Album Notes

Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan
20th Anniversary Live!
NO GURU 2000
INFORMATION

With the release of their first ever live album "Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan 20th Anniversary Live!", Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan, world acclaimed artists of the folk/blues music field, have delivered a disc full of the stuff that has earned them the international reputation of "America's Good Time Blues Ambassadors."

The Santa Barbara, California based entertainment veterans recorded the album before live audiences at two sold out performances at Victoria Hall in their hometown on June 26, 1999. The occasion marked the successful duo's 20th year as a performing team and the resulting album contains 16 tracks, over half of which have not appeared on any of their previous CD's, and the favorites that are included all feature new arrangements. Ball and Sultan are featured here without additional musicians and the set showcases the virtuoso acoustic guitar and harmonica work that has made them one of the most respected acts in the folk/blues field for two decades.

Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan were the only musical act in America to play all four venues at the 1994 Olympic Games and their worldwide tours have included club and concert appearances and performances at some of the most prestigious blues, folk, rock, bluegrass and jazz festivals in the world including The Belgium Rhythm and Blues Festival, Amsterdam Blues Festival, England's Shetland Folk Festival and the Barbican in London, Roskilde Festival in Denmark, Miscolc Folk Festival in Hungary, the Gaildorf Blues Festival in Germany and nearly every major folk and blues festival in America. They have shared stages with many of the biggest names in the music business including Bob Dylan, the Beach Boys, Randy Newman, Bonnie Raitt, The Allman Brothers, Ray Charles, Van Morrison, Don Henley, Lyle Lovett, Alison Krauss, Paul Simon, Doc and Merle Watson, Ry Cooder, Emmylou Harris, Etta James, BB King, Elvis Costello, The Neville Brothers, Charles Brown, and literally hundreds of others. At home they play several hundred dates per year in the club and festival circuit and both are busy in the academic world as well, teaching guitar and harmonica to students at all stages of learning, including the University level.

Both musicians are also published authors with a number of active titles in the Hal Leonard/Centerstream Publications catalog. Tom Ball has written four titles for the organization, "Blues Harmonica", "The Nasty Blues", "Source book of Sonny Terry Licks" and Sourcebook of
Little Walter/Big Walter Live," and has penned countless articles on the folk and blues music for
numerous publications. Kenny's work includes the books "Introduction To Acoustic Blues", "Acoustic Blues Guitar", and "Blues Guitar Legends", as well as a trio of instructional video's "Acoustic Blues Guitar" and "Blues Guitar Legends Volumes 1&2." Their extensive knowledge of folk and blues history have made them naturals for the college campus workshop and seminar circuit and they have been frequent guests of National Public Radio and the Voice of America shows. They are heard regularly on TV soundtracks, record sessions, feature films and commercials including a series of Levi's 501 Blues spots. Their music from the film "Over The Edge" won them the prestigious Telly Award in 1994.

Four of the duo's six previous albums are still in print on the Flying Fish label and Tom's solo disc "Guitar Music", originally recorded for Kicking Mule Records has been recently reissued by Fantasy Records. Their body of recorded work has been praised universally over the years with publications like England's Folk Roots Magazine calling them "Consummate musicians", Living Blues Magazine found them "Irrepressible.....a unique style and a sly attitude.", Sing Out Magazine says "As good as anyone in acoustic blues" Goldmine Magazine describes them as "Superb, knowledgeable, and eclectic.", Option Magazine described them as "Exceptional...remarkable.", Blues Revue says, "Stupendous playing", and a writer for Acoustic Guitar probably paid them the best compliment of all when he said "Somewhere, Sonny and Brownie are smiling."