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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.

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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.

http://www.dennisjonescentral.com/

Both Sides Of The Track is the fifth album from L.A.-based Dennis Jones and it’s a meaty slab of guitar-led modern blues-rock with a solid helping of funk on the side.

Ably supported by the dynamic rhythm section of Dale Black on bass and Raymond Johnson on drums, singer-guitarist Jones (who also wrote all the tracks) serves up 13 tracks that cover the full range of the blues-rock spectrum. At one end, there’s the balls-to-the-wall rock of “It All Depends” with its ascending start-stop verse chord progression and the wah-driven “Nobody’s Slave” where Jones sings with barely-concealed fury over the top of a descending chord progression that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Guns & Roses’ album. At the other end, there’s the upbeat acoustic guitar and harp of “What” and the modern acoustic shuffle of “Lonely Joint” with its striking lyrical image, ostensibly of a joint falling out of someone’s pocket onto the street but with the clear undertone addressing the wider societal problem of homelessness.

Jones sings in a smooth, warm, powerful baritone, which is especially effective on the gentler “When You’re Not Around.” He also plays incendiary lead guitar, firing licks and solos across the tracks like a modern day Johnny Winter.

The heart of the album is muscular blues-rock, as on “Skin And Bone”, where Jones artfully contrasts acoustic verses with roaring riff-driven choruses before a full band breakdown for the start of his solo, which slowly builds back up again to the ferocious chorus. But Jones and his compadres are equally impressive on the funky uptown blues shuffle of “Number Two”, the Albert King-esque slow blues of “Mr Right” or when dialing back the overdrive, as on the funky “Better Than Him”, where the results are particularly outstanding.

“The Machine” hints at Jimi Hendrix in its wah’ed guitar and pounding drums, with its angry lyrical observation that ““The American dream is fading fast, do you feel free [cue bitter laugh from Jones]? Free at last?” Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan (both for the solos) and Jimmy Page (for the song dynamics) are indicative of some of the more discernable influences on Both Sides Of The Track.
And, while Jones’ band is ostensibly a trio, he cleverly uses over-dubs as well as guest appearances from Jimmy Z Zavala on harmonica (“What”) and saxophone (“Enjoy The Ride”) and Teddy Zigzag on the B3 organ (“When You’re Not Around”) to add flavour and texture to the overall sound.

This album makes it clear that Dennis Jones must be an amazing experience in a live setting, particularly in the band’s clever use of dynamics. But this is not meant as a criticism of the CD. With well-constructed songs, smart lyrics, excellent production and ferocious playing, there is a lot to enjoy on Both Sides Of The Track. If you are a fan of modern blues-rock, you’ll definitely want to hear Dennis Jones.

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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)

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The Sons of The Soul Revivers were recorded live at Rancho Nicasio, a Marin County (Ca.) roadhouse famed for presenting roots music, during two sold out shows for the kind of mainstream audiences that don’t get to hear traditional gospel quartets very often, if ever.

And now even more people will be able to experience some of the musical frisson of those nights thanks to this new release by the Little Village Foundation, a nonprofit founded by blues keyboardist Jim Pugh to put out music that would otherwise be overlooked by commercial record labels.

“When we sing, people say, ‘I felt something,’ and they wonder what it is,” says the Sons’ Dwayne Morgan. “We tell them that some people call it energy, but we call it the Holy Spirit. And it moves. It touches people’s hearts.”

Dwayne, 45, and his older brothers, James Morgan, 50, and Walter Morgan Jr., 55, form the vocal core of the group. They’ve been singing together in church since they were kids.

Walter Jr., who also plays guitar, founded the Sons in 1970 to continue the quartet tradition that the brothers’ father, Walter Sr., and his brothers started with the original Soul Revivers. The Sons are rounded out by Oliver “Petie” Calloway on drums and bassist “Q” Johnson.

“Quartets are down home with a groove that’s out of this world,” Morgan says. “When you get a good, driving fast song and that beat locks in, oh, my goodness, you can’t help but skip.”

With their new album and recent exposure to audiences outside the church, the Sons are hoping to follow the crossover success of gospel groups like Southern California’s Mighty Clouds of Joy, the Blind Boys of Alabama and the Dixie Hummingbirds.

“We’re in our prime right now,” Morgan says. “Before we get any older, we want to get exposed to as many people as we can across the world. We’re broadening our horizons. Our dreams are coming true.”

Event Notes:

San Jose Jazz is promoting this event as part of their Winter Fest Series and the ticket sale proceeds will benefit the Fountain Blues Foundation. This organization is responsible for keeping American Blues & Roots music alive in the local community and supports one of the oldest blues festivals in the Nation. This year’s 39th Annual Blues Festival will be held in Downtown San Jose on Saturday, June 20th 2020.

The Studio is located next to the Poor House Bistro @ 87 S. Autumns Street.

Entrance is facing the Diridon Train Station.

Doors open at 10:30am.

Seating is first come first served.

The Brunch will be served Buffet Style and includes:

Fried Chicken & Waffles

Pecan Pancakes & fruit

Jambalaya Scramble

Veggie Scramble

Slow Roasted Pork or Beef w/ Creamy Grits

Buttermilk Biscuits & Gravy

Beignets

Fried Bread Pudding

Coffee, Juice, Water

Join us at PHB as we gear up for Fat Tuesday with a kick off party on Monday, Lundi Gras! To go along with BOILED CRAWFISH, by the pound and great food and drink specials, we’ll be crowning this years’ Poor House Bistro King & Queen of Mardi Gras!

Oh, and KING CAKE!

http://rhythmtown-jive.com/

RHYTHMTOWN-JIVE is an exciting American roots combo featuring accomplished San Francisco Bay Area musicians recognized nationally for their versatility and outstanding skill. With rich vocal harmonies and tasty saxophone-based instrumentals, they offer infectious dance music, delivering inventive, original ’40s and ’50s influenced rhythm & blues, zydeco, jump-swing, rock & roll and New Orleans gems. They have a deep sense of the feel and mechanics of the essential grooves of these American roots styles. As a back-up group they are in demand and recognized as journeymen in their field, having worked with, among others: Bo Diddley, Big Joe Turner, Johnnie Johnson, Earl King, Robert Ward, Long John Hunter and New Orleans rock & roll sax innovator Lee Allen. They were the featured house band at the 15th annual Sacramento Blues Festival. The RJs are fronted by Tim Eschliman (founding member of the Christmas Jug Band), vocalist and bassist, who was formerly with Etta James, Commander Cody, and the Moonlighters, whose “Rush Hour” release was produced by Nick Lowe.

As individuals their credentials also include engagements performing with (not opening for): La Vern Baker, Queen Ida, Al Rapone, Ernie K-Doe, Gary U. S. Bonds, Herb Hardesty, Kinky Friedman & The Texas Jewboys, Frankie Ford, The Nightcrawlers, Sly & The Family Stone, Leo Nocentelli, Syl Johnson, Big Jay McNeely, Jesse Colin Young, Boz Scaggs, Don & Dewey, the Temptations, Elvin Bishop, the Coasters, T-Bone Walker, Roy Rogers, Earl King, Joe “Louis” Walker, The Coasters, Little Anthony, and The Drifters.

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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.

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The Bay Area’s own Chrome Deluxe is a unique and talented band of musicians who share a passion for music and performance. The band provides high quality entertainment for private and public functions; including top Bay Area nightclubs, corporate events and festivals.

Chrome Deluxe has gained a reputation as one of the most diverse R&B, Swing and Blues based bands in the Bay Area with their own special take on both classics and current favorites. Particularly popular with fans who like to dance. The group draws from the innovators of American music while translating the music into their own sound and bringing the audience quality entertainment and a truly fun musical experience.

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The Joint Chiefs are one of the most versatile and exciting dance bands currently performing on the Northern California music scene. Since their inception in 1990, The Joint Chiefs have built a loyal following based on their live performances as well as their wide range of styles and influences.

Their sound fuses elements of funk, acid jazz and classic R&B with their own signature groove. The result is a dance party of infectious grooves.

Since members of the band were raised on 70’s funk, the band is able to capture the real natural funk feel that all the other bands try to imitate.

With a repertoire of over 200 songs and a history of hundreds of performances in the Bay Area’s most popular venues, The Joint Chiefs play everything from low volume instrumental jazz to full blown dance crazed funk. In addition to the nightclub and dinnerhouse venues, they have become a favorite for weddings, festivals and corporate parties.

The Joint Chiefs have amassed an impressive resume of performances. One listen proves this band can deliver the goods on disc as well as on stage!