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 Hollis
Gilmore has been a bluesman his entire life. He hails from Arkansas,
but has spent the past thirty years living in Los Angeles. Hollis'
lists of credits read like a who's who in the blues. Hollis was
Percy Mayfield's main man on the road and in the studio and he
features Mayfield's "Please Send Me Someone To Love,"
on his current CD. He has also recorded and toured with Pee Wee
Crayton, Ruth Brown, Big Joe Turner, Lowell Foulson, Papa John
Creach and Jimmy McCracklin, just to name a few. Real Blues magazine
ran a cover story on Hollis in issue #23, which was a two part
interview.
He recently completed
a July tour of the east coast with the Mary Dukes band, including
a performance at the North Atlantic Blues festival in Rockland
Maine. "Gillie" received applause after every single
solo at the festival. Along with the Dukes band, Hollis has made
several trips to the Bay area playing at Biscuit N' Blues, in
San Francisco, the Torch Club in Sacramento and the Sacramento
Heritage Festival. Hollis also plays regularly with the Phillip
Walker band and has completed several tours with Walker.
He plays locally
in Los Angeles with several bands, including the Mary Dukes band,
Floyd Dixon and Bernie Pearl.
In 2000 Hollis
released his own CD called "Gillie's Blues." This CD
contains mostly original compositions and features some impressive
musicians including ex-Ray Charles guitarist Tony Mathews, who
also produced. The CD has received excellent reviews and is available
through direct order from South Side Records.
At 68, Hollis is
still going strong. He has played around the world in Japan,
Australia, South America and all over Europe. He continues to
tour with Phillip Walker, Floyd Dixon, Mary Dukes and others
and he is a strong session player. He also looks forward to completing
his next CD and is currently putting together a line-up for that
release. If you are looking for dynamic live work or soulful
session contributions, on sax, Gillmore is your man.
RECORDING HIGHLIGHTS
with Percy Mayfield on "hit
The Road Again"/Timeless Records
with Harmonica Fats on "I Had To Get Nasty"/Bee Bump
Records
with Big Joe Turner on "Have No Fear Big Joe Is Here"/Pablo
Records
with Papa John Creech on "Papa's Blues"/Bee Bump Records
with Thomas & Tucker on "Stranded"/Hi-Tone Records
with Sydney Ellis on "Ask A Woman Who Knows"/Black
Wallet Records (in Europe)
and on his own "Gillie's Blues"/Damon Records
Hollis has toured with Ruth Brown,
Percy Mayfield, Pee Wee Crayton, Lowell Fulson, Z.Z. Hill, Roy
Brown, Big Joe Turner, Lloyd Glenn, Eddie "Clean Head"
Vinson, Albert Collins, Ted Taylor, Little Milton, Papa John
Creech, Phillip Walker and the Bernie Pearl Blues Band across
America, Europe, and Scandinavia.
 MP3s from the CD
These
ain't cheesy little realaudio ten second bits and pieces of tracks...
they're full MP3 rips... so if you like what you hear click the
CD cover below, grab your Daddy's credit card and order the damn
CD... else Kharma will sneak up and kick your cheap, broke-ass
sorry self to the curb for stealin'... |
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Available tracks
in Yellow
1. Blues
For Brother Jake
2. Little Magnolia
3. Gillies Blues
4. Please Send Me Someone To Love
5. Pill Station
6. Fouty
Weight Gravy
7. Bring Your Own Biscuits
8. Feeling The Blues
9. Keep Looking Up
10. Senita
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REVIEWS
"This collection
of sax-fueled instrumentals packs all the punch of Maceo Parker's
recent work, but seems to spring from a freer spirit Gilmore's
"Blues for Brother Jake" and "Little Magnolia"
are romping shuffles with bright, bold, simple melodies; "Gillie's
Blues" is a languid blues ballad pulled along by mildly
jazzy undercurrent. All features fine work by Gilmore, Keyboardist
Lou Johnson, and guitarist Tony MathewsGilmore's no speed merchant.
He's better than that: a player who says more with less, who
knows what he wants to say and says it no filler. Plenty
of pure R&B groove and tons of tasty soloing make this a
fun record, but it's Gilmore's way with the blues that makes
Gillie's Blues really sing."
Jeff Calvin
Blues Revue
"There is plenty
of muscular blowing from Gilmore and the fleet-lined guitar from
Mathews to satisfy any fan of that zone where jazz and blues
merge seamlessly."
Jim DeKoster
Living Blues
"For
the record, alto sax is cool. And not just moderately
cool, alto sax is mango chutney cool. But folks when you
couple the alto sax with the blues, you get a whole new
level of cool and that's whise Hollis Gilmore comes in.
What the young whippersnappers might call "damned cool."
This is serious sax and as you know, thise ain't nothing
like some serious sax in the house every once in awhile.
Gillie has been
blowing the reed since he was 12. In his
time he has worked with a cadre of the major blues
illuminati; people like Pee Wee Crayton, Lowell Fulson,
Papa John Creach, Harmonica Fats and Ray Brown. In certain
circles, he gets compared, unjustly I think, to Ben
Webster. Really I don't see a simulacrum between the two.
Gilmore is unique and his tone is smooth, simple and
elegant. If you want to draw any kind of comparison (and ye
gods, why would you want to do that?) I would put him more
in the Dexter Gordon arena of sound. Regardless, the bottom
line is the attitude and tone and Hollis has got tons of
that on the album.
Check out the powerful,
soulful magnitude of sax on tunes
like "Little Magnolia" or "Please Send Me Someone
To Love."
Gilmore's instrument emotes heart wrenching compositions
and slow spiraling magic. It's beautiful stuff to be sure.
My favorite cuts off the CD are "Fourty Weight Gravy"
and
the incredible finale "Senita." I think if a picture
paints
a thousand words, then a couple of well-placed notes from
an alto sax can paint a thousand pictures. At its essence
the magic hise is that Gilmore is painting the colorful
auditory landscapes with his music. He creates these
wonderful strokes of mood with his saxophone. It's both
smoldering and dazzling in its approach.
If you are looking
for some soulful blues, look no furthis
than Hollis Gilmore and Gillie's Blues. I think you will
like what you find. It's damned cool sax and we all know
how hard that is to find!"
Bill Mango Fountain,
April 2002 Southwest Blues
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