As the the son of Lonnie Brooks, Ronnie Baker Brooks has Blues In My DNA, as he’s titled his latest album. On Sunday, November 17, he brings style, full of reverence for tradition but with a modern spin, to Jammin, Java.
Born in Chicago in 1967, Baker Brooks grew up at the learning tree of the masters of the genre: Albert Collins, BB King, Willie Dixon, Koko Taylor, and his father, Lonnie Brooks.
Ronnie got his start in the music business after high school as a roadie in his father’s touring band, proving himself and joining the band as a bassist, and, eventually, on guitar. In 1998, he stepped out on his own with his with his solo debut, Golddigger, the first of his five albums. In the more than 25 years that have passed since, he’s earned acclaim for his songwriting, singing, and his guitar playing. Blues In My DNA is his first album on his father’s longtime label, Alligator Records.
Watch Ronnie Baker Brooks perform “All True Man” live on YouTube:
For Ronnie Baker Brooks — son of legendary multiple GRAMMY Award nominee, Blues Hall Of Famer, and longtime Alligator Records recording star Lonnie Brooks — the process of writing songs for Blues In My DNA was as fun and exciting as playing live.
“I love writing as much as performing. I love watching an idea become a song, then a song become something people can relate to, and then sing along with. And I always keep it authentic to myself. Everyone can feel it and be familiar with it. I’m here to build bridges, not walls,” Ronnie said.
Blues In My DNA is already being hailed as an up-to-the-minute masterpiece. Blues Matters UK says the album is “a masterful testament to Ronnie Baker Brooks’ legacy as one of modern blues most dynamic torchbearers…personal and powerful…a must listen.” The record effortlessly moves from funkified rockers to deep Memphis soul to epic, crowd-pleasing blues anthems. Produced by famed studio wizard Jim Gaines (who has produced Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lonnie Brooks, Luther Allison, and many others), Blues In My DNA is a career-defining statement from Baker Brooks, with each of the 11 original songs its own chapter in his ever-evolving story.
If you’re a lover of the blues, and of Chicago electric blues in particular, this is a show not to be missed.
Ronnie Baker Brooks
Jammin’ Java
Sunday, Nov. 17
Doors @ 5:30pm
$30/$35
All ages