Sugar Blue

Grammy Award-winning harmonica virtuoso Sugar Blue is not your typical bluesman.

Born James Whiting - he was raised in Harlem, New York, where his mother was a singer and dancer at the fabled Apollo Theatre. He spent his childhood among the musicians and show people who knew his mother, including the great Billie Holiday, and decided that he wanted to be a performer.

Blue received his first harmonica from his aunt, and proceeded to hone his chops by wailing along with Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder songs on the radio, he was soon to be influenced by the jazz greats such as Dexter Gordon and Lester Young. Sugar Blue has used this background to his advantage, creating an ultra-modern blues style and sound that is instantly recognizable as his own. Blue began his career as a street musician and made his first recordings in 1975 with legendary blues figures Brownie McGhee and Roosevelt Sykes. The following year, he contributed to recordings by Victoria Spivey and Johnny Shines before pulling up stakes and moving to Paris on the advice of pioneer blues pianist Memphis Slim. While in France, Blue hooked up with members of the Rolling Stones , who instantly fell in love with his sound. He came to Chicago and proceeded to sit in with the likes of Big Walter Horton, Carey Bell, James Cotton and Junior Wells. Blue went on to spend two years touring with his friend and mentor Willie Dixon as part of the Chicago Blues All Stars before putting his own band together in 1983. With his own band, Blue’s star continued to rise. He received the 1985 Grammy Award for his work on the Atlantic album, Blues Explosion, recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Sugar Blue continues his artistic journey without boundaries. This latest project by the eclectic harmonica virtuoso traces his musical travels from his earliest beginnings in New York to the very roots of the Blues in Africa, capturing the music’s deepest identity where everything started, embracing its evolution and looking ahead to the future with gratitude and enthusiasm. Backed by a quartet of equally eclectic musicians, this show also features Solo Diabate, the amazing multi instrumentalist from Mali who transcends barriers, connecting the Blues aesthetic and jazz language. A powerfully fresh take on classics from the African American tradition and new arrangements of Sugar Blue’s originals—intense and emotional…not to be missed !