I saw The Robert Cray Band about 17 years ago when they were popping out during the Blues revolution that was bursting out in many countries. The concert was the inaugural gig of a new concert house named Olympia, in the city of São Paulo (SE Brazil metropolis). They had just released “Don’t be afraid of the Dark” on Polydor, which I still have my original vinyl version, full of memorabilia from that concert. I have to tell you that the fast paced rhythm’n’blues blew my mind away, with that perfect vocal mix with his modern Stratocaster blues .
Richard Cousins – Bass
Les Falconer – Drums, Backing Vocals
Dover Weinberg – Keyboards
Produced by Steve Jordan (Keith Richards, John Mayer) the 10 song album blends funky originals with surprising covers. A bonus track “Pillow” is included on the limited edition CD. (click link to purchase)
First single “You Move Me,” is classic Cray with his signature slicing guitar leads woven throughout. The bulk of In My Soul is made up of original material with a few covers including Otis Redding’s “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” and “Your Good Thing (Is About to End)” and “Deep in My Soul” by the late Bobby “Blue” Bland. “I didn’t want to change it—just do it pretty straight up as a tribute to Bobby, who was one of my real heroes,” says Cray.
“When I think of Robert Cray, I think of a great singer,” says Jordan. “Most people gravitate to his guitar playing because he’s such a gunslinger, but I don’t. He’s got so much soul it’s ridiculous.”
Wall Street Journal says In My Soul is “a tasteful, laid-back album, and while there’s plenty of Cray’s distinctive guitar playing, there’s more to the new LP than fiery licks.” UK Daily Mirror calls the album “Impressive” and gives it 4 stars.
Widely recognized as one of the greatest guitarists of our time, The New Yorker calls him “one of the most reliable pleasures of soul and blues for over three decades now “ and Rolling Stone Magazine credits him with having “reinvented the blues with his distinct razor sharp guitar playing”
The youngest living member to be inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, Robert Cray has sold over 12 million records , has his own line of Fender guitars and has established himself as a genre defining artist- a signature blend of r&b, pop, rock, soul and traditional blues.
This year marks the 40th year since the formation of the Robert Cray Band. The band includes Cray (vocals/guitar), longtime bassist Richard Cousins, Dover Weinberg (back with the band on piano/keyboard) and Les Falconer (drums).
Fusing rock, soul, jazz, gospel, funk and R&B, five-time Grammy Award-winner (and 15-time nominee) Robert Cray has racked up millions in album sales over a four-decade career and is widely recognized as one of the greatest guitarists of our time. Get in the groove with Cray’s soothing, soulful voice and crisp, clean guitar work. Rolling Stone magazine credits Cray with reinventing the blues with his “distinct razor sharp guitar playing” that “introduced a new generation of mainstream rock fans to the language and form of the blues.” He has written or performed with everyone—from Eric Clapton to Stevie Ray Vaughan and from Bonnie Raitt to Tina Turner. In honor of his incredible talent, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Blues fans won’t want to miss this concert that features special guest Shemekia Copeland, the new “Queen of Blues,” who has scored critics’ choice awards on both sides of the Atlantic and shared the stage with music luminaries such as Buddy Guy, B.B. King and John Mayer.
Ken “Willie” Scandlyn, Rhythm Guitar
Kevin Jenkins, Bass
Robin Gould III, Drums
Marya Glur, Tour Manager
Copeland’s passion for singing, matched with her huge, blast-furnace voice, gives her music a timeless power and a heart-pounding urgency. Her music comes from deep within her soul and from the streets where she grew up, surrounded by the everyday sounds of the city – street performers, gospel singers, blasting radios, bands in local parks and so much more.
Born in Harlem, New York, in 1979, Copeland actually came to her singing career slowly. Her father, the late Texas blues guitar legend Johnny Clyde Copeland, recognized his daughter’s talent early on. He always encouraged her to sing at home, and even brought her on stage to sing at Harlem’s famed Cotton Club when she was just eight. At the time, Shemekia’s embarrassment outweighed her desire to sing. But when she was fifteen and her father’s health began to fail, her outlook changed. “It was like a switch went off in my head, and I wanted to sing,” she says. “It became a want and a need. I had to do it.”
At only 19, Shemekia stepped out of her father’s shadow with the Alligator release of 1998 debut recording, Turn the Heat Up!, and the critics raved. The Village Voice called her “nothing short of uncanny,” while the Boston Globe proclaimed that “she roars with a sizzling hot intensity.” A year later, she appeared in the Motion Picture Three To Tango, while her song “I Always Get My Man, was featured in the film Broken Hearts Club.
Her second album, Wicked, released in 2000, scored three Handy Awards (Song of the Year, Blues Album of the Year, Contemporary Female Artist of the Year) and a GRAMMY® nomination. Two years later, New Orleans R&B legend Dr. John stepped in to produce her third recording, Talking To Strangers (2002), which Vibe called “a masterful blend of ballsy rockers and cheeky ballads.”
Copeland released The Soul Truth in 2005. The album was produced by legendary Stax guitarist Steve Cropper (who also played on the CD), and featured generous doses of blues, funk and Memphis-flavored soul.
Never Going Back, her 2009 debut on Telarc, a division of Concord Music Group, captured Copeland at a crossroads on that artistic path. While Copeland will always remain loyal to her blues roots, Never Going Back took a more forward view of the blues, and in so doing pointed her music and her career in a new direction. Produced by Oliver Wood, guest players included John Medeski, Marc Ribot and Chris Wood.
“I’ve had success in my career, and I’m happy with that,” she says. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to continue to grow. In order for an artist to grow – and for a genre to grow – you have to do new things. I’m extremely proud to say I’m a blues singer, but that doesn’t mean that’s the only thing I’m capable of singing, or that’s the only style of music I’m capable of making.”
She adds: “I want to keep growing. My main goal when I started this was that I was going to do something different with this music, so that this music could evolve and grow. I got that idea from my father. He didn’t do the typical one-four-five blues. He went to Africa and worked with musicians there. He was one of the first blues artists to do that. I want to be the same way. I want to be innovative with the blues.”
Copeland’s latest Telarc recording, 33 1/3, was produced by Oliver Wood and released September 25, 2012. On December 5, 2012, 33 1/3 received a GRAMMY® nomination for Best Blues Album.
South Florida Music & Arts Scene 