About Me
Watching The Blue Four perform can transport the listener back to the heyday of Chicago blues. Led by guitarist Chris James and bassist Patrick Rynn, the group is comprised of four seasoned professionals with well over a half century of combined blues playing experience. They've paid their dues in the smoky Chicago blues joints and toured coast to coast across North America, Europe and Japan, as well as the Hawaiian islands, playing countless blues festivals, club dates and television appearances. They've recorded for the respected Earwig, Evidence, Hightone, Ice House, Marquis, Appaloosa and Magnum blues labels, and received national recognition in countless blues publications. These musicians have performed with and learned from many of the greats...and it shows from the first note. They are all authentic showmen with pure ability to tear up a stage, as evidenced by their prominent role in the recent Martin Scorsese produced "Godfather's and Sons" episode of "The Blues" series that aired recently on PBS stations nationwide.As a vocalist Chris James is powerful, yet relaxed and natural; as a guitarist he is fluid and explosive. He navigates his way effortlessly through one lean arrangement after another, from a soulful slow blues to a ferocious, driving slide guitar workout recalling past greats like Elmore James, Earl Hooker, and Muddy Waters. His solid vocals are convincing and honestly passionate; his dynamic guitar solos always tasteful and inventive, while remaining true to the essence of the blues. At times this band sounds as if they stepped directly out of a time machine dialed in to "south side of Chicago, c. 1950s". Their knowledge and experience shows; everything is in the right place. Whether playing before an audience of seasoned blues fans or folks who've never been to a blues club, the energy and swing of their music pulls in the audience from the very first note.The Blue Four play blues the way it is supposed to be played...with love and respect for the tradition that lies at the heart of the music. Their goal is to keep the fine art of traditional Chicago Blues alive. The result is a genuine, "true" blues show unsurpassed in energy, feeling, and authenticity. Chris and Patrick have become stalwarts of the bustling Chicago blues scene, and along the way performed with many of Chicago's bona fide Blues legends: Sunnyland Slim, Robert Jr. Lockwood, Homesick James, Honeyboy Edwards, Snooky Pryor, Junior Wells, David Myers of The Aces, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith and The Legendary Blues Band, Sam Lay, Pinetop Perkins, Louisiana Red, James Cotton, Henry Gray, Jody Williams, Dennis Binder, Aaron Moore, Magic Slim, Eddie Shaw, Lefty Dizz, Little Smokey Smothers, Detroit Junior, Willie Kent, Big Time Sarah, Valerie Wellington, and Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes, among many others. ..
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