Showing posts with label Henry Cooper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Henry Cooper. Show all posts

Thursday, June 27, 2019

The Sultans Of Slide - Lightning Strikes

Size: 130.4 MB
Time: 56:31
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2011
Styles: Slide Guitar Blues
Art: Full

01. Strange Angel (4:11)
02. Drive All Night (4:16)
03. Lucky Again (3:39)
04. Stupid Trouble (3:27)
05. Entre Amis (2:43)
06. Lightning Strikes (4:56)
07. Rolling Stone (4:30)
08. Stumptown Slither (4:05)
09. Never Happy (4:36)
10. Dime At A Time (3:22)
11. Different Day Same Scene (3:27)
12. The Highway Is Like A Woman (6:17)
13. Going Upstairs (6:55)

Personnel:
“Big Monti” Amundson – guitar, vocals
Henry Cooper – guitar, harmonica, vocals
Franck “Paris Slim” Goldwasser – guitar, vocals
Bart Kamp – bass
Boyd Small – drums, vocals

In the late 1970’s, the short-lived Blues Ball record label released a compilation of tough Chicago blues featuring some of the greatest slide guitarists that the Windy City ever produced, including Robert Nighthawk, Johnny Littlejohn and Hound Dog Taylor. The title of the album, “Sultans of Slide Guitar”, captured Franck Goldwasser’s imagination. Goldwasser, an art student and passionate blues guitar devotee from Paris, France, took notice and proceeded to pour his heart and soul into this music which was to become his life’s work.

In 1983 Goldwasser dropped out of art school and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to pursue his musical aspirations. Having received the stage name "Paris Slim" from Oakland musician/club owner Troyce Key, Goldwasser spent the next twenty-five years playing and recording under his own name and as a backup guitarist for some of the most prestigious names in contemporary blues, including Percy Mayfied, Big Mama Thornton and Charlie Musselwhite. Positive response from Rose City audiences over the years convinced Paris Slim to move to Portland in 2005. With a strong live music scene and residents such as Paul Delay, Curtis Salgado and Lloyd Jones, Portland could boast of being a towering center of blues music in the United States. While Delay, Salgado and Jones each have enjoyed worldwide exposure, Portland still keeps many hidden treasures within the ranks of its blues aristocracy.

Early in 2010, Franck Goldwasser began to work on a concept for a show. As a kind of an answer to the numerous “Harmonica Blowouts” popping up across the country, Goldwasser thought of gathering some of Portland’s best slide guitarists for an explosive night of blues at one of the city’s best loved venues, Duff’s Garage. For the name of the event, Franck remembered the title of one of his all time favorite LPs: Sultans Of Slide Guitar. The artists recruited for the event included Big Monti Amundson, Ben Bonham, Bob Shoemaker and Jim Mesi. An unprecedented success, the event was booked at other venues in the Pacific Northwest and continued to feature a rotating cast of frontmen. Big Monti Amundson, who played the majority of the shows, began to ponder the potential of the concept of a steady lineup for the show, and proposed to include another Portland blues stalwart, Henry Cooper, as a permanent member. The Sultans of Slide were born.

Since the early stages of its existence, it has been obvious to all that the chemistry between Amundson, Cooper and Goldwasser is nothing short of spectacular. While the three share a profound and limitless love for the blues, each complements the other with his own singular and unique approach to the music.

Amundson, a Seattle native who has called Portland home since 1987, is a Pacific Northwest rock and blues institution by any standard. A prolific songwriter, Monti blends elements from the styles of Johnny Winter, Jimi Hendrix and Billy Gibbons into a guitar style that is resolutely his own, a lyrical and muscular voice that is a natural complement to his smooth baritone vocals. As frontman for the Blubinos, Monti enjoyed regional success before signing a record contract with Munich Records and moving to the Netherlands in 1993. Since returning to the U.S. Monti has become a pillar of the Portland music scene and continues to release new material under his own Silverback Label.

Initially a harmonica player influenced by Paul Butterfield, Henry Cooper taught himself to play guitar in open E tuning. This uncommon approach, which harks back to earlier times when an aspiring guitarist had to rely on his imagination to figure things out, has lead Henry to develop a playing style that is inimitable. Growing up in Eugene, Cooper honed his skills while playing in numerous local bands, eventually co-founding the Terraplanes. After a stint with the Duffy Bishop band, Cooper toured the U.S. and Europe with the legendary Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. A highly emotional and commanding stylist, Cooper’s contribution to the Portland music scene over the years cannot be underestimated.

The Sultans Of Slide are rounded off by singer-drummer Boyd Small and bassist Dave Kahl. Small, co-founder of the notorious Terraplanes along with Cooper, is an outstanding vocalist, songwriter and world class entertainer in his own right. Leader of the Boyd Small Big Blues Band back in the Netherlands where he now resides, Small was inducted into Portland's Cascade Blues Association's "Muddy Hall of Fame" for winning the "Best Drummer Of The Year" award three years in a row. Kahl, a superb musician whose credentials include his contributions to the bands of Paul Delay and Lloyd Jones, is an articulate and sensitive player whose deep-pocket approach is an indispensable element to the Sultans' groove.

The Sultans Of Slide completed their first album, “Lightning Strikes”, in the winter of 2010, which was unofficially released on January 1, 2011. The album consists primarily of original compositions by Amundson, Cooper, Goldwasser and Small, and is a sensational showcase of slide guitar pyrotechnics, ranging from gutbucket blues to roadhouse rock and roll.

Lightning Strikes

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Henry Cooper - Baby Please

Size: 113,5 MB
Time: 49:34
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1998
Styles: Electric Blues
Art: Full

01. Bad Times In Season (2:29)
02. Baby Please (4:01)
03. Don't Want To Move (4:08)
04. No Way (3:38)
05. Million Dollar Hooker (5:25)
06. Automatic Trouble (3:37)
07. Getting Closer (3:33)
08. Dynasonic Boogie (2:16)
09. Don't You Get Tired Of Treating Me Bad (3:59)
10. If You Don't Love Me (3:01)
11. Dis Pas Ca (3:00)
12. Hard Head (3:27)
13. Darkness (4:00)
14. Burn It Down (2:55)

The blues bug bit Henry Cooper hard when he was 16. At the time, he was toiling as a busboy in an Oregon hotel. Paul Butterfield's "The Work Song" came on the radio, and that was it for the blues-struck teenager. He was hooked. Wasting no time, he headed out to buy records that would give him more of that bowled-over feeling he got while listening to Butterfield's band glide through the airwaves. Among his first purchases was a record that featured Muddy Waters and Butterfield, "Fathers & Sons." He also started frequenting blues clubs around the city of Eugene, where he discovered such harmonica players as Curtis Salgado, Mike Mother, and Bill Rhoades. Three years later, Cooper played the harmonica on a 45, and it was his first foray into the world of recording.

Cooper became interested in the guitar during his early 20s. Unable to afford a regular guitar, he purchased a lap steel from a pawnbroker and set about trying to transfer harmonica licks to his new instrument. He also attempted to emulate masters like Waters, Albert Collins, and Elmore James. The first group Cooper was in was Los Explorers, along with Fred Kellogg, John Barley, and Louie Samora. He went on to join the Milkmen before he settled into a band called Los Falcons with Barley, Andy Strange, and Boyd Small, who also had played with the Milkmen. By 1987, Cooper and his bandmates were set to perform New Year's Eve, sharing a stage with outrageous showman Screamin' Jay Hawkins. When Hawkins heard how well the band played his songs, he declared he wanted Cooper and the others along on his upcoming European tour. Hawkins was as goods as his word, and Los Falcons headed to Europe.

Back in the states, Cooper moved his home base from Eugene to Portland. There he established a series of bands, among them the Terraplanes and Henry & the Hamhawks. By the '90s, he and spouse Anne had settled in Seattle, where he started playing guitar for rising blues artist Duffy Bishop. The working relationship lasted five years, during which he appeared on a pair of Bishop's CDs, Back to the Bone and Bottled Oddities, which were put out by Burnside Records. When Cooper went out on his own, he devoted about a year to putting together his first solo album. High Action Records, Cooper's label, issued Baby Please in 1998. The CD earned critical and popular acclaim. Burnside released his next CD, Slide Man, for which Cooper penned 14 of the release's 15 numbers. ~by Linda Seida

Baby Please MP3
Baby Please FLAC

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Henry Cooper - Slide Man

Size: 117,0 MB
Time: 50:19
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1999
Styles: Modern Electric Blues, Slide Guitar Blues
Art: Full

01. Keep Walkin' (3:06)
02. Wicked Wacky Blues (2:37)
03. Never Happy (2:59)
04. I Wonder Baby (2:36)
05. King Me (4:40)
06. Sun Goes Down At Midnight (3:48)
07. Love The Life You're Livin' (3:16)
08. Lunch With D (2:28)
09. After All (7:17)
10. Guitar Baby (2:53)
11. Henry's Hideaway (2:23)
12. Sittin' On It (2:43)
13. No Fears (2:46)
14. Heckbound Train (4:01)
15. Find My Kinda Woman (2:40)

Henry Cooper is in love, in love with a sound, a high-water-mark of blues guitar tone that had been set by the likes of Elmore James, Earl Hooker, Robert Nighthawk and Hop Wilson. It is clear from his newest release, "Slide Man", that it is influence, not imitation, that he has learned from the blues masters. He has taken to heart the importance of keeping things uncluttered and of driving straight down the middle of the groove until the last note has faded.

Now with Burnside Records, Henry Cooper returns with a new album "Slide Man", an aptly titled CD as well as a perfect description of Henry's talents. The CD lists 15 tracks with 14 being written by Cooper himself It also showcases his talent as an exceptional harp player. Surrounding Henry is an outstanding trio of musicians: Andrew Larsen (who contributes some peerless Hammond B3 work), and the rock-solid rhythm section of bassist Eric Bryson and drummer Andrew Cloutier. Working hard to have an identifiable sound that he can call his own Henry only plays in open tunings and wears his metal slide on his ring finger, therefore he is able to throw in a slide lick at any time. Henry describes his playing as a hybrid style, "kind of between picking and sliding. That's my calling card". Curtis Salgado, who has seen Henry grow from a starry-eyed teen into a skilled musician, adds this oversight on Henry's development: "I've been fortunate enough to share the stage with many major blues guitarists ... and it's clear that it's someone's distinct style that makes a player stand out. Nowadays guitar players that play the licks right are mass produced but a style of your own is not easy to come by. What makes it come across - a certain way he yanks on the string ... that's style. I've watched Henry Cooper develop and come up with his own style - one that is raw and funky. That's hard to do. And very cool.

Slide Man

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Various - Big Blues For Little Bill: A Tribute To The Music Of Bill Engelhart

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:15
Size: 144.8 MB
Styles: Assorted styles
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[3:20] 1. Polly O'Keary - Step Right Up
[3:55] 2. Bump Kitchen - When I First Get Up
[5:45] 3. The Randy Oxford Band - Another Rainy Day
[5:32] 4. Duffy Bishop - What I'm Doing Wrong
[3:31] 5. Billy Roy Danger - Texas
[5:08] 6. Blues Vesper's All-Stars - Thangs Gone Be
[3:55] 7. Rod Cook - Cute
[4:05] 8. Dick Powell - Wine & Whiskey
[3:08] 9. Merrilee Rush - Better Things To Do
[2:44] 10. Henry Cooper - Comin' Home Again
[3:17] 11. Alice Stuart - What It Shall Be
[3:20] 12. Junior Cadillac - Sweet Cucumber
[3:13] 13. Eric Madis - Simply Over
[8:12] 14. Mark Whitman - Never Been To Mississippi
[4:02] 15. Heather Mueller - I Love An Angel

Fans in the Puget Sound area have had the opportunity to hear and enjoy the music of Bill Engelhart of “Little Bill and the Blue Notes” for more than 50 years and already appreciate what an amazing contribution the man has made to the Pacific Northwest music scene. During his long (and still busy) career, Bill has garnered countless awards, including recognition by the Experience Music Project, as a Northwest music pioneer. With more than 12 albums to his credit, Bill has also given us many wonderful original songs, beginning with his national hit, “I Love An Angel,” and continuing through decades of blues compositions. He has also been a role model and mentor for countless musicians in the Pacific Northwest. One of these - blues trombonist, former “Blue Note,” and close personal friend, Randy Oxford - decided that the time was right to put together a tribute to Little Bill and his music. With Bill’s enthusiastic consent, Randy gathered the resources necessary to create a CD of Little Bill originals, featuring a stellar line-up of musicians, each creating his/her own interpretation of a Little Bill composition. The music is as varied as musicians, who include many of Bill's associates and friends old and new, as well as long-time admirers eager to pay tribute. Big Blues for Little Bill: A Tribute to the Music of Little Bill Engelhart consists of 15 songs, recorded by 62 musicians, including Duffy Bishop, Chris Carlson, Henry Cooper, Merrilee Rush, Patti Allen, Randy Oxford, Alice Stuart, Paul Green, Billy Stapleton, Dick Powell, Mark Whitman, Mark Riley, Dick Powell, Polly O'Keary, Leanne Trevayan, Billy Stoops, Rod Cook, and many more. It's the Blues, people, although some of the songs rock and others swing, shuffle or glide. Together they present a glimpse into the life of the consumate working musician. It's a tribute to Little Bill that this project has resulted so many beautiful performances.

Big Blues For Little Bill: A Tribute To The Music Of Bill Engelhart mc
Big Blues For Little Bill: A Tribute To The Music Of Bill Engelhart zippy

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Henry Cooper - Automatic Trouble

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 52:03
Size: 119.2 MB
Styles: Modern electric blues
Year: 2001
Art: Front

[ 6:34] 1. Love The Life You're Livin'
[ 9:15] 2. After All
[ 5:59] 3. Baby Please
[ 4:53] 4. King Me
[10:11] 5. No Way
[ 4:14] 6. Sittin' On It
[ 6:14] 7. Don't Want To Move
[ 4:40] 8. Automatic Trouble

The blues bug bit Henry Cooper hard when he was 16. At the time, he was toiling as a busboy in an Oregon hotel. Paul Butterfield's "The Work Song" came on the radio, and that was it for the blues-struck teenager. He was hooked. Wasting no time, he headed out to buy records that would give him more of that bowled-over feeling he got while listening to Butterfield's band glide through the airwaves. Among his first purchases was a record that featured Muddy Waters and Butterfield, "Fathers & Sons." He also started frequenting blues clubs around the city of Eugene, where he discovered such harmonica players as Curtis Salgado, Mike Mother, and Bill Rhoades. Three years later, Cooper played the harmonica on a 45, and it was his first foray into the world of recording.

Cooper became interested in the guitar during his early 20s. Unable to afford a regular guitar, he purchased a lap steel from a pawnbroker and set about trying to transfer harmonica licks to his new instrument. He also attempted to emulate masters like Waters, Albert Collins, and Elmore James. The first group Cooper was in was Los Explorers, along with Fred Kellogg, John Barley, and Louie Samora. He went on to join the Milkmen before he settled into a band called Los Falcons with Barley, Andy Strange, and Boyd Small, who also had played with the Milkmen. By 1987, Cooper and his bandmates were set to perform New Year's Eve, sharing a stage with outrageous showman Screamin' Jay Hawkins. When Hawkins heard how well the band played his songs, he declared he wanted Cooper and the others along on his upcoming European tour. Hawkins was as goods as his word, and Los Falcons headed to Europe.

Back in the states, Cooper moved his home base from Eugene to Portland. There he established a series of bands, among them the Terraplanes and Henry & the Hamhawks. By the '90s, he and spouse Anne had settled in Seattle, where he started playing guitar for rising blues artist Duffy Bishop. The working relationship lasted five years, during which he appeared on a pair of Bishop's CDs, Back to the Bone and Bottled Oddities, which were put out by Burnside Records. When Cooper went out on his own, he devoted about a year to putting together his first solo album. High Action Records, Cooper's label, issued Baby Please in 1998. The CD earned critical and popular acclaim. Burnside released his next CD, Slide Man, for which Cooper penned 14 of the release's 15 numbers. ~bio by Linda Seida

Recorded live at The Experience Music Project, Seattle, Washington on March 10, 2001.

Henry Cooper (vocals, guitar); Dave Jette (drums). Recording information: The Liquid Lounge (05/05/2001/03/10/2001); The Sky Church (05/05/2001/03/10/2001).

Automatic Trouble