Submitted by Lenny Stoute
Kenny ‘Blues Boss’ Wayne has decades of playing, countless globetrotting tours and a slate of acclaimed, award-winning albums under the belt of his flamboyant zoot suit, the 74-year-old piano master might be the hardest-working bluesman in show business. And this true original isn’t changing his tune on his topnotch 10th album Inspired By The Blues. “I’m not looking for a different path,” says the Kelowna-based performer. “I love that jump blues and boogie-woogie. That’s where my heart is at. I’m just trying to keep that style alive. That’s classic stuff. And I’m at that classic age, so it all works out.”
Indeed, it does. Inspired By The Blues, out Sept. 28 on Stony Plain Records, finds the Boogie Woogie Hall of Famer applying his deft touch and tremendous talents to another slate of top-notch originals, with the help of special guests like harmonica player Billy Branch, guitarist Duke Robillard and B.B. King’s long-time bassist Russell Jackson. With 11 originals — including a tribute to Fats Domino — plus a bonus track of Georgia on My Mind cut live in Mexico, the self-produced set serves as a throwback to ‘50s rhythm and blues while putting a fresh spin on the genre.