"Con Alma de Blues Magazine" Nº7 English Edition Con Alma de Blues Magazine Nº7 /English Edition | Page 59

Con Alma de Blues Magazine
RF:Do you notice differences, if there are any, be-
tween the American and European audiences?
I believe the European audiences appreciate im-
provisation more than the American audiences.
They also love our American exports of blues and
jazz so we’re more of a big deal over in Europe.
crossed the Atlantic to England and came back to
us in another inspiring, high-energy form. And
RF:Let me tell you that one day I listened a disc
over the years it’s been embraced by jazz musicians
of the Gong band and felt really impressed by its
and rock ‘n rollers alike. Essential Blues is my
guitarist Allan Holdsworth. I know that you’ve
played with him and may be you have a memory affirmation that they’re all valid contributions to
this age-old art form. And people are responding
or anecdote to share with us.
very favorably about the record! I don’t really
We had a lot of fun together jamming at his house need to hear another “white guy playing Albert
King licks,” Stevie Ray Vaughn already did that so
and in the studio when he recorded “Gretchen’s
Theme” on my first album back in 1988. Allan had incredibly well. I went down some other paths
that I felt were equally as valid. And I still get so
a great sense of humor and was such a masterful
much pleasure over the years from Albert King!
musician. If the highest goal of a musician is to
make music sound different, he was definitely a
person that achieved that goal and on a very high
level. Nobody sounds like him and there will ne-
ver be anyone close.
RF:We’ve got your last disc “Essential Blues” 2017
which was recorded in three days time. What’s
your opinion and expectations about it?
Before making the album, I had to ask myself,
where do we take the blues in the 21st century?
While being fully grounded in tradition, I believe
we take it into the future. The American blues has
always been an evolving style, from the Delta, up
river to Chicago and east to the Appalachians. It