Jazz Articles about John Mayall

John Mayall: In The Pocket at 84

by Jim Worsley
March 11, 2018

For the past five and a half decades, John Mayall has written scores of both relevant and joyous music. It should come as no surprise that at the tender age of 84 he continues to do so. It soothingly, and ingeniously, seems to flow out of him like a calm, yet telling, river. Many years ago, he was dubbed the Father of the British Blues. Rightfully so, as in the early 1960's he created, or revolutionized (depending on ...

John Mayall's Bluesbreakers: Live in 1967

by Doug Collette
April 18, 2015

Because his career didn't directly ascend to a higher profile subsequent to his tenures in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, guitarist Peter Green's membership in the group doesn't receive as much prominence as that of, Eric Clapton who became an icon of contemporary or Mick Taylor, who joined the Rolling Stones for arguably the greatest albums of their career. This despite the fact Green formed Fleetwood Mac with bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood when he left Mayall's auspices in 1967 ...

John Mayall at the YMCA Boulton Center For The Performing Arts

by Mike Perciaccante
October 5, 2014

John Mayall YMCA Boulton Center for the Performing Arts Bay Shore, NY September 19, 2014 During John Mayall's long and storied career, the singer, songwriter, harmonica master, keyboardist and guitarist has used Chicago blues as the foundation for his signature sound, which also melds rock with a slight touch of jazz. His backing band is and has always been known as the Bluesbreakers. Membership in the Bluesbreakers has changed regularly since the late '50s ...

John Mayall: A Special Life

by Doug Collette
June 1, 2014

Redoubtable and self-motivated as ever Just shy of his eightieth birthday, John Mayall recorded an album with his current band late in 2013 that suggests in no uncertain terms he remains as potent a blues musician as the members of his group merely half his age. He titled A Special Life with the same knowing understatement he writes, plays and sings (and renders the cover art as well). That's not to say there's much profound in the material ...

John Mayall: Live in London

by Doug Collette
December 9, 2011

Though John Mayall doesn't deign to call the unit that collaborates with him on Live in London “The Bluesbreakers," his current band is arguably as tight and sympathetic as any ensemble that's sported the moniker in the recent past. Fusing bassist Greg Rzab, drummer Jay Davenport and guitarist Rocky into a fluid ensemble, The Godfather of British Blues elicits versatility from this stripped- down instrumental lineup, opening with vocals, harp and some piano on “Another Man." It's just the first ...

John Mayall: Tough

by Doug Collette
October 10, 2009

John Mayall looks alternately dignified and defiant in the photos that adorn Tough. The music, however, is permeated with a consistent resolve. Displaying his usual emotionalism, the Godfather of British Blues offers an album largely comprised of covers recorded with an almost entirely new band.

The wisdom of his concept(s) becomes apparent on the very first track, “Nothing to Do with Love." This atmospheric number features not just the familiar wail of Mayall's harmonica, but the lead guitar of Rocky ...

Another Palace, Another King: John Mayall in Cologne

by Phillip Woolever
July 9, 2009

John Mayall Die Kantine Koln, GermanyMay 12, 2009 Sometimes a mix of the old and the new is a formula yielding timelessness. The latest soulful and rollicking incarnation of John Mayall and his blues-based sidekicks, assembled just a few months back, reportedly assures a new album due out this fall. If this current lineup--Rocky Athas (guitar), Greg Rzab (bass), Jay Davenport (drums), and Tom Canning (keyboard)--manages to capture even half the energy and ...