Papa Mali

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Sugarland

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Released: Jan 1, 2007

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Sugarland
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7 Walkers (by 7 Walkers) lyrics R.Hunter
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Early In The Morning
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Who is Papa Mali?

Musician. Recording artist and producer. Singer/songwriter. Guitarist. Self-confessed vinyl junkie. Collector of vintage musical instruments and studio gear. Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Relocated with family to Louisiana at the age of 3. Attended grade school through high school in Shreveport. Spent most summers and holidays with mother and grandparents in New Orleans or on road trips with travelling salesman father. Received first guitar at age 5. Spent weekly allowances and paper route money on rock/blues/soul records and cool clothes. Came of age, learned how to make out, get by and get high amongst the cottonfields and bayous of Caddo Parish. Left home at 17, learned to hitch hike and rediscovered an ongoing wanderlust, on the highways and backroads of America. Educated in cars, bars, juke joints, filthy dives, record shops, flophouses, nightclubs, touring vans and cheap motel rooms throughout the deep south. Baptized in the blues, gospel, soul and rock and roll music of the Mississippi delta. Co-founder and current member of 7 Walkers, along with Bill Kreutzmann (Grateful Dead), George Porter Jr (The Meters) and Matt Hubbard. Now residing near Austin, Tx. Can usually be found performing at festivals, theaters and clubs across the US and abroad or in the recording studio, 'chasing down that devil sound and searching for an echo'. To book a show with Papa Mali or 7 Walkers, contact Scott Galloway at APA Talent and Literary Agency at 615 297 0100 or sgalloway@apanashville.com

Papa Mali - Now

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NEWS AND UPDATES

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FALL 2010

PAPA MALI TEAMS UP WITH GRATEFUL DEAD DRUMMER, LYRICIST AND METERS BASSIST TO FORM '7 WALKERS' - NEW ALBUM SET FOR NOVEMBER 2ND RELEASE ON RESPONSE RECORDS - 1ST SINGLE, A DUET W/ WILLIE NELSON - TOUR TO FOLLOW

Legendary drummer and co-founder of the Grateful Dead, Bill Kreutzmann, together with Papa Mali are on the road as 7 WALKERS. The band also features multi-instrumentalist Matt Hubbard and New Orleans funk originator, bassist George Porter Jr. (Meters).

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They will stop at select markets and festivals through out the country, all in anticipation of a new album release later this year. The self-titled studio debut contains twelve original tracks including eight new Robert Hunter/Papa Mali compositions. These include the mysterious title track, '7 Walkers' (from which the band took it's name), the beautiful and haunting love ballad, 'Evangeline' and a true grit vocal/guitar guest spot by none other than Willie Nelson on 'King Cotton Blues'. Once again, Hunter confirms that he is one of Americas greatest poets and storytellers, and Kreutzmann demonstrates that he is the master of the driving, upbeat sound and feel that is the signature heartbeat of 'the good ol' Grateful Dead'.

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above: 7 Walkers backstage with Robert Hunter and onstage at the Great American Music Hall in San Fransisco, where many of the Grateful Dead's most memorable shows took place.

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Bill Kreutzmann (who played every show in the Grateful Dead’s illustrious 30 year career as well as The Dead incarnations since) first met Papa Mali at a festival in 2008. Bill recalls in a recent interview, "We first met at the Oregon Country Fair. He was the headliner on the main stage, and I sat there and watched him and went, ‘This guy's for real man, I like this guy.' Then we met, after that he came over to my trailer that I was staying in and you couldn't separate us, we talked for hours. It was just one of those natural things, you know? You can't plan it; You can't make it happen. And then we started playing together." Papa Mali continues:"The last few years in general have been pretty amazing, but working with Bill and writing with Robert Hunter is by far the most satisfying thing I've done ever, without a doubt."

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Bill Kreutzmann and Papa Mali

...and THEN

PAPA MALI BIOGRAPHY

Papa Mali is a singer/songwriter, a guitarist and producer. He was born Malcolm Welbourne in Vicksburg, Mississippi and grew up on the banks of Bayou Pierre in Shreveport, Louisiana. With a travelling salesman father and both older siblings grown, he spent a great part of his youth and teenage years living with his grandparents on Fountainbleau St. in New Orleans.

A musician since early childhood, he witnessed many of the city's legendary performers in their heyday:

Dr. John, The Night Tripper

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The Meters

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James Booker, and many more.

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John Johnny Slim Campbell

Johnny 'Slim' Campbell

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At the age of 13, he met North Louisiana bluesman, Johnny 'Slim' Campbell, who schooled him in the ways of traditional Delta Blues guitar styles - fingerpicking, bottleneck and open tunings. His influence was immeasurable in helping the young guitarist carve out his unorthodox approach, which has been described as "voodoo space blues", "psychedelic soul" and "raw, delta swamp funk".

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He has been a working musician since his late teens, cutting his teeth with soul singers, blues bands and funk ensembles throughout the south, and later touring nationally and internationally with The Killer Bees, one of the first American bands ever invited to play Reggae Sunsplash in Jamaica in 1987.

It was around this time, while on tour with The Burning Spear Band, that he received the nickname Papa Mali, from the reggae pioneers.

above:Winston Rodney, aka Burning Spear

Though Papa Mali is no longer involved with the reggae scene, over 20 years later, he continues to wear the name with pride and carve out his own unique style.

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Over the years Papa Mali has covered countless miles, playing coast-to-coast and averaging between 200-250 concerts a year. During this time he has shared the stage with many of his musical heroes. For example: Two recent US tours with BB King, four tours with Grammy winning guitarist Derek Trucks and a 2008 European tour with Cyril Neville. (Neville Bros, Meters)

Above: Papa salutes The King

after a set of regal blues!

Above: Papa Mali and Derek

Trucks onstage.

Above: Papa Mali takes a curtain call in Bremen, Germany with Cyril Neville and Tribe 13 - Papa Mali at far left, Cyril wearing tie-dye.

(click on any photo for larger image)

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And now, with 7 Walkers about to release their debut studio album and tour dates being booked well into 2011, the chances are very good that Papa, Bill, George and Matt will be playing somewhere near you. So check this site for updates, mark your calendar, come out to a show, tell your friends all about it and of course, keep listening.

FILM

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Papa Mali appears in the feature length documentary New Orleans: Music in Exile, by award winning director Robert Mugge, which premiered on the Starz cable network.

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Papa is also featured in two independent films:

'Dare You To Do It Again'. a documentary about the late, N. Mississippi blues great, Jesse Mae Hemphill....

(click here to see the trailer for 'Dare You To Do It Again')

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD2PNxcvlhg

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AND 'Coals to Newcastle'. a documentary about The New Mastersounds, a British rare-groove, funk revivalist combo that travel from their hometown of Leeds, England to perform at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. All three films are highly recommended for those who want to dig deeper into the heart and soul of southern American roots and the myriad of styles that have influenced Papa Mali and his approach to music and life.

Papa Mali and Henry Butler in the studio

Videos

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Papa Mali - 'I Walk on Guilded Splinters'

09:49 | 304 plays | Aug 12 2010

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PEOPLE SAY...

Here's a sample of what others have been saying about Papa Mali and his recorded output for years.

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7 WALKERS CONCERT REVIEWED ON OFFICIAL GRATEFUL DEAD WEBSITE

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"I showed up at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on April 9 to see Bill Kreutzmann’s new band—7 Walkers—with limited expectations. But what I heard was so much more. Right off the bat it was clear that Papa Mali is a different sort of guitar player—content to build lines with subtle variations rather than flash, but also ready, willing and able to push the envelope in sometimes astonishing ways at the drop of a hat. 'Evangeline', written by Papa Mali and Robert Hunter may be my favorite post-Garcia Hunter song to date." -Blair Jackson,

Grateful Dead historian and author of the Jerry Garcia bio, 'Garcia: An American Life'

http://www.dead.net/features/7-walkers/doin-new-orleans-crawl-bill-kreutzmann-talks-about-7-walkers-gd-archives-and-more

(click on above link to read entire review)

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"Hallelujah! Very proud to be part of the project. The album is sheer joy from first note to last!" - Robert Hunter

(on hearing the recently completed 7 Walkers LP)

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Noted music journalist, Thom Jurek, calls Papa Mali's debut Thunder Chicken, "one of the few truly wild and unruly records to come from the rock & roll tradition in the 21st century...it feels like Buddy Guy fronting the Rolling Stones on 'Midnight Rambler'."

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hxfixqukldae

(click on above link to read the entire review)

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‘‘ Havent heard swamp music this good since Tony Joe White. Papa definitely has Spanish moss on his antlers" - Lee Froelich

Playboy Magazine

Papa Mali's THUNDER CHICKEN voted by Playboy as 'Top Ten Albums to Make Love By'

www.playboy.com

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"one of the first great albums of 2007, and quite possibly one for the ages." - Dennis Cook, JamBase

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"the unlikely brainchild behind 1999's Thunder Chicken, a quasi-psychedelic hardcore funk album reminiscent of Dr. John's Gris-Gris and In the Right Place -- and one of the best New Orleans funk and swamp-rock records in recent memory." - Scott Jordan, Best of New Orleans

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‘‘ laced with the kind of New Orleans groove that would make Dr. John proud"

Jay Mazza, The Louisiana Weekly

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‘‘a magically crafted grimoire of voodoo space blues. Reminiscent of Night Tripper-era Dr. John"

Allison Fensterstock, New Orleans Gambit Weekly

http://bestofneworleans.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid:37475

(read the whole review)

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"Keep on doin' whatchyoo doin'!" - Mac Rebennack

( aka Dr. John Creaux, The Night Tripper)

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RECORDINGS

In 1999 he recorded his first solo outing

.. My debut, THUNDER CHICKEN, Fog City, 2000

Thunder Chicken, for the prestigious boutique label, Fog City Records, home to Galactic, Mofro, Garage A Trois, Stanton Moore, Tim Bluhm and Ettienne deRocher.

Two years ago he released the long awaited Fog City follow-up

Do Your Thing, featuring some of New Orleans most beloved musicians:

Kirk Joseph (above left) founding member and groundbreaking sousaphonist for The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Henry Butler (above right) torchbearer for such great New Orleans piano players as James Booker, Professor Longhair and Huey 'Piano' Smith

Papa Mali and Big Cheif Monk Boudreaux photo by Dan Prothero

and Big Chief Monk Boudreaux (above right), of The Golden Eagles and Wild Magnolias mardi gras indians. Both records were produced by Dan Prothero and garnered rave reviews. (see 'PEOPLE SAY')

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PRODUCED BY PAPA MALI

In 2007 Papa Mali produced"The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster", putting the recently Grammy-nominated singer on the national and international charts, and cementing his reputation as a world class producer.