Fabulous Thunderbird

Barrelhouse Chuck leads an all-star blues band which includes premier harp player and Fabulous Thunderbird's member Kim Wilson and long-time Muddy Waters rhythm section members Willie “Big Eyes” Smith on drums and Calvin “Fuzz” Jones on bass. On guitars are Joel Foy and Eddie Taylor, Jr. This band smokes as Chuck pays tribute to his mentors and heroes Sunnyland Slim, Little Brother Montgomery, Floyd Jones, Detroit Jr., Memphis Slim, Big Moose Walker, Smokey Smothers, Eddie Taylor, and Muddy Waters. Barrelhouse Chuck's music continues the Chicago blues piano tradition!

A fiery guitarist and talented songwriter who plays a unique blend of Memphis R&B, southwest blues, and urban funk. Collection includes: Hell Or High Water (2002); The Hard Way (2004); Moment Of Truth (2007); Speak No Evil (2009); Red Clay Soul (2016); Winning Hand (2018).

Chapman has long had a fascination, not just with American music, but the American South and West. So an album explicitly inspired by the country should come as no surprise. The joy is how much it highlights his fabulous guitar picking. “Sweet Little Friend from Georgia” and “Coming of the Roads” might seem relatively straightforward, but the more epic “Swamp” and “Gaddo’s Lake” delve into decidedly complex territory; in fact, the impressionistic “Swamp” is probably the record’s centerpiece. As an instrumental portrait of the southern states it’s loving, very finely honed, and played in a way that reminds you that Chapman is one of the best, and most undervalued, guitarists around. Even if “Jumping Geordie” has its origins on the other side of the Atlantic, it still fits in. For longtime fans, “Indian Annie’s Kitchen” brings back some memories of “Kodak Ghosts,” and throughout small touchstones of blues, country, and jazz slip by.