KYLE JESTER "AFTER ALL THIS"

I formerly played with Candye Kane, Earl Thomas, Freddie Brooks, & Thomas Yearsley of the Paladins and I have been running my own band since 1999. My usual outfit is a 4-piece (guitar, bass, & drums with either piano or harmonica), but I also put together intimate acoustic duos and large 6- or 8-piece bands. It has always been by goal to provide a traditional, but high-energy electric blues show.Check out this insane show that Aki Kumar is putting on! I'm so grateful to be a part of the opening act backing up Alabama Mike with Kid Andersen! Then we get to watch & hear Kim Wilson with Chicago heavyweights Billy Flynn and Barrelhouse Chuck, backed by Larry Taylor (Canned Heat, Tom Waits, John Mayall) on bass and Richard Innes (Fabulous Thunderbirds, Bacon Fat) on drums.This music was recorded, engineered, and mastered by Kid Andersen at Greaseland in San Jose, California in September & October of 2014. KYLE JESTER
 

TOOTS LORRAINE "MAKE IT EASY"

Every blues fan knows you have listen to the “old” to find something “new”. It is a precious rarity when the opposite is true and such is the case with Toots Lorraine and The Traffic. The band delivers a focused blend of classic vibe that will drench your soul with the vintage sounds of West Coast Jump Blues and Swing as you board the train for destination “way back” where everything is “Easy”. Toots and her sultry voice will take your ticket, let you on board and, as you roll down the tracks, the band will keep your glass filled with just the right measures of hollow body guitars, reverb tanks, upright basses, harmonicas, pianos and organs. And, you will swear to yourself, “I ain’t getting off this train”.This husband and wife team share the purest of love for the preservation of the blues. In their brand new album, Make It Easy, a phenomenal follow-up to their first, Toots Lorraine expertly layers her powerful yet velvety voice amongst the band’s vintage instrumentation and gut bucket grooves. Along with classic blues covers of Big Mama Thornton, Howlin’ Wolf and Big Joe Turner, you’ll also find gripping new originals with a huge story to tell. Always rooted in the blues, Toots Lorraine and the Traffic deliver a solid, energetic and scintillating performance.Toots brings with her a background of dance, theater and jazz to the rich yet simplistic purity of the blues, creating a vocal presence of powerful elegance. Her singing style is influenced by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Eva Cassidy, Big Mama Thornton and many more. Whether singing original material or drawing from a large repertoire of classic blues and jazz standards, the charming and vivacious Toots tells her story with every note, satisfying listeners, dancers and good times.TOOTS LORRAINE
 

 

RICK ESTRIN AND THE NIGHTCATS "YOU ASKED FOR IT...LIVE!"

On You Asked For It—Live!, harmonica giant, songwriter, vocalist and Blues Music Award winner Rick Estrin, along with The Nightcats— jaw-dropping guitarist Chris “Kid” Andersen, singing drummer J. Hansen and dynamic multi-instrumentalist Lorenzo Farrell (electric and acoustic bass, organ and Moog synthesizer)—serve up innovative, rollicking contemporary blues. The original songs are all injected with a solid dose of gritty roadhouse rock ‘n’ roll and Estrin’s trademark philosophical wiseguy humor. Since the release of their celebrated Alligator Records albums Twisted in 2009 and One Wrong Turn in 2012, the band has toured non-stop, sharpening their musical skills to a razor’s edge. The band is known as one of the most dynamic and exciting live acts in the blues today. Their sound, while steeped in the blues tradition, continues to push the genre into new territory.You Asked For It...Live! was recorded on October 5, 2013, (Estrin's birthday) at San Francisco’s Biscuits & Blues. According to Estrin, “Cutting loose and stretching out in an intimate, nightclub-type setting is the natural environment for the Nightcats to kick maximum ass. The fact that it was my birthday, in the town where I was born and raised, only added more fuel to the fire.”You Asked For It...Live! has the immediacy, feel and fun of a true Rick Estrin & The Nightcats performance. “No matter how much fun we have and how relaxed we can be in the studio, there’s still nothing like being in front of, and interacting with, our live audience,” Estrin says. The album features some of Rick Estrin’s best-loved and most-requested songs, dating back to his days as lead singer, songwriter and harmonica player of Little Charlie & The Nightcats (featuring Little Charlie Baty on guitar). The album is an up-to-the-minute and totally accessible slice of original, wry and witty blues with a simmering, funky rock edge fueled by Andersen’s blazing genre-hopping guitar and Farrell’s and Hansen’s dazzling keyboard and rhythm work. One listen makes it clear that this is a group comprised of four world-class musicians, who together form one of the tightest and most original bands in any genre. RICK ESTRIN AND THE NIGHTCATS
 

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