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Jimmy, 18, recorded three albums, respectively, in 2003, 2004 and 2005
At the age of 11, Jimmy was invited to join Jeff Healey onstage.
Jimmy is a very advanced and relaxed traditional acoustic blues guitar player.
He burst onto the scene on BB King’s birthday of all times ... Sept. 16, 1990.
Inspired by Robert Johnson, Jimmy taught himself to play and sing by interpreting by sight and sound but in his own natural style.
In his early teens, he had stellar teachers including sought after professionals such as Rick Fines and more recently Juno award winner Jack de Keyzer.
Jimmy’s CDs are top sellers at festivals and he receives airplay worldwide.
Regarding awards, Jimmy enjoys:
a 2005 Juno Nomination for Blues Album of the Year;
a 2005 Canadian Indie Award for Favourite Blues Artist;
a 2004 Canadian Indie Award for Favourite Blues Artist;
a 2004 Canadian Maple Blues Award for Best New Artist;
a 2004 CBC Galaxie Rising Star Award and
the 2004 Dare Arts Children For Peace Leadership Award.
Jimmy's savvy blues style commands your attention but his genuine personality shines as he makes friends with his audience.
He has confidence and stage presence way beyond his tender years and an abundance of performing skills in his bag of tools.
You wonder while cast under his spell where someone so young can feel the blues so deep. His soul is not mimicked as he reels back, squints and grimaces as his voice covers the dynamic range of a blues holler back to a gentled vibrato whisper all in a moment so effortlessly.
Not a stranger to other instruments, Jimmy also plays harmonica, penny whistle and has even tackled a Hammond B3 organ while on stage.
Here's what some people are saying:
"This boy has everything it takes. ...The voice he’s got and the way he plays, he’s already there. I’ve never seen a kid like this, sing like this, before. That’s the truth!"
- Legendary blues guitarist Hubert Sumlin.
"The opening chords showed that the boy is not simply a wunderkind, but an exceptionally brilliant phenomenon in the world of blues and rock. His incredible guitar technique and his strong free-flowing vocal skills, along with his volcanic temperament, blew the audience away."
- The Koktebel Resistance, Ukraine.
"Jimmy is life-changingly good. He has the grace and spirit to match his exceptional talent, and I feel he's got the potential to make a huge contribution to the world with his music. It's extremely heartening to meet such a gifted and focused young musician."
- Colin Linden - Musician / Producer.
"What struck me immediately (and it's something that I've only seen perhaps three or four times in my life) is a young player who has "THE" feel. This has nothing to do with acquired skill, either instrumental or vocal, and certainly nothing to do with the ability to make money or even become famous. It's that absolutely rare quality called 'genius'. I think the kid has it."
- Rick Fielding, CIUT's Acoustic Workshop.
"Curtis Salgado once told me that there are probably tens of thousands of high school kids that can sing like Jonny Lang, but just give him one that can sing like Bobby Blue Bland. Curtis, meet Jimmy ... - and he's not anywhere near high school age! I wasn't prepared for the blast of Soul I heard coming out of this diminutive dynamo."
- Al Kirkcaldy, CFFF's Blue In The Face.
Jimmy turned 11 the night he pulled the coup that launched his career in Toronto and, shortly after, the rest of the country.
He'd been playing since he was 10, all blues, when he found himself plugged in and wailing away, busking outside Jeff Healey's club in Toronto.
It was a Thursday, open jam night, and all the players kept telling Healey about this hot-shot guitar-player kid wearing a fedora and blowing everybody away. He was out there a couple of hours before Healey took an interest.
That magical night at Jeff Healey's club started Jimmy on a road that's already led him through Europe, Japan and Mexico.
He did a New Orleans CBC gig but the rest of the US remains on a to-do list.
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