James Armstrong (musician)
Encyclopedia
James Armstrong is an American
soul blues
and electric blues
guitarist
, singer and songwriter
. He has released three albums to date on HighTone Records
. His songs have been used in the soundtrack
of three films; Speechless
, Hear No Evil
, and The Florentine
.
guitarist and his mother a blues singer. Having learned the guitar at a young age, Armstrong formed his first band at school, and was touring the United States in his late teens. Inspired by Albert King
and Robert Cray
, his musical education included backing musicians such as Albert Collins
, Big Joe Turner
and Smokey Wilson
. Armstrong relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area
and, in 1995, released his debut album, Sleeping with a Stranger, on HighTone.
However, in April 1997, Armstrong was almost stabbed to death by an intruder at his home. The shoulder injury necessitated months of rehabilitation, which still left Armstrong with limited guitar playing ability in his left hand. He adjusted his playing style, hired a lead guitar player, and realised that playing slide guitar
helped to slowly recover his dexterity. His second, introspective, album, Dark Night, was issued in 1998. It incorporated Joe Louis Walker
and Doug Macleod playing lead guitar on a couple of the songs. The album track, "Bank of Love", was used in the films Hear No Evil
and The Florentine
.
Armstrong recommenced live performances on the blues festival circuit, with a noteworthy appearance at the 1999 Pocono Blues Festival in Pennsylvania
. In early 2000, Armstrong returned to the recording studio
to work on his next album, Got It Goin' On. He was aided in the project by utilising Walker's rhythm section
, plus a guest appearance from the keyboardist Jim Pugh. In 2001, Armstrong's song "Pennies and Picks" from Got It Goin' On, earned him a W.C. Handy Award nomination for 'Song of the Year'. Armstrong himself was nominated for 'Contemporary Male Blues Guitarist of the Year'. "2 Sides," another song from Got It Goin' On was included in the film
soundtrack
for Speechless
.
Over the years, Armstrong has worked with Albert Collins, Keb' Mo'
, Coco Montoya
, Roy Brown
, Chaka Khan
, Ricky Lee Jones, Jan and Dean
, Mitch Mitchell
and Tommy Castro
.
Armstrong's forthcoming fourth album is scheduled to include a tribute to an old bluesman, who assisted Armstrong in his early days.
:
"... With a skintight band and a well-balanced combination of fire, technical proficiency, and taste, Armstrong continues on his way to the
upper echelon of contemporary blues artists."
CBC Radio
:
“…full of haunting and subtle nuances that point to a life rich with experience, this musician has definitely paid his dues. James
plays for and with his audience, extending the reach of the blues to include highly-charged sensuality, yearning, healing and good lowdown fun!”
JazzTimes
:
"...Demonstrates the kind of flexibility that allows him easily and convincingly shift gears from slow blues... to urban funk... to N’awlins grooves to rousing roadhouse shuffles..."
Tony Russell:
"If you define 'blues' by the rigid categories of structure rather than the flexible language of feeling allusion, Robert Cray... Larry Garner, Joe Louis Walker and James Armstrong are a new and uncategorizable breed, their music blues-like rather than blues, each of them blending ideas and devices from a variety of sources – soul, rock, jazz, gospel – with a sophisication beyond the reach of their forerunners".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soul blues
Soul blues
Soul blues is a style of blues music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music and urban contemporary music...
and electric blues
Electric blues
Electric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplification of the guitar, bass guitar, drums, and often the harmonica. Pioneered in the 1930s, it emerged as a genre in Chicago in the 1940s. It was taken up in many areas of America leading to the development of regional subgenres...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. He has released three albums to date on HighTone Records
HighTone Records
HighTone Records was an independent record label based in Oakland, California. Hightone specialized in American roots music including, country, rockabilly, western swing, blues and gospel. The label was created by Larry Sloven and Bruce Bromberg in 1983...
. His songs have been used in the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of three films; Speechless
Speechless (film)
Speechless is a 1994 romantic comedy film directed by Ron Underwood. It stars Geena Davis , Michael Keaton, Bonnie Bedelia, Ernie Hudson and Christopher Reeve.-Plot:...
, Hear No Evil
Hear No Evil (film)
Hear No Evil is a 1993 thriller film about a deaf woman who falls foul of a corrupt police officer looking for a stolen coin that has been hidden in the woman's apartment. The film stars Marlee Matlin, D. B. Sweeney, Ice-T, and Martin Sheen. It was released by 20th Century Fox on March 26, 1993....
, and The Florentine
The Florentine
The Florentine is a 1999 film directed Nick Stagliano and produced by Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope. It stars Jeremy Davies, Virginia Madsen, Luke Perry, Mary Stuart Masterson, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Hal Holbrook, Tom Sizemore, Maeve Quinlan, James Belushi, and Burt Young...
.
Biography
Armstrong's father was a jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
guitarist and his mother a blues singer. Having learned the guitar at a young age, Armstrong formed his first band at school, and was touring the United States in his late teens. Inspired by Albert King
Albert King
Albert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
and Robert Cray
Robert Cray
Robert Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, as well as an acclaimed solo career.-Career:...
, his musical education included backing musicians such as Albert Collins
Albert Collins
Albert Collins was an American electric blues guitarist and singer whose recording career began in the 1960s in Houston and whose fame eventually took him to stages across the US, Europe, Japan and Australia...
, Big Joe Turner
Big Joe Turner
Big Joe Turner was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to the songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." Although he came to his greatest fame in the 1950s with his pioneering rock and roll recordings, particularly "Shake, Rattle and...
and Smokey Wilson
Smokey Wilson
Smokey Wilson ) is an American West Coast blues guitarist. He has spent most of his career performing West Coast blues and Juke Joint blues in Los Angeles, California. He has recorded at least eleven albums for record labels such as P-Vine Records, Bullseye Blues and Texmuse Records...
. Armstrong relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
and, in 1995, released his debut album, Sleeping with a Stranger, on HighTone.
However, in April 1997, Armstrong was almost stabbed to death by an intruder at his home. The shoulder injury necessitated months of rehabilitation, which still left Armstrong with limited guitar playing ability in his left hand. He adjusted his playing style, hired a lead guitar player, and realised that playing slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
helped to slowly recover his dexterity. His second, introspective, album, Dark Night, was issued in 1998. It incorporated Joe Louis Walker
Joe Louis Walker
Joe Louis Walker, also known as JLW is an American musician, best known as a electric blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. A feature of his work is his recourse to older material or playing styles, which revealed his knowledge of blues history.-Career:Joe Louis Walker was born in San...
and Doug Macleod playing lead guitar on a couple of the songs. The album track, "Bank of Love", was used in the films Hear No Evil
Hear No Evil (film)
Hear No Evil is a 1993 thriller film about a deaf woman who falls foul of a corrupt police officer looking for a stolen coin that has been hidden in the woman's apartment. The film stars Marlee Matlin, D. B. Sweeney, Ice-T, and Martin Sheen. It was released by 20th Century Fox on March 26, 1993....
and The Florentine
The Florentine
The Florentine is a 1999 film directed Nick Stagliano and produced by Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope. It stars Jeremy Davies, Virginia Madsen, Luke Perry, Mary Stuart Masterson, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Hal Holbrook, Tom Sizemore, Maeve Quinlan, James Belushi, and Burt Young...
.
Armstrong recommenced live performances on the blues festival circuit, with a noteworthy appearance at the 1999 Pocono Blues Festival in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. In early 2000, Armstrong returned to the recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
to work on his next album, Got It Goin' On. He was aided in the project by utilising Walker's rhythm section
Rhythm section
A rhythm section is a collection of musicians who make up a section of instruments which provides the accompaniment section of the music, giving the music its rhythmic texture and pulse, also serving as a rhythmic reference for the rest of the band...
, plus a guest appearance from the keyboardist Jim Pugh. In 2001, Armstrong's song "Pennies and Picks" from Got It Goin' On, earned him a W.C. Handy Award nomination for 'Song of the Year'. Armstrong himself was nominated for 'Contemporary Male Blues Guitarist of the Year'. "2 Sides," another song from Got It Goin' On was included in the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
for Speechless
Speechless (film)
Speechless is a 1994 romantic comedy film directed by Ron Underwood. It stars Geena Davis , Michael Keaton, Bonnie Bedelia, Ernie Hudson and Christopher Reeve.-Plot:...
.
Over the years, Armstrong has worked with Albert Collins, Keb' Mo'
Keb' Mo'
Keb' Mo is an American blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.-Early life:From early on he had an appreciation for the blues and gospel music...
, Coco Montoya
Coco Montoya
Coco Montoya is an American blues guitarist and former member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers.-Musical career:...
, Roy Brown
Roy Brown (blues musician)
Roy James Brown was an American R&B singer, songwriter and musician, who had an influence on the early development of rock and roll music. His "Good Rocking Tonight" was covered by Wynonie Harris, Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Pat Boone, and the rock group Montrose. In addition,...
, Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
, Ricky Lee Jones, Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean were a rock and roll duo, popular from the late 1950s through the mid 1960s, consisting of William Jan Berry and Dean Ormsby Torrence...
, Mitch Mitchell
Mitch Mitchell
John Ronald "Mitch" Mitchell was an English drummer, best known for his work in The Jimi Hendrix Experience.-Early life and the Jimi Hendrix Experience:...
and Tommy Castro
Tommy Castro
Tommy Castro is an American blues, R&B and rock guitarist and singer. He has been recording since the mid 1990s. His music has taken him from local stages to national and international touring. His popularity was marked by his winning the 2008 Blues Music Award for Entertainer Of The Year...
.
Armstrong's forthcoming fourth album is scheduled to include a tribute to an old bluesman, who assisted Armstrong in his early days.
Critical comments
Living BluesLiving Blues
Living Blues is a bi-monthly magazine focused on covering the African American blues tradition, and America's oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded as a quarterly in Chicago in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van Singel. Alligator Records owner and founder Bruce Iglauer was also one of the...
:
"... With a skintight band and a well-balanced combination of fire, technical proficiency, and taste, Armstrong continues on his way to the
upper echelon of contemporary blues artists."
CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
:
“…full of haunting and subtle nuances that point to a life rich with experience, this musician has definitely paid his dues. James
plays for and with his audience, extending the reach of the blues to include highly-charged sensuality, yearning, healing and good lowdown fun!”
JazzTimes
JazzTimes
JazzTimes is a magazine that dates back to Radio Free Jazz, a publication founded in 1970 by Ira Sabin when he was operating a record store in Washington, DC. It was originally a newsletter designed to update shoppers on the latest jazz releases and provide jazz radio programmers with a means of...
:
"...Demonstrates the kind of flexibility that allows him easily and convincingly shift gears from slow blues... to urban funk... to N’awlins grooves to rousing roadhouse shuffles..."
Tony Russell:
"If you define 'blues' by the rigid categories of structure rather than the flexible language of feeling allusion, Robert Cray... Larry Garner, Joe Louis Walker and James Armstrong are a new and uncategorizable breed, their music blues-like rather than blues, each of them blending ideas and devices from a variety of sources – soul, rock, jazz, gospel – with a sophisication beyond the reach of their forerunners".
Album discography
| Album title | Record label | Year of release |
|---|---|---|
| Sleeping with a Stranger | HighTone Records HighTone Records HighTone Records was an independent record label based in Oakland, California. Hightone specialized in American roots music including, country, rockabilly, western swing, blues and gospel. The label was created by Larry Sloven and Bruce Bromberg in 1983... |
1995 |
| Dark Night | HighTone Records | 1998 |
| Got It Goin' On | HighTone Records | 2000 |