Born on January 19, 1925, in Kenner, Louisiana, Henry Gray began to demonstrate his talent on the piano at age 8 after being introduced to the instrument by an elderly neighbor, Mrs. White. Mrs. White gave him his first lessons, and he began to play piano and organ at his local church before his family acquired a piano for their home.
Forbidden to play the blues in his house, Gray had to sneak around and play the blues wherever he could; fortunately Mrs. White had no problem with the blues being played in her home.
At age 16, Gray was asked to play with a band in a club near his home. To his surprise, his father agreed, but only if he could tag along. Gray played the gig, made some money, and, as he recalled, “When my father saw that I could make money playing the blues, he liked that all right!” Thus began Gray’s remarkable 60-plus year career making blues history.
After a stint in the Army during World War II, Gray wound up living with relatives in Chicago, where he quickly made a name for himself performing for the likes of Big Maceo Merriwether and Howlin’ Wolf. Gray served as Wolf’s pianist until 1968 and performed on most of Wolf’s classic Chess recordings. He’s also played with a Who’s Who of blues legends from Muddy Waters to B.B. King.
Gray is a regular at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and continues to perform around the world. In 1998 he received a Grammy nomination for his work on “A Tribute to Howlin’ Wolf” and was invited by the Stones to play at Mick Jagger’s 55th birthday bash in Paris the same year.
Daryl Davis
Grammy-winning pianist Daryl Davis earned his music degree from Howard University, where he was a member of both the renowned Howard University Choir and Jazz Vocal Ensemble.
Davis is a composer, vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist extraordinaire. Pinetop Perkins, one of the founding fathers of boogie-woogie and one of the greatest pianists in blues history, selected the then 27-year-old Davis to succeed him in the piano and vocal slot of the Muddy Waters Legendary Blues Band.
After listening to Daryl Davis play in Chuck Berry’s band, Johnnie Johnson, Chuck Berry's great original pianist, praised Davis’s ability to master with authenticity, a style popular 30 years before he was even born!
As a performer, Davis has worked with countless greats, from Berry to Elvis Presley's Jordanaires.
Ann Rabson
Ann Rabson met the blues at age 4, when she heard Big Bill Broonzy on the radio. Rabson said, “His music spoke to me; my world went from black-and-white to color.” Little did she know that that three-minute experience would lay the foundation for her adult life. Now in her fourth decade as an internationally acclaimed songwriter, recording artist and performer, Rabson creates music that speaks to and entertains people all over the world.
After years of playing the first instrument she touched as a child—a guitar found in her father’s attic--at age 35, Rabson decided to learn the piano. Now honored as a member of the Boogie-Woogie Hall of Fame and praised as having the “best left hand in the blues,” Rabson brings the historic blues, boogie-woogie, and barrelhouse styles front and center. Her ability to play challenging left- and right-hand melodies while singing is nothing short of magical. Downbeat said she plays “with staggering authority.”
In 2008 Rabson was nominated for a Blues Music Award (formerly W.C. Handy Award) as Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year. She has been nominated eight times for Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year. Her first solo album, Music Makin’ Mama, was nominated as Album of the Year in both the Traditional Blues and Acoustic Blues categories, and her composition Elevator Man was nominated as Song of the Year. Her solo recordings also include Struttin’ My Stuff and In A Family Way.
Rabson has recorded nine projects with the widely popular group Saffire—The Uppity Blues Women, which she co-founded in 1984, and she has also recorded with numerous other artists. An Ann Rabson concert is like an intimate family gathering, regardless of the size of the audience. Her relaxed and unassuming demeanor sets the stage perfectly for her earthy and unvarnished performance. Presenting her own music and that of blues pioneers such as Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie, Leroy Carr, Tampa Red, and Big Bill Broonzy, she takes the audience on an unrestrained musical journey.
The New York Blues and Jazz Society says, “Ann has it all, the artful use of double entendres, a salty sense of humor, truly imaginative piano and guitar work.”
Bob Seeley
Bob Seeley is arguably America's greatest living boogie-woogie and stride pianist, and a piano player like Mickey Mantle was a ball player. Peter Silvester's written history of boogie-woogie, A Left Hand Like God, mentions him extensively, but at the time the book was published, Seeley had not yet been recorded. Since then, Seeley has released five CDs and is working on number six with collaborator Boogie Bob Baldori.
The 80 year-old pianist was a fixture at the piano bar at Charley's Crab in suburban Troy, Michigan, just outside of Detroit, where he entertained locals and visiting dignitaries for over 32 years. Not just an extraordinary pianist, Seeley's an indomitable soul who has played Carnegie Hall and most of the major venues throughout Europe.
Seeley’s most conspicuous influence was boogie-woogie giant Meade Lux Lewis, a great friend of Seeley's, who met the maestro during a Detroit gig in the late 1940s and a longstanding friendship developed through in the 1950s and 1960s, which influenced Seeley's piano styling and has resulted in a very rhythmical form of boogie-woogie. He also had a chance to chauffeur for and play piano with no less than jazz legend Art Tatum, who was impressed by the music of the relative youngster. Eubie Blake was also among Seeley's circle of friends and mutual fans.
Well versed in classic blues, Seeley worked for a while as accompanist to Sippie Wallace, the great blues vocalist who was rediscovered in the 1980s by one of her disciples, Bonnie Raitt.
Seeley is a consummate artist whose repertoire spans piano music from the entire 20th Century, including the music of Kern, Gershwin and Debussy as well as the standard works of ragtime, stride, blues and of course boogie-woogie. Peter Silvester wrote, "His solos are notable for their coherence and logical progression, which propels them to a satisfying climax. Of all the contemporary pianists, Seeley reproduces the sound and spirit of Meade Lux Lewis with the most conviction and sometimes even surpasses the master.”
