Samuel
James
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Samuel James is a down home acoustic blues
guitarist from Portland, Main (USA), and he’s making waves on the acoustic
scene with a chart album, some great songs and brilliant playing!!
" Songs Famed for Sorrow and Joy" had entered The Living Blues Radio
Charts at number 15, as compiled by major blues DJ’s across the USA.
"...he already has one leg up on Keb' Mo'..." -Chicago Sun Times
Sick about hearing authenticity in the blues? Perhaps a more important issue in bringing fans back to the blues is relevance! Is the singer saying anything that is relevant to today’s audience? Listening to Samuel James debut cd “Songs Famed for Sorrow and Joy”, you realise you are listening to a rare breed in the blues world - a young man whose debut cd is a set of 12 original songs, and we really do mean truly original! This is his voice. Each song is a story, an often humorous tale, of love gone haywire, or small town racism, or a folk tale of mythical symbolism.
Samuel James is equally at home on guitar, banjo, harmonica, hambone or piano. He is a hard working individual who is steeped in the traditions of his elders but has already created his own voice that speaks with clarity and pathos to a contemporary audience.
Live, Samuel James includes some older material in his set,
but when playing a song created by a previous blues master he truly makes it
his own. His stamp of originality is evident in every song he picks. Clearly
the historical torch is being passed to him from today’s elder masters
and yesterday’s originators.
Does that make him authentic? You can decide if that is even the question. Samuel
James is the most relevant young blues artist to come our way in quite some
time, and he’s coming to a venue near you!!!
"In an era when popular music is becoming increasingly perfect sounding,
and robotic, "Songs Famed for Sorrow and Joy" provides a much needed
alternative." – All Music Guide
"All muscles, model good looks, tattoos, and sepia-tinted pouting... if the Wu Tang Clan covered Robert Johnson it may sound a bit like this." - Americana UK
"Samuel James is Keb' Mo' on steroids!" - Oracles Music Network
"Samuel James is like a time machine- the same one
that keeps bringing Son House and Mississippi John Hurt travelling back to the
public consciousness." - Portland Phoenix