The late Memphis producer Jim Dickinson once called Jimbo Mathus “the singing
voice of Huck Finn.” Outside the South, Mathus is likely known as the ringleader
of the hyper-ragtime outfit Squirrel Nut Zippers. In his native Mississippi and
throughout the South, however, Mathus is the prolific songwriter of born‐in‐the‐
bone Southern music, the torchbearer for Deep South mythology and culture.
Think Delta highways, bowling‐pin Budweisers and “catfish music” for the masses.

Jimbo Mathus remains a rising-star powerhouse that feeds the soul.  His latest
band, The Tri-State Coalition, features solid talent cut from the same Delta cloth.
Mathus describes Tri-State’s sound as  “…a true Southern amalgam of blues, white
country, soul and rock‐n roll.  As Dickinson would say, ‘If you don’t like this, there
is seriously something wrong with you.’”

Born and raised in Greenwood, Mississippi, Moore was encouraged in his piano playing by his mother, who was a music teacher and church piano player. Early influences included Curtis Jones and Memphis Slim, but much of his distinct sound comes from boogie-woogie legend Roosevelt Sykes, whom he learned from and frequently performed with upon moving to Chicago. Moore focused on his career and family, working for many years and retiring from a job with the City of Chicago, playing many local club dates on weekends from the 1950s through the 1980s.

Upon retiring, Aaron has made playing his full-time interest. After backing up local bluesman Brewer Phillips on his Delmark debut, Moore gained the attention of producer Pete Nathan, who requested Aaron finally release his first solo album. His critically acclaimed debut, Hello World, and the subsequent Boot ‘Em Up (both on Chicago’s Delmark Records) solidified Moore’s place among the hierarchy of blues piano masters.

Nowadays, Aaron can be found touring the United States and abroad, playing both as a solo artist and backing other musicians like his good friend David “Honeyboy” Edwards. He continues to support other musicians in the studio as well, and can be heard on Cleveland Fats’ forthcoming release on Honeybee Records. While remaining a local hero, Aaron Moore is finally beginning to gain the recognition he so richly deserves.

Compliments of http://www.earwigmusic.com/aaron-moore/

Jacqueline graduated from the Arts and Education Program at the Delta Blues Museum in 2000 as Most Outstanding Student. While with the band “Blues Prodigy”, she won the W.C. Handy Kids Foundation Award. Jacqueline was chosen to receive first Robert Johnson Award for Youth Excellence which was presented to her by Morgan Freeman and Steve Johnson (Robert Johnson’s grandson) at the age of 13. In an article in the Commercial Appeal about Jacqueline being the spokesperson for the Guns for Guitars Program she was described as a “pint sized” Stevie Ray Vaughn.

Jacqueline has opened for Blues great B.B. King, country artists Rebecca Lynn Howard, and Phil Vassar. She has also played and written with Steve Azar and jammed with Paul Simon, even though at the time she really did not know who he was. Jacqueline was asked to do vocals on a safety cd done by Delta State University titled “Snappy the Turtle”.

Jacqueline was honored to be the youngest blues artist casted by Sharon McConnell to be in bronze. Jacqueline has said, a quote by Bob Marley, “Music will never turn its back on you”, is one of the reasons she is so focused on writing, playing, and singing.

Weaned off of the Blues by her love for Rock and Roll, Jacqueline’s lyrics speak of things she has experienced in her own life. “Window” is a song she wrote at age nine, which was featured in a Lonelygirl15 youtube episode “House Arrest”. “If I Could Fly” was used in the movie “Remember the Daze” (The Beautiful Ordinary) in 2008.

In 2008, Jacqueline recorded at Ardent Studios with producer Pete Matthews. During this time, she was also contacted by the Gene Simmons Family Jewels Show to appear in an episode with Nick Simmons. This show will air in May 2009.

Jacqueline Nassar is known to mesmerize an audience with her performances whether they are acoustic or with her band. So if given the chance don’t miss a performance.

Compliments of http://www.bradwebb.com

“Williams comes back armed with a tone and a style that’ll turn your head around.”
- Guitar Player Magazine

The term “legend” is bandied about generously these days. It seems like the mere act of living to a ripe old age is enough to earn this handle all by itself.

In the case of blues guitarist Jody Williams, however, the “legendary” mantle is entirely and gloriously justified. As the first great string bender on the Chicago blues scene, he provided the stylistic bridge between B.B. King and T-Bone Walker (two of his principle influences) and young firebrands Otis Rush and Buddy Guy, both of whom wholeheartedly absorbed his innovations and licks as they modernized the idiom.

As a key Chicago session-guitarist during the 50′s whose singular tone, imaginative chord changes, and boundless creativity set him well apart from his peers, Jody added the essential guitar fire to some of the era’s greatest blues recordings: Bo Diddley’s Who Do You Love, Howlin’ Wolf’s Forty Four, Billy Boy Arnold’s I Wish You Would, and his own shimmering minor key instrumental Lucky Lou. You can hear echoes of Jody in Carlos Santana and Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green, and his impact extends to a legion of contemporary bluesmen on the scene.

Jody was a prolific studio musician during the mid-to-late 1950′s. He invigorated Bo Diddley’s voodoo-laced 1956 Checker smash Who Do You Love with a barrage of scalding fretwork. Williams’ slashing axe graced sessions with Jimmy Rogers (One Kiss), Floyd Dixon (Alarm Clock Blues), Jimmy Witherspoon (Ain’t Nobody’s Business), Otis Rush (Groaning The Blues), and Billy Boy Arnold (I Ain’t Got You).

Williams’ studio debut as a leader came at the end of 1955 with two authoritative upbeat vocals, Lookin’ For My Baby and Easy Lovin’ for Chicago deejay Al Benson’s Blue Lake logo with Willie Dixon slapping the bass. At the top of 1957, Williams cut his two-sided classic Lucky Lou b/w You May for Chess’ Argo label. Lucky Lou’s startling melody line was the inspiration for the blazing intro to Otis Rush’s classic All Your Love (I Miss Loving), cut the following year for Cobra Records. Jody kept busy during the early 1960′s but by the late 60′s he was tired of getting short changed on recognition and financial rewards, and he had a family to support. He stopped playing the guitar, stopped going to clubs, stopped listening to music. In a strange twist of irony, Williams the guitarist that everyone copied, took a job as an engineer for the Xerox Corporation.

In 2002 he emerged from retirement with the Dick Shurman produced album Return of A Legend which became the vehicle to re-launch his career. Legend received a 2003 WC Handy Award for Comeback Album of the Year, and Williams was heralded by Living Blues readers and critics as “Best Guitarist” for that year.

In 2004 he released “You Left Me In The Dark.” Williams once again teamed up with producer Dick Shurman to record material that continues to show his strength as a songwriter and a master of the Chicago Blues guitar style. Living Blues voted Jody Williams “Best Guitarist” and “You Left Me In The Dark” as “Best Contemporary Blues” recording in the 2005 Critics poll.

Compliments of http://www.batesmeyer.com/jodywilliams/#bio

There Payton fell in the city’s vibrant blues and soul scene, performing with artists including Bobby Rush. In the late ’60s jazz pianist Randy Weston recruited Payton for an extended stay at a club in Morocco, which widened his musical outlook.

In the late ’70s Payton laid down his guitar and concentrated on raising his family, but picked up the acoustic guitar again in the ’90s. Payton soon returned to his home state of Mississippi, and began studying and then performing the music of early masters including Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, and Mississippi John Hurt.

He also applies his rich voice and considerable guitar skills to his own compositions—his debut CD, Diggin’ Up Old Country Blues, features all originals that build upon early Mississippi blues traditions. The CD received heavy play on XM/Sirius’ station “Bluesville.”

Payton has a great passion for blues history and teaching others about acoustic country blues and its connections to broader themes in African American history. In addition to working with various programs in Mississippi, he’s served as a guest instructor at renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston and at the Centrum music camp in Port Townsend, Washington.

This year, Payton was honored by being chosen to represent the state of Mississippi for the American Folklife Center’s Homegrown Concert Series at the Library of Congress, which included an additional concert at the prestigious Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

Other noteworthy performances for 2011 are the upcoming Chicago Blues Festival, and the King Biscuit Festival. When not on the road, Payton plays locally in his current home of Jackson and at venues across the state.

Payton is currently working on his second album of acoustic blues using his guitar of choice—a Taylor GS that he named Willie Mae, inspired by a song by Big Bill Broonzy. In Willie Mae, he says, he’s found a sound that he’s been seeking for many years.