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Artist
Beggar Joe
9+ albums
bluesjazzblues rocksoul
about
In a musical world forever dominated by passing fad and fickle fashion, Beggar Joe cannot help but stand out as something special, the real thing even, a blues ,folk and soul powerhouse so steeped in the roots of the genre they could be the offspring of pure Mississippi Delta stalwarts. There are five of them, they are in their late 20s and early 30s, and they hail, for the most part, from Manchester. Upon the imminent release of their self-titled debut album, they might just become your favourite new band. Produced by Al Stone (Jamiroquai, Bob Dylan, Corinne Bailey Rae among countless others) and inspired by BB King, Curtis Mayfield and James Brown, but also with echoes of an acoustic Paul Weller here, a reinvigorated Gomez there, "Beggar Joe" is one of those rare things, an album so assured of its time and place in the world, of its understated power to move, that it sounds as if it has been around forever. It very likely will be. Their story starts five years ago, at Salford University, where four of them were studying music. Singer and guitarist Jon Kenzie had been a music fanatic since the age of 10, more in awe of, say, Muddy Walters than he was anything in the current pop scene. Within five years, he had found his true voice to go with his passion, and never looked back. Keyboardist Justin Shearn had picked up his father's love of the blues from an early age, and passed many hours, days and weeks sitting at the piano steadfastly honing his craft. Bassist Andy Brown, p
