| ALLIGATOR
RECORDS SIGNS RICK ESTRIN & THE NIGHTCATS |
 NEW
CD SET
Alligator
Records is proud to announce the signing of Northern California-based
blues band, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats. For more than 30 years
and nine albums, singer/ harmonica player/ songwriter Estrin co-fronted
the jumping, swinging Little Charlie & The Nightcats, along with
guitarist Little Charlie Baty. Now, with Baty’s recent retirement
from touring, Estrin -- along with the Nightcats longtime rhythm section
of J. Hansen and Lorenzo Farrell and fiery young guitarist Kid Andersen
-- has taken the lead on his own. Rick Estrin & The Nightcats’
sound, while still swinging the blues, is a harmonica-driven, rocking,
guitar-fueled rave-up. The band performs new material as well as the
well-known, well-loved classics from Estrin’s massive catalog.
Rick Estrin ranks among the very best harp players in the blues world.
His work on the reeds is at once deep in the tradition of harmonica
masters Sonny Boy Williamson II and Little Walter Jaco! bs while at
the same time pushing that tradition forward. The Associated Press
called his harp playing, “endlessly impressive.” The great
guitarist Robert Lockwood, Jr. (who was schooled by Robert Johnson
and who played on most of Little Walter’s Chess recordings)
told Estrin, “Little Walter would be very proud of you.”
 Rick’s
seemingly effortless command of the harmonica is matched by his distinctive,
soulful vocals and remarkable original songs. Ever since he started
performing his own material, it has become increasingly clear that
Rick Estrin is a songwriter of unparalleled skill. His quick wit,
self-assured disposition, coifed hair, pencil-thin mustache and sharp
attire inform his songs in a way that has led critics to compare him
to Cab Calloway, Louis Jordan and Willie Dixon.
Besides Estrin’s songwriting and musical skills, he is among
the greatest live showmen around. “People don’t go out
to see people who look like them,” says Rick. “They want
to see something special. I was schooled in this business to be a
showman, and that’s what you get when you come to see me perform.”
The Chicago Sun-Times noted, “It’s tough to stay in your
seat when Estrin and his musical cohorts get cooking.”
Estrin was born in San Francisco, California in 1949. He discovered
a whole new world when his older sister gave him a copy of Ray Charles’
The Genius Sings The Blues when he was 12. Albums from Jimmy Reed,
Champion Jack Dupree, Mose Allison, Nina Simone and others soon followed.
By the time he was a teenager in a racially mixed school, Estrin completely
identified with the urban, African-American culture surrounding him.
Estrin got his first harmonica at age 15, and by age 18 was proficient
enough to begin sitting in at black clubs around the city. He moved
to Chicago and worked! with bl uesmen Johnny Young, Eddie Taylor,
Sam Lay and Johnny Littlejohn before meeting and jamming with Muddy
Waters. In fact, Muddy wanted Estrin join his band, but due to nothing
more than some minor communication problem, it never happened.
Rick eventually met Little Charlie Baty and formed Little Charlie
& The Nightcats. For the next 30 years, the band barnstormed around
the globe, honing their skills and entertaining countless people.
Now, as Rick Estrin & The Nightcats prepare to release their debut
CD and wind their way around the country, they’ll continue bringing
their fresh, well-loved sound to fans both old and new, packing clubs
and dance floors wherever they go.
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