Posted in: What's New | No Comments | October 23, 2021
Rarely does an artist explode onto the music scene with the force and impact of a comet. But when it does happen — as it did when 27-year-old singer-guitarist Gary Clark Jr. delivered an incendiary debut performance of his song ―Bright Lights‖ at Eric Clapton’s 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festival last June — the result is magical.
Funky, hip, and badass, Gary Clark Jr. is a rocking soul man for a new generation. Weaned on John Lee Hooker, Lightnin Hopkins, and T Bone Walker, Clark fuses his deep blues influence with a love of classic hip-hop and contemporary soul. His voice weaves between a melodic lilt and a seasoned blues howl with his guitar licks dancing and
dodging between and behind the beat as if the essence of Snoop and Dre loom in his head by way of the Mississippi Delta.
In addition to 12 of Clark’s original compositions, Blak and Blu also features a 13th song - a blistering cover of Little Johnny Taylor’s (popularized by Albert Collins), “If You Love Me Like You Say / Third Stone From The Sun” (Jimi Hendrix) is actually a complete reworking of the song utilizing the Hendrix riff reinterpreted by Clark. The result is an
extraordinary hybrid of the two ideas that breathes new fire to an old favorite.
