Perth Blues Club, Charles Hotel, 509 Charles Street, Dog Swamp

Tuesday 6 November

Featuring:

• Jody Williams
• The Bob Patient House Band
• Trevor Jalla

Tickets $35/$25 PBC Members

The Perth Blues Club is honoured to present the one and only Jody Williams,
in his exclusive Perth show.

The term "legend" is bandied about generously these days. 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 BB 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 '50s his 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 world’s music scene.

Jody was a prolific studio musician during the mid-to-late 1950s. He invigorated Bo Diddley's voodoo-laced 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' 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 1960s, but by the late '60s 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, and 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 album Return of A Legend, which became the vehicle to re-launch his career. The album received a 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.

Catch the wonderful Jody Williams, complete with fantastic Australian bill, live at The Perth Blues Club on Tuesday November 6th with Trevor Jalla and The Bob Patient House Band rounding out the night.

Trevor Jalla starts the night from 8.30pm, with Jody Williams on stage at 9.45pm, Bob Patient Band on at 11pm.

Coming soon:

• 13/11 - James Southwell Band (Qld), Paul O'Brien & Richie Pavledis
• 20/11 - On The Level CD Launch, Zoophyte, Cass Eager & Jan Rynsaardt
• 27/11 - Richie Pavledis CD Launch
• 4/12   - Jan Preston
• 11/12 - Indigo Duck, Mike Elrington Band

For all media enquiries, please contact:

Annie Johnsson Publicity
Ph/Fx: 03 5221 4848
Mob: 0403 831 809
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it