Baker Brooks Cooks Up First UK Show

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Chicago bluesman Ronnie Baker Brooks will be coming to the UK to play a one off show at Nell’s Jazz & Blues, London on Thursday 6th July following the release of his new album Times Have Changed(Provogue/Mascot Label Group) in January this year.

Talking about the show Brooks says; “This is my first tour with my own band in England and we are very excited to play the new songs to a new audience!” The band lines up with Daryl Coutts (Keyboards), Ari Seder (Bass), Maurice Jones (drums) and Ronnie Baker Brooks (guitar/lead vocals).

Times Have Changed, Brooks’ first album in ten years was released the week of his 50th Birthday to rave reviews from Classic Rock, Guitarist, Blues Matters, Blues & Soul, Fireworks, Rock Society, R2and Record Collector amongst others.

Born in Chicago, he started playing guitar around age six. At 19, he joined his father, the late-great Lonnie Brooks who by then had influenced some of the most well-known bluesman of our history: Jimmy Reed, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Johnny Winter, and Junior Wells. For 12 years the two would tour together, putting Ronnie out front with Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Koko Taylor.

For the album Brooks worked it with Steve Jordan, whose work runs from Keith Richards to Stevie Wonder, John Mayer and Eric Clapton. “I decided to go to Memphis and Nashville for the particular musicians and studios I wanted to engage,” Jordan explained.  “As it turns out, Ronnie had done a few of his previous recordings in Memphis, so he felt right at home.” Collaborating with Jordan represented a lesson in rhythm and blues history. Brooks refers to the director as “a walking encyclopedia of music detail and equipment”, a professor through which Brooks could take that next developmental step. “Once we got the ball rolling, my confidence went higher and higher”, he says. “I’m a better musician for this experience.”

Jordan and Brooks brought in a mint press of Memphis music royalty: Stax Records staple Steve Cropper (Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave), Archie Turner (Al Green, Syl Johnson, O.V. Wright), jazz saxophonist Lannie McMillan, and R&B icon Angie Stone. For several tracks, Brooks also enlisted brothers Teenie (guitar), Charles (organ) and Leroy Hodges (bass) of the legendary Hi Rhythm Section, which served as the house band for hit soul albums by artists like Al Green and Ann Peebles.

European Tour dates
Sat 1st July – City Blues Festival – Randers C, DENMARK
Thurs 6th July – Nell’s Jazz & Blues, London UK
Sat 8th July – Bluesfest Gaildorf – Gaildorf, GERMANY
Ronnie Baker Brooks Online
ronniebakerbrooks.com
facebook.com/ronniebbrooksmusic
twitter.com/ronniebbrooks

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