Derek Jacombs – vocals, guitar
Grant Bullot - harmonica
Sonia Bullot - trumpet
Nigel Masters - bass
Hailing from New Zealand's sunny Bay of Plenty, Kokomo has been together now for 18 years, and has become renowned for dynamic live shows and smart distinctive song-writing, as well as the band’s unique harmonica-trumpet horn section. During this time the band has toured extensively throughout New Zealand, performing at the country’s major rock, blues, jazz and folk festivals.
Between touring the band has released eight albums on Wellington’s Jayrem label. The first two were collections of traditional blues, while subsequent albums feature the band’s own songs.
A LITTLE HISTORY…
The band was formed in 1991 after a chance performance at the NZ National Jazz Festival. Derek Jacombs had been invited to present a set of solo blues and brought Grant Bullot to join him on harp. The concert turned into a runaway success and they decided to form a full-time band to spread their love of acoustic blues.
Later that year they set out on the road with a “we play anywhere” policy, which saw them playing around 200 shows a year throughout New Zealand, from Great Barrier Island and the smallest country towns to Auckland’s Aotea Centre. That set the scene for following years.
Along the way Radio New Zealand has recorded five programmes focusing on Kokomo’s music, and they have appeared from time to time on TVNZ and TV3. Kokomo’s music has also been used as the soundtrack for projects as diverse as TV gardening shows and surfing videos. It has also featured on popular New Zealand TV programmes Shortland Street and Jackson’s Wharf.
They have played with and supported many international blues and jazz acts, including Georgie Fame, "Mississippi" Willie Foster, The LeRoi Brothers, Roy Phillips (Peddlers), New Orleans singer Lillian Boutte, Hawaiian steel wizard Ken Emerson, and legendary guitarist Amos Garrett (ex-Butterfield Blues Band), with whom the band played an incendiary concert at the Waiheke Island Festival of Jazz.
2007 saw the release of the Kokomo à Gogo DVD, a full-length concert film, and later in the year harmonica player Grant Bullot featured on the Harmonica Masters of New Zealand CD. 2008 marked a departure for Kokomo when the band released In The Well. A long-planned labour of love, it is a collection of the songs of Bob Dylan, all rearranged and reinvented with inimitable Kokomo style. The album was launched at a headline concert along with Billy TK Jr at the National Blues Festival in Rotorua.
During 2009 the band have continued to tour, featured at the NZ National Jazz Festival, and in early August headlined the Bay of Islands Jazz & Blues Festival, where trumpeter Sonia Bullot released her first solo trumpet album, Tonight On Trumpet.
"These guys are a must to see - blues at its best." BOP Times
"Riveting acoustic blues." The Dominion
"Still the finest exponents of the blues New Zealand has... but there's a little country and a bit of rock and roll, a touch of jazz and a sniff of gospel thrown in for good measure... thought provoking and spot on." The Northern Advocate
"They played Strawberry Fields (rock festival) at Raglan one night and the Hamilton Jazz Festival the very next. The crowds were radically different at each event, but their reaction at each was superb" Bay News
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