Big Jeff & his Blues Ensemble

Big Jeff & his Blues Ensemble began out of a great appreciation for the Blues.

Based in St. Louis, MO, this 5 piece band gives you straight ahead blues like no other band in the region. While most of their musical countrparts are mixing in large doses of Rock, Soul, R&B, and whatever else they consider "blues based" music, this group puts it in the pocket and holds court in blues alley throughout their program.

Big Jeff & his Blues Ensemble is fronted by Jeff Chapman a.k.a. 'Big Jeff'. Jeff's musical history is rich in the tradition of many vocalists, beginning as a young lad singing in the Baptist church some 30 years ago. You can tell when 'Big Jeff' is belting out a blues standard that his experience is broad & he pours everything he has into every song he sings, as well as interacting with the audience. From his early days of Southern Gospel, Country, Classic/Southern Rock, and incorporating the Blues into his repertoire some 15 years ago, his natural talent just seems to flow through his veins and unto the audience at hand. Big Jeff is a member of the St. Louis Blues Society and supports the efforts of many organizations when it comes to keeping this art alive and well.

Taking it to the basement is long time Bassist, James Pender. From Rock & Roll to his days with the Lewis & Clark College Jazz Band, Disco in the late 70's, Zydeco in the late 90's he is a been there, done that kind of guy. Smooth bass lines roll off this cats fingers with a cool demeanor and with over 35 years of performing live, he is truelly a seasoned vet.

Drums for this outfit are corralled by Marc Waters. He also lends a hand with the vocals as needed.
His influences are far and wide. His musical heritage dates back almost 30 years with area rock/pop bands, and moving into the blues for the last decade or so. Marc was the the drummer for the Lewis & Clark College Jazz band for several years and has also played tons of specialty 1 off gigs along the way. Marc is a drummer who never gets in the way of the music.

The young gun in this band is Kory Schaefer. At 26 years old, this youngster has his feet and his head stuck in the Blues. Kory spent nearly 3 years with the Rx Blues in the clubs in St. Louis, playing piano & 2nd guitar and honing his love for the music.During that time he was fortunate enough to open for some of the genre's big names, from Koko Taylor, Tommy Castro, Tab Benoit, James Solberg, Buddy Miles, and Chuck Berry, just to name a few. After a brief time out of the music scene, to get some education he is back in the groove dedicating his time to his one true love, Blues Guitar.

Al 'Mr. Big' Winkeler on Harp and vocal, this is another fine addition to the lineup. Like most guys who started playing guitar in high school bands, Al has been around the block. He began playing Harp after the original Harp player left the Rx Blues, at the time Al was 2nd Guitar / Vocalist with this St. Louis area band. His harmonica talent has really blossomed over the last 17 years when it comes to drawing the notes out that little instrument.

The Philosophy of Big Jeff is that "the Music Always Comes First". That shows true at every performance. Whether it's a club date, festival, special occasion, or private function, Big Jeff & his Blues Ensemble will give you 100% Blues, you can count on that.