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Page 1 of 2 Jul 23, 2014 09:25:20PM MDT
Aki Kumar makes the blues his calling
By Andrew Gilbert Correspondent
Updated: 07/23/2014 08:29:02 AM PDT MercuryNews.com
Recessionary times have left many of Bay Area's blues festivals with a bad case of the blues.
The first to fall was the most painful, as 2009's economic meltdown forced Tom Mazzolini to close the
world famous San Francisco Blues Festival. The financial collapse of the Monterey Blues Festival in 2012
was another body blow. And now comes word that Ted Gehrke is putting the Metro Fountain Blues
Festival on hiatus for the first time since 1981, meaning that Northern California has lost three of its most
visible and long-running blues showcases in just five years.
But just when blues fans are thinking it's time to drink muddy water and sleep in a hollow log, along comes
this weekend's Redwood City PAL Blues, Arts and BBQ Festival. Launched eight years ago to raise funds
for the Redwood City Police Activities League, the event has become one of the best blues events in the
region by tapping an impressive cross section of Bay Area blues talent.
Opening Friday night with Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers, the festival takes over Courthouse Square
on Saturday with a full day of music representing a broad array of blues styles. The enduring music's
power to reach unexpected places is embodied by the Aki Kumar Blues Band (scheduled to take the
stage at 4 p.m.), which is led by the Indian-born harmonica player and vocalist Aki Kumar. Born and
raised in Bombay (now Mumbai), he's become both a respected bandleader and a mover and shaker on
the South Bay scene.
"Aki is amazingly good for the short length of time he's been playing," says harmonica ace Mark Hummel,
who plays Saturday's 2 p.m. set with the Golden State-Lone Star Revue featuring Anson Funderburgh
and Little Charlie Baty. "He's a go-getter. What I look for in musicians are guys who have the drive to
create something musically or on the scene. That's where I came from, and I've been extremely
impressed with Aki."
Growing up in India, Kumar heard Eastern and Western sounds around the house, from John Denver and
Mozart to Hindustani music and Bollywood hits. He dabbled in keyboards and tabla, took a few years of
instruction in classical North Indian vocals and acquired an inexpensive Chinese-made tremolo
harmonica, though he wasn't familiar with the blues.
"In Bollywood music, the harmonica was present in some really popular songs," Kumar says.
He moved to the United States in 1998 at the age of 18, initially settling in Oklahoma City. But before long
he transferred to San Jose State, and after graduating, he found work as a software engineer. He came to
the blues slowly by following his interest in doo-wop and early rock 'n' roll back to the roots.
"A lot of folks told me this music came from the blues," he says. "I checked it out, and it was downhill from
there."
He credits Dave Barrett, a respected harmonica player and influential educator who runs the School of the
Blues in San Jose, with putting him on the right path. Barrett turned Kumar on to Chicago masters like
Little Walter, James Cotton and George Smith. With a pedagogy focusing on performance, Barrett
nurtured Kumar's budding talent.
"One of the things that Dave does is run his own little jam, a low-pressure situation for students to play
with his house band of instructors," Kumar says. "And I just kept going to every show and club I could,
checking out Mark Hummel and Rick Estrin. I'd harass them and hang out. I got to know them and their
backing musicians."
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While holding down his software day job, Kumar started gaining widespread notice with Tip of the Top, a
potent quartet that disbanded in the spring of 2013. He became a regular at blues spots like Pleasanton's
Main Street Brewery, Hayward's Turf Club, The Pocket in Santa Cruz, San Francisco's Sheba Lounge and
the Smoking Pig in Fremont. Eventually, he was busy enough that he quit his day job at the end of last
year to focus exclusively on music.
"It was a slow transition," Kumar says. "My heart was really into the blues. If this is my calling, I can't live
another life. I'm 34. I've got some time to make a mark."
So far, 2014 has been a banner year. Most importantly, he released an impressive debut album, "Don't
Hold Back," a diverse program of material featuring top-shelf guitarists like Johnny Cat Soubrand, Rusty
Zinn, Kid Andersen and Little Jonny (with whom Kumar plays the Poor House Bistro in San Jose on Aug.
1). Always looking to build the scene, he leads a regular jam session at Little Lou's BBQ in Campbell,
which attracts some of the best players around.
"I think I find fulfillment in promoting good blues," Kumar says, "whether it's me or someone I look up to."
Contact Andrew Gilbert at . jazzscribe@aol.com
AKI KUMAR BLUES BAND
Performing at the Redwood City PAL Blues, Arts and BBQ Festival
When: 4 p.m. Saturday
Where: Courthouse Square, 2200 Broadway, Redwood City
Tickets: free, www.redwoodcitypal.com/blues/