at Moondance Jam 13, Walker MN, July 2004
photo by Steve Loftness
A Little History
I was born circa 1951 in Benton Harbor, Michigan - a town in southwest lower
Michigan, on Lake Michigan, about 55 miles across the lake from Chicago - a
little bit further if you forgo that shortcut and actually drive around the lake to
Chicago instead (about 90 miles in that case). Picking up the guitar in the mid
60's my first influence was rock 'n' roll of course, but it wasn't all that long before
I discovered blues (listening to East/West by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band
down in Danny Gatchell's basement) and then jazz (hearing Twisted Blues by
Wes Montgomery for the first time). I had two years of music theory at Lake
Michigan College in Benton Harbor, and though mostly self-taught on guitar, two
'local' guitarists had a huge influence on me: Dick Curtis, with whom I did have a
few lessons in '70 or '71 in South Bend, Indiana; and Bob Burford, who I met in
'78 or '79. Dick taught me the basic jazz chord voicings and the rudiments of
chord substitution; Bob introduced me to chord melody playing and chord solos
in some enlightening sit-downs we had together and in some original charts he
gave to me - not to mention some different picking techniques he showed Greg
Horn and me (which has us both chasing our tails for weeks!). I'm sorry to say
I've lost track of Dick since my lessons with him but I've recently reconnected
with Bob who currently resides in Nashville. You can find Bob’s CDs on iTunes
and at Rhapsody, and view videos of him playing solo guitar on the Bob Burford
Channel at YouTube (which I watch Full-Screen trying to steal everything he does!
(if I could)). Thanks Bob!
I moved to Minneapolis in '87 and since then have worked in a variety of
situations: variety/top 40, funk, rock & roll, blues, r&b, jazz, a couple musicals
(West Side Story, Funny Face, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat)
and even a country band or two. I performed with the Minneapolis Symphony of
the Lakes when an electric guitarist was required for their performance of the
West Side Story Suite; spent several years as guitarist with two jazz big bands:
Just Friends and the Twin Cities Jazz Orchestra; and did a short stint as guitarist
for the Coasters, Drifters and Platters when various versions of those groups
performed in Minnesota/northern Iowa.
Currently I'm working with vocalist Willie Walker and his group We 'R', vocalist
Big John Dickerson and in eclectic bassist Dick Kronick's Quartet; on occasion
with Ronn Easton's All-Star Soul Revue, Barbara LaShoure's All-Star Blues Band
and the 19 piece jazz big band Acme Jazz Company. Until they moved to more
lucrative jazz environments others I’ve worked with recently are B3 organist Billy
Holloman (aka: “The Legend”), drummer Curly Martin's Trio and
Danish/American vocalist Mikhala Iverson.
On 28 Apr 2007 Big John Dickerson was inducted into the Minnesota Rock &
Country Music Hall of Fame (now called the Mid-America Hall of Fame). I was
inducted (by shirttail) as a member of the Big John Dickerson Band.
Some Very Pleasant News
On 14 Jul 2013 Willie Walker and Barbara LaShoure were both announced for
induction into the Minnesota Blues Hall of Fame: Willie for “Blues Performer”,
and Barbara received the “Blues Legend” award. The Minnesota Blues Hall of
Fame ceremony will be held Sunday, 6 Oct 2013 at the Minnesota Music Cafe in
St. Paul. Congratulations Willie and Barbara!
I “borrowed” a couple short biographies of Willie, Barbara and Big John
Dickerson from the MN Blues Society website and have posted them HERE.
Willie Walker
Barbara LaShoure
