King Of The Blues Coming To Cortelyou Road This Friday

There aren’t that many musicians who can boast seven years of professional experience before they’ve celebrated their 20th birthday. (Mozart comes to mind, but he hasn’t been gigging much lately.)

“King” Solomon Hicks is another member of that exclusive club; the New York native debuted at uptown’s famous Cotton Club playing lead guitar with a 13-piece big band when he was just 13 years old. Now, just old enough to have a drink in the clubs where he appears, Hicks will make a return appearance at Bar Chord on Friday, February 19th.

His set will feature original tunes from his latest CD “Carrying the Torch of the Blues” as well as his own arrangements of blues, rock, jazz and pop classics that showcase his impressive mastery of several decades of American musical history made before he was even born. The guitarist will also preview material from his CD “The Blues Live and Electrified,” which is slated for release later this year.

Fresh from an unlikely spot opening for the rock band KISS on the KISS Kruise V from Miami to Jamaica, Hicks discussed his own musical history and the path that’s brought him to Ditmas Park this month.

You closed out last year playing on an ocean liner for a cruise hosted by the rock band KISS, which isn’t necessarily the place one might expect to find a serious jazz and blues musician. How did that come about, and what was it like meeting fans who might have come aboard looking for a very different kind of concert experience?

Bringing my own band to perform on the KISS Kruise was quite a different experience. It was not something I auditioned for, they just heard me playing somewhere live or online and the next thing I know, I’m getting a call to play on a six-day cruise from Miami to Jamaica.

I found even the hardest of rockers on that cruise still had an appreciation for blues. I angled my music to be as electrifying to please the rock fans but still keeping my blues roots intact and the combination went off well with the cruisers. Being a classic rock fan, I like playing in that style too.

In addition to your success as a musician, you are also an accomplished arranger. You’ve got online videos featuring your performances of “Johnny B. Goode” and the old Beatles tune “I Saw Her Standing There.” You’ve clearly made your mark on “Johnny B. Goode,” but the spirit of the original is unmistakable as well. It’s almost like you’re in a musical dialogue with Chuck Berry. On the Beatles song, you’ve completely re-imagined it, turning it from a rocker to a slow blues. What do your hear in a song that makes you decide to cover it, and what determines your approach when crafting a new arrangement?

First I have to like the message in the song; then I have to like the song itself. It’s really how I feel about the song and if I think I can put my spin on it. Being born in the late 90’s, stylistic wise I was not around when these artist made these songs. So I learn the ones I like. Naturally, I try to find clever and wise ways to make them my own. Some of it comes from playing/hearing the song so many times the same way that I want to change it. The other is: I want to play the song in my own way. What determines my approach is if I can still get the words out clearly with my own arrangement and how am I going to get the people to feel something different but still remember the song.

The blues has been a truly foundational music in America. Without the blues, there’s no jazz, no rock, no R&B, no funk or soul, country music would be completely different—you can even say without the blues, there’s probably no reggae or salsa. But in additional to being so influential, it also has a power that brings people like you back to the original. You say you started as a rock guy—what brought you back to the blues, and why do you think people still respond to it after more than a hundred years of development?

What brought me back to the blues is that when I play it, no other music makes me feel as good. I enjoy the great stories. I love to play Jazz, I also play in salsa bands and jam out to R&B such as the Isley Brothers but it’s the soul and the emotion of the blues that wins me over. I’ve also met some incredible blues guitarists and singers (Junior Mack, Saron Crenshaw, Antoinette Montague, Sweet Georgia Brown) and by seeing them play, and the energy they give, I realized I want to combine all the genres I have studied and played and make my own sound but have a blues stamp. I say I am a blues player with a jazz mind.

People still respond to the blues because it’s the same problems but different day. Everyone has a girl they want but she loves someone else. Sometimes people don’t have problems and when you hear how someone went through and survived their own struggles. . . I find people still relate to that.

One great thing about the blues is the surprising breadth of expression that’s possible within a somewhat limited musical structure. When you listen to B.B. King or Buddy Guy, you are immediately struck by the melodic richness they contribute. But then you hear Muddy Waters or Bo Diddley and realize the importance of the rhythm in the blues. How do you relate to those two aspects of the blues in your own performances?

That’s the thing about the blues, it doesn’t matter how much you know in theory or chords. It all goes back to what you feel. I find the best guitar soloists are able to say very little but make you feel so much (it’s easier said than done). Being a jazz musician who studies intricate chord progressions. . . sometimes I feel like I play too much. At times I combine the two to make my own style. Drums are the driving force that leads the blues, if you have good rhythm, you can’t go wrong. You can hit the same note a few times but if it has some rhythm behind it, you can move a crowd.

You’ve got a connection to a musician who’s coming to Brooklyn soon—when Bruce Springsteen brings The River tour to Barclay Center, Jake Clemons (nephew of the late Clarence Clemons) will be playing saxophone in the E-Street Band. Jake played on the title track of your CD, Carrying the Torch of the Blues, and another Springsteen associate, Southside Johnny, was featured on a track from that album as well. How did you hook up with those Jersey guys?

Jersey is home to a lot of great musicians, It was luck to get them on my record, as they were brought on by my ex-manager. I did not know them previously.

You’re no stranger to Brooklyn, and in fact you’ve played at Bar Chord before. How do you find the Ditmas Park audience?

I think Brooklyn has a good listening audience and there’s a market for playing soul blues and roots out there. I’ve played there once before and it was a great turn out. I’ll be back February 19th with my band to do it again.

You started your career at 13 years old, playing at the legendary Cotton Club with a 13-piece band. I’m guessing you’ve got a much smaller ensemble lined up for the Bar Chord. Who are you playing with there, and what are the virtues of playing with larger and smaller combos?

I’ll have organist Judd Nielsen and drummer Russell Carter. What I like about small groups is that you’re able to change songs or make subtle changes a lot easier than a big band. The more people you have, the bigger the sound but the more sound you have to organize. I do a lot of organ trio work, and I can get a lot out of three stellar musicians. They are good listeners/players and we’ve been playing together for few years.