Growing up on the streets of Detroit, James learned first-hand from the masters - James Cotton, John Lee Hooker, and Jr. Wells.
  • Connecticut based Jay Willie is the frontman for The Jay Willie Blues Band first formed in 2001 with Bob Callahan and Bobby T. Torello. They are a Texas styled blues band playing both traditional and contemporary blues. The JWBB released their debut recording in 2011 with former Stevie Ray Vaughan bassist Tommy Shannon. In 2013 they signed with Zoho Music. This is Jay Willie’s sixth album for Zoho the last being JWBB’s “Jay Walkin’” released in 2017. “Cadillac Walk” is a collaboration with singer and harmonica ace James Montgomery who formed The James Montgomery Band while attending Boston University. He released his debut LP “First Time Out” on Capricorn Records in 1973. Montgomery has toured with the Colwell-Winfield Blues Band, Aerosmith, The J. Geils Band, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, The Steve Miller Band, The Allman Brothers and The Johnny Winter Band among others. He has also played with everyone from Matt “Guitar” Murphy to Muddy Waters and B.B. King. His last recording was 2013’s “From Detroit…To The Delta” with special guests Winter on slide, and harp master James Cotton. This is Montgomery’s 17th recording. Willie states “I felt there was a musical compatibility with our tastes in music and mutually respected artists, past and present. In 2016, I asked Bobby (who also toured with Winter along with Montgomery) to contact James to see if James would front our band for an upcoming performance scheduled in Hartford…what a thrill it would be to have a blues legend and frontman that all of the band honored and had a strong mutual respect for. I was surprised and overjoyed that James agreed, and it was a great show and wonderful experience”.

    The band on “Cadillac Walk” includes Producer Jay Willie, guitar, slide and vocals; James Montgomery, harmonica and vocals; recording engineer Paul Opalach, bass, lap steel, keys and simulated horns; and Bobby T. Torello, drums. The backing vocalists are Lee Ann Lovelace and Kyle Mangold.

    Included are newly arranged versions of nine selected covers. The band opens with the Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller written “Three Cool Cats”, the flipside to The Coasters “Charlie Brown” in 1959, and Willie and Mangold harmonize. The title track, “Cadillac Walk”, was popularized by Mink Deville in 1977. “Neighbor, Neighbor” was written by Huey P. Meaux, owner of Crazy Cajun Publishing, and an R n’ B hit single for Jimmy Hughes on the Fame Record label in 1966. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” was the Rolling Stones mega-hit in 1965, and this version is sung by Montgomery who plays some fine harp as Willie solos on guitar. Willie knows that Montgomery is proud of growing up in Detroit and Montgomery sings again on “Detroit Blues” first waxed by Tampa Red (Hudson Whitaker) in 1945; Montgomery gets that high reedy sound on his harmonica. “Give Me One Reason” was a 1995 hit for singer/songwriter Tracy Chapman and it propelled her career. “Eatin’ Dry Onions” was a 1966 single for inspirational author singer/songwriter and harp player Willie Cobbs on Soul Beat Records. “I’m Yours and I’m Hers” and “Mean Town Blues” are both from Johnny Winter, originally recorded on different labels in 1969, and two more of my favorites.

    The only original, co-written by Jay Willie and Paul Opalach, is the instrumental “Montgomery Boogie” and the band’s performance commemorates this outstanding album.
  • The blues singer/harpist dubbed "The John Mayall of New England" by no less an authority than Peter Wolf has a new CD released this past fall which was only available at shows. "Live at the Larcom" contains the finest cuts from a James Montgomery show. What his audience has come to expect over the years doesn't even begin to touch the quality of the performance captured on this CD.

    The recording is from a show James and the band performed at the Larcom Theater in Beverly, MA on May 21, 2015. The initial show was put on to help raise funds to make a small contribution to various organizations throughout the region that assist our Veterans and provide them with needed services. As the project was being put together James came upon the idea of not providing a little help, but rather making it an ongoing fundraising campaign. This lead to the decision to make the show more than just a live event but rather a CD which could keep on helping Veterans for as long as possible.

    The goal, once it was decided to make it a CD, was to work at finding some partner organizations to both help sell the CD as well as to provide funding for the needs of the local Veterans. A portion of all proceeds raised through the sales of this CD will be donated to various organizations throughout the New England region. We have established a relationship with several we feel will deliver services we believe are needed. That doesn't mean we would not like to find more organizations to become part of our network. We'd also like to extend our thanks to Colonel Scott Brown (US Army retired) for his support and assistance with this project. We'd like to thank him as much for his performance on it; but then he'd think he's too big to sit-in with us in the future.
  • Few musicians have had a career like that of James Montgomery. He learned how to play the blues harmonica in Detroit from none other than blues masters James Cotton, John Lee Hooker and Junior Wells.

    But it was in Boston that Montgomery's career really took off in the 1970s. The James Montgomery Band was as popular as the J. Geils Band, and Montgomery even toured with Geils frontman Peter Wolf, along with Aerosmith, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Bruce Springsteen and others. Montgomery has always loved mixing it up — the blues, he says, is more than just its customary 12 bars. In his latest album, Montgomery goes back to its source, the Mississippi Delta. The album is called "From Detroit to the Delta."

a taste of the blues...

Jay Willie and James Montgomery | Three Cool Cats
James Montgomery Band | The Real Deal |
​Featuring Johnny A - Grace Kelly & Cliff Goodwin
The James Montgomery Blues Band
​'Intoxicated'
​

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