Jay Tamkin Band

Jay Tamkin Band

Jay Tamkin Band is a blues-based rock group led by West Country guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Jay Tamkin. The project centres on Tamkin’s songwriting and guitar work, with music that draws on blues, rock, funk and acoustic-flavoured Latino styles. The band records for Wienerworld, with the debut album Sorted described by Tamkin as a document of his musical development so far.

Style and influences

The band’s sound is rooted in the blues, with influences from Stevie Ray Vaughan, Walter Trout, Albert King and Freddie King. Tamkin also names Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen as an important influence on the jazz side. His playing is associated with guitar-led blues rock, and the material is said to be built around real-life stories and personal experiences.

Background

Tamkin spends six years with the Devon Youth Jazz Orchestra as principal bass player, where he combines music theory and practice and works alongside musicians including Jools Holland, Dennis Rollins and Roy Ayers. He also cites Paul Jones’s BBC2 blues programme as an early inspiration. Among the players who shape his approach are Popa Chubby and Buddy Whittington, and he plays with both of them.

Line-up

The band consists of Jay Tamkin on guitar, vocals and keys, Lars Pettison on bass guitar and vocals, and Nick Ramos Pinto on drums.

Release and reception

Sorted is the band’s debut album. Classic Rock magazine comments on its cover in relation to the Madchester scene and praises Tamkin’s instinctive guitar work and rhythmic feel. The album presents a mix of styles, but blues remains at its core.