MIM and the Phoenix Blues Society present Arizona Big Electric Blues An I Am AZ Music® concert Featuring Big Pete Pearson and Big Nick & the Gila Monsters with the Smokehouse Horns Big Pete Pearson – “Arizona’s King of the Blues” Born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1936, Big Pete Pearson landed in Phoenix in the 1950s and has ruled the Phoenix blues scene ever since. He is a father figure to many bluesmen and women who have cut their teeth playing his band. A local legend and Arizona Blues Hall of Fame inductee, Pearson has spent more time performing in Europe (where he has become a household name) than in the United States in recent years. Pearson has worked with legends such as Ray Charles, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Tina and Ike Turner, Big Joe Turner, Etta James, Aaron Neville and the Neville Brothers and more. He has created many albums, most notably One More Drink, I’m Here Baby (which hit #1 worldwide and won Best Blues Album of the Year at the Independent Music Awards in 2007), Finger In Your Eye, and the chart-topping, The Screamer. In April of 2012, Pearson released Choose, his first album recorded with celebrated Italian blues band, the Gamblers. Big Nick & the Gila Monsters Big Nick & the Gila Monsters have been together as a musical group since 1993, but have been friends and associates for many years prior. Their chemistry is apparent from the first moment they hit the stage. Entering its twentieth year together, BNGM is an ensemble in every sense of the word. Every member of the Arizona Blues Halls of Fame has been inducted as an individual artists, with the exception of BNGM, which was inducted as band in 2010. The group has also proudly held an endorsement from Fender Musical Instruments since 1996. With seven albums, including a Christmas blues CD released in 2012, to their name, the band is a favorite in the Valley club scene and is frequently invited to grace the stages of some of the west coast’s top festivals. Big Nick & the Gila Monsters is John “Big Nick” Samora (vocals and harmonica), Mike “El Rey” Lewis (guitar), Ricky J. Lockhart (drums), Rocky Heyer (bass). The Smokehouse Horns Since 1997, this wildly talented group of horn players have graced BNGM with its presence in the recording studio and on festival stages. The depth and power they bring to a BNGM performance must be witnessed to be fully appreciated. The band is Rich Cross (1st trumpet), Jack Bannon (2nd trumpet), Brett Haglin (tenor sax), and Dean Randall (baritone sax).
Posted on: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 06:28:39 +0000
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