Paris Slim Super Trio
with Tony Coleman, John Mazzocco
July 4 at Double Mountain Brewery in Hood River
Paris Slim Super Trio with Tony Colman-Drums and John Mazzocco-Bass will perform a free show from 5-8 p.m. outside (weather permitting).
Paris Slim
This is possibly the last chance to see him before he moves back to Europe!
Frank Goldwasser dropped out of art school in his native Paris in the spring of 1983 to respond to an invitation by Oakland bluesman Sonny Rhodes to move to the San Francisco Bay Area and pursue his musical aspirations.
Goldwasser had fallen under the spell of bluesmen Elmore James and T-Bone Walker while still a teenager.
Upon arriving in Oakland, he soon landed a job in bandleader and club owner Troyce Key’s Blues Band, playing every weekend at Oakland’s notorious “Home of the West Coast Blues,” Eli’s Mile High Club. As a member of the Eli’s house band, Goldwasser was given the moniker “Paris Slim” and began to develop a following while working with West Coast Blues giants Big Mama Thornton, Lowell Fulson, Pee Wee Crayton and Jimmy McCracklin.
Key eventually turned over the gig to Paris Slim, who formed his own band and began to bring in such artists as Joe Louis Walker, Sonny Rhodes and Cool Papa. Stints as a sideman with Sunnyland Slim, A.C. Reed, James Harman and Mitch Woods followed.
Goldwasser worked with Charlie Musselwhite’s group in 1985 and performed with his own band at local venues including Larry Blake’s (where he hosted the popular Blue Monday Party for three years), Wolfgang’s, Major Ponds and Jack’s.
Paris Slim appeared on the 1986 San Francisco Blues Festival, Oakland’s Festival at the Lake and The Rose City Blues Festival in Portland.
He released an album, “Blues For Esther,” in 1989 on the Blue Sting label and nominated for a W.C. Handy Award in 1990 in the Best (Foreign) Blues Album category.
In 1990, Paris Slim filled in for the late great Mike Bloomfield for a reunion of the Electric Flag and went on to headline the Rose City Blues Festival.
Paris Slim toured Europe in 1991 on a bill with Joe Houston and Philip Walker and appeared at the Bagneux Blues Festival near Paris in 1993 with Chick Willis and Jerry McCain. In 1994, He returned to Paris, where he recorded and performed with French singer Benoit Blue Boy. Paris Slim teamed-up with Chicago Blues guitarist Steve Freund for an appearance at the 1995 San Francisco Blues Festival.
Tony Coleman
Tony Coleman has had an illustrious career, touring the world with B.B. King, Otis Clay, Bobby Blue Bland, Johnnie Taylor, Albert King, Albert Collins, Etta James, James Cotton, Katie Webster, Z.Z. Hill, O.V. Wright and Buddy Guy.
His early aspirations led to his meeting soul singer Otis Clay. He quickly joined Clay’s band and toured with him for a couple of years, recording a live album in Tokyo.
Out of touring and recording with Otis Clay came opportunities to work with other major R&B and blues artists. After a jam session in a Chicago club called The High Chaparral, B.B. King jammed with Otis Clay’s rhythm section. B.B. King liked the rhythm section so much that he asked them to join him as his touring band.
So Tony, along with Russell Jackson and Leonard Gill, became B.B. King’s rhythm section. As fate would have it, Tony was only with B.B. for a few months when B.B.’s ex-drummer returned.
Tony returned to Chicago and rejoined Otis Clay’s band for another tour in Japan. From Otis Clay, Tony moved to Dallas, Texas in 1980 to play drums for Johnnie Taylor. Tony toured with Johnnie for a couple of years and was then asked to join Bobby Blue Bland, with whom he worked for a few years.
In the middle of a combined B.B. King/Bobby Blue Bland tour, B.B. needed a drummer and Tony ended up playing drums for both artists for the remainder of that tour, playing two shows a night. At that point, Tony rejoined B.B. King and then began touring with Mr. King’s organization, performing blues music around the globe.
John Mazzocco
John is a highly sought-after musician (bass) whose credits include John Lee Hooker, Paul deLay and Curtis Salgado. John was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame in 2019.
The holidays are upon us and even though we cannot celebrate in venues, the Alberta Rose Theatre will be presenting two Christmas shows through their streaming outlet. For two evenings of some of the finest blues, soul, R&B and gospel please make plans on tuning into these performances.