Nancy Wright

Nancy Wright is one of the most highly respected and in-demand sax players on today’s blues, Americana and R&B scene. Major music writers have hailed her big-toned tenor and compared her to the all-time greats. “Her tenor is, by turns, slathered with Noble “Thin Man” Watts Southern-fried grease, robust with King Curtis soulfulness and buffed to a gleam with pungent Junior Walker funk.” – Frank-John Hadley, Downbeat “San Francisco-based saxophonist Nancy Wright operates in the big-toned tenor tradition of Gene Ammons and Houston Person
Wright is the real deal.” – Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes In September 2016, Nancy released PLAYDATE! on the heels of her successful 2015 all-original Putting Down Roots CD. For PLAYDATE!, Nancy continues to deliver original material but also delivers fresh renditions of blues/roots/Americana cover material. Nancy has been blessed to work with award-winning blues/roots artists, and the CD’s ten special guests draw from Nancy’s musical network: Tommy Castro, Elvin Bishop, Joe Louis Walker, Frank Bey, Wee Willie Walker, Victor Wainright, Mike Schermer, Chris Cain, Terrie Odabi, and Jim Pugh. Though she’s called the Bay Area home for 30 years, Wright’s saxophone career got its start in Dayton, Ohio. She was a classically-trained bassoon player majoring in Music, when the university theater department offered her the sax player role in a production of “Cabaret.” Arriving early for rehearsal one day, she found a group of musicians in the hallway jamming on the blues. They invited her to sit in. “The coin dropped that day,” says Wright, “and I discovered the world of improvisation.” Having trained on piano, violin, concert harp, flute and brass, as well as bassoon, Wright says it was also “a question of finally getting to the right instrument.” While in Dayton, she discovered a mentor in Lonnie Mack, one of the founding fathers of blues-rock guitar, joining him regularly on stage. She also toured with Grammy-award winner John Lee Hooker, performing at Carnegie Hall and the Mississippi Delta Blues Festival, and performed with Stevie Ray Vaughn, Albert King, and Albert Collins. Wright first appeared on the Bay Area music scene in 1984 with the critically acclaimed New Orleans Rhythm and Blues Band, Hot Links. Following a successful North American tour, Wright and Hot Links were tapped to perform with Swamp Boogie Queen Katie Webster, appearing on her Arhoolie Records release, “You Know That’s Right.” Wright and Webster also performed together at the Chicago Blues Festival and appear together on B.B. King’s album, “Blues Summit,” winner of the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. After relocating to San Francisco, Wright spent the next two decades touring North America, Europe, and Asia with such artists as Lonnie Mack, Elvin Bishop; Commander Cody; New Orleans legends Johnny Adams and Earl King; Joe Louis Walker; Maria Muldaur; and Greg “Fingers” Taylor (accompanied by Debbie Davie and Janiva Magnus, opening for Jimmy Buffet’s top-grossing summer amphitheatre Outpost Tour). Wright recorded with B.B. King, Katie Webster, Elvin Bishop, Joe Louis Walker, Little Charlie and the Nitecats, Mark Hummel and many others in the 80’s and early 90’s, and chose to stop touring in the mid-1990’s. During this period, she also performed with many top blues artists including Robert Cray, Bonnie Raitt, Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, Lowell Fulsom, Son Seals, and Ike Turner. “I have been blessed to play with and learn from so many wonderful musicians,” says Wright. While the blues thread remains the strongest in the tapestry of Wright’s music, in the late 90’s a new thread appeared—the opportunity to work with local Hammond B3 organ artist Jackie Ivory (who also worked with sax luminaries Junior Walker and Willis Jackson). This rekindled her love of organ combo music, which led to a performance with monster Hammond star Tony Monaco and to the release of her critically acclaimed debut CD “Moanin’” (produced by Monaco and backed by his trio) featuring a mix of soul jazz, blues, ballads, and boogaloo, including four original compositions. Like Texas Tenors Arnett Cobb and Illinois Jacquet, and Chicago “Tough Tenors” Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt, Wright works back and forth between blues and jazz comfortably. Wright performed regularly in Northern California with her own group and also performed regularly and/or recorded with blues and roots-based acts including the Blues Broads, Mighty Mike Schermer, Houston Jones, Lady Bianca, Steve Willis, Macy Blackman and others. In 2013, Wright was awarded the West Coast Blues Hall of Fame Blues Saxophone Player of the Year. In 2014, she hit the road again, touring in Europe, Canada and the US with Frank Bey (who received multiple Blues Music Award nominations in 2014) and Greg Nagy (31st BMA Best New Artist Debut), and continued to play in Northern California with her own group and other artists. Nancy Wright released a new blues/roots CD in early 2015, adding vocal and songwriting dimensions to her artistry. “Putting Down Roots” consists of twelve blues/roots originals (six instrumentals and six vocals) spanning blues, R&B, New Orleans, funk, and gospel styles, and was awarded a top-20 spot for Blues Album of the Year in the DownBeat Reader’s Poll. She also appears as a sideman on multiple Blues Music Award-nominated CDs. Wright continues to tour regularly around the United States, Canada and Europe, playing major Festivals and clubs with headlining artists and her own band. 2016 appearances include New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Bayfront Blues Festival, San Diego Blues Festival, the Delta Blues Festival, and festivals across Italy and the Canary Islands. She is a popular regular on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, performing with Tommy Castro and the Painkillers. On top of her busy tour schedule, Wright’s third CD PLAYDATE! was released on the Direct Hit/Vizztone label in September 2016 and is receiving rave reviews. “
A host of contemporary blues giants gather around to drive this set by this recent West Coast Blues Hall of Fame inductee with her sax leading the way. A well respected, towering blues sax giant, Wright decided to step out and do what she wanted here proving this gal doesn’t need to be told which end is up. A white girl with the blues that’s raising the bar for all, this is a nonstop, smoking, good time. Killer stuff throughout.” — Chris Spector, Midwest Record “Nancy Wright has a winner with PLAYDATE! Her stellar tenor sax, singing and songwriting place her right at home in the very distinguished company with which she has surrounded herself, and show her mastery of blues, R & B and swing.” — Dick Shurman, blues producer and historian “Beautiful sax sound with influences from Jr. Walker to King Curtis
” — AndrĂ© Hobus, Soul Bag (France) “Talk about having fun with an album—Nancy Wright’s “Playdate!” comes at you just like one of Louis Jordan’s legendary Saturday night fish fries, and it’s sho’ nuff funkier than that proverbial mosquito’s tweeter!” — Cheryl & Don Crow, Nashville Blues Society * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * “One of the hottest blues sax players in the business, she is known for powerful, soulful, fascinating playing. Her sax solos are a highlight of any show she’s in.” – John Orr, San Jose Mercury News ” . . . Big, fat tone, warm vibrato, nice building of tension and release . . . some kickass blues playing and loads of fun to listen to . . .” – Bruce Iglauer, President of Alligator Records ” . . . Wright (has a) naturally bluesy voice . . . a semi-shouting mezzo soprano that’s reminiscent in its approach to Ruth Brown and Dinah Washington . . . (she doesn’t) just sing the blues, (she) feel(s) them as well.” – George “Blues Fin Tuna” Fish, Blues Blast Magazine Website: Nancy Wright
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