There are a number of Canadian blues musicians who have a following from coast to coast. Names like Colin James, Dutch Mason, the Downchild Blues Band, Jeff Healey, and the Powder Blues Band jump to mind.

Not only are they talented musicians, they have also paid their dues and worked hard to reach their current status.

Then there are others, like Quebec-based blues singer and songwriter Bob Walsh, who are equally talented, charismatic, and have worked just as hard as any other musician on the circuit. Walsh is a celebrity, respected to the point where he is practically an icon in his home province. Now is the time for the rest of the country to take notice and acknowledge one of the premier performers in the industry.

The first thing you notice about Walsh is the incredible power of his voice and how it commands your attention. It is a voice most other performers envy and it is a voice that lends itself perfectly to the emotion and integrity of the blues.

Brian Slack of Zeb Productions, an artist management firm based in Pierrefonds, Quebec puts it rather succinctly.

"He's probably got the best pipes in Montreal, or maybe all of Quebec."

It's a gift Walsh has taken years to learn how to exploit. A versatile artist who is equally comfortable singing jazz, country, folk and rock and roll, as well as the blues, he has played countless venues throughout the province for decades now. If there is one thing he has learned as an artist, it's the importance of remaining true to yourself. The results are always fresh and always entertaining.

"I've always come from the heart," he says. "It's for my simple enjoyment and nobody else's because if I don't find myself getting into it, how the hell do I expect anybody else to get into it?

"You can't tell a painter what colours to use when he's painting or what chisel to use when he's sculpting. You can't tell a singer where to go when he's singing. He's just got to close his eyes and go for it. That's how he's going to get to the bottom of the story. As far as my vocals go, I get into it and lose myself in a piece more easily than I used to. The more you do it, the better it gets. Just getting into a song and letting it go where it wants to go, once you've reached that level of experience, things have a tendency not to stay the same."

And Walsh certainly has the experience. Based on his earliest memories, simply hearing the music was exciting and when he started to pick up a guitar and play, he always derived a sense of accomplishment.

"When I started listening to the radio at a young age," he says, "listening to guys like Ray Charles, there was something about it that caught my attention. I don't know if you can actually describe what it is. It wasn't long after that I started playing music myself. We leaned into things like country and western, which is very much blues in itself.

"There was always a feeling of contentment after an evening of playing and singing, whether it be blues or other styles, it just made me feel good. It was more or less a therapy."

As time went on, Walsh spent many a night solo with his guitar, an exercise that eventually helped him define his musical passions.

"I started out alone and that's the way it went for a few years before I started playing with other people," recalls Walsh. "It was only later on when I started playing the bar scene that I actually got into playing the blues."

Walsh maintains the whole ritual of the live performance remains the most enjoyable aspect of his profession, everything from the details and complexities of the preparation to the spontaneity associated with performing with others on stage.

"The rehearsals are pretty neat" he says, "including getting together with the guys. It's sort of a family affair. To lean into the music together and get each other off is really nice."

Walsh has now performed with so many artists in Canada, he finds it difficult to keep a concise list of those who have made the biggest impression. After all, when it comes to "family", it's tough to play favourites. Nonetheless, several names do stand out for various reasons.

"I've got a big thing for Jimmy James," says Walsh referring to the phenomenal Quebec guitar virtuoso. "There's another guy from Quebec City named Gilles Sioui, he's dynamite. There's Colin James and you can't get away from that. I used to know this guy from out west who used to come in (to Quebec). His name was Champagne Charlie. He played a steel guitar and had a really good blues act going. There's the Downchild Blues Band, and the Powder Blues Band from out west, they're a beautiful band with excellent musicians. And Carlos del Junco, good lord, there's an animal for you!"

Tyler-Watson returned the favour by laying down some back-up vocals for Walsh's next CD, scheduled for release in late October, 2002. This effort marks a return to a more traditional blues style including covers from such notables as Paul Butterfield, the Allman Brothers, and the Powder Blues Band. The recording will feature Jean Cyr on bass, Christian Malette on guitar, Jean-Fernand Girard playing piano, both Denis Courchesne and Bernard Deslauriers on drums, and the combined talents of Pierre Belisle and Bob Stagg on keyboards. A four-piece horn section will assuredly add depth and texture.

Talk to Walsh about music, and you'll quickly discover he does not put a lot of stock in labels or categories for different styles or genres. It is a language unto itself, a personal expression of the soul. It manifests itself in different musical forms and structures, the blues merely being one of them. "Basically (the blues) is a folk music," says Walsh. "It's the people's music. All music seems to have the same basic root. It comes from the heart whether you like it or not. With the arrival of electrical instruments, it seems to get louder but the music comes from the same place, the heart."

Walsh spent most of the early part of his career living in Quebec City but he eventually uprooted and moved to Montreal in 1989. It was a calculated decision and it has paid dividends. He is also quick to credit his management team of the past five years at Les Productions du Singe Bleu.

"It was just to get into the thick of things," says Walsh. "Quebec City was good for me since I was born there and I spent 15 to 20 years there. I worked all over the province from Quebec City but it was good to move here because of the media. I started getting more TV gigs and started being seen by the local population. It's worked beautifully."

Since the move, Walsh has issued four CDs, performed in two motion pictures, has done a television special, has toured Europe, and has received the exposure he has so rightfully earned after years of playing bars and other smaller venues.

The one-hour television special is particularly impressive given the grandiose nature of the production and the fact he was directly in the spotlight performing a number of demanding standards like "Summertime", "Fever", and "What a Wonderful World". The veteran performer admits there was an element of intimidation considering the size of the orchestra he was working with, and the scope of the television audience. Like a true professional, though, he pulled it off impressively.

"I was so nervous," says Walsh. "I watched that show myself. I had to because I didn't remember it. I was a pack of nerves because there were 80 musicians behind me and there's no time to stop everybody and start all over again. I screwed up in a couple of places but it wasn't as bad as I thought it might have been.

"Give me another set of shows to do like that and I'll do it polished. We did two nights and the second night was a mind-blower. I was really at ease the second night and the place just went wild."

After decades of performing primarily within the boundaries of his home province, Walsh finally began to pursue work outside of Quebec. Surprisingly, his focus has not been on the rest of North America. His first series of American concerts only took place earlier in 2002. Europe, however, is a frontier he has had the pleasure of exploring several times including Switzerland and France.

"That was beautiful," says Walsh with a distinct fondness. "They love it there. I can honestly say that from one place to the other, people are drawn because there is a blues show there. As far as I'm concerned, I feel at home anywhere. It's an amazing thing that you can go so far way, across the ocean, and still get the same vibe from a crowd."

Walsh's first recording was a self-titled effort issued in 1996. It was followed by "Bob Walsh en spectacle/Live", an acoustic project entitled "Bob Walsh et le Quatour ˆ cordes Allard", and his latest release with a focus on jazz standards, "Unforgettable Songs".

Each of the CDs reflects the versatility mentioned earlier. "Bob Walsh et le Quatour ˆ cordes Allard" was a particularly bold project and developed from his appreciation for the results gained during those acoustic performances at small venues throughout the years.

"Because of the size of the places we were playing, we had to stay as basic as possible," says Walsh, "and the acoustic guitar is the nicest guitar you can have when you're being followed by a bass player and a harmonica player. It's really warm.

"Electric guitar tends to get heavy and the minute you put a drummer in there, the roof starts to lift a bit and it gets hard on the ears. The feeling with an acoustic is better by a long shot because of the nuances you can give to a melody. When the volume is cranked up, you tend to just keep screaming until the tune is over whereas you can actually sing when you are playing on a acoustic guitar."

At age 54, Walsh is showing no signs of slowing down. In addition to the new CD nearing completion, he has just spent a hectic summer touring the festival circuit. His three-piece ensemble concentrates on acoustic performances while a five or six-piece outfit pumps out electric Chicago-style blues. And he's loving every minute of it.

"If this ever feels like work, I quit."

© Copyright 2002 Feature by Baron Bedesky