Chris Cain ~ Blues Guitar Master

$15 Tickets are ON SALE NOW
at Nature’s Corner, The Martin Hotel, and Global Coffee

The look on Chris’ face in this photo tells the story.   This is Chris clearly in his grove,  the almost trance like state that he enters when he simply lets the sound carry him along. We often talk about the magic that often happens at the Martin, and Chris can really bring it.

 

Chris’  Bio:

Chris Cain’s jazz-tinged, blues soaked guitar and deep, warm vocals have the maturity and authenticity of bluesmen many years his senior. His expressive style is the result of a lifetime of study and the relentless pursuit of music mastery. His passion and intensity are a blend of his mother’s Greek ancestry and his father’s soulful black heritage.

Cain was raised on stories of his father’s childhood upbringing on Memphis’ Historic Beale Street and attended his first B.B. King concert at the tender age of three. Blues music played continuously on the home stereo and family outings were often trips to concerts. Cain recalls, “I remember when I was a kid, my Dad would be mowing the lawn with the stereo blasting Muddy Waters. When I look back, that was pretty cool! There was always music playing at our house, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Freddie King, Albert King, all the greats.”

At the age of eight, Cain taught himself to play guitar and began playing professionally before he was eighteen. Chris studied music at San Jose City College, and was soon teaching jazz improvisation on campus. Over the next twenty years, Cain would also master piano, bass guitar, clarinet, alto and tenor saxophone. The combination of his blues upbringing and his jazz studies melded to form the searing guitar style that sets Chris Cain apart and has moved him to the top ranks of the blues music scene.

ChrisCainCain’s debut recording, Late Night City Blues (Blue Rock’it Records-1987) garnered four W.C. Handy Blues Award nominations, including “Guitarist of the Year”. Dan Forte of Guitar Player wrote, “An impressive debut album by a top notch guitarist.”

Cain’s next two releases; “Cuttin Loose” (Blind Pig Records-1990) and “Can’t Buy a Break” (Blind Pig Records-1992) collected a long list of awards and accolades. In August of 1995 Blind Pig released “Somewhere Along the Way” his 4th compilation of his unique brand of original music sophisticated blues, funk, jazz and gospel.

In 2003 Patrick Ford produced Chris’s latest CD, “Hall Of Shame” (Blue Rock’it Records-2003). “…this is now the sixth Chris Cain solo release I have produced, not to mention his work with me on projects like the Ford Blues Bands’ “In Memory Of Michael Bloomfield” CD, and I continue to be in awe of his incredible talent. As a guitarist/singer, Chris has been praised by mentors like Albert King and peers like Robben Ford.”

Larry Nager (syndicated Scripts-Howard music critic) writes, “Nowadays most young blues players are Strat-wielding Stevie Ray Vaughan-a-bes. Not Chris Cain. With a voice that recalls B.B. King and a thick toned Gibson guitar sound reminiscent of Albert King, Cain is forging a unique style. With his own highly personalized songwriting, “Hall Of Shame” is a giant step in the development of one of the most compelling young bluesmen on today’s scene.”

Through his guitar mastery and remarkable songwriting ability, Chris Cain has established himself as a musical force to be reckoned with. And as San Jose Mercury News music reviewer John Orr writes, “more than anyone else, anywhere, Chris Cain represents the future of the blues.”

Master Minstrel Harvey Reid

Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Harvey Reid has honed his craft over the last 35 years in countless clubs, festivals, street corners, cafes, schools and concert halls across the nation. He has been called a “giant of the steel strings” and “one of the true treasures of American acoustic music.” He has absorbed a vast repertoire of American contemporary and roots music and woven it into his own colorful, personal and distinctive style. His 22 recordings on Woodpecker Records showcase his mastery of many instruments and styles of acoustic music, from hip folk to slashing slide guitar blues to bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, ragtime, and even classical.

Reid’s skills and versatility on the guitar alone mark him as powerhouse in acoustic music. He won the 1981 National Fingerpicking Guitar Competition and the 1982 International Autoharp competition. Yet he’s also a veteran musician with a long list of studio and band credits, a strong flatpicker who has won the Beanblossom bluegrass guitar contest, a versatile and engaging singer, a powerful lyricist, prolific composer, arranger and songwriter, a solid mandolin and bouzouki player, and a seasoned performer and captivating entertainer. And he plays the 6-string banjo and the autoharp like you’ve never heard.

Reid prides himself on his independence, and sees himself as a modern embodiment of the ancient minstrels. You’ll find elements of the traditional troubadour, the modern poet-songwriter, the American back-porch picker, the classical virtuoso, and even a good bit of Will Rogers style dry humor and satire. You’ll hear folk, country, classical, blues, ragtime, rockabilly, Celtic, bluegrass, and popular music influences. Although Reid has a vast repertoire of traditional and contemporary songs, his concert material consists mostly of his own compositions and traditional music.

Ramblin’Jack Elliott

Ramblin' Jack Elliott

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott is returning to the Martin Hotel for a Great Basin Arts and Entertainment produced concert at 7:00 PM, Tuesday, January 25. Jack played the Martin just one year ago, on his way to Hollywood to pick up his Grammy Award.

This year he is returning, on his way to the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, but he is bringing along two of the best sidemen in the business so he can perform some of the songs from his Grammy Award winning record. Van Dyke Parks will accompany Jack on the piano, and David Piltch will play standup bass as Ramblin’ Jack performs some of the classic blues tunes that formed the theme for his latest recording.

One of the last true links to the great folk traditions of this country, with over 40 albums under his belt, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott is considered one of the country’s legendary foundations of folk music.

“Nobody I know—and I mean nobody—has covered more ground and made more friends and sung more songs than the fellow you’re about to meet right now. He’s got a song and a friend for every mile behind him. Say hello to my good buddy, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott.”
– Johnny Cash, The Johnny Cash Television Show, 1969.

Long before every kid in America wanted to play guitar — before Elvis, Dylan, the Beatles or Led Zeppelin — Ramblin’ Jack had picked it up and was passing it along. From Johnny Cash to Tom Waits, Beck to Bonnie Raitt, Ry Cooder to Bruce Springsteen, the Grateful Dead to The Rolling Stones, they all pay homage to Ramblin’ Jack Elliott.

In the tradition of roving troubadours Jack has carried the seeds and pollens of story and song for decades from one place to another, from one generation to the next. They are timeless songs that outlast whatever current musical fashion strikes today’s fancy.

“His tone of voice is sharp, focused and piercing. All that and he plays the guitar effortlessly in a fluid flat-picking perfected style. He was a brilliant entertainer…. Most folk musicians waited for you to come to them. Jack went out and grabbed you….. Jack was King of the Folksingers.” – Bob Dylan, Chronicles: Volume One

There are no degrees of separation between Jack and the real thing. He is the guy who ran away from his Brooklyn home at fourteen to join the rodeo and learned his guitar from a cowboy. In 1950, he met Woody Guthrie, moved in with the Guthrie family and traveled with Woody to California and Florida, from the redwood forests to the Gulf Stream waters. Jack became so enthralled with the life and composer of This Land Is Your Land, The Dust Bowl Ballads, and a wealth of children’s songs that he completely absorbed the inflections and mannerisms, leading Guthrie to remark, “Jack sounds more like me than I do.”

In 1954, along with folksinging pals Frank Robinson and Guy Carawan, Jack journeyed south through Appalachia, Nashville and to New Orleans to hear authentic American country music. He later made this the basis for his talking song, 912 Greens.

In 1955 Jack married and traveled to Europe, bringing his genuine American folk, cowboy and blues repertoire and his guitar virtuosity, inspiring a new generation of budding British rockers, from Mick Jagger to Eric Clapton.

When he returned to America in 1961, he met another young folksinger, Bob Dylan at Woody Guthrie’s bedside, and mentored Bob. Jack has continued as an inspiration for every roots-inspired performer since.

Along the way he learned the blues first-hand from Leadbelly, Mississippi John Hurt, the Reverend Gary Davis, Big Bill Broonzy, Brownie Mcghee and Sonny Terry, Jesse Fuller and Champion Jack Dupree.

He has recorded forty albums; wrote one of the first trucking songs, Cup of Coffee, recorded by Johnny Cash; championed the works of new singer-songwriters, from Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson to Tim Hardin; became a founding member of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue; and continued the life of the traveling troubadour influencing Jerry Jeff Walker, Guy Clark, Tom Russell The Grateful Dead and countless others.

In 1995, Ramblin’ Jack received his first of five Grammy nominations and the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album, for South Coast (Red House Records). Jack was again recognized with a Grammy Award for best Traditional Blues Album in 2009, for A Stranger Here (Anti-Epitaph Records).

In 1998, President Bill Clinton awarded Jack the National Medal of the Arts, proclaiming, “In giving new life to our most valuable musical traditions, Ramblin’ Jack has himself become an American treasure.”

In 2000, Jack’s daughter, filmmaker, Aiyana Elliott produced and directed The Ballad of Ramblin’ Jack, her take on Jack’s life and their fragile relationship, winning a Special Jury Prize from the Sundance Film Festival.

Through it all—though agents, managers, wives and recording companies have tried—Jack resisted being molded into a commercial commodity. He played his shows without a written set list or including any songs that did not ring with his gut feeling of what mattered to him.

Ramblin’ Jack’s life of travels, performances and recordings is a testament to the America of lore, a giant land of struggle, hard luck and sometimes even of good fortune. Ramblin’ Jack takes us to places that spur us on to the romance and passion of life in the tunes and voices of real people.

At seventy-nine, Ramblin’ Jack is still on the road, still seeking those people, places, songs and stories that are hand-crafted, wreaking of wood and canvas, cowhide and forged metal. You’ll find him in the sleek lines of a long haul semi-truck, in the rigging of an old sailing ship, in the smell of a fine leather saddle.

BETTER YET, FIND HIM AT THE MARTIN HOTEL IN WINNEMUCCA ON JANUARY 25.

The Gillette Brothers

Gillette BrothersGuy and Pipp Gillette, from their home in Crockett Texas, are once again on their way to a series of appearances in California, and they will make a stop for a show in Winnemucca on August 7.

Guy and Pipp appeared at a sold out show in Winnemucca last December, and they were a huge hit.  They perform a mix of traditional cowboy songs, and songs reflecting the Celtic roots, country blues, minstrel and medicine show songs that influenced cowboy music. For me it is always worth the price of admission just to watch and hear Guy play the rhythm bones, musical bones they make from cow ribs.

They have played at major events and venues around the country including: The 2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC, The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, NV, The Monterey Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival in Monterey, CA, The Santa Clarita Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival in Santa Clarita, CA, The Willow Tree Festival in Gordon, NE, The Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering in Prescott, AZ; The Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon, GA; The National Arboretum in Washington, DC, The Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, WY, and The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, OK, The Museum of South Texas in Edinburgh Texas.

In August 2005, the Gillette Brothers traveled to Japan representing the State of Texas at the World Expo – Aichi/Nagoya, performing their music at the US Pavilion. In October 2008, the Gillette Brothers toured Somerset, England for two weeks, performing in village halls and the Bridgewater Arts Center.

They have demonstrated chuckwagon cooking at the Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City; the Ranching Heritage Museum in Lubbock, Texas; The Museum of South Texas in Edinburgh Texas; Dalton Days in Longview, Texas; and the Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon, Georgia.

Their cooking has been spotlighted in Persimmon Hill, the magazine of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum; The National Cowboy Hall of Fame Cookbook by B. Byron Price; A Taste of Texas Ranching by Tom Bryant and Joel Bernstein; and the Spirit of the West: Cooking for Ranch House & Range by Beverly Cox and Martin Jacobs.

The Gillette Brothers were recipients of the 2009 AMERICAN COWBOY CULTURE AWARD for western music from the NATIONAL COWBOY SYMPOSIUM & CELEBRATION. They were awarded the 2003 and the 1998 Will Rogers Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Advancement of Contemporary Cowboy Music Best Duo/Group by The Academy of Western Artists. They have also received the National Cowboy Symposium’s American Cowboy Culture Chuck Wagon Award.

The Gillette Brothers run The Camp St. Cafe & Store in Crockett, Texas a live music venue, much like the Martin Hotel, that has featured some of the top performers in the country.

They were also instrumental in getting a life-sized statue of Blues Legend Lightnin’ Hopkins erected in Crockett.

Roy Book Binder

Roy Book Binder at the Martin 2008
Roy Book Binder at the Martin 2008

Blues Legend Plays The Martin Hotel

The great Roy Book Binder is set to play a concert at the Martin Hotel on Saturday, July 10th. Something of a national treasure, Book Binder plays blues in the Piedmont style, a very old East Coast tradition based on ragtime and multi-part gospel guitar techniques.

Besides being a musical giant with unexceeded technique, Book Binder is known as a crowd-pleasing entertainer with deft comic timing, an encyclopedic knowledge of American roots music history, and an inexhaustible supply of tales collected over a lifetime of traveling and performing with greats like Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry, Rock Bottom, Fats Kaplin, Doc Watson, Bonnie Raitt, and Ray Charles.

Book Binder emerged alongside pal Dave van Ronk in the New York City coffeehouse scene of the mid-60s, the beginning of the so-called “folk revival.” And, his repertoire includes “Bookaroo” songs, played in a folk style reminiscent of Rambling Jack Elliot, the New York City surgeon’s son who was Woody Guthrie’s hand-picked protege.

Book Binder’s real bailiwick, though, is blues in the East Coast or “Piedmont” style, named for the plateau that stretches from Richmond, Virginia to Atlanta, Georgia. The style evolved in the 20s, 30s, and 40s, when ragtime, parlor, and gospel guitar players like Blind Blake, Blind Boy Fuller, and Reverend Gary Davis began applying polyphonic finger-picking technique to the blues. Book Binder perfected his Piedmont technique as Davis’s protégé, working as the blind virtuoso’s driver and side-man during the late 1960s.

Book Binder has recorded seven albums, most in a “hillbilly” blues style that includes plenty of colorful banter between the tracks. Often, the stories and jokes stretch back to Book Binder’s formative years on the road with the Reverend Davis. Though based on old-time techniques, his songs sound fresh and relevant, often featuring original lyrics re-spun to reflect contemporary themes.

Book Binder continues to perform solo shows around the world, with more than 30 shows left this year alone. He also teaches at MerleFest and the Fur Peace School, and keeps an entertaining travel “blog” on his website, RoyBookBinder.com.

So, if you’re in town over the weekend, don’t miss the chance to see one of the great bluesmen of all time, up close and personal, right here in Winnemucca. The show starts at 7 PM on Saturday, July 10th, at the Martin Hotel on Railroad Street.

Ray Bonneville ~ Slow Burning Blues

$15 TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW AT THE MARTIN HOTEL, NATURE’S CORNER, AND GLOBAL COFFEE.

Ray Bonneville is a roaming blues poet, inspired by the road and the many other places he has called home—New Orleans, Colorado, Arkansas, Alaska, Boston, Seattle and Paris, France.  Born in Canada and raised in the United States, Bonneville has lived all over.  No place, however, has been more influential than New Orleans.

In the streets and clubs of New Orleans, Bonneville soaked up the prevalent take-your-time attitude that ran through the music being played there.  “There’s something about the heat and humidity that makes people slow down,” he says.  “New Orleans is where I learned to take my time, to allow space between the notes so the songs could truly groove.”  That groove is at the core of Bonneville’s sound.  A one-man band, he backs up weathered, storytelling vocals with a highly percussive guitar style, dramatic harmonica lines and a foot that keeps the rock steady beat.  The result is a big sound with an almost primitive quality.  It’s visceral, raw music.

Like the great American writers of the south and his favorite authors Cormac McCarthy and Flannery O’Connor, Bonneville is inspired by the places he has been and the unusual people he has met throughout his travels.  His songs are like short stories, evoking true-to-life characters that stumble their way through a rough and tumble world of violence, hope and despair.  Heavily influenced by the natural world, Bonneville finds himself splitting his time these days between Montreal, Austin and Cotter, Arkansas, where he likes to write songs and fly-fish the White River.

Honing his craft for the last 30 years, Bonneville’s gritty storytelling and deep-grooving blues style has won him much critical attention.  In 1999, Ray won the prestigious Juno Award (Canadian Grammy) for his third album Gust of Wind.  His fourth release, Rough Luck, was also nominated for the coveted award.  With his 2004 Red House debut Roll It Down, Ray made himself a name in blues and roots music circles, garnering rave reviews from DownBeat and No Depression.  He has toured all over the world, sharing the bill with such blues legends as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, J.J. Cale and Robert Cray and in 2007 wowed the music industry with his bring-down-the-house performances at the South By Southwest and Folk Alliance conference.  A world-class guitarist, harmonica player and hard-hitting songwriter, it is no wonder that Ray has received rave reviews from blues, jazz and roots critics alike and can count among his fans such artists as Chris Smither and Ray Wylie Hubbard.  For more information about Ray Bonneville, please visit his website at www.raybonneville.com.

Chris Proctor

Chris Proctor’s
Solo Guitar Orchestra

Critics call his guitar playing “breathtaking,” “haunting,” and “rich.” Guitar magazines describe his compositions as “spectacular,” “elegant,” and “exquisite,” and praise his twelve-string work as “revelatory.” Media reviewers trace the roots of his style to folk, jazz, pop, and classical music, categorize his playing as “Baroque Folk,” and “Instrumental Americana,” and compare him to Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges.

lotus_color-200x250Another reviewer ventured this analysis: “What to call his unique melange of styles? There’s an aspect of Americana in the echoes of Appalachian and old-timey styles that are apparent in just about every track, but there are also elements of jazz, Celtic folk, and a dash of blues in here somewhere. What Proctor does is create guitar music that reflects the whole heritage of the instrument and still has his own distinct stamp — a tall order, but he’s up to the job”

These luminous and diverse quotes characterize the media’s efforts to describe Chris Proctor’s solo, 6 and 12-string  guitar concerts and recordings. Two additional comments typify the first-time listener’s reaction: “Wow- I didn’t know that acoustic guitars could sound like that,” and, ” It seems as if there are three guitarists up there on stage, not just one.”

Here’s more of what critics, listeners, presenters and concert audiences say about Chris Proctor:

  • He is an acclaimed composer of original music and a wonderful arranger for the 6 and 12-string guitars.
  • He is a performer with a gift for communicating the tremendous variety, vitality, and accessibility of his music.
  • His amazing variety of guitar sounds and textures, and the rich tapestry of bass, melody, and inner voices, bring an orchestral quality to his music that surprises and delights audiences who haven’t heard him before.
  • His compositions and arrangements shine with folk, jazz, pop, classical, and ethnic influences.
  • He is a superlative workshop, master class and residency/outreach leader,  author of numerous instructional articles in the guitar press, and producer of two world-class instructional videos for 6 and 12-string players.

CeCe Gable and her Jazz Trio

CeCe GableCeCe draws the listener into her captivating world of song with an incredible depth of emotion. She swings with rhythmic passion and also has the ability to caress a ballad with effortless interpretation. Influenced by many of the women and men of jazz, she offers her own voice on jazz standards and the American Songbook. She shines on any stage whether she is accompanied by a solo pianist, a trio or an entire orchestra… you’ll find you cannot get enough of this jazz experience.

Well known to audiences up and down the Pacific Coast and throughout the western states, CeCe Gable is rapidly becoming one of the premiere jazz singers in the region.

A native of Barberton, Ohio, and a graduate of Kent State University, CeCe lived in Winnemucca for a few years while she was working as an artist in residence in Winnemucca schools. While she was in Winnemucca she primarily taught dance and creative movement to budding young artist’s. CeCe now makes her home in the Reno/Tahoe area as a performing and recording artist.

A consummate jazz cabaret performer, she has sung in jazz clubs throughout the United States and Europe including New Orleans, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Fiji, Munich, Athens and at New York City’s Iridium with Les Paul.

She has presented the works of George Gershwin, Thelonious Monk, Stephen Sondheim and Kurt Weill to rave reviews in a variety of venues. According to Metroland (Albany, NY), CeCe Gable is a performer who exudes warmth, sophistication, a generous stage presence and rare versatility. A unique, compelling performer with a style and sound all her own, CeCe has been compared to the song stylists of the ’50’s with a contemporary twist.

Admired as a “quiet surprise” by audiences nationwide, CeCe has become known for delivering an honest performance and has prompted more than one audience member to say “When you sing I see the music flow through you and I believe you.”

Richard Feldman, stage director and arts critic for The Record (Troy, NY) asserts that “CeCe Gable is one of those rare performers whose mellow vocals, stylistic sophistication, diversity of material and intimate delivery combine perfectly to convince us that she’s singing to each of us…personally.”

David Jacobs-Strain

David Jacobs-StrainDavid Jacobs-Strain, a consummate finger-style and slide guitarist, plays in the blues tradition but isn’t from it. You’ll hear echoes of Skip James, Charlie Patton, Tommy Johnson, and a song or two by Fred McDowell or Robert Johnson in his solo performances. But as a modern roots singer-songwriter, “I come from the language of the country blues, but it’s important not to silence other influences,” he says.

His obsession with sound serves a deeper purpose than a mere desire to display technical wizardry. “For me, there’s something about rural blues that has a transcendent quality, a wide open sound. Think of the rhythm of a train. There’s a cross between spiritual and secular music in Fred McDowell. Compared to commercial electric blues, the Delta blues are more interesting modally and have a spiritual depth to them. You can also hear anger, humor, and empathy. I’m going after the texture, the tone and feel of that.”

“I’ve always been drawn to the trance-oriented, heavier, Delta blues—to the driving, passionate, raw, distraught sound of somebody like Son House,” he says. “When you’re in the flow of the music, there’s an ecstasy to it. Of course, when I was 12, I thought I knew what Robert Johnson’s ‘Come on into My Kitchen’ was all about.” The 24-year-old Jacobs-Strain has refined his youthful expression of raw energy, passion, and technique into powerful, nuanced performances.

He grew up in Eugene, Oregon, in a community that was centered on cultural change and environmentalism. He sees a distinct connection between the principles embodied in his upbringing and the democracy of the blues. “I’m really into hand-made culture—and real people making real music. The voice. One guitar. Even at their simplest, the blues have always been a vehicle for expressing your own situation, whether as an individual or a community. There’s such power in that.”

Jacobs-Strain is a veteran of the national club and festival circuit. He’s been billed with T-Bone Burnett and Bob Weir, and has opened for acts such as Los Lobos, Lucinda Williams, Taj Mahal, Etta James, Boz Scaggs, and the Blind Boys of Alabama. By the time he was 19, he had played at the Philadelphia Folk Festival and MerleFest. His other festival credits include the Strawberry Music Festival, the Newport Folk Festival, the Telluride Blues Fest, the Vancouver Folk Festival, the Montreal Jazz Festival, and the Lugano Blues to Bop Festival in Switzerland. He’s also served as faculty at guitar workshops, most notably at Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch. In 2008, he was chosen by Boz Scaggs to open his summer tour.

“How do you continue to find inspiration in sound? Why does a certain musical phrase grab you by the hair and heart and brain? How do you continue to make it new? How do you honor the people who poured themselves into the music in the first place?” Jacobs-Strain asks. Whenever he strives to answer these questions, you’ll want to be there to listen.

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott

Ramblin' Jack Elliott

THE TUESDAY NIGHT LIVE SHOW IS SOLD OUT.

PLEASE JOIN US ON MONDAY NIGHT 01/25/10 AT 7:00 SHARP FOR A SPECIAL SCREENING OF THE DOCUMENTARY “THE BALLAD OF RAMBLIN’ JACK”.
FREE OF CHARGE!

One of the last true links to the great folk traditions of this country, with over 40 albums under his belt, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott is considered one of the country’s legendary foundations of folk music.

“Nobody I know—and I mean nobody—has covered more ground and made more friends and sung more songs than the fellow you’re about to meet right now. He’s got a song and a friend for every mile behind him. Say hello to my good buddy, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott.”
– Johnny Cash, The Johnny Cash Television Show, 1969.

Long before every kid in America wanted to play guitar — before Elvis, Dylan, the Beatles or Led Zeppelin — Ramblin’ Jack had picked it up and was passing it along. From Johnny Cash to Tom Waits, Beck to Bonnie Raitt, Ry Cooder to Bruce Springsteen, the Grateful Dead to The Rolling Stones, they all pay homage to Ramblin’ Jack Elliott.

In the tradition of roving troubadours Jack has carried the seeds and pollens of story and song for decades from one place to another, from one generation to the next. They are timeless songs that outlast whatever current musical fashion strikes today’s fancy.

“His tone of voice is sharp, focused and piercing.   All that and he plays the guitar effortlessly in a fluid flat-picking perfected style.  He was a brilliant entertainer….  Most folk musicians waited for you to come to them.  Jack went out and grabbed you…..  Jack was King of the Folksingers.”    – Bob Dylan, Chronicles: Volume One

There are no degrees of separation between Jack and the real thing. He is the guy who ran away from his Brooklyn home at fourteen to join the rodeo and learned his guitar from a cowboy.  In 1950, he met Woody Guthrie, moved in with the Guthrie family and traveled with Woody to California and Florida, from the redwood forests to the Gulf Stream waters. Jack became so enthralled with the life and composer of This Land Is Your Land, The Dust Bowl Ballads, and a wealth of children’s songs that he completely absorbed the inflections and mannerisms, leading Guthrie to remark, “Jack sounds more like me than I do.”

In 1954, along with folksinging pals Frank Robinson and Guy Carawan, Jack journeyed south through Appalachia, Nashville and to New Orleans to hear authentic American country music.  He later made this the basis for his talking song, 912 Greens.

In 1955 Jack married and traveled to Europe, bringing his genuine American folk, cowboy and blues repertoire and his guitar virtuosity, inspiring a new generation of budding British rockers, from Mick Jagger to Eric Clapton.

When he returned to America in 1961, he met another young folksinger, Bob Dylan at Woody Guthrie’s bedside, and mentored Bob. Jack has continued as an inspiration for every roots-inspired performer since.

Along the way he learned the blues first-hand from Leadbelly, Mississippi John Hurt, the Reverend Gary Davis, Big Bill Broonzy, Brownie Mcghee and Sonny Terry, Jesse Fuller and Champion Jack Dupree.

He has recorded forty albums; wrote one of the first trucking songs, Cup of Coffee, recorded by Johnny Cash; championed the works of new singer-songwriters, from Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson to Tim Hardin; became a founding member of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue; and continued the life of the traveling troubadour influencing Jerry Jeff Walker, Guy Clark, Tom Russell The Grateful Dead and countless others.

In 1995, Ramblin’ Jack received his first of four Grammy nominations and the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album, for South Coast (Red House Records).

In 1998, President Bill Clinton awarded Jack the National Medal of the Arts, proclaiming, “In giving new life to our most valuable musical traditions, Ramblin’ Jack has himself become an American treasure.”

In 2000, Jack’s daughter, filmmaker, Aiyana Elliott produced and directed The Ballad of Ramblin’ Jack, her take on Jack’s life and their fragile relationship, winning a Special Jury Prize from the Sundance Film Festival.

Through it all—though agents, managers, wives and recording companies have tried—Jack resisted being molded into a commercial commodity.  He played his shows without a written set list or including any songs that did not ring with his gut feeling of what mattered to him.

Ramblin’ Jack’s life of travels, performances and recordings is a testament to the America of lore, a giant land of struggle, hard luck and sometimes even of good fortune.  Ramblin’ Jack takes us to places that spur us on to the romance and passion of life in the tunes and voices of real people.

At seventy-seven, Ramblin’ Jack is still on the road, still seeking those people, places, songs and stories that are hand-crafted, wreaking of wood and canvas, cowhide and forged metal.  You’ll find him in the sleek lines of a long haul semi-truck, in the rigging of an old sailing ship, in the smell of a fine leather saddle.

Better yet, find him in at the Martin Hotel in Winnemucca on January 26.