Throughout CBC’s Guitar Month, Saturday Night Blues has been chatting with some of the top blues players in the country to find out their favourite Canadian guitar players. Colin James, Paul Deslauriers, Big Dave McLean, Steve Kozak and Colin Linden have offered a wide range of diverse players. Some names you will know, and some you will be pleased to discover.
Listen to these audio clips, and let the axemen give it to you in their own words.
Colin James really needs no introduction. He has been one of the premiere sources of blues-based rock and pop since 1988, with the release of his self-titled debut disc. Fifteen is the newest disc, out earlier this year. Aptly titled, it is his 15th album.
AUDIOListen as James gives the biggest tip of the hat to Linden.
Paul Deslauriers is a household name in Quebec. With numerous awards for his guitar playing and singing, Deslauriers has been on the Canadian blues scene as a bandleader, collaborator and session player for almost two decades. Most recently, he has been working extensively with Montreal-based vocalist Dawn Tyler Watson. Together, the two musicians represented Canada — and made it to the finals — at the 2012 International Blues Challenge in Memphis.
AUDIOIt is a treat to hear Deslauriers mentionJimi Hendrix-inspired guitar wizard, Frank Marino, in his list.
Big Dave McLean was a mentor to Colin James when James was a teen, growing up on the Prairie and learning the craft of the blues. The patriarch of the Winnipeg music scene, McLean wields the national steel guitar like few others. A consummate collaborator, he hosts a popular weekly open stage, inviting all blues musicians and fans to come out and jam.
AUDIO As any good Winnipegger would, McLean gives the nod to hometown heroes Lenny Breau and Brent Parkin.
Steve Kozak has played with a lot of blues acts throughout his career. As host of the Thursday night jam at the Yale Hotel in Vancouver, Kozak has seen just about every major blues player in North America come and go. When a guy like him is picking his favourite guitar players, he knows what he is talking about — he has played with them all.
AUDIOKozak offers up some names to discover, such as Tim Hearsey, Greg Demchuk and Arsen Shomakhov.
Colin Linden currently has a gig as the guitar tutor for the performers on the hit television show Nashville, working alongside T Bone Burnett. Accolades like this put Linden at the top of the game. So when he talks about who his favourite guitar players are, those players must be good — very, very good.
AUDIOLinden stands by the holy trinity of Canadian guitar players: Robbie Robertson, Amos Garrett and David Wilcox.
As Guitar Month winds down, browse through this handy list of stories on CBC Music and discover some of the best known and unsung heroes of the six-string.
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