One Man Band CD was recorded live with no overdubbs featuring Bill at vocals, guitar, kick drum, foot snare, and foot hihat It is available at most digital download sites and CD BABY.
At 46 years old Bill Abel has learned blues first hand from musicians he has known throughout his life. Born and raised in the Mississippi Delta town of Belzoni, Bill has played with blues legends such as Honey Boy Edwards, Henry Townsend, Hubert Sumlin, Big George Brock and local blues musicians such as T-Model Ford, Sam Carr, Cadillac John, Monroe Jones, David Lee Durham, Tommy Hollis, WH Lowe and most notably the late recording artist and W.C. Handy Award nominee, Paul “Wine” Jones. Paul traveled extensively playing blues across the world from Europe to Japan. Paul Jones has been a major influence on Bill’s music. Quote “I met Paul Jones when I was young, while trying to learn how to play blues in Belzoni”. Almost 25 years later Bill has had the privilege of playing authentic Delta blues with many bluesmen in many different settings from juke joints to Blues Festivals across the Delta,Chicago Blues Festival, the northeast , northwest, and midwest United States to Belgium, Italy, England, Wales and Switzerland. These
experiences have been used in Bill’s recorded music along with the influences of traditional delta music of the 20's and 30's.
Bill has been written up in US, French, Belgium, British and Italian publications.
In 2004 he taught the blues guitar workshop at the 2nd Annual International Blues Symposium with national recording artist Cory Harris. He has had the privilege of opening up for Pinetop Perkins and will be a featured performer in a film about Club Ebony by film maker Bob Mugge. Today Bill plays with legendary drummer Sam Carr, Kenny Kimbrough of the Junior Kimbrough band, Terry Harmonica Bean, Cadillac John Nolden, Monroe Jones, George Brock,
Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, and other local bluesmen. In 2006 Bill had the rare privilege of recording with Hubert Sumlin (Howling Wolf’s Guitar player), and was recently awarded the 2006 Blues Musician of the Year presented by the Mississippi Delta Blues Society of Indianola. Also in 2006, bill played guitar on the WC Handy nominated CD" Round Two" with Big George Brock. Other recordings include: "Searchin For Odell Harris" ,bill abel- guitar, "Live At The Longshot" with the legendary Sam Carr on drums, bill on vocals and guitar, and"Crazy About You", with harmonica player Cadillac John Nolden, live at 75(also wc handy nominated) with Big George Brock and also the Hard Times DVD with Big George- Bill-guitar, and others.
Recently bill played guitar on the mississippi marvel's cd the "world must never know"cd , T- Model Ford's new cd jack daniel time, and M for Mississippi film(WC Handy award winning). He has also done engineering and producing work for Broke and Hungry Records and Cathead Records thru his studio "Big Toe Studio". Bill does landscape painting and pottery when he is not playing music. You can view some art here on myspace and also http://www.yellowdog.nl or http://materialmississippi.org/AbelArtistPage.html
Ciao, Bill thanks for your friendship,Iam very happy, you are very good, I like your stupendous music a lot, and stupendous voice. you are certainly one of my favorite, in your musical kind The feels great admiration for you, be really one whom is worth rather to lot! The hope to listen soon to you, in italy.. talk to you soon, and all of my best wishes to always listen to your good music, all the best.. from italy.. and good life.. every day neal
Bill - honor to hear your one-man Kimbroughness in Clarksdale, the CD has been in 'rotation' since! Great sounds on M for MS as well!! See you again next August as Sunflower has become a tradition!
new tune from my new blues band is up, only our 2nd jam together ever! the 1st solo is me, with dan doing the other two and the vox. recorded in Portland,OR on July 8th. HOT SHIT!!!
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