Jake Walker
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Jake Walker

Band Blues Jam

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This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"Jake Walker Stands Out!"

"At times sweet, seductive, or savagely intense (we're talking full-on goosebumps here, people), Jake Walker stands out from virtually all of the other young blues guitar slingers of his generation with his unshakeable, chilling soulfulness...recall Peter Green at his peak". - ST. PETERSBURG TIMES


"A Master Bluesman"

"Two or three effortless notes and your knees grow weak...Jake plays the blues with huge, huge heart and total conviction...a fully mature master bluesman. His phrasing is as subtle as it is exciting...guaranteed goosebumps...it doesn't get any better than this." - SARASOTA HERALD TRIBUNE


"Praise from a Blues Master"

"The first time I heard (Jake) I almost fell off my chair! He come on so intense. But he don't play like that! He don't sound like no white boy. None of the dededededededed bulls--t. Don't wanna play too much -- ruins it. I schooled him: you gotta hit it and quit. Pace it. Play a little and stop. That's what I told him. And that's what he do. He TOO good, that's his problem. God damn you better believe it! And he sing good too. He a bad mother f----r!" - JAMES PETERSON, LEGENDARY BLUESMAN, FATHER OF LUCKY PETERSON


"A Prodigal Son Speaks..."

"Jake's a bad, bad boy. I stole him from my daddy's band." - LUCKY PETERSON


"Lot's of Talent"

"So you want to play like Jake Walker? Combine an otherworldly sense of touch, a sometimes manic, half-crazed intensity, an entire encylopedia's worth of blues guitar riffs, and a seemingly boundless imagination to a bedrock of intense deeply felt emotion; practice your ass off for a lifetime, and with a whole lot of talent, you MIGHT be close. Good luck!" - TWELVE-BAR RAG


Discography

Still working on that hot first release.

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Uninspired by classical guitar lessons at age 11, everything changed when Jake heard Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix the following year. Thus began a life-long obsession which has led him to back to the earlier electric and acoustic blues masters such as B.B., Freddy, and Albert King, Muddy Waters, Will McTell, Robert and Lonnie Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, and T-Bone Walker among many others. Soul, funk, and Jazz have provided lessons as well, with Steve Cropper, Wes Montgomery, Jimmy Nolen, and Django Rheinhardt being particularly influential. Jam band pioneers such as the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers also made a strong impression. Playing along with their recordings for countless hours, he learned to play by ear, absorbing every ounce of blues power he could, and expanding upon what he learned with a restless, seemingly boundless imagination for interpretation and improvisation.

Jake eventually caught the ear of veteran bluesman, JSP recording artist James Peterson, father of blues legend Lucky Peterson, at a late night St. Petersburg jam session. Having worked with countless blues greats during his fifty + year career, James paid Jake the immense compliment of immediately hiring him as his guitar teacher, and quickly added him to his regular band. Under James' employ, Jake cut his professional teeth the old fashioned way, working six nights a week in dive bars, clubs, and restaurants up and down Florida's Gulf Coast. Soon after, Jake also became Lucky Peterson's indispensible guitar-foil during the Dallas-native's frequent Florida excursions.

Jake Walker has performed or recorded with an impressive array of talent including Sarasota Slim, members of the Allman Brothers and Gov't Mule (the late Allen Woody, "Dangerous" Dan Toler, Bruce Waibel, and "Frankie" Toler), Shawn Brown (Al Green), Gary Brown, Rock Bottom, Bobby Radcliff, Howlin' Buzz, Hugh Pool, Magic Slim, Ominous Seapods, Ronnie Earl, Jerry Dugger, Blue Swamp, John Allen and the Cotton Gin Blues Band, Johnny Allen, Tammy Hatch, Andy Story, Cannon Quinn, (Scottish folk singer) Nigel Denver, Swamp Cabbage, Eddie Kirkland, D.W. Gill, Michael Hill's Blues Mob, Colin John Band, Mike Koch (Dickey Betts), Chris Anderson (Outlaws, Steve Stills) Jon Paris, Omni, Popa Chubby, Arthur Neilson (Shemekia Copeland), Greg Poulos (Freddie King), Bo Diddley, Jr., Jeff Ganz (Roy Buchanan, Johnny Winter Band), Shooky Bones, Rhino Rheinhart (Iron Butterfly, Second Coming), Dean Germain, etc.

Through relentless gigging, practice, and guest spots jamming with veteren players, Jake continues to hone his skills and has most recently taken them north to the Big Apple, where he is quickly establishing himself as one of NYC's most deeply gifted live blues performers. Every Sunday night he currently runs, sings, and plays at, the best and largest blues jam in the Tri-State area (January 2006). "Jake Walker's Sunday Night Blues Jam" at Roadhouse NYC (57 Murray Street, Tribeca, www.roadhousenyc.com ). He has performed in such NYC blues landmarks as Manny's Carwash, Chicago BLUES, TerraBlues, The Red Lion, and B.B. King's. Jake's Roadhouse jam attracts an international roster of blues greats and local heroes, including Danny Draher, Lucky Peterson, Speedo "Harmonica" Jones (Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones), Bobby Radcliff, Brother Dave, Hugh Pool, Sweden's Clas Yngstrom, and Northern Ireland's Rab MacCulloch, to name a few.