JP Beausoleil profile picture

JP Beausoleil

About Me

JP Beausoleil, a self described “Bohemian Songster”, plays a wide variety of traditionally based music that includes, but is not limited to: Delta, Piedmont, and country blues, mountain music, a cappella work songs and ballads, early jazz and swing, as well as a handful of original music. Accompanying himself on banjo, acoustic, and steel guitars, Beausoleil’s music stems from years of “easy living and hard traveling” as he puts it. JP’s music defies ones typical expectations of a solo acoustic act. Beausoleil takes this music and redefines it by swallowing it whole and infusing his soul into it, which ensures his audience is emotionally captivated and leaves fully satisfied.JP Beausoleil hails from Rhode Island by way of Arizona. A self-taught musician, Beausoleil grew up in a household that praised traditional acoustic music, and, his style bears the influence of years spent listening to the old time music. His influences also include Doc Watson, Louis Jordan, Leadbelly, Mississippi John Hurt, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, and the New Lost City Ramblers to name a few. JP has performed publicly since 1996 either solo or with a variety of like-minded musicians, including the jug band The Wild Whiskey Boys. After relocating to Arizona in 1999, Beausoleil held multiple regular shows in Flagstaff, AZ and the northern Arizona region, including weekly shows at Mogollon Brewery, Bigfoot BBQ, and Uptown Billiards as well as performing annually at a variety of folk festivals around the Southwest. JP has opened and shared the stage with some of the Southwest’s finest musicians. Currently, Beausoleil is on the road again taking his rowdy foot stompin’ music to the East coast and the Deep South.JP Beausoleil has a mission in his music. In his own words: “I am looking to bring people the same joy and emotions I get from playing music; I want them to feel deep down in their souls what I sing and why I sing it. I want them to forget their troubles for a while and leave the show knowing everything is going to be all right. Music has this ability, and I intend to show them this.”

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 17/12/2005
Band Website: Yer lookin at it
Influences: Howlin Wolf,Hubert Sumlin, Muddy Waters, Doc Watson, Dom Flemons, Matt Ray, Louis Jordan, Charles Mingus, Louis Armstrong,Jabbo Smith, Grateful Dead, Thelonious Monk, Buddy Bolden, Bunk Johnson, Freddy Keppard, Eric Dolphy, Howard Alden, Bubber Miley, Bix Beiderbecke, Corey Miller(the washboard player), To Dineeshzhee' Singers, Charlie Patton, Blind Blake, Any musician thats blind, Mississippi Sheiks, Doc Boggs,King Oliver, Clarence White, Mother Mcrees Uptown Jug Champions, Buena Vista Social Club, Jimmy Rodgers, Jelly Roll Morton, Dave Van Ronk, Art Tatum, Ellis Marsalis & the whole Marsalis Family, Skip James,Duke Ellington,John Hurt,Art Blakey, Leadbelly, Son House, Steve Emanuel,Mississippi Fred McDowel, Sidney Bechet and his vibrato, and on and on....
Sounds Like: It sounds like the music I sing and play contains the heart and soul of all the musicians that have influenced me.
Record Label: Bear Grass Records
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Hotdamn! Duke Ellington everyday!!! Black,Brown and Beige, and Silver too!

Musician Duke Ellington has become the first black American to feature prominently on a US coin.The jazz composer and performer will be pictured seated at the piano on the 25 cent piece.The coin is on...
Posted by on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:14:00 GMT

A Colloquial Dream

Well here I am right back where I was yesterdayAnd the day before, and the day before thatSitting on a high barstool Holding my dreams up to the sound of Jazz musicI live uptown, where? I dont exactly...
Posted by on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 10:02:00 GMT

Sometimes I feel like...

Sometimes I feel like that lone chive that is always in the seasoning packet of Ramen Noodles. Ya know the one,it always floats right to the top all by itself,kind of always avoids your spoon. Next ti...
Posted by on Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:48:00 GMT

The Music Of Erich Zahn

The Music OF Erich Zann ..tr> I have examined maps of the city with the greatest care, yet have never again found the Rue d'Auseil. These maps have not been mod...
Posted by on Sun, 25 May 2008 13:40:00 GMT

Mood Indigo

    Mood Indigo....check out this recording by Mingus, composed by Duke Ellington. It is one of my favorite performances of his. I’ve heard few recordings that are as expressive a...
Posted by on Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:22:00 GMT

Im number 1 but it aint done!!!

 Hey everybody, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who voted for me on www.ourstage.com. You all put me in the number 1 spot  in the Newport Folk Festival category with my song "My Last...
Posted by on Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:21:00 GMT

Navajo and NASA

NASA and the Navajo When NASA was preparing for the Apollo Project, it took the astronauts to a Navajo reservation in Arizona for training.One day, a Navajo elder and his son came across the space cre...
Posted by on Sun, 30 Dec 2007 16:05:00 GMT

The backbone of traditional Navajo beliefs and the heart of Navajo culture and traditions.

A Little Essay by Jaye Tom on the Blessing Way and Protection Way Ceremonies. An important part of Navajo way of life is healing ceremonies. These ceremonies help our health because among the Navajos,...
Posted by on Sat, 22 Dec 2007 22:13:00 GMT