Acclaimed Mississippi bluesman Cedric Burnside has music history running through his veins.
The son of drummer Calvin Jackson and grandson of the legendary R.L. Burnside, as a child Cedric was touring internationally playing drums behind his ‘Big Daddy’ (R.L.), as well as playing with other notable Hill Country artists such as Junior Kimbrough, Jessie May Hemphill, and Otha Turner.
“My school was a juke joint/From a kid till I was grown/And blues is really/All I ever known”, Cedric sings on his track Ain’t Gonna Take No Mess from his current, Grammy nominated album Benton County Relic and ain’t it the truth.
However, while happy to carry the torch for Mississippi Hill Country blues, Cedric isn’t stuck in the past. Other more diverse collaborations have included the likes of Widespread Panic, Jimmy Buffett, Bobby Rush, Hubert Sumlin, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. In 2006, he was featured in Craig Brewer’s critically acclaimed feature film Black Snake Moan, playing drums alongside Samuel L. Jackson. Cedric Burnside draws upon a tradition that’s decades old, yet cuts deeper than any other artists recent attempt to interpret the blues.
With his latest record BENTON COUNTY RELIC, Burnside showcases his electric and acoustic guitar prowess, recording the album in just two days with drummer/slide guitarist Brian Jay in the latter’s Brooklyn home studio.
While on tour in Australia, Cedric was kind enough to sit down with Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips backstage at The Spotted Mallard for a chat about his past, his sound and the future.
Photos from The Spotted Mallard show by Greg Phillips
