If you've ever heard the lonesome harp playing that graces the Rolling Stones' "Miss You," then you've experienced the phenomenal harmonica skills of Sugar Blue. The talented instrumentalist has been performing since the age of 10 - nearly 50 years now - and contributed his blazing harp sound to such Stones albums as 1978's Some Girls, 1980's Emotional Rescue, and 1981's Tattoo You. More importantly, for the blues music fan, Blue has played alongside such giants as Willie Dixon, Louisiana Red, Lonnie Brooks, and Son Seals, among many others. The cat is so talented that he's even backed hardcore jazz legends like Stan Getz and Paul Horn, as well as pursued a solo career of note.
On January 26, 2010 Beeble Music will release Threshold, the latest album from harmonica master Sugar Blue, and his first since 2007's Code Blue. Blue has never been a prolific recording artist, and this is just his sixth album since 1980, but he continues to evolve and grow as an artist, and Threshold is said to represent a further expansion of his blues-based sound. Leading a top-notch band of seasoned musicians, Blue contributed nine original sounds for Threshold, the material running the gamut from blues and rock to jazz and funk. Two cover tunes round out the album - Junior Well's classic theme song, "Messin' With The Kid," and the Elvis Presley hit "Trouble," written by the famed team of Lieber and Stoller.
Born James Whiting in Harlem, Sugar Blue performed at the famed Apollo club at an early age. He began his recording career with sessions behind folks like Brownie McGhee and Roosevelt Sykes, and would later relocate to France, where he met the Rolling Stones. After a brief stay in Europe, during which he recorded two albums, Blue returned to the U.S. and the blues Mecca of Chicago. While in the Windy City, Blue honed his craft, learning from masters like Big Walter Horton, Junior Wells, Carey Bell, and James Cotton.
Aside from his obvious skills as a harp player, Blue is also a powerful vocalist and intelligent songwriter, and Threshold also shows a further refinement of his wordplay. In a press release for the Threshold album, Blue says, "I believe that the greatest threshold of all is love because it is the fount from which all human life springs. Life echoes the sounds of our interactions: joy, sadness, heartache, passion, loneliness, intimacy, celebration or solemn occasion. We have tried to give voice to these feelings in this musical offering."
Photo courtesy Beeble Music
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