Bill Fulbright - Guitars, Keys, Vocals Mojo Davis - Keyboards Eddie Boyd - Saxaphone Aziz Sulaymamn - Percussion, Drums Brenda Love - Vocals
Influences
Django Reinhardt, Bireli Lagrene, Larry Carlton, Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Herb Ellis, Kenny Burrell, George Benson, Jimmy Smith, Shirley Scott, Robben Ford, Jimi Hendrix, John Mayall, Duane Allman, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Mike Bloomfield, James Cotton, Billy Gibbons, Peter Green, Freddie King, Albert Collins, Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Steve Watson, Jimmy Reed, Little Walter, Billy Carter (of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys), Buddy Emmons, Buddy Charlton
Here is an example of solo jazz guitar arrangements I like to play - When Sunny Gets Blue... there are more on my Videos page. Posted 4/2/2008. When Sunny Gets Blue
I began playing piano at age 6, ukelele at age 8, guitar at age 10, bass at age 12, organ &
harmonica at age 14. I was playing in bands starting at age 12.
About two years later it was 1965, and the British Invasion began. Also
the British Blues Invasion as well. I began to play the "new"
music, plus discover all the blues players such as Eric Clapton, Peter
Green, John Mayall, Kim Simmonds and Jeff Beck. From the U.S. it was Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Jimmy Reed, Freddie King,
Jimi Hendrix, Paul Butterfield, Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, Johnny Winter (from my hometown,
Beaumont, Texas), Billy Gibbons (from Houston - ZZ Top), Mike Pinera (Blues Image),
Robben Ford and many others. It was a very magical and challenging time.
When I graduated from High School,
I was a pretty fair r&b player, but with many bad playing habits. After
barely making it in college for a couple of years, I went to Europe to play
and sing the songs and music I had been writing since H.S. graduation. It was spectacular. I played
in concert halls, the subways (Underground in UK, and Metro in Paris),
Piazzas in Rome, Youth Hostels in Germany, clubs in Copenhagen and Amsterdam.
I was never so amazed to see genuine response to my music. I
had thought all my friends back in the U.S. had been joking me about my music.
I was wrong.
My 1970 Dobro
My 1978 Ash Stratocaster with
Schecter Monstertone pickups
When I came home, I immediately enrolled in North Texas State
University's music department and began classes as a Theory/Composition
Music Major with a primary instrument of Guitar, secondary
instrument as Piano. My class was the first class in NTSU's history
to have a Guitar Class. It was classical training only. If
you wanted to play jazz, you had to find the jazz players to bug for tips,
or just study it on your own. I was lucky enough to play in some
of the lab bands, and sub for the 2 o'clock band for a while.
I discovered the sad news that I was no "hot shot".
There were many very gifted players who were miles and years beyond
me in playing ability. I began to practice 5 - 8 hours a day on both guitar AND piano just
to keep up. It was inspirational. I survived and began to excell maintaining
a 3.8 average. It was 1974. The height of Disco. Ugh. It
took me about 4 years of playing (post NTSU) to get over the "technical"
tailspin music school put me in and put the "heart" back in my
playing. I continued to write tunes and began to explore and write electronic and experimental
music too.
1981 was the year I decided to become a full
time professional performer as a "Single Variety Act", (One Man Show, w/some
electronic accompaniment, which later became a fully programmed SY-77 Yamaha
keyboard) and Band Leader (when there was a budget). I successfully in played
the Dallas market during that time and for the next 11 years. After playing
the local bars, restaurants and private parties, I quit for a while. Fortunately
for me, my agent kept me going with some interesting jobs from some of
her local and international corporate clients. I began to have fun again. I
still dabbled in electronic composition.
My early 80's ES-165!
My Jazz influences have come from Charlie Christian, Django Reihhardt, Larry Carlton, Robben Ford, George Barnes, Pat
Metheny, Tal Farlow, Bucky Pizzarelli, Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Kenny
Burrell, Johnny Smith, Chet Atkins, Les Paul, Lenny Breau, Ted Greene, George
Van Eps, Charlie Byrd, Dave Brubeck, Jimmy
Smith, Miles Davis, Shirley Scott, Leon Rhodes, Doug Jernigan, Buddy Emmons and many others.
