Deborah Coleman: soft place to fall


Deborah Coleman : soft place to fall
RUF 1049

More about Deborah Coleman

10.00 Euro




Release date

1/2000

Release Notes

The fact that she's an African-American female who is a lead guitarist, singer and songwriter may make her a unique artist and put her in a category all by herself, but it is Coleman's artistry and passion that have placed her on the brink of stardom.
Her 1997 Blind Pig debut recording, "I Can't Lose", put the music world on notice that here was an emerging artist to be reckoned with. While her potency and potential were evident on that CD, her second release, "Where Blue Begins", not only solidified her position as a premier blues performer, but also began the process of introducing her to a wider pop music audience, garnering significant AAA and rock radio play. Her newest release, "Soft Place To Fall", will further this process by introducing her unique synthesis of blues, rock and soul influences to an ever widening circle of music fans.
After years of hard work on the road, Deborah Coleman has emerged as one of the most, sought-after artists on the scene. She's in demand on the club and festival circuit, having established a solid reputation for raw energy and crowd-pleasing performances. A stunning show at the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1999 drew critical raves, and Chris Morris of Billboard Magazine called her "an artist to be reckoned with", nothing that her incendiary performances "very effectively stole the scene" at both W.C. Handy Awards show and the Handy Blues Festival in May, 1999. Her explosive guitar work dazzles audiences (and any other guitarists within earshot), while her smooth, self-assured vocals, delivered with sass and emotion, captivate listeners.
Deborah was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and raised in a music-loving military family that lived in San Diego, San Francisco, Bremerton, Washington, and the Chicago area. With her father playing piano, two bothers on guitar, and a sister who plays guitar and keyboards, Deborah felt natural with an instrument in her hands, picking up guitar at age eight. She initially inspired to become a guitarist and performer by The Monkees. "I saw them on TV and I said, 'I want to do that'. I thought it was cool," she recalls.
At age 15, she started to perform with a series of rock and R&B bands. She started out as a bass player, but after hearing Jimi Hendrix, switched to lead. Radio was an important early influence. "Back then, the formats of the radio stations were more diverse. I remember hearing Joe Cocker, James Brown, Ray Charles and the Beatles on the same station." As her interest in guitar grew, she began listening to rock groups such as the Yardbirds, Cream, and Led Zeppelin, and followed the roots of their music back to the blues. "Jeff Beck was on of my favorites," she recalls. "I didn't find out until later that they were doing blues tunes and I went to find the original artists." A pivotal event for Deborah was a concert she saw when she was 21 that featured Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker all on the same bill. "I will never forget that show! At the time I was still doin' rock, but I said, 'Damn! That's cool, y'know!'"
At age 25, Coleman got married and put her musical career aside for a while so she could concentrate on raising her daughter, developing careers as a nurse and electrician along the way. "I raised a family, held a 9-to-5 job, then I finally decided to play music fulltime." Coleman got the big break she was looking for in 1993. After reading in Living Blues magazine about the Charleston Blues Festival's National Amateur Talent Search, she gathered some musicians to back her up and headed to South Carolina. Her "band" consisted of her brother and her friend, both of whom only played heavy metal. "We rehearsed for a week, and I taught them tunes. It was the beginning of my professional career," she said. She knocked the crowd and the judges out with a performance full of confidence and fire. The artistic director of the festival recalls, "Coleman ruled, delivering a bone-ratting set to a capacity audience that almost shut down the contest with their demand that she perform repeated encores." She took first place in the competition, and hasn't looked back since. She immediately put together her own group and began her solo career as a bandleader and featured performer.
Winning the contest earned Coleman free studio time which she used to record a demo and secure a record deal with New Moon Records, a Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based label that released her first album, "Talkin' A Stand", in 1994. Her fresh, energized approach to the blues began to attract attention. Living Blues magazine profiled her in a two page spread as one of the top up and coming young blues artists.
The release of her national debut, "I Can't Lose", created quite a stir. Coleman was profiled in Musician magazine and reviewed by the Associated Press, JazzTimes, and Downbeat. She was also featured in Blues Revue, which said, "This impressive, exciting recording should please not only blues fans of the '90s but also those wanting to catch a glimpse into the future. Coleman easily demonstrates why she is one of the leaders of the pack playing blues." Living Blues echoed those sentiments: "On purely musical terms, 'I Can't Lose' is one of the more impressive CDs to come down the pike in quite a while - Coleman's fire-on-the fret board flamboyance reflects a remarkable artistic maturity. Deborah Coleman could easily become one of the leading lights in the younger generation of blues artists." Radio loved the disc as well - I Can't Lose reached #3 on the Living Blues radio charts. The radio trade College Media Journal said, "Jocks have little to lose by spinning any of the cuts on the CD."
"Where Blue Begins" received even more airplay and critical acclaim checking in at #3 in the CMJ list of AAA adds upon its release. The Chicago Reader said that "Such diverse and well-honed artistry would be notable in a seasoned veteran; for a developing artist like Coleman it portends greatness. The Boston Globe succinctly noted that "Deborah Coleman knows how to give the blues a kick in the ass." All the attention generated by "Where Blue Begins" culminated in both Blues Revue and Living Blues magazines running cover photos and lengthy features on Deborah for their year-end issues.
The release of "Soft Place To Fall" confirms Deborah's complete mastery of both the rock and blues idioms and is bound to make people sit up and take notice. While selections like "Confused", "Look What You Do To Me" and "Another Hoping Fool" take her beyond her blues roots, her blistering covers of "I'm A Woman" and "If You Love Me Like You Say" prove she can still serve up the blues as compellingly as any performer on the circuit today. Produced by the legendary Jim Gaines (Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Luther Allison), "Soft Place To Fall" is a giant step forward for Deborah, who truly comes into her own as a talented writer, emotive singer and a guitar player of unparalleled fire and grace.


Tracklist

  1. Look What You Do To Me
  2. Confused
  3. Soft Place To Fall
  4. Don't Lie To Me
  5. If You Love Me Like You Say
  6. Another Hoping Fool
  7. I'M A Woman
  8. So Damn Easy
  9. Nothin' To Do With Love
  10. What Goes Around
  11. The Day It Comes