Andy Aledort and Lucky Peterson

Genres: bluesrock, blues, guitar blues

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About Andy Aledort and Lucky Peterson

An individual biography for each artist is provided below starting with Lucky Peterson then followed with Andy Aledort directly after. Lucky Peterson was born in Buffalo New York and played his first gig at age three. By the time he was five, he had already recorded his first single, produced by none other than the legendary Willie Dixon. Before Lucky turned six, his career had been propelled into the national spotlight with television appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and even What’s My Line? As a child prodigy, Lucky was somewhat of a novelty act. Now he is a true blues veteran. Over the last three decades, Lucky has played to audiences all over the world, dazzling both fans and critics with his multi-instrumental talents (he plays keyboards, guitar, bass, drums and trumpet), his soulful vocal style and his youthful approach to the blues. Chicago’s Reader raved, “His musicianship is unassailable…a combination of sleek-handed dexterity and imagination…a happy marriage of blues authenticity and foot-pleasing danceability. This is a young musician of unlimited enthusiasm and nearly unlimited potential having the time of his life and excelling at every stop along the way.” Born Judge Kenneth Peterson in 1963, Lucky was raised on music in his hometown of Buffalo, New York, His father, James Peterson, was a blues singer and owner of the Governor’s Inn, a northern version of a Deep South “chitlin’ circuit” roadhouse club. Artists like Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Muddy Waters and Koko Taylor played there regularly. Virtually growing up on stage, little Lucky began playing almost before he began talking. He started on drums, but after hearing the famed Bill Doggett one night, Lucky became fascinated by the huge Hammond B-3 organ. “Bill had a fit trying to keep me from it,” recalls Lucky. After some lessons from Doggett and the legendary Jimmy Smith, Lucky focused most of his musical energy on the organ. In his spare time, he also mastered bass and piano, becoming good enough to sit in with his father’s band and back touring artists like Lightnin’ Hopkins and Jimmy Reed. “At first, people wouldn’t believe he could play so well,” says James Peterson. “They would think the organ was rigged.” By the time Lucky was five, word of this child prodigy had spread among the blues community. Willie Dixon, a friend of James Peterson, heard little Lucky and produced the boy’s first record, a single entitled 1,2,3,4 and a follow-up album for Chicago’s Today Records. The single hit the airwaves with a bang and the national television appearances followed. As Lucky continued to grow, he honed his instrumental skills by learning from and jamming with some of the best blues players in the world. When Little Milton’s band came up short an organ player one night, Milton asked the then 17-year-old Lucky to sit in. One gig was all it took for Milton to fall in love with Lucky’s playing. He asked Lucky to join the band permanently. After seven months, Lucky had become Milton’s bandleader. Opening shows with his own 45-minute set on vocals and keyboards, Lucky’s three-year stint with Milton led to an equally long gig with Bobby “Blue” Bland as Bobby’s featured soloist. During a break in Bobby’s touring schedule, Lucky headed to Europe on a package tour billed as “Young Blues Giants.” There he recorded his second career album this time for the French label Isabel Records. In 1988, Lucky left Bland’s touring band, relocated to Florida’s Tampa Bay area and began concentrating on a solo career. His reputation quickly led to regular session work for tiny Florida-based King Snake Records. His funky keyboards sparked Kenny Neal’s Big New From Baton Rouge!!, Rufus Thomas’ That Woman Is Poison! and Lazy Lester’s Harp And Soul, which were all released by the more visible Alligator Records label. In 1989, Alligator released Lucky’s third solo outing, Lucky Strikes! Lucky co-wrote three songs for the album and played all of the keyboard parts and all but one of the guitar solos. Alligator’s promotion helped to bring Lucky’s music to the attention of radio stations and music critics nationwide. They liked what they heard. Billboard called Lucky “…a prodigy whose raw talent bodes well for his future as a leader.” Keyboard said, “Peterson is a 26-year-old blues master.” The album received airplay on nearly 200 radio stations nationwide, and Lucky toured the U.S. several times. Lucky’s next Alligator recording, 1990’s Triple Play, picked up right where Lucky Strikes! left off, again featuring his dynamic organ fills and leads with equal emphasis on his stinging lead guitar and soulful vocals. The material blended straight-ahead blues, Memphis soul and funky grooves that placed Lucky Peterson on the cutting edge of the blues. Andy Aledort has been a significant figure in the international music scene over the last 20 years. As a senior editor for the top guitar-oriented music magazines GUITAR WORLD, GUITAR FOR THE PRACTICING MUSICIAN, GUITAR EXTRA, GUITAR LEGENDS, and GUITAR WORLD ACOUSTIC, among others, his work is unsurpassed as a music transcriber, instructional columnist and journalist. He has authored over 200 books of guitar transcriptions as well as a series of guitar-related instructional books and videos/DVDs, all of which are distributed worldwide, for the leading music publishers Hal Leonard Corp., Warner Brothers Publishing and Cherry Lane Music. Aledort is a performing musician as well: along with leading his own ensembles in the New York/tri-state area, he is often tapped for high-profile appearances with artists such as Buddy Guy, Dickey Betts, and the Allman Brothers band. Over the last three years, he has also participated in a series of Jimi Hendrix Tribute concerts, most recently entailing a three-city tour of the west coast. In his April 1, 2004 review for ROLLING STONE, write Charles Cross wrote, “The real show-stopper came when veteran bluesman Buddy Guy, backed by guitarist Andy Aledort and the powerful rhythm section of Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton—a.k.a. Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble—played a version of Muddy waters’ ‘Hoochie Coochie Man’ that smoldered. It was the perfect homage to Hendrix.” Among the other artists that appeared on the bill with Aledort for the three shows were Carlos Santana, Paul Rodgers of Bad Company, Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, and Hubert Sumlin, plus Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys rhythm section, bassist Billy Cox and drummer Mitch Mitchell. As a session player, Andy Aledort was called upon to recreate the Band Of Gypsys -era playing of Hendrix for recording sessions with the original Gypsys themselves, Billy Cox and drummer Buddy Miles, where Aledort was required to recreate note-for-note renditions of Hendrix’s incendiary live performances of “Machine Gun” and “Power of Soul” from the classic Band of Gypsys album. He performed with the Band of Gypsys at both the 2001 and 2002 Street Scene concerts in San Diego, CA, as part of two ambitious Tribute to Hendrix concerts featuring such guest guitarists as Andy Summers of the Police, Slash, Stephen Stills, Mick Taylor of Rolling Stones fame, Vernon Reid (Living Color) and others, as well as the big Jimi Hendrix 60th birthday bash at the EMP Museum, created by Microsoft’s Paul Allen, in November of 2002. In the summer of 2001, Aledort was tapped for session work with Double Trouble (Tommy Shannon, bass, and Chris Layton, drums), bandmates of Stevie Ray Vaughan, in order to recreate the guitar work of Stevie Ray, Buddy Guy, Albert King, Freddie King, and Johnny Winter. He also appears with Double Trouble on two Hot Licks instructional videos. Aledort has begun work on a series of Jimi Hendrix instructional videos (produced by the Jimi Hendrix Estate), starting with the release of the two-hour How to Play the Songs from Are You Experienced? video/DVD in 2000. He also has the Beginning Electric Blues Guitar video on the shelves, and has just released the B.B. King: Signature Licks instructional DVD; soon to follow are similar instructional videos/DVDs covering the playing styles of Albert King and jazz pioneer Charlie Christian. Aledort’s many instructional books include Jimi Hendrix: Signature Licks, Eric Clapton: Bluesman: Signature Licks and Blues/Rock Guitar Masters: Signatures Licks books, all published by the Hal Leonard Corporation. With his group the Groove Kings, Aledort released the self-produced Put A Sock In It CD in 1999 to rave reviews, such as: “I love it—it’s great!”—Johnny Winter; “Great guitar playing. Andy has his own distinct sound.”—Tommy Shannon; “Andy plays with great technique and soul.”—Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine); “Andy has the ability to combine diverse stylistic elements to emerge with a unique musical voice.” –Mike Stern (Miles Davis). The band is currently recording their second studio album. ~

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