AWARD WINNING BAY AREA MUSICIAN BLIND LEMON PLEDGE SHOWCASES In 2021, Blind Lemon Pledge (aka Bay Area bluesman James Byfield) released “A Satchel Full of Blues”, an eclectic and wide ranging collection of original American Roots based songs set to a stripped down combo sound with drums, bass, guitar and harmonica. Garnering a slew of rave reviews, the album went to the top of the Blues charts, landing the #9 spot on the Roots Music Report’s Acoustic Blues Album Chart for 2021, and #85 on the RMR Top 200 Blues Albums. One critic in Britain hailed it as one of the top 25 blues albums of the year. “Oh So Good”, Pledge’s 10th album of originals and covers displays Pledge’s impressive compositional range with tunes ranging from Blues to Folk to Jazz to Cajun, with a startling and original take on the folk and blues classic “House of the Risin’ Sun”. Byfield has a lifelong love of music and penned his first song at age eight, launching his ongoing fascination with the magic synergy between melody and lyrics. In his early teens, he discovered a world of great music through the twist of his radio dial. The pre-WWII Country Blues, including the great recordings of his stage-namesake Blind Lemon Jefferson, Son House, Skip James and others had a huge influence on his early musical development; at the same time he also absorbed an influencing mix of Rock, Folk, Country, Jug Band, Zydeco and other genres, sometimes called Americana and Roots Music. In high school, the young musician joined his boomer contemporaries in the 60’s Rock explosion. Over the years, he played in a variety of bands, as well as finding time to explore more exotic forms of music including jazz, a 5-year stint studying Chinese Classical Music and an abiding interest in electronic music and computer recording techniques. At one point, testing his compositional skills, he created the first ever Rock Music Mass under the aegis of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Ushering in the use of modern Rock Music in a liturgical setting, it received national press and was performed throughout California. In 2008, following a long and honored career as a graphics designer and media producer, Byfield reconnected with his Blues and Americana roots, created the musical persona Blind Lemon Pledge, and began performing and recording under that name. The first BLP album, “Livin’ My Life With the Blues”, a mixture of original songs and blues classics, was self-recorded. Byfield soon found a market through the power of the Internet, allowing him to gain international radio play and a warm critical reception in the blues community. While fronting an eponymously named acoustic blues quintet, Byfield continues to maintain a two front musical career with public performance and solo records that often feature guest musicians. His albums have received international airplay and many critical raves. His original songs have won several awards and nominations in the Blues, Folk, Jazz and Gospel categories. |
||
ROOTSVILLE REVIEW Blind Lemon Pledge (aka James Byfield) knows how to mine the depths of acoustic blues roots songwriting like few others. The Bay Area guitarist, poet and lover of roots music returns with his 10th album, Oh So Good. On the ten new songs he is again accompanied by Peter Grenell on bass and drummer Juli Moscovitz, who mostly add a gentle accompaniment to Byfield acoustic guitar work and spun vocals on a set of eleven original songs and a cover of the beloved 'House Of The Risin' Sun'. https://rootsville.eu/2024/albums%202024/blind%20lemon%20jefferson.html |
||