JIM BYRNES & THE SOJOURNERS

BIO NL

RABOT 22.00-23.00

Jim Byrnes was born in St. Louis, Missouri – that’s blues country. He grew up on the city’s north side. One of the neighbourhood bars had Ike and Tina Turner as the house band. As a teenager going to music clubs, he and his buddy were often the only white people in the place. “We never had any problems. We were too naïve, and had too much respect for the music and culture – they knew it, they could tell.”
Starting piano at age five, by age thirteen, Jim was singing and playing blues guitar. His first professional gig was in the summer of 1964. Over the years, he has had the great good fortune to appear with a virtual who’s who of blues history. From Furry Lewis and Henry Townsend to Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Albert Collins, Taj Mahal, Robert Cray and so many others, Jim has been on the blues highway for 40 years.
Byrnes moved to Vancouver, BC in the mid-70s after years of drifting, working odd jobs and playing music. In 1981 he put together a band that became a staple of the local music scene. In 1986 the Jim Byrnes Band played 300 nights.Jim Byrnes’ fame as an actor has grown immeasurably from his too-numerous-to-mention TV roles, with highlights including Lifeguard in the CBS series Wiseguy, worldwide success in Highlander, and his nationally broadcast variety show, The Jim Byrnes Show.As for highlights in his musical career, Jim mentions “Sittin’ down in a room with Muddy Waters, just him and me, and he showed me a couple of licks on his guitar.”His greatest musical moment was the first time he saw Howlin’ Wolf. “I was devastated. I was 17. Who could take the Rolling Stones seriously after watching Howlin’ Wolf down on his knees singing Little Red Rooster?”
Jim has proven that a serious car accident in 1972 has done anything but hinder him. Despite two swipes with death and some pretty hard knocks, Byrnes has still managed to rack up an enviable string of credits, both on and off-screen.
Jim’s first love, however, is the blues. His evocative, smoky vocals are found in a truth that doesn’t come overnight. During the 80s, the Jim Byrnes Band released “Burnin’” on Polydor, followed in 1987 with “I’ve Turned My Nights into Days” and 1995’s Juno-Award winning “That River” on Stony Plain.
February 2004 saw the release of Jim’s latest project, “Fresh Horses” on Black Hen Music. This new recording is the result of a musical meeting between Jim and Steve Dawson (of Zubot & Dawson). Jim and Steve realized they shared common tastes in music and realized that a collaboration between Jim and the Zubot & Dawson band would be a refreshing and exciting project.
In Jim’s words, “Early bluesmen were really ‘songsters’ who interspersed their blues with spirituals, popular music, folk songs, anything to get the crowd to take note, and I suppose that’s how I cast myself when I began my career. In the spring of 2003, Steve Dawson approached me about the possibility of a collaboration.
 


Line Up

Jim Byrnes, vocals & guitar 

Paul Pigat, guitars

Geoff Hicks, drums,
Keith Lowe, bass

Discography
House Of Refuge
My Walking Stick

Website
www.jamestbyrnes.com

Announcer: Peter de Wit
Stagemanagers: Willem v.d. Meulen & Walter Post
Sound: Atlantic Productions


THE SOJOURNERS
The Sojourners 

When Jim Byrnes began working on his Juno Award winning 2006 album ‘House of Refuge’, he knew that he wanted gospel music to be the predominant theme. He had performed live with gospel groups over the years, but hadn’t recorded an album with one until he mentioned the idea to his producer Steve Dawson, and the two of them agreed to make it happen. 
For the requisite voices, they turned first to Jim’s longtime friend Marcus Mosely who then brought fellow Vancouver performers Will Sanders and Ron Small. Thus began the journey that has now taken on a life of its own beyond Byrnes’s album. 
“We had so much fun singing together and doing this, and we were laughing it up,” Byrnes explains. “So at the end of the thing I said, ‘You guys need to stay together. This has got to be a real thing, and I’m going to give you a name.’ And I named them The Sojourners.”
In March 2007, producer Steve Dawson took The Sojourners into the studio. With minimal accompaniment, and recorded live off the floor in Vancouver, they brilliantly captured the spirit of the ‘old school’ gospel recordings of the 1930s and ‘40s. The harmonies (in the tradition of such groups as The Swan Silvertones,The Golden Gate Quartet,The Soul Stirrers), combined with soulful multi-textured vocals reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield’s famous trio, The Impressions. 
Their debut CD Hold On, was released on the Black Hen Music label in Canada, the UK and Europe in September 2007. The album was nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award. The lead track ‘Eyes on the Prize’ was selected for inclusion in a Time- Life compilation box set celebrating the music of the American civil rights era. 
Highlights of the group’s first two years include a definitive show with the Dixie Hummingbirds, opening spots with Jim Byrnes at the Vancouver Jazz Festival for both Dr. John and the Blind Boys of Alabama and featured stages at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, the Calgary Folk Music Festival, the Canmore Folk Music Festival and the Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival. 
The Sojourners have been nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award (Vocal Group of the Year), a Western Canadian Music Award (Outstanding Roots Recording) and a MapleBlues Award (New Artist/Group). 
The eponymous follow-up to ‘Hold On’ has been completed. It takes the music to a whole new level of excellence. The release date is January 19th, 2010. 
The Sojourners continue to perform with Jim Byrnes, as well as on their own. They receive a steady stream of invitations to contribute to the recordings and live performances of a diverse range of artists, spanning several genres, from the outer reaches of jazz to beat box / street poetry. All three became Canadian citizens in the summer of 2008 and were invited to perform on Parliament Hill on Canada Day, where they sang the national anthem.

Line Up
Marcus Mosely, vocals.

Will Sanders, vocals.

Ron Small, vocals.

Discograpy

Sojourners
Hold On


Website
www.thesojourners.ca

Announcer: Peter de Wit
Stagemanagers: Walter Post & Cees van Vianen
Sound: Atlantic Productions