“Otherworldly”, “scorching”, “polyrhythmic” and “chilling” have all been used to describe Eddie Turner’s guitar playing. His ethereal style is an amalgam of the Afro-Cuban rhythms of his heritage and the music that influenced him as a teenager: Chicago blues, jazz, r&b and psychedelic rock. The Cuban-born singer/guitarist cut his teeth in several rock bands contributing what Slate magazine describes as “spacey-yet-resounding solos.” Now he emerges for the first time as his own bandleader on Rise, which arrives in stores in February, 2005.
Eddie “devilboy ” Turner picked up his first guitar, a candy apple multi-pickup Japanese Tiesco, when he was twelve. Raised in Chicago, he moved to the Rockies in the early 70’s to attend the University of Colorado; “a ruse,” he says, “to get my parents to keep sending checks.” More inspired by music than by academia, Turner immersed himself in the local scene, and stints with some notable acts ensued. He played in the region’s first punk/r&b band The Immortal Nightflames, then with Grammy nominees Tracy Nelson, Mother Earth, and the 4-nikators, a group which has become legendary for its unique mix of soul, Motown, and rock. Turner got the chance to grab at the brass ring when Colorado compadre Tommy Bolin left his band Zephyr to form The James Gang and Deep Purple. He eagerly joined the hard rock, psychedelic, blues band as a guitarist, singer and songwriter. But, tragedy struck with the sudden death of Zephyr lead singer Candy Givens. Deeply shaken, Eddie decided to “grow up” by taking a hiatus from performing music to become a realtor in Denver.
Yet, some people just refuse to “grow up”. A decade later, when Eddie was invited to join the Ron Miles electric band led by one of the country’s premier trumpeteers, he jumped at the chance. Then, in 1995 he rounded out the Otis Taylor Band adding what Guitar Player magazine describes as “otherworldly atmospherics (which) lend a decidedly cosmic ambience to Taylor’s sound.” Enhancing the spice and flavor of the trio, Eddie recorded five groundbreaking CDs, and toured the U.S. and Europe extensively.
Today, Turner continues to evolve as an artist. With nominations from the Blues Music Awards & many others, for his CD’s: Rise, the Turner Diaries and Miracles & Demons, all produced by Kenny Passarelli. Running the gamut between Blistering guitar to deep delta blues, each CD dazzles with the chops and techniques that Turner has developed over the course of his unique genre melding career. It’s evolutionary music – and quite grown up indeed.
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