreed to continue working together on a permanent basis. The group recently released their rst recording collaboration, AFTER A WHILE. Much of today’s music seems to be incomplete, as far as honest, emotional vocal expressions are concerned, and the listener is often left need- ing more. AFTER A WHILE lls that need, and stands alone. Relatable, empathetic songwriting; pure, heart-sung vocals; and supportive, passionate instrumental performances seduce the listener’s ear with unexpected bliss. Wee Willie Walker and The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra are assured to be popular on Blues, Soul/Blues, and Americana radio, as well as continuing to be a festival circuit favorite.