“Kingfish”– Christone “Kingfish” Ingram (Alligator Records)
Authored By : Ray Hogan.
Older musicians used to compliment one another by saying, “he plays like where the blues were born.” It was considered as ultimate praise.
Twenty-year-old Christone “Kingfish” Ingram not only “plays like where the blues were born” but was literally born there. A native of Clarksdale, Mississippi, a few miles from the crossroads of Robert Johnson’s deal with the devil myth, Ingram is a prodigy for certain. But he’s also a lot more than just a young man with a strong handle of the blues idiom. He knows the music is his birthright and treats it with the appropriate respect, love, enthusiasm and execution.
The singer-guitarist has arrived incredibly developed and prides himself on being an old soul. (He came to Plutonic’s attention opening for Buddy Guy in March.) A firebrand guitarist and beyond-his years singer, Ingram may very well be the future of the blues. With song titles such as “Hard Times,” “Trouble” and “Fresh Out” (featuring Buddy Guy), Kingfish fits blues tradition well. “Some days I feel so different/It’s like I don’t fit in/Some kids like the greatest hits/But I did Guitar Slim,” he sings on “Been Here Before.” He’s a fish out of water but he’s also, hopefully, bridging the blues idiom from one generation to the next.
Although born to his Mississippi Delta roots, his guitar playing also reveals elements of the Chicago style in its’ stinging and singeing electricity. Thankfully, he doesn’t suffer from the young guitar hero syndrome of over-playing. In fact, he creates an equal emotional resonance on both acoustic songs and slow burn blues. Check out the mid-tempo groove of “Listen,” which features guest singer Keb Mo, who serves as second guitarist on five other songs. This song could have be a radio hit if that industry hadn’t become so homogenized and worthless. Ingram contributed in writing eight of the disc’s 12 songs. When Buddy Guy and Keb Mo offer to serve as mentors it’s obvious greatness is within the young musician’s grasp.
At 20-years-old, Ingram ensures the blues are in good hands. He may also be the music’s savior. The blues has been looking for someone to rescue since the death of Stevie Ray Vaughan in 1990. (That’s not to say there hasn’t been any great blues since then. There’s been plenty). Unfortunately the music industry was looking in the wrong direction (mainly white teens with a penchant for over-playing and overdoing just about everything else). In “Believe These Blues,” he sings, “I believe these blues are never gonna die.” Thanks to him, he’s probably right. It’s been a long time since a blues debut has made such a strong statement.
