Jonathan Kalb

Jonathan Kalb is a dynamite bluesman.  He fronts his own band on guitar, harmonica, and vocals, performing classic blues tunes as well as original compositions.  He’s an amazing solo performer too. 

Jonathan has been a blues guy for forty years.  He’s been on the same bill with blues greats like B.B. King, Luther Allison, Dr. John, Mike Bloomfield, and Johnny Copeland—and he’s worked with Steve Miller, Otis Rush, Lightning Hopkins, Bo Diddley, Solomon Burke, Sunnyland Slim, Evelyn Champagne King, Tracy Nelson, Honeyboy Edwards, and Gary U.S. Bonds. 

He’s got a Jimi Hendrix connection too—Jimi’s signature fuzz-tone sound was inspired by hearing Jonathan play.  Jimi admitted it.  At the age of nineteen Jonathan was the musical director for The Fugs.  They played in the Village, next door to the Café Wha where Jimi got his start—so the stage was set for cross-fertilization.

Jonathan plays regularly at venues in the New York/TriState area.  I made a pilgrimage to Roosevelt Island a few weeks ago, where he was performing solo on the patio of the Trellis Restaurant.  Summer in the city isn’t pleasant, but a sizeable audience had gathered to be distracted from the heat by Jonathan’s cool renderings of blues (and jazz) standards.

He also performs at blues festivals, most recently in South Carolina—and he tours frequently in Europe.  Last fall took him to the UK for the twelfth time, with a side trip to Norway.

Jonathan is also a great teacher.  I should know–I’ve studied guitar with him since 2002.  His lessons are a cool mix of theory and demonstration, plus a good dose of jamming.  What a thrill to jam with a master! 

Here’s an excerpt from a review that appeared in the magazine Blues in Britain:

“WOW!… That’s all I have to say about Jonathan Kalb … this guy is the real deal, that indefinable sound, phrasing, confidence and just all around X factor that makes the greats stand out from others. Few have it, Jon is one of those few. As he played a borrowed Fender, pickless, I could not help thinking of an early Stevie Ray Vaughan. Bending, vibrating and manipulating the guitar to produce a sound of his own. Vocally, Jon is very powerful, but subtle too, with perfect phrasing. The overall sound produces excitement and makes for an intoxicating cocktail for the audience to enjoy… You must hear him live.” — Captain Pat  

I asked  Jonathan for some words of wisdom and here’s what he said: “Success has to do with how much desire you have and how committed you are to what’s in your heart—it’s 20% talent and 80% hard work, passion, and tenacity.”  Great advice for anyone!

Visit Jonathan’s website at www.JonathanKalb.org for much more information about this very cool bluesman—including some great videos of his live performances.