Drummer/singer/songwriter Doyle Bramhall has played an elemental role in bar-bred Texas blues music since the late '60s. One of his first groups, The Chessmen, included his eventual lifelong collaborator Jimmie Vaughan, and he partnered with Jimmie's younger brother Stevie Ray in various bands in the late '70s. Without a doubt the trio, together and separate, put swampy white-boy blues (as well as their Austin home-base) on the mainstream radar.
Across his 40 years as a musician, Bramhall's solo recordings have been few and far between. His critically acclaimed Bird Nest On The Ground (1994) and Fitchburg Street (2003) were preceded by seminal Vaughan Brothers and Stevie Ray Vaughan outings (Family Style, Texas Flood) that still reverberate today. He's also kept busy as a respected touring and session drummer over the years, playing with artists including Lightnin' Hopkins, Lou Ann Barton, Mason Ruffner and Anson Funderburgh. As a producer, Bramhall has helped shape recordings by Marcia Ball (Presumed Innocent), Chris Duarte (Love Is Greater Than Me) and Indigenous (Circle).
Is It News, Bramhall's latest solo effort, is a hearty stew of Bo Diddley beats and fat walk-along guitars. It features his extended Lone Star State family of musicians including son Doyle II, daughter Georgia, Jimmie Vaughan, Tina Vaughan (Jimmie's daughter), and Denny Freeman, among others. Co-producer C.C. Adcock brings a fragrant touch of the Louisiana bayou to the CD, which clearly looks forward while firmly holding on to the past.
Provenance: Born in Dallas, Bramhall's been an Austin native since the '70s.
Latest release: Is It News (2007)
© 2007 Nigel Music Media LLC. Used by permission.
Doyle Bramhall
