T. J. Sullivan....A Live Review!

You know I love the blues. I especially like it when it's played with heart and soul. Last Thursday evening at Arnie's Cafe in Tujunga, I had the golden opportunity of witnessing another man's love of the genre. That gentleman is T. J. Sullivan.

To say Mr. Sullivan is a dedicated bluesman is an understatement. There isn't much about the blues TJ doesn't know and as he is playing, one understands that completely.

An especially gifted player as well as performer, TJ rolls through licks and vocals with graceful aplomb and entertains with a love close to his soul. It must be hard to smile that much and sing at the same time.

Thursday evening at Arnie's Cafe' found the small venue packed with standing room only. TJ started his set with a song called "In These Blues" accompanied by Oscar Jordan, an excellent blues man in his own right. "In These Blues" is a perfect combination of jazz and blues whereas both TJ and Oscar took individual solos that combined excellent playing ability with gentle finesse. The harmonies were delicate and on the mark.

After TJ's first tune, he was accompanied by harp player par excellence, Greger Walnum; upright bassist, Mark Goldberg and keyboard/accordionist, David Fraser. The group was a perfect setting for the tunes TJ had selected. A combination of clever songs, excellent playing and a mesmerizing performance put T. J. Sullivan over-the-top Thursday night and gave him an enthralled audience who wanted more.

Here is TJ's set list:

1)...."In These Blues"
2)...."Ain't No Fun Being All Alone"
3)...."Ask Myself Why"
4)...."Woman Looking For A Man"
5)...."Mr. Blues"
6)...."Nothin' Matters"
7)...."Chicken Pie"
8)...."With You"
9)...."Mama's Got A New Tattoo"
10).."Blues Is Like A Ballgame"

It's a wonderful thing to be surprised in a good way and pleasantly surprised we all were. In fact, the folks with whom we went, talked about the performance all the way home. Oh....and if you'd like to see T. J. Sullivan in person, you can catch him at Cozy's on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks on January 17th at approximately 8PM. I'll be there and I'm bringing some friends.

John Rhys/BluePower.com
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Go to T.J. Sullivan's web site!

Listen to BluePower's review of TJ's latest CD!

Purchase T.J. Sullivan's latest CD!
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