The Blues Angels

The Blues Angels are a polished and powerful trio from Toronto who reach across decades of age, experience and musical influences to create a reverent, yet fresh and groove-infused, take on the blues.

Vocalist and guitarist Jordan John, at the age of just 24, has already compiled a longer list of credits, and displays more assuredness and maturity, than many performers twice his age. Adept on guitar, drums, keyboards and bass, he¹s shared stages with Jeff Healey, Prince, the Guess Who, Wide Mouth Mason, Lucky Peterson and many others. As frontman for the Blues Angels, Jordan combines a warm, soulful and melodic voice with an astonishingly full range of guitar stylings, from precise, quick-pickin' Memphis treble to searing, roaring Chicago slide.

Drummer Al Cross is a local treasure in Toronto. His credits span virtually every genre of popular music, all played with power and pulse that are apparent from the first crack of the snare and thump of the kick-drum. Bands he has anchored include Big Sugar, Jane Siberry and Great Big Sea. Al is as joyous and effusive in an ocean of psychedelic distortion as he is wearing a tuxedo behind the kit in an unplugged jazz ensemble motoring through an evening of Fats Waller and Louis Jordan.

Bassist Prakash John needs no introduction, yet deserves the most. He cut his musical teeth as a teenager in Toronto rock, R&B and blues bands in the 1960s, including Mandala and its short-lived but legendary successor, Bush, with the great Domenic Troiano on guitar. After that, virtually every door in the music business opened for Prakash. Performers he has recorded and toured with include George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic, Lou Reed and Alice Cooper, as well as his own brainchild, the Lincolns, Canada's slickest and funky, funky, funkiest R&B band ever. As bassist on call for touring acts who need the support of the best, he's shared stages with blues legends such as Pinetop Perkins, Mike Bloomfield and Junior Wells. In 1997, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And, yes, Prakash is Jordan's dad.

It's harder to describe the magic and force that come off the stage as soon as the Blues Angels launch into their opening number. Yes, there's all the passion and intensity of great traditional blues. But Al and Prakash also lock into a distinctive groove and pocket immediately, allowing Jordan to soar and dance over top on vocals and guitar. Over the course of an evening, you'll hear every influence, every emotion and astonishing virtuosity from every member of the band. Yet no one ever gets predictable, overbearing or out-of-hand.

You can't help but get on your feet and move. It's a compelling and exuberant mix of influences, all honed and distilled into a traditional blues context. It's a sound that draws in and delights both blues purists and casual listeners. It's a potent combination of musical tradition and vitality that is uniquely the Blues Angels.

Written by John Daly - Senior Editor for the Globe & Mail