Live Review
Wayne Baker Brooks
Minnesota Music Café, St. Paul
December 17, 1999
by Ray Stiles
Photography copyright © 2000 by Tom Asp, all rights reserved
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1999 KBA Award Winner
Achievement for Blues on the Internet
Presented by the Blues Foundation
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Coming from a musical family, such as Wayne Baker Brooks does, can be a two edged sword. Wayne's father is the famous Lonnie Brooks and his brother, Ronnie Baker Brooks is creating a name on his own now. On the one hand people can have unrealistic expectations of the second generation compared to the first but on the other hand, the next generation can learn from the wealth of experience they are surrounded by and grow into their own unique talent. The later seems to be the case with Wayne. Surrounded by his dad's music his whole life and exposed to the influences of the seminal blues players from Chicago when he was growing up, Wayne has developed an impressive guitar style that incorporates the best of traditional and modern day Chicago blues. It is interesting to note that Wayne didn't start to play the guitar until he was twenty years old. That may seem surprising, especially when you hear him play, because he has an excellent feel for the music and a natural talent for the guitar. Actually it was a lot of hard work and very long hours practicing that has led to his guitar skill. By the way, Wayne said he has an eleven year old son who is also playing the guitar, so it won't be long before we will be hearing from the third generation of Brooks.
This show at the Minnesota Music Café just before Christmas was the first performance in Minnesota for Wayne with his own band. He has played here often with his Dad Lonnie and with his brother Ronnie so we had an inkling of what to expect. In reality the inkling may have been off the mark. Wayne Baker Brooks is a bluesman who not only knows how to play guitar and sing with the skill and experience of a pro but he also is rapidly developing the poise and stage presence of a good band leader.
Featuring a 6-piece band with a trumpet and trombone horn section, Brooks played a variety of blues standards including "The Blues Is Alright" and "Born Under a Bad Sign" as well as several originals showcasing his budding songwriting talent. Prefacing one of his own songs he said, "we like that raw dog blues," as he launched into a slow blues burner with some extended guitar solos. He also played out in the audience, as his dad does at each of his shows, getting up on a chair and playing the guitar behind his neck. After a long break Bernard Allison who was in the audience came up and jammed with Wayne during the second set. When they got to cooking, things really heated up. This was one of those moments that you can't plan, they just happen and when they do, you are just glad you were there being a part of it. It was serendipity
Wayne will be back in March, this would be an excellent show to catch.
Read Wayne's interview.
This review is copyright © 2000 by Ray Stiles, and Blues On Stage, all rights reserved. Copy, duplication or download prohibited without written permission.
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