GUY DAVIS

Appearances

• The Bullfrog Blues Club - The Albert Bar South Parade Pier - Thursday 27th June 2002

Legendary New York acoustic bluesman Guy Davis arrives in England next week for a short tour. His first port of call is the Radio 2 studios for a BBC session, but a week later he's at the Bullfrog Blues & Roots Club on South Parade Pier, Southsea, for his only South Coast gig on the tour.

Guy is a musician, composer, actor, director, and writer, but most importantly, he's a bluesman, dedicating himself to reviving the traditions of acoustic blues through the material of the great blues masters, African American stories, and his own original songs & stories.

Raised in New York city, Guy taught himself the guitar by listening to and watching other musicians. He grew up hearing about life in the rural south from his parents and grandparents, and their tales made their way into his own stories and songs. With wide and varied influences it was through Taj Mahal that he found his way to the old time blues.

Throughout his life, Davis has had overlapping interests in music and acting. In 1993 he performed off-Broadway as legendary blues player Robert Johnson in "Robert Johnson: Trick the Devil." He received rave reviews and won the Blues Foundation's W.C. Handy "Keeping the Blues Alive Award."

In 1995 Guy's stunning live album "Stomp Down Rider" topped lists all over the U.S.A. whilst his next album, "Call Down the Thunder" solidified Davis' position as one of the most important blues artists of our time, and was named a top ten blues album of the year. "Acoustic Guitar" magazine called it "one of the thirty essential CDs from a new generation of performers".

Davis' third album, "You Don't Know My Mind" displayed his breadth as a composer and powerhouse performer. Davis' tough, timeless vocals blow through your brain like a Mississippi dust devil. Davis reminds you that the blues started as dance music. This is blues made for humming along, stomping your foot, feeling righteous in the face of oppression and expressing gratitude to your baby for greasing your skillet.

Guy Davis' song, "You Don't Know My Mind" was included in the compilation "From Mali to Memphis", which also included not only tracks by West African artists but also legendary blues performers like Muddy Waters, and Mississippi John Hurt, through today's artists like Taj Mahal, John Lee Hooker and Ry Cooder.