Who is the Next Great Blues Guitarist?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Eric Cruise on -
I agree with Nighthawk.
Derek Trucks is amazing. He's already surpassed his mentors (Duane Allman , Elmore James , etc) and he's still young. He's exploring all types of rock , blues , jazz and world music ; and lighting them all up as he goes. He COULD be the next great blues guitarist....but it doesn't seem like he's looking for the "blues" label just yet.
I'm also curious to see what happens in the future to "young guns" Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Jonny Lang. They both burst onto the scene very young and very talented , but quickly took a detour from the blues for a shot at rockstardom. Neither got far in that direction. KWS rebounded with his "10 Days Out" project , but no idea what Lang is up to. Both of these "kids" had early success without doing much in the way of "dues paying". Maybe they're paying some now , and will come back to the blues....bringing some soul with them this time :)
E.C.
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Permalink Reply by Geoff Wilbourn on -
The young man I have been working with the past year or so is real good. One of the best unknown players I have seen in a while. He plays with such emotion it will take your breath away sometimes. He did a great set in March of this year at Buddy Guy's with a real close friend of mine. He helped close the show. His name is Joel Pingitore and he is the newest US Masters Guitar endorsed artist. He is the lone blues artist in the US Masters family. Right now most of the bands shows are in the Madison, Wisconsin area. They will be in Daytona for bike week for 7 shows. You can hear some rough demo and live tunes at www.joelpingitore.com
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Permalink Reply by Dariel Bendin on -
Another guitarist to check out is Rickey Godfrey in Nashville, TN. Musicians who have worked with him can't say enough about him. When he played at the 2008 Lowcountry Blues Bash in Charleston, SC, event organizer Gary Erwin said, "Revelation! Rickey Godfrey is the best blues guitarist you've never heard of!" You can hear some of his music on MySpace at www.myspace.com/therickeygodfreyband .
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Permalink Reply by Daniel Rogers on -
Derek Is a Wonderful player= I saw him at Red Rocks with The Allman Brothers back in 2003...
However,
One things for Certain: Duane "SkyDog" Allman Was & Is The Greatest Slide Guitarist That Ever Lived... & Therefore Derek hasnt Surpassed Anything Regarding Duane & Never Will...
Only Ry Cooder himself could come close to being called The Greatest Living Slide Guitarist..
But Duane Allman will never be Equal to ANYONE on the Slide EVER
Eat A Peach For Peace
Danny Guitar Rogershttp://www.livebluesworld.com/forum/topics/1598513:Topic:24638?id=1598513%3ATopic%3A24638&page=4#comments
Chicago SouthSide
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Permalink Reply by John O'Leary blues harp on -
Why must the validity of developments in blues be so tethered to blues guitarists and which shredder will be the next genius? There is so much more to the music. In order for this genre of music to survive it needs real singers and lyrics which honestly reflect the language and the life we live today. We don't need another guitar hero............
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Permalink Reply by Cole Prior Stevens on -
I just read this discussion from top to bottom and I find it pretty interesting so I just had to jump in! I have to agree with many of folks on who their candidate for the next great blues guitarist should be and why. One thing for sure, we all seem to be enjoying a prolific renaissance of great players in the blues right now, by and large, because of the amazing influences that have set the bar in the past. We have many to thank (above & below the radar)... and that is a good thing!
Some of the bar setters have been mentioned... Robert, Muddy, John Lee, Hendrix, SRV... and the list goes on! They all had pretty influential impact and without them, blues guitar players like myself would still be wandering aimlessly in a stagnant sea of mediocrity. What a beautiful wave of inspiration they bestowed on us!
As a slide player, I focus and draw upon people like the pre-war master sliders and contemporary slide players for my inspiration. Trucks and Landreth being some serious contemporary heavyweights. Paul Black is the guy who really does it for me and it is a shame the King Dollar CD is pretty much his only gift to the world. But in discussion, it always seems that a musician's attributes is divided between technical musical gifts or his/her skills conveying the human and Divine experience with the music.
Before November of 1997, I was pretty focused for many years with the technical and musical side of the art craft of blues. You could say that I was attempting to think my way into feeling. That is pretty typical of my approach when it comes to expressing emotions. For those who know me personally they would laughingly agree! Where it all changed for me personally is when I had a once in a life time opportunity to open for John Lee Hooker in my old hometown at the Fox Theater in Bakersfield CA. As it turned out, this event was his last concert of the year (of which I'm certain) and perhaps his life (I'm not sure) because he passed away the following spring as I recall.
Coco Montoya also opened for him that evening which made it that much more special for me because he is one of my favorite lefty players. John Lee only played 6 tunes... which wasn't much by performance standards, but it seemed like eternity! I'm here to tell you it was so intense and gut wrenching... John Lee was actually doing us a favor because anything more than that would be more than anyone could endure in one sitting.
I remember reading an interview in a magazine about him years earlier where he said that blues is a healer and that it is the responsibility for blues players to do just that... to express music in a way that people are healed in some way. He went on to say that if you achieving that, you weren't playing the blues. I am paraphrasing him but that was his message about what he felt a bluesman's mission was. As he played is last song, he set his guitar down and with great effort he slowly stood up from the chair he sat in. He took the mic off the stand and walked up to the front of the stage and raised his hand and shouted HEAL over and over to an all standing crowd of 3,000 people which many had pushed forward and stood in front of the stage with both hands raised waving back and forth as if they were in church to receive the Holy Spirit.
The band was grinding away in the background as he slowly walked from one end of the stage to the other shouting HEAL over and over!!! It was far beyond anything I had ever witnessed at a concert... ever! Coco & I stood shoulder to shoulder at the edge of the stage watching with jaws dropped in speechless wonder as an intense wave of real spiritual healing flooded over each and every one of us to bask in. I get chicken skin just thinking about it.
To me, this is what greatness is really all about. It was a awesome lesson and wake up call for me to get re-focused about how I could revisit and change my own personal path as a performing artist. Each of us who is willing to step out to give the gift and receive the gift of potential spiritual healing is the ultimate opportunity that humble healers like John Lee, Muddy and Jimi understood. When a particular player/healer resonates with you... well... you're gonna get healed 7 ways to Sunday because that's the way it works! It's a great church to be a part of for sure!
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Permalink Reply by Cap'n Geoff on -
Cole, that says a huge amount of comment..........and I agree with it all.
Blues is the best healer I know, ( well the best non-invasive, non-liquid, non-contact one.....)
Some interesting opinions on here.
I personally believe the best blues guitarist is the one you get next time around, playing live for you, up front, in close and meaning it. He or she is the best for you in your space & time right there.
So so so many great players around, surely it is impossible to say who is THE best?
Recently I was wowed by Catfish Keith, Paul Lamb Jnr, Ian Seagall and some more at lil' live shows. They all had unique style and were unafraid to let it show.
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Permalink Reply by Geoff Wilbourn on
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Yea it's too bad about Paul. He still plays in Madison every now and then but abuse has taken it's toll. He use to play every week with West Side Andy but was cut loose.
I have seen some great slide the past 2 years at our festival. Last year we had Glen Davis, Eric Sardinas, Sonny Landreth, and Jeremy Spencer. All 3 will be on the BamFest 2008 CD.
In 2007 we had Kraig Kenning (a personal fav of my wife) Rory Block, and Johnny Winter.
In 2006 I was amazed by a guy from Milwaukee named Terry Franks. We had to bail him out of the Waukesha county jail for the show but his playing was dead on even after not touching a guitar for 3 months.
Lots of great players out there and that is good for the blues.
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Permalink Reply by Joe Sanford on -
There are obviously a lot of great players out there. I feel it would be very difficult to single out who is the greatest as I don't think music should be a competive endeavor. Any music is a matter of personal taste. I am a guitar player but most of the bands that I really like do not feature guitar players. I enjoy bands with great horn sections and great rhythm guitar like Steve Cropper. I like the guitar players who play with a lot of feeling as mentioned by several. There is always someone who catches my attention for awhile. At the moment I am partial to Walter Trout.
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Permalink Reply by Rick Saunders on -
No one that anyone has mentioned Moves ME in the least. Are they skilled? No argument there. But as the saying goes The Blues Is a Feeling and I couldnt care less for pyrotechnics or flash or weedleweedle. As Mr. Van Zandt said "There's The Blues and then there's Zip-a-dee-doo-dah. I Vote for Blues:
Mr. Mark Holder OR Mississippi Gabe Carter
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Permalink Reply by Eric on -
Mark Holder crushes me. Every time I see him play. Feel it right down to the spine. It's the music, the voice, the man. All comes together just right. I feel real fortunate to have seen him once, back in his BDH days. Hope to get that chance again, if I find myself in his neck of the woods.
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Permalink Reply by Deep Blues Festival on -
Mark Porkchop Holder has a new self released cd out. Recorded the evening of Dec 20, 2009 at Fry Pharmacy, this cd has 14 tracks of wonderful music. Order online at Mark's myspace page through the paypal button or the Deep Blues Festival myspace page the same way.
Mark will be performing at the 2009 Deep Blues Festival.
http://www.myspace.com/markholdermusic
http://www.myspace.com/deepbluesfestival
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