Mississippi Soul/Blues Legend Bobby Rush Enlists Guitarist Alvin Youngblood Hart for New Albu "Folk Funk Album follows Rushs featured role in Scorsese blues series

Blues veteran Bobby Rush captivated PBS audiences last year when his dynamic chitlin circuit stage show was captured in The Road to Memphis, Richard Pearces contribution to Martin Scorseses film series The Blues. On his newest CD, Folk Funk, Rush pays homage to his Deep South roots by exploring the styles hes touched on over his fifty-year career, ranging from jump blues to classic funk. A stylistic departure from Rushs more recent productions, Folk Funk features acclaimed guitarist Alvin Youngblood Hart on all tracks.

JACKSON, MS May 5, 2004 - Last year veteran Bobby Rush became a household name when his dynamic stage show was captured in the documentary The Road to Memphis, Richard Pearces contribution to Martin Scorseses film series The Blues. In the wake of the series, Rush offered fans more of his legendary showmanship when he released a full-length DVD concert film, Live At Ground Zero, on his newly formed Deep Rush label, based in his home of Jackson.

This January Rush entered the studio to fulfill his longstanding dream of recording an album that paid tribute to his childhood roots in Louisiana and Arkansas. Once in the studio, though, the record took on a life of its own.

Putting aside the modern instrumentation of his more recent CDs, the stripped-down session featured just Rush, a simple rhythm section, and Memphis-based Alvin Youngblood Hart, widely regarded as one of the best guitarists in the blues field and beyond. Rush had brought in Hart to contribute his skills at traditional acoustic guitar, but the tone for the session was instead set with an impromptu jam on Rushs classic Chicken Heads that alerted Rush to Harts eclecticism and musical imagination as an electric guitarist.

I love it, Rush says of Harts guitar work. If he steps on my toe with his groove, all I can say is Ouch! Cause hes bad, man.

The resulting album, Folk Funk, is traditional in the sense that it covers a variety of older styles of blues, gospel, and funk, but its also thoroughly modern in the sense that the musicians cut loose instead of adhering to tried-and-true sounds. Rush and Hart are backed on the CD by former Stax session drummer Charlie Jenkins and Rush band member Steve Johnson on bass.

Rushs Deep South roots and unheralded guitar skills are on display on the swampy Voodoo Man, about a former player looking to find out how a woman settled him down, and Uncle Esau, a song Rush learned from his father. Ninety-Nine is a showcase for Rushs harmonica playing, and features the jazzy guitar riffs of guest Jesse Robinson, who led Rushs band following his relocation from Chicago to Jackson in the early 80s. Rush explores more traditional veins in the gospel vamp Saints Gotta Move, the early 50s Chicago-style Ride In My Automobile, and a funky interpretation of Percy Mayfields Rivers Invitation. The CD is bookended by Feeling Good, a jam whose stone cold groove captures the vibe of the five-hour session.

It turned out to be something beyond roots, something thats also really funky and modern, says Rush of the CD. I think its a good record for people to see me for what I was, what Im doing, and what Im going to be.

Born Emmit Ellis, Jr., in Homer, La., Rush moved in the early 50s to Chicago, where he became a popular live performer in clubs across the South and West Sides, often working two or three bookings a night. A bassist as well as vocalist, Rush led bands that included legendary guitarists including Freddy King, Luther Allison, and Earl Hooker. Rushs recording career took off in the 60s after he cut his funk-blues classic Chicken Heads for Galaxy. After recording for labels including Checker, Ronn, ABC, Philadelphia International, LaJam, and Ichiban, Rush moved in the 90s to leading soul-blues label Malaco Records.

A star on the chitlin circuit for decades, in the 90s Rush began steadily gaining new mainstream audiences, who were enthralled with Rushs dynamic and risqutage show, which feature dancers and frequent costume changes. Prior to his appearance in the Scorsese series, Rush won multiple Living Blues Awards for best live performer, and in 2000 received a Grammy nomination for his album Hoochie Man.

A native of Oakland with strong ties to his family home in Mississippi, Alvin Youngblood Hart debuted in 1992 with the CD Big Mamas Door, which established him as the finest contemporary interpreter of early bluesmen including Charley Patton. Harts subsequent CDs demonstrated his breadth of musical interests through explorations of ska, country, and even the songs of Captain Beefheart. Harts last album, Down In The Alley, was nominated for a Grammy as Best Traditional Blues Recording.

Folk Funk will be available in stores and online June 1, 2004

Deep Rush Records was founded in 2003 by Rush and former Malaco marketing executive Greg Preston. Also available are the DVD/CD combo Live At Ground Zero, and the CD Undercover Lover.