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The VizzTone label group and Fidellis Records are
proud to present the Chris O'Leary Band's new release,
LIVE AT BLUES NOW! Chris enthuses, "This special night was
recorded earlier this year in Basel Switzerland with very special guest Alex
Schultz! The room was beautiful, the crowd was great, and we had a
blast!"
Chris O’Leary has put in his time
on the front lines – as U.S. Marine Corps infantry squad leader, and seven years
as singer, harp player, and front man for Levon Helm’s Barn Burners. His two
Fidellis Records/VizzTone label group releases, Mr. Used To Be
(2010) and Waiting for the Phone to Ring (2012), established
the Chris O’Leary Band as a major force in the blues world.
The recordings gleaned rave reviews, international airplay, a Blues
Music Award nomination, and the Best New Artist CD Award
at Chicago’s prestigious Blues Blast Awards. Most of
the band’s material consists of Chris’s original songs, known for their moving,
funny, and incisive lyrics set on top of killer grooves.
The Chris O’Leary Band hail from
New York’s musically-rich Hudson Valley, though their tours take them around the
globe. In March, 2014, the Chris O’Leary Band traveled to Basel, Switzerland to
perform at the prestigious BLUES NOW! concert series.
Joining the band as a special guest was renowned blues guitarist Alex
Schultz. Schultz’s storied musical career includes long associations
with blues harmonica players William Clarke, Rod Piazza, and Lester Butler, so
his driving, swinging style was a perfect fit with the band.
As the band hit the BLUES NOW!
stage, Chris and his band mates sweated out their incendiary blend of
Chicago, Memphis, and New Orleans styles to the delight of the packed house.
They hit hard with original selections from their first two studio albums, as
well as their own version of the Billy Boy Arnold classic, “I Wish You
Would.” There was the trademark interplay between O’Leary’s powerhouse
harmonica, the fat-toned guitar, and the horn and rhythm sections with the added
jolt of Schultz on second guitar. The crowd responded wildly, as the band
proceeded to tear the roof off that Swiss concert hall. The resulting
recording, The Chris O’Leary Band / Live at BLUES NOW!
is a great live record in the best sense, with the musicians and
the crowd energizing each other and producing music that is pure
magic.
The Chis O’Leary Band features Chris
O’Leary on vocals and harmonica, Chris Vitarello on
guitar, Andy Stahl on tenor sax, Chris
DiFrancesco on baritone sax, Matt Raymond on upright
and electric bass, and Jay Devlin on drums.
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