JL Stiles

"Jimmy Reed. Mississippi John Hurt. Ted Hawkins...JL Stiles? Well, maybe.

On his all-acoustic second disc for Shoeless Records, the San Francisco based guitarist aims for the generally sunny style of these bluesmen, and hits the mark dead on. While other young guitarists seem intent on proving how fast they can play a lick--an ill that's hardly unique to the blues--Stiles plays with such a quiet, unassuming style that at first you don't realize how good it is. In fact, Stiles who took up the guitar at age 18, downplays his own ability. Still, he's been playing for 14 years now, and he is, in his own words, 'a diligent son bitch'"

Clearly, he's done something right; Solo Sessions is an unmitigated pleasure. In its restraint and modesty, Stiles' music harks back to his New England roots; the Southern inflection comes from a several year stint in New Orleans. The West coast, in contrast, doesn't seem to have made much of an impact. He's a good songwriter, and everything on Solo Sessions is his, except "Trouble I Had All My Days" which closes the album. The Hurt influence is most audible in the sweet melancholy of 'Never To Grow Old" and "Fellow Grove" has a similar emotional intimacy. In fact, all the songs have a deceptive simplicity that recalls an earlier, more innocent age, and even if such an age never existed except in our imaginations, Stiles takes us there, if only for a little while. While his fame is mostly local to Norethern California and his audience is still very much the indie set, it seems likely that will change. He's shared stages with such luiminaries as Keb' Mo' and Corey Harris, and it's easy to predict that Stiles' time in the spotlight--a gently glowing luminescence, to be sure--will come.

Genevieve Williams, Blues Revue - Blues Revue

The music created by JL Stiles doesn¹t sound at all like what one might expect from a white, Jewish singer-songwriter born and raised in Connecticut ... especially one who didn¹t start playing the guitar until he was 18 years old. His rubbery, expressive baritone sounds closest to the sweet croon of the late bluesman Ted Hawkins, and Stiles lays into his 12-string guitar with the vigor and ambition of a streetwise punk who just discovered Leo Kottke. Add in the winsome harmonica and the carefree, riding-the-rails folk song structure which Stiles employs, and the 12 tracks on Solo Sessions achieve an earthy authenticity‹his music emerges, most likely unconsciously, from the hazy notes of forebears like Bob Dylan, John Lee Hooker, Richie Havens and the defunct college rock band Miracle Legion.

Simultaneously classic and original, JL Stiles aids his cause by penning personal, personable lyrics taken from his worldview and philosophy. In ³Nothin¹ Here for Me,² the cocky troubadour surveys the wealth of his new hometown, San Francisco, and confesses that he¹s most at home hanging out with the hippies at the BART station. In ³Fellow Grove,² he sings about his childhood pastime of rounding up golf balls at a country club and reselling them to the pro shop. Stiles may take his style from the rural side of America, but his sensibility remains true to his real roots.

Noel Murray - Peforming Songwriter

J.L. Stiles The Knitting Factory Hollywood
Armed with only his earthy warm baritone, a guitar and harmonica, JL Stiles is exactly what you expect from a blues singer, a self contained musician who moves his audience. At this show, Stiles played an equal mix of original pieces and traditional blues. ³This [show] is supposed to be a tribute to Mississippi John Hurt,² he told the crowd. ³No skin off my back, I play him anyway.²

While Stiles¹ own songs, like ³Fellow Grove² and ³Nothin¹ Here For Me² (which narrates a trip to the mall before a friend¹s wedding to look for something ³nice and cheap² on the gift registry) have a more modern quality to their lyrics, they have old souls. But Stiles also shows a slightly slicker, more polished side on tunes like ³Land of the Plenty,² which is vaguely reminiscent of early Eagles.

Musicianship: If it weren¹t for his appearance, listening to Stiles¹ gritty, twangy voice, you¹d swear you were hearing an old bluesman like the late Ted Hawkins, to whom he¹s been compared. In a time where it seems rare to find a singer who sounds extraordinary, accompanied only by an acoustic guitar, Stiles is completely satisfying as a solo artist. He uses finger-picking to great effect to add texture to his music, and with a 12-string guitar can recreate the sound of a piano in an Old West saloon.

Performance: Sporting an understated maroon silk shirt and black slacks, it¹s clear that Stiles is just about the music. As Stiles blows on his harmonica, both his feet start stomping in time, and his eyes focus in a wide-eyed stare-those of a man obsessed with the blues. During the show, Stiles seems to fully engage the room with his music and humorous chatter. He closed the show with an impressive display that wowed the crowd, playing his six-string by tapping the frets with both hands to produce a dulcimer-like sound.

Summary: For a lover of the blues, Stiles is undoubtedly a gem. He is an accomplished musician who offers both faithful renditions of old blues standards, as well as a solid body of fresh, original blues and rockabilly compositions.

Dani Barnard - Music Connection