Jackie Greene. I discovered Jackie Greene a little over a year ago when he was tour with the Phil Lesh and Friends band. Phil & Friends opened for the Black Crowes on Oct 5th, 2008 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Alpharetta, GA. Phil's line-up always changes and when I was preparing for the show and checking out which musicians he was touring with this time, I recognized everyone except a guy named Jackie Greene.
When I looked him up I saw an article in the New York Times that dubbed him “The Prince of Americana” and described his music as "steeped in country, blues, jazz, rock and folk traditions, defying easy categorization". Needless to say, I was very interested to see this guy play.
When Phil and Friends took the stage on Sunday evening, I was surprised to see the unassuming Jackie Greene as lead vocals and guitar for Friends, a position held most notably by Warren Haynes and Chris Robinson on previous iterations of the Friends. The band was great, as usual, but I was taken with how Jackie commanded the stage and couldn't wait to check out his solo work.
Since that show just over a year ago, Jackie Greene has been my favorite new musician and I just can't get enough.
Check him out www.jackiegreene.com and www.myspace.com/jackiegreene. If you're interested in picking up an album, I'd recommend his 2002 release Gone Wanderin'.
-- Jeff
No comments:
Post a Comment