Todays Featured Blues Artist: Todays Featured Blues Artist - Bernard Allison

Todays Featured Blues Artist: Todays Featured Blues Artist - Bernard Allison

Bernard Allison (born November 26, 1965, Chicago, Illinois) is a blues guitarist based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

His father, Luther Allison was a Chicago blues musician. Bernard Allison is the youngest of nine children, and had many different musical influences while growing up, including Albert King, Muddy Waters and Freddie King, and later, ...Stevie Ray Vaughan and Johnny Winter.

Allison accompanied his father to blues festivals in the early 1970s. There he was introduced to Muddy Waters, Hound Dog Taylor and Albert King, amongst others. After graduating from high school, Allison began playing with Koko Taylor in her touring band. He stayed with her until 1985, when he appeared at his own gigs as Bernard Allison and Back Talk. Allison spent time in Canada with his first band, but
later rejoined Taylor and her Blues Machine for another two years in the late 1980s.

After joining his father in Europe for a live recording, Allison was asked to join his father's touring band and become his European bandleader. At Christmas, 1989, while both were living together in Paris, the elder Allison arranged studio time to allow Allison to record his debut album, The Next Generation. It was recorded for Mondo Records using musicians from his father's band. His other foreign record label
releases include Hang On, No Mercy, and Funkifino.

Allison released his US debut, Keepin' the Blues Alive in early 1997, receiving critical acclaim. On his tour of clubs around the US in the latter half of 1997, Allison was joined by the drummer Ray "Killer" Allison (no relation) and Greg Rzab. Luther Allison died in August that year.

Times Are Changing followed a year later. In mid 2000, Across the Water was released.

Source and Additional Info Here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Allison

 

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I'll be getting back to my series on 'Blues Musicians from Around the World' in the next few days.  I have been spending a lot of my time in my studio rehearsing different blues songs in different keys.  What an experience when you take the time to really study the blues and how to play the correct scales when in different keys.

 

I'll share some of what I am working on with you real soon.

 

In the meantime and until next time;

 

Musician by Night

 

 

 

"Help Keep The Blues Alive"