Jimmy Burns & Soul Message Band
Biography Jimmy Burns & Soul Message Band
Jimmy Burns
born in Dublin, Mississippi in 1943, Jimmy Burns derived his earliest inspiration from the records of Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and others. After Jimmy moved to Chicago in the mid-’50s, he discovered a scene that was perfect for the meld of traditional blues, churchy emotionalism, and forward-looking pop/R&B sophistication that by then comprised his musical aesthetic. Live at B.L.U.E.S. captures perfectly the indelible combination of ebullient good spirits, warmhearted intimacy, and sharp-witted intelligence that characterizes Jimmy Burns, as both a musician and a man.
Soul Message Band
is founded on the enduring partnership of Chris Foreman, the Chicago-based and nationally celebrated jazz organist, and the always solid drummer, Greg Rockingham, aka “The Rock.” Foreman and Rockingham have an unmistakable chemistry and a 25-year history of collaboration (including groups like the Deep Blue Organ Trio) that has taken them from Chicago to jazz clubs and arenas around the world, both as headliners and as an opening group for Steely Dan. The band adds Chicago veteran guitarist Lee Rothenberg on guitar.
Chris Foreman
is a masterful musician and heir to the throne occupied by the jazz organ legends who were once his influence. Blind at birth, Foreman started playing piano at age five and began formal training at seven. As a teenager, he was attracted to the organ sounds of Jack McDuff, Groove Holmes, Jimmy Smith, and Jimmy McGriff, and soon began playing jazz on the organ. Over time, he has arrived at an exciting blend of blues-gospel and jazz, and developed a stunning command and range on the instrument. He has performed or recorded with artists including Hank Crawford, Albert Collins, Bernard Purdie, and The Mighty Blue Kings.
Greg Rockingham
began playing drums when he was just three years old and debuted as a professional musician at age five in his father’s jazz ensemble. An alumnus of the famed Interlochen Arts Academy and Northeastern University, he has won numerous musical awards from the Notre Dame Jazz Festival and has performed or recorded with, among others, Freddie Cole, Patty Page, Jerry Vale, Nat Adderley, Kenny Burrell, Charles Earland, Irene Reid, Ellis Marsalis, Nancy Wilson, Deep Blue Organ Trio, and the orchestras of Glenn Miller and Guy Lombardo.
Lee Rothenberg
is an in-demand sideman on the Chicago jazz scene. Noted for a style that is deeply rooted in the jazz guitar tradition, Rothenberg exhibits the sacred elements of melody, swing, and creativity. He has performed both as a leader and a sideman at venues including The Green Mill, Andy’s, the Jazz Showcase, Pete Miller’s, and the Jazz Estate, and with a host of Chicago’s most venerable artists, including Greg Ward, Dan Trudell, and Bobby Broom. He is currently recording with a quartet that includes Ira Sullivan, Dennis Carroll, and George Fludas.
