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The Norman Beaker Band

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The Norman Beaker Band

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Biography

Norman Beaker: British Blues Legend

In January 2017 Manchester native Norman Beaker became only one of eight 20th-century British artists

to be officially recognised and inducted as a Legend in the American Heritage Society's Blues Hall of Fame®,

alongside Jack Bruce, Peter Green, John Mayall, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton.

It was a long-overdue honour not only to a man who's loyally served the genre for several decades, but to the land and town of his birth as well, and never more honestly earned.

His legendary status should come as no surprise; Norman is one of those very first artists who with such iconic colleagues as Alexis Korner, Graham Bond helped to create the unique British Blues, R&B and Rock sound that captivated the world.

Norman kept its signature sound alive throughout his distinguished career,whether playing solo or with a Who's Who of blues, soul and rock from both sides of the Atlantic, including Chuck Berry,

Jack Bruce, Van Morrison, Peter Green, Buddy Guy, Ruby Turner, and B.B. King, who stated, "Norman is like a white Freddie King", testimony to Norman's merits as a superior guitarist, vocalist and frontman.

Staying true to those genuine, innovative roots that made British Blues a major musical force, regardless of changing trends.

"The best rhythm and blues band in the country"--Jack Bruce

The Beaker Band's unique combination of uncompromising reliability,

professionalism, friendliness and humour have made them one of the best-loved acts from the UK to Scandinavia to the Continent to the Balkans. They treat every show as the performance of their lives, whether at a small venue to The Royal Albert Hall, and loyal fans everywhere look forward to their return.

Norman Beaker: Lead vocal; guitar

Though known primarily as a bluesman, Norman seamlessly moves among the genres of jazz, rock, pop and R&B with

the grace and ease that characterise his performances and original songs. He's not only released a recent album, "We See Us Later" to rave reviews internationally. He's also collaborating with soul legend Steve Ellis (original voice of The Love Affair) on recordings and live performances, as well as with one of the UK's greatest artists, Sonja Kristina of Curved Air.

There weren't many of these gifted first and finest who defined the British Blues genre...and now sadly there are even fewer still.

Of these rare national treasures who still remain, none serve the music more faithfully than Norman Beaker, whose guitar, voice and original songs are as fresh and powerful as when he first

began in the Northern clubs of the '60's...and continue as ageless and enduring as his home city itself.

John Price: Bass, vocals

One of the busiest bass players around, John has recorded and played with Van Morrison, Chris Farlowe, Eric Burdon, Tony Ashton, Tony McPhee, Herbie Goins, Mick Abrahams and others of distinction who know he's the bassist to be counted on for expert playing and professionalism.John has been in the Beaker Band for over 20 years, and fans in the know always look forward to his solos, which are songs in themselves...and always hold a few surprises in store.

Steve Gibson: Percussion

A powerhouse of the kit, Steve began his career at age 15 with local bands. His talent attracted the attention of Ian McNabb as well as The Buzzcocks, with whom he toured extensively in the '90's. Steve's unique ability to play any song or genre has made him one of the most sought-after drummers on the scene. He's played with Maggie Bell, Larry Garner, Irma Thomas, Madeline Bell, Van Morrison, The Starlite Campbell Band, Chris Farlowe, Jack Bruce and many others.

Nick Steed: Keyboards

Gifted keyboardist Nick started playing professionally at 13 and studied A-level Music and Sound Recording at South Manchester College. He gained studio experience at the prestigious Strawberry Studios (Stockport) recording with the BBC Radio 2 Orchestra as well as BBC Wood Lane, London Studios, playing with the BBC Symphony Orchestra for the TV show "Lovejoy". Nick's extensive

experience playing live, recording and touring made him a natural choice for The Norman Beaker Band, and has seen him accompanying Chris Farlowe and Larry Garner.

Nick's good-natured comic flair keeps eyes on him. But his antics are

never at the expense of his competence; he hits all the right notes...even when playing the keys with his head.

The full band includes Kim Nishikawara:

Saxophones; flute and backing vocals

Kim Nishikawara is originally from Vancouver, Canada and now lives in Manchester, England. A professional multi-reeds player for over 30 years. ‘Formal’ training was at Berklee College of Music studying arranging and composition. He has spent many years touring with various artists and live theatre shows.

Recent appearances have been with Chris Farlowe as well as major UK tours with Alan Price “A Night at the Flamingo” and the Norman Beaker Band featuring Jack Bruce.

Over the years has played with the likes of Dominic Halpin and the Honeybees, The Powder Blues Band, Downchild Blues Band, Doc Fingers, Real Gone Rhythm, Long John Baldry. He did the arranging for Michael Buble’s debut album Babalu and played with and ran his band for 3 years.

Kim is well versed in the “Smooth Jazz” style and has recorded his own smooth jazz album “Intuition”. He appears regularly with “Smooth Edge”.

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Play Audio

3 followers

0 events



Biography

Norman Beaker: British Blues Legend

In January 2017 Manchester native Norman Beaker became only one of eight 20th-century British artists

to be officially recognised and inducted as a Legend in the American Heritage Society's Blues Hall of Fame®,

alongside Jack Bruce, Peter Green, John Mayall, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton.

It was a long-overdue honour not only to a man who's loyally served the genre for several decades, but to the land and town of his birth as well, and never more honestly earned.

His legendary status should come as no surprise; Norman is one of those very first artists who with such iconic colleagues as Alexis Korner, Graham Bond helped to create the unique British Blues, R&B and Rock sound that captivated the world.

Norman kept its signature sound alive throughout his distinguished career,whether playing solo or with a Who's Who of blues, soul and rock from both sides of the Atlantic, including Chuck Berry,

Jack Bruce, Van Morrison, Peter Green, Buddy Guy, Ruby Turner, and B.B. King, who stated, "Norman is like a white Freddie King", testimony to Norman's merits as a superior guitarist, vocalist and frontman.

Staying true to those genuine, innovative roots that made British Blues a major musical force, regardless of changing trends.

"The best rhythm and blues band in the country"--Jack Bruce

The Beaker Band's unique combination of uncompromising reliability,

professionalism, friendliness and humour have made them one of the best-loved acts from the UK to Scandinavia to the Continent to the Balkans. They treat every show as the performance of their lives, whether at a small venue to The Royal Albert Hall, and loyal fans everywhere look forward to their return.

Norman Beaker: Lead vocal; guitar

Though known primarily as a bluesman, Norman seamlessly moves among the genres of jazz, rock, pop and R&B with

the grace and ease that characterise his performances and original songs. He's not only released a recent album, "We See Us Later" to rave reviews internationally. He's also collaborating with soul legend Steve Ellis (original voice of The Love Affair) on recordings and live performances, as well as with one of the UK's greatest artists, Sonja Kristina of Curved Air.

There weren't many of these gifted first and finest who defined the British Blues genre...and now sadly there are even fewer still.

Of these rare national treasures who still remain, none serve the music more faithfully than Norman Beaker, whose guitar, voice and original songs are as fresh and powerful as when he first

began in the Northern clubs of the '60's...and continue as ageless and enduring as his home city itself.

John Price: Bass, vocals

One of the busiest bass players around, John has recorded and played with Van Morrison, Chris Farlowe, Eric Burdon, Tony Ashton, Tony McPhee, Herbie Goins, Mick Abrahams and others of distinction who know he's the bassist to be counted on for expert playing and professionalism.John has been in the Beaker Band for over 20 years, and fans in the know always look forward to his solos, which are songs in themselves...and always hold a few surprises in store.

Steve Gibson: Percussion

A powerhouse of the kit, Steve began his career at age 15 with local bands. His talent attracted the attention of Ian McNabb as well as The Buzzcocks, with whom he toured extensively in the '90's. Steve's unique ability to play any song or genre has made him one of the most sought-after drummers on the scene. He's played with Maggie Bell, Larry Garner, Irma Thomas, Madeline Bell, Van Morrison, The Starlite Campbell Band, Chris Farlowe, Jack Bruce and many others.

Nick Steed: Keyboards

Gifted keyboardist Nick started playing professionally at 13 and studied A-level Music and Sound Recording at South Manchester College. He gained studio experience at the prestigious Strawberry Studios (Stockport) recording with the BBC Radio 2 Orchestra as well as BBC Wood Lane, London Studios, playing with the BBC Symphony Orchestra for the TV show "Lovejoy". Nick's extensive

experience playing live, recording and touring made him a natural choice for The Norman Beaker Band, and has seen him accompanying Chris Farlowe and Larry Garner.

Nick's good-natured comic flair keeps eyes on him. But his antics are

never at the expense of his competence; he hits all the right notes...even when playing the keys with his head.

The full band includes Kim Nishikawara:

Saxophones; flute and backing vocals

Kim Nishikawara is originally from Vancouver, Canada and now lives in Manchester, England. A professional multi-reeds player for over 30 years. ‘Formal’ training was at Berklee College of Music studying arranging and composition. He has spent many years touring with various artists and live theatre shows.

Recent appearances have been with Chris Farlowe as well as major UK tours with Alan Price “A Night at the Flamingo” and the Norman Beaker Band featuring Jack Bruce.

Over the years has played with the likes of Dominic Halpin and the Honeybees, The Powder Blues Band, Downchild Blues Band, Doc Fingers, Real Gone Rhythm, Long John Baldry. He did the arranging for Michael Buble’s debut album Babalu and played with and ran his band for 3 years.

Kim is well versed in the “Smooth Jazz” style and has recorded his own smooth jazz album “Intuition”. He appears regularly with “Smooth Edge”.

View More>
app-mobile

Download our app or subscribe to our push notifications to get the latest alerts for this artist

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