Multi-Blues Music Award-Winner Horn Player Extraordinaire Jimmy Carpenter Just Got Started
Las Vegas-based Jimmy Carpenter is on a roll. The saxophonist/singer/songwriter is a perennial favorite at the annual Blues Music Awards in Memphis, having been voted in the “Best Instrumentalist/Horn” category with seven nominations and two wins. Now, he proves he’s Just Got Started, with the upcoming release of his new album on September 13. Just Got Started was recorded in March at Greaseland Studios in San Jose, California, and was produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Christoffer "Kid" Andersen.
"Jimmy Carpenter continues to be a stand-out artist in the contemporary Blues genre. His songwriting is on point and his voice is front and center,” says Gulf Coast president Mike Zito. “Arguably one of the best sax players around, his artistry on this new record has come together to make the circle complete."
“When my dear friend Mike Zito asked if I'd be interested in working with producer Kid Andersen at Greaseland Studios for my third Gulf Coast Records release, my answer was an immediate and empathic ‘YES!,” recalls Carpenter. “Kid has done some very fine work with several friends of mine, and I love those records.
“I love Soul music, and my idea for this one was to lean in that direction. Still Blues-based, but also song oriented and funky cool with a kind of vintage soul vibe. I told Kid that, and he immediately said ‘Yes, we can do that!’
“The week before the session I was a little nervous, and called my friend Albert Castiglia, who had just recorded there. He gave me some very good advice: ‘Jimmy, just trust Kid, he has a plan;’ and he was so right. And the plan was to take my songs and put them in the capable hands of some of the finest musicians on the planet, which worked out very well.”
The lineup of musicians for the new disc is loaded with all-stars: Jimmy Carpenter - Sax and Vocals; Christoffer “Kid” Andersen – Guitar; Jim Pugh – Keys; Derrick D'mar Martin - Drums and Percussion; Jerry Jemmott - Bass: tracks 1-4, 7-10, 12; Bobby Vega - Bass: tracks 5, 6, 11; Guitar: tracks 4, 9; Christoffer “Kid” Andersen - Organ: tracks 3, 5-8,11; Fender Rhodes - track 6; Background Vocals - track 7; Endre Tarczy - Piano: track 2; Mike Galisatus – Trumpet: tracks 2, 6, 9, 10; Jack Sanford - Bari Sax: tracks 2, 6, 9, 10; Lisa “Little Baby” Andersen - Background Vocals: tracks 6, 11; Dwayne Morgan - Background Vocals: tracks 1, 2, 5; Walter Morgan - Background Vocals: tracks 1, 2, 5; and James Morgan - Background Vocals: tracks 1, 2, 5.
“The title track, ‘(Feels Like) I Just Got Started,’ is my attempt to use the last set of a night as a metaphor for my life in music,” explains Carpenter.” I've been at this a very long time and honestly, my career is at its high point; it's not ebbing, it's flowing! I really do feel in many ways like I'm just getting started. There's a line in the bridge, ‘Don't blink or you'll miss it!’ and that is a fact!
“Living in Vegas, people often ask if I'm a gambler. My stock answer is always - I only gamble with my heart. That's been banging around my head for years, and I finally wrote the song. It has the advantage of being true, and that gamble has paid off nicely here in Sin City.
“There are nods to some of the Blues icons: a very different version of Little Walter's ‘My Babe;’ a nice cover of Otis Rush's ‘Working Man;’ a nod to Delbert McClinton, one of my favorite people, and his song ‘Leap of Faith’ (Lisa ‘Li'l Baby’ Andersen absolutely crushes that one); as well as a super funky version of Allen Toussaint's ‘Night People.’
“And for the first time I was able to record not one, but two tunes from my saxophone hero, King Curtis: ‘Soul Theme’ and ‘Midnight Blue.’ In kind of a full circle thing, bass player Jerry Jemmott was King Curtis' bassist, so I felt kind of a cosmic connection to him as we recorded those, and of course, Jerry's bass lines were perfect.
“This album is very different than the previous five; more groovy and soulful, but not overdone. The musicianship really brings it home, and I could feel the love as we recorded it. I'm playing these songs live, and from the reaction we're getting, I think the people dig it! I am so grateful for Kid's steady hand and unparalleled guitar work, Jerry Jemmott, Derrick D'Mar Martin, Jim Pugh, Bobby Vega, and Lisa Andersen for taking really good care of me and my songs... And of course, Mike Zito and everyone at Gulf Coast for this opportunity. I Just Got Started, and I still got a long way to go!”
Just Got Started Track Listing
- (Feels Like) I Just Got Started - Jimmy Carpenter & Kid Andersen
- My Babe - Willie Dixon
- I Only Gamble With My Heart - Jimmy Carpenter
- Jimmy Shimmy - Jimmy Carpenter
- Shining Star - Leo Graham & Paul Richmond
- Night People - Allen Toussaint
- Live Again - Jimmy Carpenter
- Soul Theme - Curtis Ousley
- Keep On Stepping - Jimmy Carpenter
- Working Man - Mike Bloomfield & Nick Gravenites
- Leap of Faith - Glen Clark & Gary Nicholson
- Midnight Blue - Curtis Ousley
Website: https://jimmycarpenter.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jimmycarpenteronsax
About Jimmy Carpenter:
Jimmy relocated to Las Vegas from New Orleans in September, 2015. He has since steadily built an audience here, fronting his own quartet and becoming one of the mainstay artists at the world-famous Sand Dollar Lounge. His shows are high-energy and sax-centric, with a mixture of original and cover songs with a soul, r&b, blues and rock-n-roll vibe. His current band in addition to guitar hero Chris Tofield includes bass players Jason Langley or Aja Wilson; and drummers Cameron Tyler or David Kida, longtime drummer with Rod Piazza. In addition to local shows, Jimmy Carpenter tours worldwide
Jimmy is also the Talent Buyer and Musical Director of The Big Blues Bender, the annual Las Vegas festival that has quickly grown into one of the most popular in the world. In addition to booking the talent, he leads the house band, called The Bender Brass, which has backed up a long list of musicians over the years, and is the backing band for the annual HART Party, which benefits the Blues Foundation’s Handy Artist Relief Trust. The Bender was given the coveted Keeping the Blues Alive Award for that event, which has raised over $440,000 for the fund, and hoping to hit $500,000 this year.
In addition to winning the Blues Music Award twice, he also won a Grammy for a New Orleans funeral dirge he wrote years ago with the help of co-writers Craig Klein and Wardell Quezergue, aka The Creole Beethoven. The piece, entitled “Tomb Tune,” appears on the Grammy-winning album Atmosphere, by the New Orleans Nightcrawlers.
Jimmy is also President of the Las Vegas Blues Society. Under his tenure, and with the invaluable assistance of the LVBS Board, the organization has grown to nearly 500 members. During the pandemic the LVBS distributed approximately $10,000 to musicians in Las Vegas. The regular monthly jams have grown into rollicking events, drawing many jammers and crowds of listeners. There are numerous special events as well, including their annual Ma’am Jam, featuring all female musicians, The Boulder City Beerfest, and the GramJam, which featured 15 Grammy nominees/winners.
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