Responding to an endless search to transcend the blues, Native Chicago born guitarist, conceptualist Jean-Paul Bourelly assembled a deeply rooted and multi-cultural group of the finest musicians of modern blues terrain.
In this project, each musician brings to the table his own language of blues culture.
“Blues is like any other music in that it needs regeneration to stay relevant. Each person feeds their special take on that feeling into the pot of gumbo we call Blues Bandits.”
Lead Vocals Dean Bowman himself influenced by the legendary vocalizer Leon Thomas has a strong background in the church, is no stranger to the blues and experimentation.
Bourelly heard Sako Fily during a concert from his longtime friend singer Abdourahmane Diop (Boom Bop). Fily is the nephew of the great Kora master Toumani Diabaté brings an pedigree as well as a hypnotic flavor to rhythm.
Wynton Kelly Stevenson is the young urban voice of the blues and one that Bourelly took special interest in. The two met in a small club in Berlin’s Neuköln district. “This cat came in with a belt around his waist, full of harmonicas, a few effects and a RAT (portable amp) and what I heard was fresh, I mean fresh enough that I had to go and borrow an old beat up guitar from the backroom and jam with him.”
Darryl Taylor a Houston Texas native is well grounded in blues and R&B having a long association with 60’s soul group Archie Bell and the Drells.
What followed was Bourelly inviting him along with Fily to his Spontaneous Situation musician night. The group and the sound are born out of the musical exchanges during those 7 Spontaneous shows.
