PAUL OSCHER

"ALONE WITH THE BLUES"

NEW RELEASE FROM:

Alone with the Blues showcases Paul Oscher as a blues singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (Harmonica, Guitar, Piano, Accordion and Melodica) in both solo and ensemble settings. The band tracks include accompaniment by Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Calvin "Fuzz" Jones and Dave Maxwell among others.

Alone with the Blues covers a wide range of traditional Blues styles and includes seven original compositions, eight original interpretations of Blues classics and two traditional gospel songs. All in all - seventeen tracks and over sixty eight minutes of deep blues.

Alone with the Blues takes the listener through the gritty territory of Oscher's musical history from lonely country blues to personal themes of loss and redemption, to the inviting sin of juke joint nights and to back porch storytelling.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ALBUM INCLUDE:

• a masterful solo harmonica performance where Paul plays an array of diatonic and chromatic harmonicas, bass harmonica and melodica over an after hours blues theme

• an extraordinary gospel piano and melodica duet featuring Dave Maxwell on piano and Paul on a melodica played through a Leslie speaker sounding like a Hammond B3 organ

• Paul’s chromatic harmonica interpretation of the Miles Davis jazz blues classic Walkin’

• Paul channeling on the guitar in the styles of Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Robert Nighthawk

• solo performances featuring his Chicago blues style amplified neckrack harmonica and guitar

• two blues classics featuring Paul accompanying himself on the piano

• a Cajun style song where Paul has the harmonica sounding like a button accordion and

• a Mississippi John Hurt song where Paul accompanies himself on the accordion

HEAR IT NOW - CLICK FOR SAMPLES

PAUL OSCHER HAS PAID HIS DUES AND HE DON'T PLAY NOTHING BUT THE BLUES.

There are only a handful of these cats left that can carry on the tradition of the deep blues and Paul Oscher’s one of them.

Paul got his start in Muddy Water’s band (1967-71) as Muddy’s harp player. Paul lived on the southside of Chicago in Muddy Waters’ house where Muddy treated him like a son. Paul shared Muddy’s basement with the great Otis Spann who taught Paul the piano. Working alongside blues greats like Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, Sammy Lawhorn, Pee Wee Madison and S.P. Leary, Paul learned the deep Blues phrasing and timing characteristic of his music today. Paul learned the guitar by literally looking over the shoulders of Muddy and Sammy Lawhorn. As Paul says, "Yeah , I was blowin’ the harp, but I was steady watching Muddy with that slide."

Paul was the first white musician in the world to become a full time member of a black blues band of that stature. He traveled the chitlin’ circuit with Muddy playing the black theatres and juke joint joints to people who knew the blues, lived the blues and had the blues.

Expounding further on his blues roots, Paul shares: "I certainly draw from the time I was on the road with Muddy and the experiences I had living on the southside. I give thanks everyday for that - it’s the biggest gift of my life and it’s given me my foundation. Now, I look at it this way…when I was a young man I played other peoples blues and now that I’m older, I write and play my own. But I still keep that deep blues feelin’ I learned in Muddy Waters band and when I do play a blues classic I don’t copy it, I do it the ‘old school way’, that is, I make it my own –it’s my arrangement, my music and sometimes I add my own words, you know, put my stamp on it. That way, even when I’m playing someone else's blues it’s still mine. I can relate to it- keep it real and in the moment. That’s what I always dug about Lightning Hopkins and John Lee Hooker and cats like that."

Paul Oscher has been extensively interviewed in books and videos about the blues and is currently in the process of writing a book on his experiences in the blues. An excerpt from his book has been published in the companion book to the PBS series "Martin Scorcese Presents The Blues."

Paul brings this wealth of experience of his over forty years commitment to the blues to this new ELECTRO-FI release

Nowadays, Paul Oscher performs mostly as a solo artist in a show called "Alone with the Blues" which features him on harmonica, bass harmonica, guitar, piano and melodica. His show "Alone with the Blues" has received rave reviews from critics, fans, and promoters. The original concept for this record was to record a solo album to reflect his live show. Twelve of the tracks on the record are solo performances and the remaining tracks feature Paul in duo and quartet settings.

Interviewed about his one man band show, Paul said, "I really dig playing alone, I follow my own time, my feet are my drummer and I can play the harmonica and guitar together like the way I want to, and I can change up in the middle of a number without having to rehearse anyone. Plus me and the band (referring to himself) is getting along real good. I don’t have to worry about nobody getting drunk or not showing up for the gig and the only one I argue with is myself. Yeah, except for the guitar player – he’s always fightin’ with the harp, the harp player gets all the women. (laughs)"

Besides his work with Muddy, Paul has also performed and or recorded with numerous major blues artists including Otis Spann, Johnny Young, John Lee Hooker, Earl Hooker, Fred McDowell, T-Bone Walker, Magic Sam, Big Mama Thornton, Big Walter Horton, Jimmy Rogers Luther "Georgia Boy" Snake Johnson, Johnny Copeland, Louisiana Red, Victoria Spivey, Hubert Sumlin, Levon Helm, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and the list goes on.

Paul’s live performances with Muddy Waters and his subsequent recordings influenced a whole generation of blues musicians and paved the way for many other musicians.

This new CD on Electro-Fi should remind folks of Paul Oscher’s stature in the blues world and of his soulful talents, not only on harp, but also on guitar, piano, vocals and songwriting.

For media and publicity inquiries please contact Michael McClune, Crows Feet Productions at 858.581.BLUES or michael@crowsfeet.biz