Otis Grand Live at Burnley Blues Festival: Collaborations & Rarities (2-CD)

Otis Grand and I had been working on this project off and on for a few years before his tragic and untimely death. What we have here is a part of a magnificent body of work. Otis was guitarist, producer, bandleader, songwriter and general key figure on the blues scene. In the mid 1980s I was busy touring some great U.S. Blues acts all over the U.K. Suddenly out of nowhere comes this American guitarist with a British band and a great singer in Earl Green. Otis Grand became the biggest thing on the British circuit and in Europe too. Later on we would spend time together around the first Burnley Blues Festival. Otis had his very well deserved headlining spot. It's that show which is Disc A here and it is released in it's entirety for the first time. Our first real artistic collaboration was the Guitar Shorty album. I had heard rumours of this incredible L.A. based guitarist who was the brother in law of Jimi Hendrix. I thought Otis was the perfect bandleader to back Shorty playing real blues style, no going 'commercial' and no nod to blues/rock. The result... perfection. The next opportunity was a real legend Phillip Walker. This track was cut at a lovely studio in London. Texas Blues with an L.A. twist was Phillip's style and this track stands with his best. The next studio set we collaborated on was with the man who virtually invented honking tenor sax, Joe Houston. We also have Otis with Joe Louis Walker - both at the top of their game here. What's most important is not personalities, egos, honour or 'reputations'... but the art, the music. Throughout my time in this blues game I have become used to losing dear friends... but sometimes a loss leaves a particularly large hole in one's life. Otis Grand was a man and artist so much more than the sum of his particular parts and talents. Otis was Lebanese/American and a many faceted person who had his roots in several different cultures. It is our luck and honour that one of them was the Blues. ~ John Stedman