Jim Houston profile picture

Jim Houston

Doubt walks out the door when love comes innuendo.

About Me

I grew up wandering the subterranean halls of the Toronto Conservatory of Music where my grandfather was a Doctor of Music and my mother a child prodigy with perfect pitch, amused by the women in high-collared dresses and the men who appeared to possess no sense of humour whatsoever. My father waxed passionate and fervent upon the genius of Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Earl 'Fatha' Hines. And, thus, I emerged entrenched in these two seemingly disparate worlds along with Beatles harmonies, Charlie Musselwhite harmonica riffs and the great 'folk scare' of the 1960's. I bought a guitar for $5 when I was 13 years old and began writing almost immediately. Somewhere in all of this, I found my own voice.Now I immerse myself in the history of jazz & blues tradition, combining the depths of nascent jazz, the drive of Delta blues and the deep roots of acoustic music, meshing traditions into finely written song material. Backed by finger-picked guitar on vintage and resophonic instruments, bottleneck slide, tenor banjo, harmonica and vocals that range from a deep growl to a decent tenor, I perform a large repertoire of work sung with depth, passion and a semi-arid sense of humour, travel down roads and alleyways in and out of love and the contents of a whiskey glass, dance at 78 rpm and walk long thoughts. I am a song writer and a jazz, blues & roots music presence with a respectful attitude toward acoustic origins but, with strong originality.A new SOLO CD, "Main Street, Sunday Afternoon", is in the works.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 5/4/2007
Band Website: aceintheholeproductions.ca
Band Members: I am a SONGWRITER first, then PLAYER, then PERFORMER. I say that - not with a self-effacing slant toward the other two - but to acknowledge the drive or the source from whence the music arrives. Each musical nuance, style, live performance, genre, jam riff, lyrical muse etc. is synthesized and then crafted - sometimes spewed - into a song of my own making. I like knowing where it comes from but that is not always possible or even necessary. Every writer writes for themselves but not at the expense of others so my pencil scratches and idle noodling become songs when performed for others. That's what makes them whole; what makes them real. So, thank you.
Influences: In no particular sequence... Mississippi John Hurt, Jelly Roll Morton, dry martinis, Jack Teagarden, Leon Redbone, Rube, The Treehouse of Jimmy Domino, 'Chuck Taylor' All-Stars, Son House, single malt whiskey, Mark Twain, scratchy 78 records, Robert Johnson, Mr. Ramsey, espresso, Anne Marie, Edie's Hats, National guitars, Bacon & Day banjos, Paul Rishell, HB pencils, Count Basie, R. E. Phillips resophonic guitars, Duke Ellington, Roy Book Binder, Huckleberry Finn, George & Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Chris Smither, Minor 7 flat 5 chords, Phil Wiggins, David Olney, Dr. Frederick James Horwood, John Howard Griffin, Fab Four, long thoughts, Sleepy John Estes, 'twelve to six' curve ball (the big yakker), Chris Whitley, Del Rey, Bonnie Raitt, Thelonius Monk, Tom Waits, Golden Gate thumbpicks, my front porch, Geoff Muldaur
Sounds Like: Himself... on the following instruments:1936 National Trojan (probably Montgomery Ward mail order); 2003 R.E. Phillips tricone; 1923 Martin 2-17; 1928 Bacon & Day tenor banjo (open back); 6-string and 12-string guitars built by Shelley Sax in the early 1980''s; Lee Oskar harmonicas.
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Record Label: Ace In the Hole Productions
Type of Label: Indie