The astonishing Sam Slater
I set myself a rule when working up ideas for the Lives in Music podcast series. Nobody under 50, please, otherwise the experiences and perspectives I hoped to glean might not be juicy enough. Then, I promptly broke my rule for Sam Slater. Sam is the youngest person featured in this series of Lives in Music, but he's packed an awful lot into his (relatively) tender years. I've known him for ages, since he first emerged in a lovely guitar trio, Trio Gitano, one of whose members, Sophia Johnson, is now earning rave reviews playing country and bluegrass in Austin Texas. Sam moved on into Jazz and World music to great effect. A dab hand on guitar and other stringed instruments like the Oud, Sam has a bewildering range of activities, not counting his Jazz Label Stoney Lane, which documents some of the finest players in the West Midlands region of the UK. John broke out both guitar and oud to illustrate a couple of points. It was a sheer delight to listen. Links Stoney Lane Records TG Collective Paco De Lucia The Oud Lives in Music The Lives in Music series celebrates people who have spent a lifetime in music. They may be famous; they may be people who have spent their lives working in the background for the love of it. They all have stories. The theme music for this series is by Big Q Fish. 'Boksburg Jive Toon' was written by Brian Neil, and recorded at the Jam House, Birmingham, in 2017. Don't forget to subscribe!