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Showing posts with label Coco Montoya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coco Montoya. Show all posts
Friday, May 9, 2014
Behold the Bender!
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Ruf Records artist: Meena - Try Me - New Release Review
I have been listening to the newest release, Try Me, by Meena. The recording contains 9 original tracks as well as a few classics and Meena is backed by Dave Smith on bass, Steve Potts on drums, Rick Steff on keys, and Chris Fillmore on guitar. First up is the title track, James Brown's classic Try Me. Meena is backed on vocals by Vickie Atkins, Sandy Carroll and Amyee Bragg who give it a genuine soul flavor. Guest artist Joanne Shaw Taylor plays a beautiful melodic solo staying in character with the tune. Send Me A Doctor is a rock track with Eric Sardinas contributing some cool slide guitar flare. Put Your Hands Out Of My Pocket is a solid soul fused blues track showing Meena's vocal range and giving Chris Fillmore a chance to play some pretty tasty guitar riffs. This Song Is For You would work nicely on the airwaves with a classic hook and memorable tune. Again Fillmore plays some tasty guitar riffs topping up an already strong entry. Meena belts out an enriched version of I'd Rather Go Blind and Fillmore again plays a tasty guitar solo. On Let Your Sweet Love Shine On Me, Meena picks the tempo with a Zydeco rhythm. I Shoot You Down again features Eric Sardinas on slide guitar and he gives it a pretty good workout. The final track, Just As I Am, is the best track on the recording featuring Shakura S'Aida as a contrast to Meena and Coco Montoya really spices up the track with his red hot guitar soloing.
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Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Robert Mugge - All Jams On Deck - Film Review
I have had the pleasure to watch Robert Mugge's All Jams On Deck, a documentation of late night jams as they take place on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise. The scene opens with an interview of guitarist and band leader Tommy Castro and one of my absolute favorite artists, Elvin Bishop (the beginning of a dialog that continues throughout the film in clips). The film then cuts to a live jam with Castro and a backing band with guests including such luminaries as Commander Cody (Keys), Keith Crossan (sax), Randy Oxford (trombone), Tom Poole (trumpet), Mike Schermer (deluxe Tele). The first thing that strikes me is how incredibly clear the sound track is and how great of tone Tommy Castro is laying down. This film is incredibly clear considering that it is being shot in pitch black in the middle of the ocean! Tommy is playing a two pickup reverse Firebird and his tones are really creamy through what appears to be Blackface Super (one of my personal favorites). This first jam is a horn driven boogie and as much of a guitar geek I am, I have to commend all the players but especially Oxford who absolutely smoked me on his trombone!
Tommy explains how he plans out his set to give every guest musician the opportunity to jam without waiting all night to get on stage. The second jam cuts in with the addition of Coco Montoya playing his upside down Strat and it's clear as a bell. Lee Oskar is playing in this jam as well and really gets a unique sound from his harp. Everyone remembers Lee from his days with War (and subsequent solo career) and now the Lowrider Band. The Commander and the gang all take turns again with the addition of Ed Earley on trombone and George T. Gregory III on Bari sax. These guys lay down a real nice horn duel. The entire band gets into it and it stays tight and doesn't sound like everyone is trying to step on the other guy...one of my pet peeves with "Jam" sessions. A further interview clip adds guitarist Jimmy Thackery, Bluesville Program Director Bill Wax, and Blues and Jazz Record Producer Bob Porter who discuss the fine art of jam etiquette. Next up is Johnny Winter and Elvin Bishop on a slow blues jam. It's nice to watch Elvin in a supporting role to Johnny where he can really lay back and just have a good time. Elvin has one of the best tones on the planet and my dream guitar is his old red 345. I just love that guitar. Johnny plays some interesting riffs on his headless Lazer guitar and Elvin plays around him with rhythm and warm slide action. They are joined on stage with Johnny's little brother Edgar Winter on keys although Edgar is an exceptional sax player. There are inserts of Marcia Ball from one of the ports just filling in some of what it's like for a musician to be a part of this program.
Marcia then takes the stage for one of the best tracks on the film. Those of you who aren't that familiar with Marcia... this is the real deal. Marcia really gets the joint blusin' with her great vocals and exceptional keys playing. She is backed by the full horn section and it sounds just great. Also onstage are Jimmy Thackery (on Strat) and Terry Hanck (tenor sax), Steve Berlin (bari sax) and Darryl Cloutts (Hammond organ) who all lay down some exceptional solos. The continue dialogue includes guitarists Larry McCray and Coco Montoya discussing the chemistry required to play with musicians from other bands without extensive practice. Coco's Band is next up and he gets a real signature grinding tone from his Strat which has some custom bar pickups installed. The conversation continues with guitarists Vasti Jackson (Strat) and Laith Al-Saadi (Custon Shop Tele with bar pickups) discussing the call and response and a little demonstration jam. It's also really telling of the video that you can easily distinguish who is playing by the tones of their amps. Al-Saadi has beautiful clear tone. Jackson joins Montoya's band for the next track and lays down a blistering jam. I mean...who is this guy!! Kim Wilson (harp) and Lee Oskar (harp) contribute a discussion about the waiting game to where you actually get your turn to shine. Now Kim gets his shot as band leader and he comes on strong with great lush harp tone playing a short duel with Bishop. And then Lee and the Lowrider Band with their rhythm infused blues sound. Oskar definitely has his own sound and Al-Saadi lays down a great double stop filled solo over the Latin inspired track. Lance Ellis (Bari sax) takes a great soulful solo showing great chops and Larry McCray rips out a great solo on his Les Paul Deluxe. Percy Williams continues the jam with a cool trumpet solo and Sista Monica Parker joins mid song with some soul infused vocals. McCray adds his own vocals to the song and he is a great singer singing in the style of Muddy Waters. I love Elvin's shoes which are actually work boots like I wear but Elvin takes it to the next level. He has the lower boot strung with original laces and the upper with a white lace... like I got the bottom comfortable...not touchin' that. Now I have to get my foot in and keep it on.... I know...two laces...brilliant!! (I got this far through the summary without mentioning Al_Saadi's NORML t-shirt). 
Next up is Bishops hit "Fooled Around And Fell In Love" ... not my favorite Bishop song due to the amount of airplay but I will say that Elvin can really make that old Red Dog bark and he does so on this tune! John Nemeth, sounds incredibly like Mickey Thomas who originally sang this song. Billy C. Wirtz and Commander Cody take the time out to discuss blues structure as an into to an extensive piano jam with Cody, Leon Blue, Steve Willis (Hammond) and Kelley Hunt. Eden Brent joins the jam and takes the stage by storm. This ends up with six players on 3 keyboards (with organ too). Next up is Kim Wilson joined by Rick Estrin playing a Chicago swing and Earley again smokes out a great Trombone solo. It's so great to see these back line guys get their day in the spotlight. John Nemeth blows a great solo on this tune as well as Estrin who gets right into the Chicago groove. The director of this film has gone to great lengths to show each of the band members and to feature each of the players. As the credits roll Oskar and Wilson play a little harp duo which is a fitting conclusion to a great documentary film. This is a film that anyone who loves contemporary blues would enjoy. Oh...And I dig the cover art by George Hunt!
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All Jams On Deck trailer from Robert Mugge on Vimeo.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Coco Montoya with Debbie Davies
Davies rise to the upper echelon of blues music started at an early age as she absorbed the music heard constantly in her home. Her (professional) musician parents were either sitting at the piano or spinning discs on their turntable, filling the air with the sounds of big band jazz, harmony vocal groups, or the pop icons of the day. But the young Davies was particularly attracted to the bluesier sounds of her father’s Ray Charles records, and by the age of 12 realized that her affinity for an instrument was not for the piano, but for the guitar.
Growing up in Los Angeles in the 1960’s, she found that being a female guitar player meant only one thing: acoustic guitar. Electric guitars were still toys meant only for boys. But when Debbie heard the sounds of the British blues-rock bands, particularly the electric guitar of Eric Clapton with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, she became completely captivated. Going against the grains of society’s accepted roles of the time, Debbie pursued her dream with the passion of an artist and the soul of a rebel.
Davies cut her teeth playing in blues and rock ‘n roll bands in the San Francisco Bay area before returning to Los Angeles in 1984, where she landed the lead guitar spot in Maggie Mayall and the Cadillacs, an all-female band led by wife of British blues pioneer, John Mayall. In 1988 she was recruited by Albert Collins to join the Icebreakers, and for the next three years she was a featured guitarist performing behind one of the most innovative bluesmen of all time. “I stepped through a door into the real blues world when I joined Albert’s band,” Davies says. “It’s one thing to listen to the records and pull off the licks, or sit in the audience watching these artists play. But actually going out and touring with one, turned the blues into something completely three-dimensional for me. I knew then what a special opportunity this was, but I know it even more now.” During her tenure with Albert, Debbie was invited to perform on John Mayall’s 1990 album, A Sense of Place, and in 1991 she recorded with Albert Collins and the Icebreakers on the Grammy nominated self-titled release for Point Blank/Virgin Records.
In the summer of 1991 Debbie became lead guitarist for Fingers Taylor and the Ladyfingers Revue, which served as the opening act for Jimmy Buffett’s “Outpost” tour. In September 1993 she came out with her debut solo release, Picture This, on Blind Pig Records, which featured a cameo by Collins on “I Wonder Why.” People like to ask Debbie if she learned her technique from Collins, to which she gently points out that she had to play well from the start to hold her own with Albert at every performance. However, the experience taught her lessons in being a better musician, both onstage and off. Says Davies, “It was the most powerful band I had ever played with, so I learned to dig even deeper into myself to pull out the music. Albert was a man of so much grace and kindness, so I can only hope that I was able to absorb some of his humanity too.”
Since 1993, Debbie has produced nine solo recordings and two collaborative CD’s, one with guitarists Tab Benoit and Kenny Neal, and another with guitarists Anson Funderburgh and Otis Grand. The roster of other artists who have joined Debbie in the studio on her recordings reads like a who’s who of the blues: Albert Collins, Ike Turner, James Cotton, Mick Taylor, Peter Green, Coco Montoya, Duke Robillard, Tommy Shannon, Chris “Whipper” Layton, Sugar Ray Norcia, Mudcat Ward, Charlie Musselwhite, Bruce Katz, Per Hanson, Noel Neal, and Rod Carey. She has received eight nominations for Blues Music Awards, and in 1997 won the award for Best Contemporary Female Blues Artist. She is nominated yet again in this category for 2008.
Her 2007 Telarc Records release Blues Blast is highly-acclaimed and is a pressure cooker recording that showcases her seasoned guitar and vocal capabilities. It includes guest appearances by three high-profile bluesmen: guitarists Tab Benoit and Coco Montoya, and harpist Charlie Musselwhite. A twenty-year veteran of the road, Debbie Davies is truly one of the leading lights on the contemporary blues music scene today.
"Debbie is one of the direct links to the originators of this music. She knows what the blues is all about and you can hear it in the passion of her playing." - COCO MONTOYA
"Debbie is an incredible guitarist who plays with great taste and can cook like mad. Debbie plays from the heart and her heart has a lot to say. She inspires me. Besides being a fine musician she's also an outstanding person that I am very glad to call a
friend of mine." - CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE
"I don't often give endorsements or references, but once in a rare while I hear a musician of such talent that I want people to know. I believe my reputation backs up my ability to recognize
exceptional blues guitarists. Such a one is Debbie Davies. Hear her now." - JOHN MAYALL
Coco Montoya (born Henry Montoya, October 2, 1951, Santa Monica, California) is an American blues guitarist and former member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers.
Montoya is left-handed but plays "upside-down right-handed" guitar. In other words he can play a guitar strung for right-handed playing, with bass strings at the upper edge of the fretboard and treble strings at the lower edge, rotating the guitar so he stops the strings with his right-hand and picks them with his left hand. Thus for him the treble strings are at the upper edge, and the bass strings are at the lower edge. Few other blues guitarists play their guitars left-handed and strung differently, although two exception would be Doyle Bramhall II and Albert King. This contrasts with the style of fellow left-handers Jimi Hendrix and Tony Iommi, amongst others, whose guitars are re-strung for left-handers or who just play left-handed guitars without restringing (which is of course nowadays a bit easier because of enough left-handed guitars available).
Most current pictures of Montoya playing show him with a guitar such as a Fender Stratocaster, with a left-handed body (a mirror image of the right-handed body), a neck and headstock typical of a right-handed Stratocaster, so the tuners are on the bottom edge for him, and the strings arranged "upside-down" relative to the left-handed body.
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Friday, November 4, 2011
Women Have A Way With The Blues - Coco Montoya
Coco Montoya (born Henry Montoya, October 2, 1951, Santa Monica, California) is an American blues guitarist and former member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers.
Montoya's career began in the mid 1970s when Albert Collins asked him to join his band as drummer. Collins took Montoya under his wing and taught him his "icy hot" guitar style. The two remained friends even after Montoya left Collins' band.
In the early 1980s John Mayall heard Montoya playing guitar in a Los Angeles bar. Soon after Mayall asked Montoya to join the newly reformed Bluesbreakers. He remained a member of the band for 10 years.
Montoya is left-handed but plays "upside-down right-handed" guitar. In other words he can play a guitar strung for right-handed playing, with bass strings at the upper edge of the fretboard and treble strings at the lower edge, rotating the guitar so he stops the strings with his right-hand and picks them with his left hand. Thus for him the treble strings are at the upper edge, and the bass strings are at the lower edge. Few other blues guitarists play their guitars left-handed and strung differently, although two exception would be Doyle Bramhall II and Albert King. This contrasts with the style of fellow left-handers Jimi Hendrix and Tony Iommi, amongst others, whose guitars are re-strung for left-handers or who just play left-handed guitars without restringing (which is of course nowadays a bit easier because of enough left-handed guitars available).
Most current pictures of Montoya playing show him with a guitar such as a Fender Stratocaster, with a left-handed body (a mirror image of the right-handed body), a neck and headstock typical of a right-handed Stratocaster, so the tuners are on the bottom edge for him, and the strings arranged "upside-down" relative to the left-handed body.
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