Mississippi Heat

Mississippi Heat

Biography:
TRADITIONAL BLUES WITH A UNIQUE SOUND. . . As band leader and composer, Pierre's vision has never wavered since he founded his band in 1991. His mantra is clear and focused. The band has always had an ensemble sound: all musicians are featured and welcome to contribute on stage and on recordings. His music is traditional because it is steeped in Chicago's golden sounds of the 1950's, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Jimmy Rogers, all the great harp players... Big and Little Walter, The Sonny Boy Williamsons, Junior Wells, George Smith, and many extraordinary contemporaries such as Kim Wilson, Rod Piazza and Paul deLay. On the other hand, Pierre's blues is unique because he dislikes to tread on old beaten paths. He always writes new stuff.



MISSISSIPPI HEAT emerged in 1991 on a night at the Cafe Lura in Chicago. Guitarist Jon McDonald invited Pierre to play harp for him with Robert Covington on drums and vocals. It was a great night, with a raucous crowd in this Polish neighborhood. Pierre looked happy, and the band played with such inspiration that his brother Michel was drawn to say he would find gigs with little efforts. A man of his word, Michel did find gigs for the band. He was wrong about the effort part, but was right about the fact that he could manage such a band. ... Pierre and the Heat have now finished 7 CDs (as well as a DVD for Delmark Records in 2005).



Some of their recordings have won awards such as "BEST CHICAGO BLUES CD OF THE YEAR" and "BEST BLUES PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR" (e.g., Handyman, and Footprints On The Ceiling by Real Blues Magazine ).



Over the years., MISSISSIPPI HEAT has been the subject of several TV and movie features. French TV has released a documentary on Blues featuring the band., and our vocalist for a prestigious program called ARTE. Soon after a concert was filmed in Montreal., Canada., and was sold to an Italian TV company. French Canadian TV also featured Pierre and his brother-manager Michel on one of their regular programs called "BAISERS D' AMERIQUE". This half-hour segment was viewed in 35 countries worldwide. MISSISSIPPI HEAT has also been featured in countless trade magazines such as Living Blues and Blues Review.