Mississippi Heat
TRADITIONAL BLUES WITH A UNIQUE SOUND. . . As bandleader and composer, Pierre’s vision has never wavered since he founded his band in 1991. His mantra is clear and focused. The band has always had an ensemble sound: all musicians are featured and welcome to contribute on stage and on recordings. His music is traditional because it is steeped in Chicago’s golden sounds of
the 1950’s, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Jimmy Rogers, all the great harp players. . . Big and Little Walter, The Sonny Boy Williamsons, Junior Wells, George Smith, and many extraordinary contemporaries such as Kim Wilson, Rod Piazza and Paul deLay. On the other hand, Pierre’sblues is unique because he dislikes to tread on old beaten paths. He always writes new stuff.
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MISSISSIPPI HEAT emerged in 1991 on a night at the Cafe Lura in Chicago. Guitarist JonMcDonald invited Pierre to play harp for him with Robert Covington on drums and vocals. It was agreat night, with a raucous crowd in this Polish neighborhood. Pierre looked happy, and the bandplayed with such inspiration that his brother Michel was drawn to say he would find gigs with littleefforts. A man of his word, Michel did find gigs for the band. He was wrong about the effort part, butwas right about the fact that he could manage such a band. ... Pierre and the Heat have now finished7 CDs (as well as a DVD for Delmark Records in 2005). Some of their recordings have won awardssuch as “BEST CHICAGO BLUES CD OF THE YEAR” and “BESTBLUES PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR” (e.g., Handyman, and Footprints On The Ceiling byReal Blues Magazine ).
TRADITIONAL BLUES WITH A UNIQUE SOUND. . . As band leader and composer,Pierre’s vision has never wavered since he founded his band in 1991. His mantra is clear and focused.The band has always had an ensemble sound: all musicians are featured and welcome to contribute onstage and on recordings. His music is traditional because it is steeped in Chicago’s golden sounds ofthe 1950’s, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Jimmy Rogers, all the great harp players...Big and Little Walter, The Sonny Boy Williamsons, Junior Wells, George Smith, and many extraordinarycontemporaries such as Kim Wilson, Rod Piazza and Paul deLay. On the other hand, Pierre’sblues is unique because he dislikes to tread on old beaten paths. He always writes new stuff.
MISSISSIPPI HEAT emerged in 1991 on a night at the Cafe Lura in Chicago. Guitarist JonMcDonald invited Pierre to play harp for him with Robert Covington on drums and vocals. It was agreat night, with a raucous crowd in this Polish neighborhood. Pierre looked happy, and the bandplayed with such inspiration that his brother Michel was drawn to say he would find gigs with littleefforts. A man of his word, Michel did find gigs for the band. He was wrong about the effort part, butwas right about the fact that he could manage such a band. ... Pierre and the Heat have now finished7 CDs (as well as a DVD for Delmark Records in 2005). Some of their recordings have won awardssuch as “BEST CHICAGO BLUES CD OF THE YEAR” and “BEST BLUES PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR” (e.g., Handyman, and Footprints On The Ceilingby Real Blues Magazine ).
Over the years., MISSISSIPPI HEAT has been the subject of several TV and movie features.French TV has released a documentary on Blues featuring the band., and our vocalist for a prestigiousprogram called ARTE. Soon after a concert was filmed in Montreal., Canada., and was sold toan Italian TV company. French Canadian TV also featured Pierre and his brother-manager Michel onone of their regular programs called “BAISERS D’ AMERIQUE”. This half-hour segment wasviewed in 35 countries worldwide. MISSISSIPPI HEAT has also been featured in countless trademagazines such as Living Blues and Blues Review.
