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| New J.P. Soars release from Little Village for you! Little Village is so elated to announce our first new recording for 2024, J.P. Soars' Little Village exciting debut recording, Brick By Brick! This BLUES MUSIC AWARD nominated multi-instrumentalist blues & roots rocker/singer/songwriter supreme is such a special talent; a dedicated and passionate musician with an eclectic range of styles and original, witty, catchy songwriting with phenomenal musical ability! J.P. is an absolutely killer unique vocalist who has mastered an amazing array of musical instruments- guitar, dulcimer, dobro, lap steel, banjo, bass, jaw harp, & 2 string cigar box guitar! J.P. Soars Builds His House Brick By Brick Several years ago J.P. Soars became aware that he was building his audience one person at a time. He'd win a new fan, or several, every time he played and eventually he knew he could create a healthy career if he stuck with it. "It all seemed very natural, " says Soars, who titled his new album Brick By Brick as a testament to his approach. "The album is very reflective of how I have built my music career, one brick at a time." The new album by the Boca Raton, Fla. musician is his first for Little Village (release date: June 30, 2024) and shines a light on the multi-dimensional musical talents of Soars. In addition to his base of blues & roots music, Soars displays his affection for the influences of gypsy jazz, country, Latin, rock and heavy metal. "I didn't set out with any game plan for this album, " he says. "In fact, a lot of these songs came out of the pandemic when I was just fooling around with different songs and styles. It just grew around that." Standout tracks include "Things Ain't Working Out, " a guitar-driven lament to a broken relationship while "Keep Good Company" features Soars on guitar and lyrics that reinforce the need to be watchful of your own conduct. Soars also does a masterful job on Little Milton's "That's What Love Will Make You Do." "Can't Keep Her Off My Mind" is a supercharged, hillbilly-country rave up. Soars plays banjo on the song, with strong interplay with the rollicking fiddle of Anne Harris (known for her work with bluesman Otis Taylor), and backing vocals by Annika Chambers and Paul DesLauriers. Soars borrows from his gypsy jazz vocabulary on "Jezebel, " a sinewy beat that underscores the force attraction to an overpowering charm of a woman he can't resist. To those who know Soars, his eclectic approach to music is no surprise. In fact, his ability to shift gears between musical styles has become a major thrust of his live shows. In 2009, Soars won the Blues Foundation's International Blues Challenge, including the prestigious Albert King guitar award. Since then, he's nominated for six Blues Music Awards, including best guitarist, best blues-rock, best contemporary blues artist, best band and as B.B. King Entertainer of the Year. J.P. Soars - liner notes for BRICK BY BRICK, June 2024 – Little Village It's May 2022. I'm at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis, having been tipped by good friend and tour manager John Callahan (Tony Bennett, JJ Cale, Brian Wilson) to try to catch J.P. Soars, who was playing the event. JP and his band are up for Entertainer of the Year, Blues Band of the Year, Best Guitarist and Best Drummer. A long list of artists are performing and, while crossing the ballroom with my back to the stage, I was struck by a sound so creative, tasteful and original that it stopped me in my tracks - turns out it was indeed J.P. Soars. Meeting him later, I was impressed by his humble, sincere nature. Months pass and I see him play a passionate and musically varied full set with his Gypsy Blue Revue where J.P. switched from his Heritage hollow body guitar to a 4 string stick dulcimer for the second last song, then capped the set playing his handmade 2 string cigar box guitar and, even with just the two strings, he pulled off licks reminiscent of Jeff Beck's "Beck's Bolero" for a climactic ending. Impressive! His wide ranging influences started early on with heavy metal and hard rock to The Beatles, Cream and Hendrix, on to the Gypsy Jazz of Django Reinhardt, the acoustic Blues of Lightnin' Hopkins, Jessie Mae Hemphill and Real Folk Blues era Muddy Waters, to Jazz icon Wes Montgomery and on to Blues heroes BB King, T Bone Walker and Howlin' Wolf. Brick By Brick captures a singer, songwriter and versatile multi-instrumentalist at the top of his game, merging elements of all these influences, including a voice that hints at Howlin' Wolf himself. J.P. is joined here by band-mate Chris Peet and guest musicians including ultra-talented mutual admirers Terry Hanck, Annika Chambers and Paul DesLauriers along with frequent collaborator Anne Harris. Altogether this makes for a heartfelt and tasteful set that should excite even the most jaded listeners. Enjoy. -Mike Kappus J.P. Soars: Brick by Brick 1. Brick By Brick (4:11) 2. Jezebel (3:45) 3. Keep Good Company (4:00) 4. Can't Keep Her Off My Mind (3:54) 5. In The Moment (5:57) 6. That's What Love Will Make You Do (4:28) 7. The Good Lord Will Provide (4:16) 8. Honey and Hash (4:09) 9. Merlin Stomp (3:14) 10. Things Ain't Working Out (4:45) 11. Down By The Water (3:51) All Songs: J.P. Soars Soars HighSong Factory BMI Except "That's What Love Will Make You Do": (Little Milton) Lyrics for "Honey and Hash": Lea McIntosh J.P. Soars -Vocals, Guitars, Dobro, Banjo, Bass, Lap Steel, Two String Cigar Box Guitar, Merlin Stick Dulcimer, Jaw Harp Chris Peet -Drums, Bass (2, 8, 10, 11) Raul D Hernandez -Percussion (1, 3) Jeremy Staska -Percussion (2, 4, 10, 11) Bob Taylor -Hammond B3 Paul DesLauriers -Background Vocals (3, 4) Annika Chambers -Background Vocals (3, 4, 10) Anne Harris -Fiddle (4, 9) Rockin' Jake Jacobs -Harmonica (8) Terry Hanck -Tenor Saxophone (6) Produced By J.P. Soars and Jeremy Staska Recorded, mixed & mastered by Jeremy Staska Studio 13, Ft Lauderdale, FL, Nov-Dec 2022 (Except "In The Moment" recorded by Denize G. De Oliveira) J.P. SOARS Not every blues artist can create a cohesive sound in the genre by weaving in a diversity of other influences, but guitarist and vocalist J.P. Soars is obviously not just any blues artist. A 2009 winner of the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN with his band The Red Hots (and the festival's Albert King Award winner as best guitarist to boot), the Arkansas native toured extensively through the United States, Canada, South America and Europe with metal bands after relocating to South Florida, and is one of the few guitarists also capable of adding nuances of his long-standing, Django Reinhardt-inspired "Gypsy jazz" side project. "I like T-Bone Walker, Wes Montgomery, Django Reinhardt, Pete Fountain, Louis Armstrong, Guitar Slim, Muddy Waters, and Howlin' Wolf, " Soars says. "But at the same time, I also love Willie Nelson, George Jones, Tito Puente, Black Sabbath, and old Metallica. If it moves me, I dig it." Soars got bitten by the blues bug via a legendary source in 1988, when he won a guitar and two tickets in a raffle to see B.B. King in concert. Meeting the iconic guitarist and singer further enhanced the young musician's quest to learn more about the timeless power of the music. Soars started his blues recording career with the 2008 release Back of My Mind, followed by More Bees With Honey (2011), Full Moon Night in Memphis (2014), Southbound I-95 (2018), Let Go of the Reins (2019) and the much anticipated new release and Little Village debut, Brick By Brick (2024). Collectively, his catalog has received extensive airplay on the XM Radio programs of Little Steven ("Underground Garage") and B.B. King ("Bluesville"); Top 50 status on the "Living Blues" charts, Blues Music Award nominations for "Best Contemporary Male Blues Artist of the Year, " and "Best Blues CD" and "Album of the Year" accolades from the Palm Beach Post. A gritty and expressive vocalist, Soars elicits signature tones from hollow-body guitars, plus a home-made two-string cigar box guitar for his incendiary slide guitar playing. All of which has helped him earn dates at the Baltic Sea Festival in Germany, the Liberation Day Festival in Holland, and other shows in France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Austria, and Colombia as well as road work throughout the United States and Canada. Soars and the Red Hots have also played the Peer Blues Festival in Belgium, sharing the stage with Buddy Guy, Joe Bonamassa, Brian Setzer, and Larry Graham, and the Mississippi Delta Blues Festival in Caxias do Sul, Brazil before 10, 000 people. After being discovered by the Brazilian festival's presenter while playing with his "Gypsy jazz" project at a South Florida venue, Soars and company played the side stage in that format, then headlined the main stage with full blues intensity at its ninth annual event. For the past several years, Soars has additionally been part of the regional all-star blues act Southern Hospitality. Also featuring Tampa vocalist/guitarist Damon Fowler and Memphis vocalist/keyboardist Victor Wainwright, plus Red Hots drummer Chris Peet and Fowler's bassist Matt Walker, the Blind Pig recording artists earned a Blues Blast Award for "Best New Artist Debut Release" for their 2013 CD Easy Livin, ' and have toured worldwide in-between the three bandleaders' own schedules. Southern Hospitality appears with a host of international blues icons on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise sailing out of Fort Lauderdale, FL in February. Soars prides himself with having one of the tightest bands on the scene, with Red Hots bassist Cleveland Frederick and longtime drummer Chris Peet. The trio has extensive touring scheduled through the United States and Europe, in addition to appearances by popular demand at blues venues on both coastlines of South Florida. write your comments about the article :: © 2024 Jazz News :: home page |