Jazz/blues guitarist suggestions for SRV fan.


I am about to wear out my Stevie Ray Vaughan CDs. I have been looking for a similar sound for a while and keep coming up short. What I am looking for is the instrumental jazz/blues sound, like in Riviera Paradise which is one of my all time favorite songs. I've tried Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Eric Wallo, Clapton even Ry Cooder...all good but they don't keep me coming back. Keb Mo is not too bad, he just does not do the instrumentals like Stevie.

Any suggestions for mostly instrumental jazz/blues guitarist?
dlwask
It's been a while since I started this post and I have made several CD purchases based on suggestions posted. I must say of the ones purchased so far (Kenny Wayne Shepard, John Lee Hooker and Ronnie Earl) I am hooked on Ronnie Earl. I now have two Ronnie Earl CD's in heavy rotation, Language of the Soul and I Feel Like Going On.

Thanks to all. Can't wait to try some of the others mentioned here.
Thackery, Ronnie Earl, some Buckethead/Praxis may appeal, Omar & the Howlers, Duarte

CD
Im not sure if "Corby Yates" has been mentioned yet but
he sounds pretty good. I heard some of his stuff at Guitar center yesterday. Worth a listen... He's in his early twenties and sounds like he's well on his way.
I would say me, but I don't have a contract yet. I can send you some demo stuff though . . .
SRV fan, I will say it again "ARC ANGELS". This is with SRV rhythm section of Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton, better known as Double Trouble. With Doyle Bramhall II and Charlie Sexton on guitars and vocals, produced by Little Steven, this could be close to what you are looking for. Go to Amazon or WinMX for more info.
i just came home with my new stash of blues cd's ,thanks to eveyone on audiogon for such great music. melvin taylor's dirty pool is outstanding! back to the blues & thanks again.
Went out and got Ronnie Earl's latest all instrumental album, forgot the name. He is certainly talented and I love the album. I am going to pick up some more of his albums since I like his style.

Got a Kenny Wayne Shepard disc too, again forgot the name. I'm here at work and can't recall the albums. Kenny Wayne is good and has the Stevie Ray sound...but...it's just not the same.

Keep the suggestions coming guys, this is a great thread. I'll probably ending up looking into most of the artists mentioned here. I've been on a Jazz/Blues guitarist search and this is a great reference list.
If you want to hear a texas tinged youn-un (at least he was when the cd was released) get a copy of the Ian Moore disc with blue sky on it. Not sure of the name It has a picture of him setting on a super with the band standing around. Great playing and tooo soulful. Buddy used to do it for me but Luther Allison would tear him up if he didn't pass on. Duke Robillard leans to the jazz side but he is killer. Tinsley Ellis, great guy, great showman, great singer, songwriter....way under rated. IMO he smokes ole buddy in a lot of ways too. You just can't lose with those blues.
Another vote here for Buddy Guy - you just might end up preferring him to SRV. Ehart - we share similar tastes - Hoodoo Man Blues is wonderful and has some extremely tasty work by Buddy - lovely gems sprinkled throughout a chuggingly all-time great album.
Piezo... I think you hit it right on the head. SRV did
get most of his stuff from Albert King. Also i did
see Indiginous and the guitar player does sound quite a
bit like Stevie.. I was impressed... His sister wails on
the drums too. Pretty cool stuff. I also agree with you
on Kenny Wayne.. he's alright but just doesnt do it for me.

I just quickly scaned over artist listed on this thread... There's some great ones. The only i can think of that i dont remember seeing is Buddy Guy.
There are a lot of great players mentioned here but the only ones that sound like SRV are Duarte and Kenny Wyane Sheppard. There is a Native American blues band Indiginous that nails the SRV thing. Albert King is the source of most of SRV's licks without the volume. THe live disk of the two of them togeather is way cool. Old Master, young lion jamming and BSing. They both know their place but they both seem to have a feeling who is going to rule the pack eventually. Room Full of Blues, Under one Roof has some killer guitar playing where swing mixes with the texas thing backed by a killer horn band.
First off, everyone that "sounds like SRV" to me personally sounds like a rip-off. Anyone who really loves SRV, and who was brought to the altar of the blues guitar by him (as I was in my early teen years) will have to realize that the master is gone and he will never be replaced.

Kenny Wayne Shepard is good, but he needs to grow up a bit and develop his own style.

Try the new Ronnie Earl- i feel like goin' on-- he's dealing with his manic depression, and this sounds better to me than his last 4 albums--

Glad to see a plug for "little" Charlie Baty of Little Charlie and the Nightcats-- Captured live has some amazing work on it. Highly, highly recommended- there's also a "deluxe Edition" best of Lil' Charlie out there that I never leave home without. Baty is, IMHO, in the top 5 living blues guitarists.

Overall I'm amazed how many of my own favorites were already plugged by you guys-- good suggestions all.

Tab Benoit is great, too- especially his recent album with Jimmy Thackery, and Benoit's last solo album Wetlands. If any of y'all find a copy of "strike a deep chord: Blues guitars for the homeless" BUY IT. Benoit does a smokin' version of "nice and warm" and it's followed by a great instrumental piece that was recorded in a big echo-y room with a killer tube guitar amp -- a real hoot on a system that stages. The whole (compilation) album is great-

My other recommendations that may not necessarily sound like SRV, but are great for blues fans in general that like him in my experience:

Kid Ramos, Son Seals, BB King (of course), Junior Watson, Kenny Burrel, Otis Rush

Keep the suggestions coming, guys
Buddy Guy.

NPR had a review of the Delmark album "Hoodoo Man" (Junior Wells with Buddy Guy on guitar) that reminded me how much I love that album (I have it on vinyl somewhere). It's been reissued recently. These two also have a great "live at Montreux" album as well, one of my favorites, which I unfortunately only own on tape.

Anyway, with blues, it's worth going back in time a bit. Buddy Guy really is one of the great guitarists of all time (I saw him in small clubs a few times before his recent stardom, he is mind-blowingly in control of his instrument, not mention the crowd). His recent albums are good (certainly check them out), but I prefer some of the older stuff, though it's not as consistent.
I wanna plug Benard Allison. Of course, Freddie King is the master of blues instrumentals. While he is not necessarily a jazz-influenced cat, his studio bands always seem to include musicians with jazz chops. Plus, a lot of the instrumentals feature non-traditional chord changes and forms.
This is great! Thanks for all the suggestions. I am going to make up a list from this thread, do some research and pick up a couple CDs over the weekend. I'll let you all know how it goes.
For instrumentals, try Ronnie Earl - The Color of Love. He is unequalled among today's guitarists.
Check out Stevie and brother Jimmie's roots with records from
WC Clark the original author of "Cold Shot" an Austin and South Texas blues musician.
Hop Wilson may be another.
There are also some fine Alligator albums with Stevie Ray from the mid 80's A.C. Reed in particular.
Have to second the Jimmy Thackery nomination. Very underrated and overlooked player, IMO. He has a new all-instrumental CD out. Highlight is supposed to be his version of Rude Mood.
The clone of SRV is Kenny Wayne Shepared. If you want a jazzy instrumental jazz/blues sound like in Riviera Paradise, Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, he is the man. He is more jazz/blues like Rivera than versus the other SRV more blues/rock sound (for lack of a better definition) which is one of my all time favorite songs too. Rivera uses more cording on the guitar to create the song where Ronnie's playing is more playing along with the song and some cord based melody. The other guitarists you mention and that others have mentioned do not sound like Rivera at all. I can burn you a copy of a few CDs if you want, just email me.

Happy Listening.
I second the melvin taylor choice > dirty pool
Also try these :
gary moore > still got the blues
robin ford > & the blue line
robert cray > (quite a few good cd's)
tinsley ellis > trouble time , fanning the flame
little charlie & the nightcats > captured live
johnny lang > lie to me
chris whitley~ livin w/the law - blues via a national steel
catherine wheel~ anything from these guys rock
mike johnson~ ex lead from dinasour jr.
Just got back from this year's Jazzfest in NOLA. Saw John Mooney & Bluesianna for the second time now, this time in a club. He stays a bit closer to the bluesy side of the blues-rock continuum, more so than SRV, but just as hard driving. Anyone who likes SRV would would definitely dig Mooney live, just amazing, muscular guitar work.
Can't comment on his cds tho since I don't own any yet, could be worth checking out a recent one. Don't miss him if he plays near you....
Another guy who blew me away a number of years ago when he was playing with Mayall was Coco Montoya. I got his first cd & it was disappointing, however he has released several since then, maybe better?
I'm always happy when listening to those ancient Peter Green/Fleetwood Mac tunes. I have the originals but, to me, his good stuff is dispersed over several albums from the very first to the final "Green Manalishi". Perhaps there's a particularly good compilation featuring his fretwork. He had a real nice take on blues playing.
On the jazz side I'm liking Russell Malone these days.
You may want to check out a few of the following:
Ron Affif Trio/ Ringside
Jean Paul Bourelly/ Rock the Cathartic Spirits
Larry Coryell/ Lady Coryell/ Cause and Effect
Bill Frisell/ Blues Dream/ Gone Like a Train
Danny Gatton/ Cruising Deuces
Jackie King/ Moon Magic
Larry Koonse/ Americana
Richie Kotzen/ Electric Joy
The Mermen/ Food for Other Fish/ A Glorious Lethal Euphoria
Tony Purrone/ Electric Poetry
Blues Saraceno/ Plaid
Steve Topping/ Time and Distance

A little less safe:
C.A.B. 2
David Fiuczynski/ Amandala
Gambale-Smith-Hamm/ Show Me What You Can Do
Groon/ Refusal to Comply
Hellborg-Lane-Sipe/ Personae
Scott Henderson/ Vital Tech Tones
Praxis/ Metatron
Quazi/ Cookies of Discontent
Greg Howe/ Introspection
Harriet Tubman/ Prototype
Try Melvin Taylor, very versatile; I think he's much better than Stevie Ray Vaughan.