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Paul Oscher wins TWO Blues Music Awards >>

Paul Oscher Gets Down In The Delta >>

Top Ten Handy List >>

Paul Oscher Alone with the Blues >>

Paul Oscher Has Paid His Dues >>

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Paul Oscher wins TWO Blues Music Awards

Blues singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter PAUL OSCHER is the winner of two 2006 BLUES MUSIC AWARDS: "ACOUSTIC ARTIST OF THE YEAR" and "ACOUSTIC ALBUM OF THE YEAR" for his acclaimed 2005 release "Down In The Delta". The Blues Music Awards was held May 11, 2006 at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis.

For over two decades, the Blues Music Awards (previously the W.C. Handy Awards) have celebrated excellence in performance and recording of the blues. A panel of international blues industry experts vote on the initial nominees and thirty thousand blues fans choose the winners. For more information about the Blues Foundation and the Blues Music Awards, visit www.blues.org.

"...harmonica virtuoso Paul Oscher is a veteran of the Muddy Waters band and the album is reminiscent of Waters' formative Mississippi blues...sharp musicianship and feel. His uncomplicated approach yields a deep satisfying blues experience." (Billboard)

"...Paul Oscher can blow some serious harp. He's had that ability ever since he was a Brooklyn teenager, when he used his ability...to become the first full-time white member of Muddy Water's band. But Oscher should win new respect for his talents as a vocalist, guitarist, pianist and melodica player with 'Down In The Delta'." (Chicago Sun-Times)

Paul Oscher first came to national attention as Muddy Waters' harmonica player from 1967-1972 (following in the footsteps of Little Walter, Junior Wells, James Cotton and Big Walter Horton). The first white musician to become a full-time member of a world-class black blues band, Muddy treated Oscher like a son. Oscher shared the basement in Muddy's house on Chicago's Southside with the great Otis Spann. Working alongside Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, Sammy Lawhorn, Pee Wee Madison and S.P. Leary, Oscher learned deep Blues phrasing and timing. He learned to play slide guitar from Muddy—literally by looking over Muddy's shoulder—and piano from Otis Spann.

With the Muddy Waters Blues Band, Oscher toured the US and abroad and played a range of venues from the rough and tumble juke joints of the chitlin' circuit to the major concert stages of the world. During that time he backed up blues luminaries including John Lee Hooker, Earl Hooker, Son House, Fred McDowell, Lightning Hopkins, T-Bone Walker, Albert King, Magic Sam and Big Mama Thornton. Oscher recorded a number of albums with Muddy for the legendary Chess Records label.

Paul Oscher has recorded with Otis Spann, Johnny Young, Johnny Copeland, Victoria Spivey, Big Bill Morganfield and Mos Def and others. Paul is featured on harmonica, guitar and vocal on Hubert Sumlin's Grammy-nominated/2006 Blues Music Awards winning album "About Them Shoes" along with Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Levon Helm.

Nowadays, multi-instrumentalist Oscher performs primarily as a solo artist or in a trio setting. There are only a handful of artists left that can carry on the tradition of the deep blues and Paul Oscher's one of them. "When I was a young man I played other peoples blues. Now that I'm older, I write and play my own and when I play a blues classic, I put my own stamp on it. And I always keep that lowdown and lonesome feelin' I learned in Muddy Waters' band—I like to keep it real and in the moment."

In 2001, Paul Oscher moved from New York to L.A. with his wife, playright and novelist, Suzan-Lori Parks (the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in the drama category, for her play Topdog/Underdog 2002). Encouraged by his wife, Paul is writing down his experiences in the blues. Excerpts from his forthcoming book "Alone with the Blues" have already been published in the companion book to the PBS series "Martin Scorcese Presents The Blues".

Paul has spent over 40 years playing the blues, yet he is humbled by those experiences. "I always try to thank the high power. The real gift of talent is not the ability to be able to play, it is the gift of the love you have for the music. That's what takes you over the hurdles."

"...fine guitar, piano and exceptional harmonica. Seldom has a performer seemed so comfortable with the music he plays...If you like the real thing, that is the blues played without compromise: Paul Oscher's 'Down In The Delta' should be in your CD player right now." (Sing Out!)

"...Paul Oscher services classic electric and acoustic blues styles with uncommon precision and heart on the cut-live, no overdubs 'Down in the Delta' (Blues Fidelity), a must for devotees and players. A " (Knight Ridder wire service) "an authentic Delta blues treat." (Scripps Howard News Service)

"Down In The Delta" is distributed by Burnside Distribution.

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Paul Oscher Gets Down In The Delta
ON BLUES FIDELITY JULY 12, 2005

"Paul Oscher's blues are deep as the Delta soil. With just a guitar, a slide, a harmonica and his voice, Oscher rekindles the fire, soul and spirit of the music of the late, great Muddy Waters." - Ted Drozdowski, Boston Phoenix

Blues singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, PAUL OSCHER's "DOWN IN THE DELTA" (Blues Fidelity/JULY 12, 2005) was recorded live "the old school way" - with no overdubs - and features Oscher on vocals, harmonica, guitar, piano and melodica with special guests including LEVON HELM (drums), WILLIE "BIG EYES" SMITH (drums), CALVIN JONES (bass) and DAVID MAXWELL (piano). "DOWN IN THE DELTA" captures the no frills, down-in-the-alley, gutbucket, lowdown and lonesome deep blues - of Oscher's live performances.

"...his blues has the bite and gravity of the tradition he upholds." --Jon Pareles, The New York Times

Paul Oscher first came to national attention as Muddy Waters' harmonica player from 1967 -1972 (following in the footsteps of Little Walter, Junior Wells, James Cotton and Big Walter Horton). The first white musician to become a full-time member of a world-class black blues band, Muddy treated Oscher like a son. Oscher shared the basement in Muddy's southside Chicago home with the great Otis Spann. Working alongside Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, Sammy Lawhorn, Pee Wee Madison and S.P. Leary, Oscher learned deep Blues phrasing and timing. He learned to play slide guitar from Muddy -- literally by looking over Muddy's shoulder -- and piano from Otis Spann.

"I certainly draw from the time I was on the road with Muddy and the experiences I had living on the southside. I give thanks everyday for that - it's the biggest gift of my life and it's given me my foundation..." - Paul Oscher

Brooklyn, New York native Paul Oscher started playing the blues at the age of twelve when his uncle gave him a harmonica. By the time he was fifteen, he had hooked up with guitarist/singer Little Jimmy Mae and was playing professionally in soul revues at black clubs around NYC including the Baby Grand, The 521 Cub, Seville Lounge and the Nitecap.

Still in his early teens, Oscher met Muddy Waters back stage at the Apollo Theatre in the mid-l960's. A couple years later, Muddy came to New York without a harp player. Oscher sat in with the band and played two numbers:"Baby Please Don't Go" and "Blow Winds Blow." Muddy hired him on the spot.

With the Muddy Waters Blues Band, Oscher toured the US and abroad and played a range of venues from the rough and tumble juke joints of the chitlin' circuit to the major concert stages of the world. During that time he backed up blues luminaries John Lee Hooker, Earl Hooker, Son House, Fred McDoweIl, Lightning Hopkins, T-Bone Walker, Albert King, Magic Sam and Big Mama Thornton. Oscher recorded a number of albums with Muddy for the legendary Chess Records label.

Paul Oscher toured with Muddy's band till late 1971 when he left to form his own band under the name Brooklyn Slim. In 1976, he toured Europe with Louisiana Red and continued fronting his own band in the New York area in addition to backing up Big Joe Turner, Doc Pomus, Victoria Spivey, Big Walter Horton and Johnny Copeland.

In the '80s, Oscher quit music and got a day job. But the blues kept calling and in 1992 he hooked up with piano players David Maxwell and Bob Gaddy and his old drummer Candy McDonald and started playing again. Still performing under the moniker Brooklyn Slim, Oscher recorded for Mojo Productions and Lollipop Records. In 1994, Paul toured the US with Jimmy Rogers and the Muddy Waters Tribute Band.

In 1995 Oscher released his first solo CD, "The Deep Blues of Paul Oscher" for Blues Planet Records. His follow-up "Knockin' on the Devils' Door" (Viceroy Records) received a W.C. Handy Award nomination. In 2000, Paul Oscher received the L.A. Music Award for "Outstanding Blues Artist of the Year." Oscher's "Alone with the Blues" (2004/Electro-Fi Records), was nominated for four 2005 W.C. Handy Awards: "Acoustic Blues Album of the Year", "Blues Song of the Year", "Acoustic Blues Artist of the Year" and"Instrumentalist of the Year - Harmonica".

Paul Oscher appears on Mos Def's release "New Danger" (October 2004) and is a featured guest on The Mannish Boys CD on Delta Groove (November 2004). Oscher appears on Mark Hummel and Johnny Dyer's Muddy Waters tribute CD " Rollin' Fork Revisited" (Mountain Top Records/November 2004) and is featured on the January 2005 Hubert Sumlin release "About them Shoes" (Tone Cool/ Artemis) along with Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, and Levon Helm.

Nowadays, multi-instrumentalist Oscher performs primarily as a solo artist."I really dig playing alone, I follow my own time, my feet are my drummer and I can play the harmonica and guitar together like the way I want to, and I can change up in the middle of a number without having to rehearse anyone. Plus me and the band is getting along real good. I don't have to worry about nobody getting drunk or not showing up for the gig and the only one I argue with is myself. Yeah, except for the guitar player - he's always fightin' with the harp, the harp player gets all the women".

There are only a handful of artists left that can carry on the tradition of the deep blues and Paul Oscher's one of them. "When I was a young man I played other peoples blues. Now that I'm older, I write and play my own and when I play a blues classic, I put my own stamp on it. And I always keep that lowdown and lonesome feelin' I learned in Muddy Waters' band -- I keep it real and in the moment."

"Down In The Delta" is distributed by Burnside Distribution.

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Top Ten Handy List
From The Blues Foundation website
www.blues.org

Top Ten List (of things you would have seen at this years’ W.C. Handy Blues Awards)

10. The party –Nominees and fans mingling together with blues music and adult beverages like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and blue margaritas compliments of Gibson Guitars—it was cinco de mayo after all

9. The jams--Popsy Dixon of The Holmes Brothers jamming with Barbara Blue and band at the Trolley Stop Lounge the night before.

8. The Handy dinner music –solo piano courtesy of by Mitch Woods, Jon Cleary and David Maxwell.

7. The dance floor—packed during Charles Wilson and then Charles Wilson with Gary US Bonds.

6. Unusual instruments - Paul Oscher and his bass harp

5. The veterans--David “Honeyboy” Edwards (89) and Robert Lockwood Jr. (90) performing back to back.

4. The newcomers— The buzz from those not already hip--“Who is this Watermelon Slim?”

3. The opening-- The 17-piece Calvin Owens Big Blues Band opens the show!!!

2. The musical combinations--Pinetop Perkins, two Beale Street Blues Baldwin baby grands and friends like Marcia Ball, Ann Rabson, Daryl Davis, David Maxwell, Mitch Woods and Jon Cleary all performing at once.

1. The only at the Handys moments—Handy winners Mavis, Koko and Shemekia onstage together acting like sisters or two sisters and their niece

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Paul Oscher "Alone With The Blues"

NEW DEEP BLUES ALBUM FROM AN AMERICAN BLUES LEGEND AND FORMER MUDDY WATERS BAND MEMBER

Alone with the Blues showcases Paul Oscher as a blues singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (Harmonica, Guitar, Piano, Accordion and Melodica) in both solo and ensemble settings. The band tracks include accompaniment by Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Calvin "Fuzz" Jones and Dave Maxwell among others.

Alone with the Blues covers a wide range of traditional Blues styles and includes seven original compositions, eight original interpretations of Blues classics and two traditional gospel songs. All in all - seventeen tracks and over sixty eight minutes of deep blues.

Alone with the Blues takes the listener through the gritty territory of Oscher's musical history from lonely country blues to personal themes of loss and redemption, to the inviting sin of juke joint nights and to back porch storytelling.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ALBUM INCLUDE:

• a masterful solo harmonica performance where Paul plays an array of diatonic and chromatic harmonicas, bass harmonica and melodica over an after hours blues theme

• an extraordinary gospel piano and melodica duet featuring Dave Maxwell on piano and Paul on a melodica played through a leslie speaker sounding like a Hammond B3 organ

• Paul's chromatic harmonica interpretation of the Miles Davis jazz blues classic Walkin'

• Paul channeling on the guitar in the styles of Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Robert Nighthawk

• solo performances featuring his Chicago blues style amplified neckrack harmonica and guitar

• two blues classics featuring Paul accompanying himself on the piano

• a Cajun style song where Paul has the harmonica sounding like a button accordion and

• a Mississippi John Hurt song where Paul accompanies himself on the accordion

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Paul Oscher Has Paid His Dues
AND HE DON'T PLAY NOTHING BUT THE BLUES

There are only a handful of these cats left that can carry on the tradition of the deep blues and Paul Oscher's one of them. Paul got his start in Muddy Water's band (1967-71) as Muddy's harp player. Paul lived on the southside of Chicago in Muddy Waters' house where Muddy treated him like a son. Paul shared Muddy's basement with the great Otis Spann who taught Paul the piano. Working alongside blues greats like Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, Sammy Lawhorn, Pee Wee Madison and S.P. Leary, Paul learned the deep Blues phrasing and timing characteristic of his music today. Paul learned the guitar by literally looking over the shoulders of Muddy and Sammy Lawhorn. As Paul says, "Yeah , I was blowin' the harp, but I was steady watching Muddy with that slide."Paul was the first white musician in the world to become a full time member of a black blues band of that stature. He traveled the chitlin' circuit with Muddy playing the black theatres and juke joint joints to people who knew the blues, lived the blues and had the blues. Expounding further on his blues roots, Paul shares: "I certainly draw from the time I was on the road with Muddy and the experiences I had living on the southside. I give thanks everyday for that - it's the biggest gift of my life and it's given me my foundation. Now, I look at it this way...when I was a young man I played other peoples blues and now that I'm older, I write and play my own. But I still keep that deep blues feelin' I learned in Muddy Waters band and when I do play a blues classic I don't copy it, I do it the 'old school way', that is, I make it my own ­it's my arrangement, my music and sometimes I add my own words, you know, put my stamp on it. That way, even when I'm playing someone else's blues it's still mine. I can relate to it- keep it real and in the moment. That's what I always dug about Lightning Hopkins and John Lee Hooker and cats like that."Paul Oscher has been extensively interviewed in books and videos about the blues and is currently in the process of writing a book on his experiences in the blues. An excerpt from his book has been published in the companion book to the PBS series "Martin Scorcese Presents The Blues." Paul brings this wealth of experience of his over forty years commitment to the blues to this new ELECTRO-FI release Nowadays, Paul Oscher performs mostly as a solo artist in a show called "Alone with the Blues" which features him on harmonica, bass harmonica, guitar, piano and melodica. His show "Alone with the Blues" show has received rave reviews from critics, fans, and promoters. The original concept for this record was to record a solo album to reflect his live show. Twelve of the tracks on the record are solo performances and the remaining tracks feature Paul in duo and quartet settings.Interviewed about his one man band show, Paul said, "I really dig playing alone, I follow my own time, my feet are my drummer and I can play the harmonica and guitar together like the way I want to, and I can change up in the middle of a number without having to rehearse anyone. Plus me and the band (referring to himself) is getting along real good. I don't have to worry about nobody getting drunk or not showing up for the gig and the only one I argue with is myself. Yeah, except for the guitar player ­ he's always fightin' with the harp, the harp player gets all the women. (laughs)"Besides his work with Muddy, Paul has also performed and or recorded with numerous major blues artists including Otis Spann, Johnny Young, John Lee Hooker, Earl Hooker, Fred McDowell, T-Bone Walker, Magic Sam, Big Mama Thornton, Big Walter Horton, Jimmy Rogers Luther "Georgia Boy" Snake Johnson, Johnny Copeland, Louisiana Red, Victoria Spivey, Hubert Sumlin, Levon Helm, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and the list goes on.Paul's live performances with Muddy Waters and his subsequent recordings influenced a whole generation of blues musicians and paved the way for many other musicians.

This new cd on Electro-Fi should remind folks of Paul Oscher's stature in the blues world and of his soulful talents, not only on harp, but also on guitar, piano, vocals and songwriting.

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