Eddie Martin

Eddie Martin - Play The Blues With Feeling - 2005 - Blue Blood

Martin's command of blues guitar styles, acoustic and electric, is unparalleled in this country – and he will give anyone round the world a good run for their money. As confident and eloquent with intricate finger-style national steel playing as he is with incendiary electric soloing, the most amazing thing is that he is also one of our top harmonica players. These instrumental skills sprinkle this album like gold dust and are all the more amazing for the fact that guitar and harmonica are played simultaneously on this live-to-tape album with no overdubs. Of the 10 tracks, 9 are original – including the International Songwriting Competition finalist "Someone's Making Money", 2 solo acoustic, 7 raw electric trio arrangements with slide guitar to the fore, and a big band ska-like swing tune "Bubble Blues". With nine albums almost in as many years, Eddie Martin is one of the most prolific blues performers on the international circuit. With this cd he has come up with another winner which is bound to consolidate his position at the top of the blues hierarchy. © 1996-2010, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates http://www.amazon.co.uk/Play-Blues-Eddie-Martin/dp/B0007ZB3D6

London bluesman, Eddie Martin condenses the rural pre-war blues of Robert Johnson with contemporary artists like Taj Mahal, or even the Texas grooves of Freddie King and Albert Collins. This guy is an incredibly talented blues guitarist and harmonica player, and is really keeping the traditional blues styles alive. "Play The Blues With Feeling" is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Buy Eddie's brilliant"Ice Cream" album, and promote this great blues artist

TRACKS

1 Someone's Making Money
2 Selfish Guy
3 My Black Mama
4 Bubble Blues
5 Bristol Shakedown
6 Play the Blues With Feeling
7 Tell Me Why
8 One-Man-Band Rag
9 Barbed Wire
10 Bone Shaker

All songs composed by Eddie Martin except Track 3 by Eddie James

MUSICIANS

Eddie Martin - Guitar, Harmonica, Foot Percussion
Tony Caddle - Bass
Marion Dolton - Bass, Double Bass
Paddy Milner - Piano
Gary Baldwin - Hammond B3
Michael Wiedrich, Mike Hoddinott - Drums
Little Big Horns - Horn
Steve Trigg, Andy Gilliams, Patsy Gamble - Horn

BIO

Born in London in the 60's British Blues Boom, Eddie Martin turned professional after being nominated for Best British Blues Guitarist, Band and Album between 1996 and 1998. Since then he has played or recorded with many greats from both sides of the Atlantic, including John Mayall, Peter Green, Buddy Guy, and Taj Mahal. His prolific recording and touring schedule takes him from his native UK all round the world to major events - first touring the USA to some acclaim in 1999. 2005, for example, saw his big band headline the Colne International Rhythm and Blues Festival in the UK, his trio perform at the prestigious Cahors Blues Festival in France, and brought him to the World Harmonica Festival in Germany where he performed solo, held a harmonica masterclass and judged the world blues harmonica competition. He has recorded numerous live sessions for national radio programmes (BBC Radio 2 in the UK). His songs have found their way to the finals of the International Songwriting Competition and to the song stable of Alligator Records. And his live performances. whether as his unique one-man-band or fronting his trio or big band, have always attracted accolades. "a live act not to be missed" said Blues Revue USA. He continues to tour in all three guises. The trio features top drawer rhythm section Bill Banwell on Bass and Tim Price (ex Gary Moore) on drums. His songwriting seamlessly updates blues tradition to the modern world and his solo and band performances fill even hardened blues audiences with new enthusiasm for the expressiveness and power of this genre. His acoustic style has developed into a percussive blend of traditional blues slide and fingerpicking blues styles with flamenco rasguerdo techniques. These he combines with rack harmonica playing and foot percussion in the style of the one-man-blues bands such as Duster Bennett, Joe Hill Louis and Dr Ross. On the electric, his forbears are Freddy King, Albert King and Buddy Guy, as, for example, "the Times" has noted. His guitar-playing alone has seen his cd work commended by the Guitar Press around Europe, receiving "excellent" tags from "Guitar" in the UK and "Guitar and Bass" in Germany. Most strikingly innovative is the simultaneous rack harmonica and guitar style that he has developed and which caused the International Harmonica Federation to single him out as one of the innovators on the instrument at the World Harmonica Festival in Germany. A master acoustic and electric guitarist, harmonica player, songwriter and powerful singer, Eddie Martin has been described as "the most remarkable blues man of his generation" by Blues in Britain. ©2003-2010 MySpace, Inc. All Rights Reserved http://www.myspace.com/eddiemartinblues