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Who are Nick Moss & Jason Ricci?
Guitar hero Nick Moss paid his dues gigging in the city’s blues clubs under the tutelage of some of the city’s greatest blues luminaries. His fiery fretwork, gruff, soul-charged vocals and memorable original songs place him in a league of his own.
Growing up in Chicago and standing tall at 6’2”, Moss dreamed of playing both music and sports. His mother was a huge blues fan, even taking a young Nick to see Muddy Waters live in concert. Kidney surgery sidelined his athletic hopes. To lift his spirits, Nick’s brother snuck the 18-year-old Nick out of the hospital soon after his surgery and took him across the street to see Alligator artists Little Charlie & The Nightcats perform. It was there and then that Nick dove headfirst into the blues, deciding that a career as a bluesman was for him.
Originally a bass player, Moss got his first professional break touring and playing with legendary West Side Chicago guitarist Jimmy “Fast Fingers” Dawkins. He next toured with Willie “Big Eyes” Smith (longtime Muddy Waters’ drummer), leader of the Legendary Blues Band. Finding himself in need of a guitarist, Smith insisted Moss switch instruments. Combining his natural talent with non-stop woodshedding and playing every jam session, Moss quickly became one of the city’s most highly sought-after players. Bluesman Jimmy Rogers (famous for his pioneering guitar work with Muddy Waters and for his solo hit Walking By Myself) hired Moss to join his touring band and became his mentor. Moss’ other influences include B.B. King, Freddie King, Earl Hooker, Magic Slim and other groundbreaking players.
Moss formed his own band in 1997 and released the first of his 13 albums a year later on his own independent Blue Bella label. Since then he’s earned legions of fans around the world, playing over 100 shows a year. Moss has shared stages with Buddy Guy, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Gary Clark, Jr., David Hidalgo and many others, and is an in-demand guest, always welcome to sit in with his musician friends around the world.
Ricci has appeared as a guest harmonica player on albums with Johnny Winter, Ana Popovic, Joe Louis Walker, Cedric Burnside, Walter Trout, Mike Zito, JP Soars, Nick Moss, Peter Karp, Nick Curran, The Mannish Boys, Too Slim and The Tail Draggers, Walter Trout and many more. Ricci has toured or professionally played shows with John Fohl, The Iguanas, Damon Fowler, Pappa Mali, Walter Trout, Nick Moss, JP Soars, Mike Zito, Eric Johanson, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Anders Osborne, Joe Krown and more…
Jason Ricci is one of the most influential, recorded, celebrated, interviewed and famous harmonica players working in the world today.
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