Kenny Sultan is best known as the guitarist in the
perenially popular blues duo of Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan. West Coast
Blues is Sultan’s first album of solo instrumental blues and spans the
gamut from sexy shuffles to toe-tapping rags, with the odd slide number
thrown in for variety. Kenny Sultan is a best selling author of guitar
blues videos and music books.
GUITAR BLUES
This new solo outing by
Kenny Sultan is a fresh set of fourteen tunes, most composed by Kenny
himself: mostly blues, with a few rags tossed in for spice.
In the artist's words...
I
had such a fi ne time making my fi rst solo CD, I thought, why not do
another? Luckily for me, the bossman (James Jensen) felt the same way.
Originally we thought we would do a ragtime record, but the blues just
kept on creeping in and suddenly we had what we called “guitar blues.”
Even the few rags on the CD became funky. Guess I’m stuck in that’s
just the way I play. So here we go again, music played from the heart,
with no overdubs, editing, ProTools, or tricks of any kind. The beer
was cold, the company good, the studio setting in the mountains —
awesome. All this, plus my engineers and co-producers, Daniel and Matt,
were great help in keeping it alive, as if I was sitting in your living
room just playing my guitar. Enjoy! ~ ~ Kenny Sultan
"This guy can play!" ~ ~ George Thorogood
“California Guitarist Kenny Sultan has been making
good-time acoustic blues recordings with partner Tom Ball for 20 years.
On WEST COAST BLUES, Sultan steps out on his own with an
all-instrumental effort that spans the spectrum of unplugged blues,
from the monotonic bass of Lightning Hopkins to the 12-string slide of
Bo Carter. Sultan uses the old masters as jumping off points, injecting
jazzy chords and improvisational flourishes into simple motifs.
There’s nothing too showy here, just fluid grooves and a slew of very tasty licks.”
~ ~ Acoustic Guitar magazine
Kenny Sultan, "Guitar Blues", Solid Air SACD 2037, 2002 CD
Guitarist Kenny Sultan might be best-known for his two decades of fine
musical work with his duo partner, Tom Ball. He and fellow guitarist
Ball epitomize the acoustic blues genre -- with Ball adding vocals and
mouth harp -- and tour extensively. They’re National Public Radio
favorites, and you might recall their appearance in a Levis 501
commercial not too long ago. "Guitar Blues" follows up Sultan’s
well-received first solo disc, "West Coast Blues", which was released
in 2001. Sultan picked up the guitar at age 7 and hasn’t put it down
yet. "Guitar Blues" finds him lending his deft, sure, easy touch to a
cool assortment of shuffles, classic rags, funk and straight ahead
blues. Treat yourself to a few moments with Sultan and his unbelievably
fluid 1936 Martin 000-18 on "Ruff ‘n Tuff". It reflects his early love
for the old blues masters, which permeate his work. His description:
"Big Bill feel with a heavy right hand bass. Key of E". Sultan reveals
his sensitive side with the gossamer "Living in the Country". Again,
Sultan’s liner notes make the track even more enjoyable: "When I was
growing up I used to always listen to Howard and Roz Larmonds’ 'Folk
Scene' on Sunday night. This was their theme song". While "Banjo Space
Blues" finds him picking up a banjo and a couple of beers, his
six-string wizardry impresses throughout without being showy. He coaxes
that old Martin into some stellar realms. And talk about tone -- just
check out the smokey funk of "Binker’s Blues", a wonderful homage to
the genre. "Da Blooze" recalls the powerful edge of Muddy Waters. This
14-track collection just gets better and more comfortable with every
listening.
© Fred Kraus Minor7th.com
| Artist: |
Kenny Sultan |
| Product Type: |
AMR CDs |
| Item #: |
SACD2037 |
| Price: |
$15.00 $11.25 |
|
