Dave Specter

Dave Specter

born on 21/5/1963 in Chicago, IL, United States

Dave Specter

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Dave Spector.
Dave Specter

Dave Specter (born May 21, 1963, Chicago, Illinois, United States)[1] is an American Chicago blues and jazz guitarist.

Biography

Hailing from Chicago's Northwest side, Specter began to learn to play the guitar at the age of 18. His teacher was Steve Freund, who taught Specter between the latter's duties at Jazz Record Mart, and Delmark Records. Freund ultimately organised a concert tour for Specter alongside Sam Lay and Hubert Sumlin. Contacts made while working at the B.L.U.E.S. nightclub secured gigs as a sideman to Johnny Littlejohn, Son Seals, and The Legendary Blues Band. By 1989 Specter had organized his own backing band, known as the Bluebirds.[1]

By 1998 Specter had released five albums on the Delmark label, combining a mixture of blues (Specter listed his influences as T-Bone Walker, Pee Wee Crayton, Magic Sam, and Otis Rush) and jazz (Kenny Burrell is another inspiration).

Specter does not sing, and he enlisted Barkin' Bill Smith as his first vocalist, performing on Specter's 1991 debut album, Bluebird Blues. Specter then made a guest appearance with Jesse Fortune, providing accompaniment on Fortune Tellin' Man (1993). Harmonica player and singer Tad Robinson took over on the Bluebirds' Blueplicity (1994) and Live in Europe (1995). Following Robinson's departure, Lynwood Slim became the band's vocalist.[1]

Jazz influences prevailed as time passed, and Specter invited Brother Jack McDuff to play the Hammond organ on the next album, Left Turn on Blue (1996). Lenny Lynn took over vocal duties on the following release, Blues Spoken Here (1998). In 2000, Speculatin' appeared, but here Specter eschewed vocals altogether, issuing thirteen instrumental tracks. Is What It Is (2004) was followed by Live in Chicago (2008).[1]

In addition to his recordings, Specter undertakes frequent tours to Europe and beyond.[1]

Discography

  • Bluebird Blues (1991)
  • Blueplicity (1994)
  • Live in Europe (1995)
  • Left Turn on Blue (1996)
  • Blues Spoken Here (1998)
  • Speculatin' (2000)
  • Is What It Is (2004)
  • Live in Chicago (2008)[2]
  • Spectified (2010)

Legacy

Music journalist, Tony Russell wrote that "an extended, uncluttered view of Specter's music is noteworthy in his performance at a 1994 German concert, in a quartet with the correspondingly idiomatic harmonica playing and soulful singing of Tad Robinson".[3]

See also

  • List of Chicago blues musicians
  • List of electric blues musicians

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Bill Dahl (1963-05-21). Dave Specter | Biography. AllMusic. Retrieved on 2014-01-26.
  2. Dave Specter | Discography. AllMusic (1963-05-21). Retrieved on 2014-01-26.
  3. Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray, Dubai: Carlton Books Limited.
This page was last modified 26.01.2014 10:45:45

This article uses material from the article Dave Specter from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.