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Like Florida’s state flower, the orange blossom,
musician JJ Grey’s songs are fascinating, beautiful,
and complex. Both are products of the same ground: the
rich, fertile and ancient soil of the Sunshine State.
Born and raised just outside of Jacksonville, Florida,
Grey comes from a long tradition of Southern musical
storytellers and, like the best of the great Southern
writers, he fills his songs with details that are at
once vivid and personal, political and universal. His
multi-textured music overflows with dynamic rhythms and
thought-provoking lyrics. From raw funk to deep soul,
blues and rock, JJ and his band Mofro deliver devastating
live and recorded performances. Debuting in 2001 with
BLACKWATER , following up in 2004 with LOCHLOOSA (both
albums reissued by Alligator in 2007), Grey steadily
built an intensely loyal following. In 2007, with his
first Alligator release, COUNTRY GHETTO, Grey reached
an even larger audience, doubling both his album sales
and his concert attendance. Now, with his new album,
ORANGE BLOSSOMS, JJ Grey takes another giant step forward.
Orange Blossoms, produced by
long-time cohort Dan Prothero and Grey, was recorded
in north Florida and boasts some of Grey’s most
profound and moving music to date. The album features
12 songs (including 11 Grey originals) inspired by
Grey’s life experiences and visionary
observations. With long-time friend and guitarist Daryl
Hance, bassist/organist Adam Scone, drummer Anthony Cole,
and the Hercules Horns of saxophonist Art Edmaiston and
trumpeter Dennis Marion, Grey moves effortlessly from
gospel-tent fervor to Southern-fried rockers to deeply
emotional soul. ORANGE BLOSSOMS is a groove-driven masterpiece
fueled by JJ’s gritty, smoldering vocals and intense,
funk-infused guitar and keyboard work.
JJ Grey’s songs blend front porch realism with
the best musical and literary traditions of the South.
Whether it is a narrative passed down to him from his
grandmother or the tribulations of a childhood friend,
Grey’s ear for detail rings through in true storytelling
fashion. His voice delivers with an unflinching strength
that makes the personal universal and paints a vivid
portrait of an exact time or place. Like his songs, Grey’s
rich, soulful vocals are forceful and commanding, seemingly
wise and experienced beyond his years.
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