• COLIN JAMES •
Six-time Juno award-winner Colin James has driven his 10-album, 25-year career with his blues influenced guitar mastery and soulful vocals.
James was only 18-years old when he captured the attention of guitar legend Stevie Ray Vaughn, who marveled at the prodigious talent, decided to take him on the road through the Canadian prairies, and later the United States. It wasn't long after that the young musician began opening for the likes of John Lee Hooker, ZZ Top, Steve Winwood and Keith Richards, James was also the first to be signed to the then fledgling Virgin America label. With the seductive, smash hit "Why'd You Lie?â€, the rocker “Voodoo Thing†and “5 Long Years", he managed to break the record for most albums sold on a first release by a Canadian artist and has since maintained the integrity of a truly enduring artist.
Earlier this year (2008), he took home 3 Maple Blues Awards (Toronto Blues Society), which included Entertainer of the Year, while his release Limelight also went gold in Canada.
"No one, however, will be surprised to hear Colin James and the Little Big Band playing a brand of R&B that was once dispensed in loose, flawless three-minute bursts during which a razor-sharp rhythm section would spar with sizzling horns, some tough guitar-string bending, a church-influenced keyboard and a possessed vocalists It's the type of sound that helped rule the airwaves in the heyday of Atlantic Records in the 1950s and '60s,"
Perusse, Bernard (Feb. 8, 2007). The Montreal Gazette
• Reviews •
"A natural blues player who picked up the guitar at the age of 10, Colin can keep pace with any blues guitarist as his proceeding albums that moved him from the Delta blues to old time rock & roll would show."
- Full Spectrum Ottawa -
"Let's check out Colin's crazy resume: He was into Celtic music when he was a teen growing up in Saskatoon. Then he moved to Vancouver and became a bluesy rock guy, famous for songs like Just Came Back (To Say Goodbye). Then it was big band swing. His Little Big Band record came out in 1994 - long before it became a fad... Amazingly, he's been convincing in every form. His fans, while perhaps confounded and challenged by this chameleon musician, have stuck by him."
- Jam! Canoe -
"James provides rich vocals and demonstrates fully his mastery of the guitar, from acoustic to wah-wah, making Limelight everything you would expect from one of Canada’s best."
- Music Critic dot CA (Limelight CD review) -
