JP Soars & The Red Hots

The word is spreading like wildfire about JP Soars and The Red Hots! The winner of the International Blues Challenge is not awarded just because you have a cool name for your band. These guys earned that prestigious notification in 2009 because they got the chops and the desire to deliver the goods!
John Paul Soars from Arkansas has been around the block. A veteran guitarist possessing the ability to play many genres and styles, JP composes a good bit of his music, provides the vocals along with stellar guitar work peppered into just the right nooks and crannies of a song. The other two thirds of this tight three piece ensemble is; Chris Peets on Drums and percussion and Don "The Cougar" Gottleib on the bass. - both veteran musicians themselves.
So "Razorback Blues" invaded Orlando south of downtown at McWells -rapidly becoming the home of the blues in Central Florida. JP & The Red Hots dazzled the locals with material off their two recording sessions and some great renditions of blues standards thrown in as well. JP then whipped out his secret weapon; the two stringed  fretless Cigar Box Guitar, homemade by him and his brother back in Arkansas. Wow! Talk about lightning in a bottle, what a gut wrenching raw sound as he alternates finger picking and bottleneck slide throughout his cover of Johnny Guitar Watson's: Gangster of Love -a crowd favorite.  I had my trusty Nikon with me and managed to get some photographs during the two sets. I give JP Soars and the Red Hots five stars and encourage you to see them as they tour around 300 days out of the year! Go catch some Razorback Blues!

 

Eden Brent - Boogie Woogie Mississippi Blues

Some people are born to entertain. It is in their blood, their DNA or their genes. Eden Brent is one of these special musicians. Born in Mississippi, this lady from the south is one of the most talented musicians and singer songwriters I have ever come across. She strikes me as one of those very hospitable people that would say: Come on in, stay a while, I'll make some ice tea (or whatever) and we can sit at the kitchen table and catch up on life. However, sit her in front of a piano and she is in her comfort zone! Eden can belt out the blues with the throwback style of Bessie Smith,  Ma Rainey with a little bit of Janis Joplin peppered in. One of those people you could listen to all night long.
Her first recording was Mississippi Number One on Yellow Dog Records. In a word: Great. The latest recording is aptly named: Ain't Got No Troubles? It definitely has a New Orleans flavor to it, just lots of great music and vocals. Her piano chops are first rate. The sultry voice is icing on the cake. I urge you to listen to Eden. She will bring a smile to your face and a hop in your step.

 

Bronx Blues

Theodore Joseph Horowitz was born in The Bronx, New York City 1960. His stage name is Popa Chubby. Do not let the name misguide you into thinking some rapper or Hip Hop artist is attempting to play the blues. This man can play the blues. He is both a student and a teacher of the blues and his expertise on the Stratocaster is in a word amazing and literally off the charts. A product of the seventies Ted Horowitz grew up listening to the music of the sixties: The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Cream. New York Blues is aggressive and Popa Chubby delivers it that way: Full throttle and unrestrained. In 1994 he released several albums on his own label before landing a record contract with Sony/Okeh. In 2000 he signed with blues label Blind Pig and did several recording sessions with them. His music crosses over to the masses. I hear his instrumentals on talk shows and in the background of films constantly. The Hendrix side of Popa Chubby is scary close to spot on. His vocals are outstanding. Case in point: His cover of the classic composition; Hallelujah. Itunes offers The Essential Popa Chubby which I highly recommend. Please check out the live HD concert in Germany of Hey Joe! Popa Chubby is making a point for the Bronx Blues and is currently in the studio recording new tracks.

James Moore - Aka Slim Harpo

Yet another influential  Louisiana blues man. James Moore was  born 1924 in Baton Rouge, actually Lobdell, a small place in the western part of the parish. A working man all of his life, James was a Longshoreman and a construction worker in the late 1930's and 1940's. He began preforming in Baton Rouge bars under the name "Harmonica Slim" and later accompanied by his brother- in- law "Lightning Slim" Producer J.D. "Jay" Miller actually gave him the nickname; Slim Harpo. It stuck and in 1957 he began writing and  recording a slue of hits for Excello Records out of Nashville. "I'm A King Bee" and "I Got Love If You Want It" were two of his most memorable compositions. "Rainin' In My Heart" (1961) was a Rock n Roll Hall of Fame inductee. Also one of the first cross-over hits ever on the Billboard Charts in 1966 was "Baby Scratch My Back".
The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds and Pink Floyd all featured Slims songs on their early recordings. American artists got on board with the Slim sound, as ZZ Top's La Grange famous guitar riff is borrowed from Harpo's 1966 hit: "Shake Your Hips". Not to mention The Fabulous Thunderbirds covers of his songs. The new Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey Whiskey TV Commercial features the Slim Harpo's song "I'm A King Bee"
Never a full-time musician, Harpo owned his own trucking company during the 1960's. He died in 1970 following a heart attack at the young age of 46.  I think he was just getting started on what he could have contributed to the blues world. He was a major influence and continues to be.