Big Jon Short
Gig Seeker Pro

Big Jon Short

Worcester, Massachusetts, United States | Established. Jan 01, 1997 | SELF

Worcester, Massachusetts, United States | SELF
Established on Jan, 1997
Solo Blues Americana

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Jon Short's big road blues (quotes, full article below)"

"Influenced by a style that is steeped in the tradition of southern bluesmen who played in the era before World War II, Short stomps through his tunes on a National Reso-Phonic Delphi steel-bodied resonator guitar. He uses open and standard tunings, as well as finger-picking techniques and a bottle slide."

"But it is performing solo that Short says allows him to stay truest to the genre he is passionate about, constantly rotating his intake of slide guitar masters Charley Patton, Son House, Bukka White and Robert Johnson. He also got his first studio solo disc out called Have Blues Will Travel Volume 2." - Worcester Magazine - 7/28/05


"Awards"

2010 & 2008 International Blues Challenge Semi-Finalist

2010 Lyon/Pitchford Cigarbox Award

Voted "Best Blues Musician" by Worcester Magazine: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

Selected as one of Pulse Magazine's "27 to watch in 2007"

Selected as Downstate NY Blues Society's "Artist of the month" - January 2007

Winner of 4 Worcester Magazine 2006 "Turtle Boy" Awards for:

Blues Musician:
Jon Short

Blues/R&B/Swing Band:
Jon Short & The Barrelhouse Ramblers (write in votes)

Most Improved:
Jon Short

Most Underrated Band:
Jon Short & The Barrelhouse Ramblers

Also:

The Pulse Magazine
2006 Music Awards:

Best Blues Act - Blues Foundation, Worcester Magazine, The Pulse Magazine, Raising The Blues, Ltd., Downstate NY Blue


"Jon Short's big road blues (full article)"

By Charlene Arsenault

It’s odd to hear that someone would fall in love with the blues after hearing U2.

But, indirectly, that’s what happened to Jon Short. He was passionate about music his whole life, but everything changed after he caught the U2 film Rattle and Hum. “That was the first time I saw a rock concert,” says Short, “and their performances are always emotional and inspiring. In the film, they show their meeting, recording and performances with B.B. King. I know that I heard the blues before that, but it was then that I fell in love with the sound, feeling and expressive nature of blues music.”

Influenced by a style that is steeped in the tradition of southern bluesmen who played in the era before World War II, Short stomps through his tunes on a National Reso-Phonic Delphi steel-bodied resonator guitar. He uses open and standard tunings, as well as finger-picking techniques and a bottle slide. “I feel like my approach to this type of performance is based on the raw emotion and expression that suits these types of songs,” says Short, “and my vocal range — from butter-soft to the ‘100-yard howl’ — is what first made me feel most comfortable performing this style of music.”

It took some time to get here, though. Music was always around him. Both of Short’s parents played instruments, and singing in the house was standard. Within a month of seeing Rattle and Hum, he bought a guitar and tried to learn some chords and scales. It wasn’t as easy as the jolly, swaying B.B. made it look. Plus, Short thought he was going to be a pro ball player. So he dropped the guitar until he was 17. Around that time, his brother took off for college, where he learned the guitar and bass. When he’d stop home, he’d teach Short one chord to go over until the next visit. By the time Short moved to Worcester to go to Assumption College, he says he knew three chords and three songs. At school, he dislocated his shoulder. That ended his baseball career. Plus, he almost failed out of school. At home, his brother gave him his guitar back, and it renewed his interest in playing.

Knowing only three chords blossomed into living and breathing the guitar. In college, he started bands such as Sweet Cheese. “I practiced every waking hour,” says Short, “and spent all of my free time figuring out things by ear and learning and jamming with friends.” Tom Doherty of Phineas Gage shared his understanding of blues licks and scales with Short.

As more of a self-inflicted education, Short headed cross-country in 1998, hitting the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame, Buddy Guy’s club in Chicago, B.B. King’s in Hollywood and Memphis, as well as Graceland and Sun Studios. Lightin’ Hopkins, Elmore James, Bukka White and Mississippi John Hurt were regulars on his car radio. And he picked up his first bottleneck slide on that trip.

Back in Worcester, he played wherever and whenever he could — house parties, college campuses and Tuesday nights at Gilrein’s. He formed the house band at The Above Club. He also played acoustic and electric in Whiskey River. Later, he met with upright bass player Conrad Mylnarski and drummer Josh Teter to form 3 Legg’d Dog.

“After two years of playing weekly at The Above Club,” says Short, who by that time was dubbed “Mississippi” Jon Short, “I started my master’s degree in education, coached the high school city-wide lacrosse team for four years, and took some time off from performing.”

Teter instigated Short’s return to music, suggesting they put together a project for Monday nights at Tammany Hall. With Jeff Burch, and Short’s new beat-up Fender Rhodes, they formed The Late Messengers, a hard bop trio that would eventually evolve into a five-piece funk/jazz/fusion band that got a lot of attention in the area. The band broke up in January, and Short has since concentrated a lot on his solo work. Occasionally, he’ll book a gig as Jon Short and The Barrelhouse Ramblers and also plays in the jam band Juicyfruit (which includes members of Oak Street). “I’m hoping to add a particular piano player and harmonica,” says Short, “in order to stretch out from the Delta to Memphis and Chicago-style blues.”

But it is performing solo that Short says allows him to stay truest to the genre he is passionate about, constantly rotating his intake of slide guitar masters Charley Patton, Son House, Bukka White and Robert Johnson. He also got his first studio solo disc out called Have Blues Will Travel Volume 2.

“This has given me the chance to pursue my passion for the blues as an older and more accomplished player,” says Short. “I have come to realize a particular fondness and comfortability with Delta- and Piedmont-style blues. The combination of raw expressive delivery and intricate guitar work of pre-war southern country blues performers has put a spell on me and shown me a lifelong road that I feel good to be on."



- Worcester Magazine - 7/28/05


"Art Tipaldi's review of "Backporch Blues""

Worcester’s Jon Short may be a grade school teacher by day, but give him a guitar and Short will teach anyone listening his passion: the pre-war country blues of Son House, Charley Patton or Mississippi John Hurt.
Short may be well known from his days as a musical staple at Gilrein’s, from 1998 until it closed down in 2002.
On this debut disc, Short does something every blues lover must accomplish - he packs his National Steel guitar and travels to the home of the blues - Memphis. There, he recorded in Sam Phillips Recording in April 2006.
These nine songs showcase his understanding of the country blues idiom. Songs like the opener, “Knoxville Blues,” have Short and harmonica player Brandon Santini combining classic lines from Robert Johnson’s “Terraplane Blues” with high flyin’ acoustic guitar work.
On “Dirty Stay-Out,” Short finger picks and sings like Blind Willie McTell-meets-Tommy Johnson. On “Jackson & 44,” Short utilizes a similar ascending bass riff in his drivin’ guitar work as Santini flies up and down the reeds of his acoustic harmonica.
By recording “Jinx Blues” and “Pony Blues,” Short honors two greats of country blues, Son House and Charley Patton respectively. Short ups the tempo on both tunes and adds Santini’s harmonica to give a Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry atmosphere to the tunes.
Most of the songs feature Short’s quick paced playing, which may be a result of only having one day at the Sam Phillips Studios. He also includes a song, “100 Yard Howl,” recorded live on Beale Street at the historic Mr. Handy’s Blues Hall. Here he shows off the strapping electric slide guitar that kept him working the blues at Gilrein’s all those years.
Throughout the record, I found myself reminded of the guitar playing on early Tom Rush records, and the vocals of Catfish Keith. At 30 years old, Short is smart enough to realize that he must write his own songs and not merely Xerox country blues classics. That dedication to, and love of this pre-war genre, should make local blues fans excited about where Short will take his music.

- Art Tipaldi - Boston Blues Society - www.bostonblues.com


""Short and Santini are explosive""

"It’s nothing but the blues from Jon Short & Brandon Santini, a National steel and harmonica duo who traveled from Massachusetts to Memphis to record the self-released Backporch Blues with Sun guitar legend Roland Janes at the board. Short and Santini are explosive: Raucous rhythms, slashing slide, and breathless harp fill the disc. Short tackles Charley Patton’s “Pony Blues” and Son House’s “Jinx Blues” credibly; otherwise, the solid songs are all originals, with the spirit of prewar blues infusing numbers such as “Dirty Stay-Out” and “Knoxville Blues”, which cites lyrics from Robert Johnson and Howlin’ Wolf."

Tom Hyslop
Blues Bytes
Blues Revue
Aug/Sept 2007
- Blues Revue Magazine


"Reviews"

"What makes The Late Messengers special is how they combine four or five musical worlds that rarely meet. Jazz and blues heads can dig on the smart solos of Smith and keyboardist Jon Short, not to mention the Howlin’ Wolf and Jimmy Smith songs the band has up its sleeve. Jam band fans can dance to the interlocking funk and reggae grooves of drummer Josh Teter and bassist Jeff Burch. And pop lovers can appreciate Short’s strong, soulful vocals – something all too often lacking in local bands of all stripes and in the jam band world at large. "

"...Playing two weekly gigs has given The Late Messengers a near-telepathic level of communication while on the bandstand. Just as one of the organ or guitar solos are winding down, you’ll catch the rhythm section offer a perfect, subtle change in the groove without a moment’s hesitation."

Winners of the Reader’s Pick for “Best New Band” in 2004 – Worcester Magazine

Jambalya Jam
Worcester Phoenix - 12/11/98

"...The Jambalaya Jam features the Outcats, who include wildman accordionist J.J. Chenevert, Bob Jordan, stand-up bassist Conrad Mylnarski, and former Junior Brown drummer Bill Nadeau, along with Jason James and the Bay State Houserockers and the Mississippi Jon Short Blues Band tonight at 9:30 p.m. at the Above Club, 264 Park Avenue, Worcester." - Worcester Magazine, Worcester Phoenix


"Telling, singing stories of the blues"

Thursday, November 3, 2005
Telling, singing the stories of the blues

By Scott McClennan Entertainment Columnist


Jon Short is a teacher. But it’s not his work with sixth-graders at Worcester’s Multiple Intelligences School that concerns us here.

Rather, it is Short’s ability to pass along the story of the blues. Short specializes in the music made by pre-war blues masters such as Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Bukka White, Skip James, Son House, Tommy Johnson and the like.

Yet drop into one of Short’s weekly gigs at Vincent’s in Worcester, and the lesson is more alive than academic. Short picks away at various resonator and acoustic guitars with hypnotic passion, typically feeling his way through chords with his eyes closed and feet stomping time on the floorboards. When he sings, Short’s voice wanders from the place it normally inhabits as a 29-year-old, white and college-educated man and goes in search of the lonelier, more rural tones his inspirations devised. Short performs this balancing act of being a young man singing ancient music every Sunday at Vincent’s, continuing work that began when this self-taught guitarist took up residence in Gilrein’s nightclub playing acoustic sets around the performances of featured acts.

Short wears many musical hats around Worcester. He plays the blues as a solo artist, in duos and in trios. He also plays keyboards in the band Oak Street. But his musical heart rests most comfortably in the blues.

Short had fallen for old blues music while a student at Assumption College. When he started playing the music, not may of his peers shared the depth of his love for the music.

“My friends knew the Grateful Dead versions of Lightnin’ Hopkins songs, but that was the extent of it,” he said.

During a summer break in his studies, Short took his obsession on the road and drove across the country carrying with him two pieces of music, one record by Lightnin’ Hopkins, and one by Mississippi John Hurt. The trip became one of endless tutorials and field studies of places where the blues was born.

He returned to Worcester broke. So he went to the Worcester Common and played his acoustic blues, collecting money from passers-by and nabbing free lunches from the hot dog vendors who saw their business spike whenever he played.

From the busking, Short found a residency in 1998 at Gilrein’s, the main blues room in Worcester until its closing in 2002. There he met a fellow traveler in Jason James, another young guitar player immersed in ancient forms.

“Jason saw me at Gilrein’s and came up to me and asked, ‘How do you know about this stuff?’ We talked a lot about the music. He affirmed for me that what I was doing was something sane,” Short recalled.

Short played all around Worcester, and as a denizen of The Above Club fell in with the more jazz-oriented Late Messengers and roots rocking Whiskey River, projects that expanded his musical reach beyond the traditional blues.

After finishing a master’s degree program, Short rededicated himself to the blues.

“When I finished my master’s, my family gave me a gift of my first resonator guitar. I started playing opening sets for the Late Messengers, and then I’d play during the set breaks,” Short said.

And the digging began again.

Short listened to all the acoustic blues from the ’30s and ’40s he could find. He’s looked for clues about the tradition from blues-revival records of the ’60s and backpedaled. He found video footage of performers and studied their playing techniques. And he acquainted himself with modern masters such as Paul Rishell and Corey Harris.

And he traveled again, playing at festivals in Clarksdale, Miss., and Memphis, Tenn.

The experiences and studies have this far yielded two recordings, the most recent being “Have Blues Will Travel-Volume 2.” Short is packing copies of the new album with him at his weekly gigs at Vincent’s, and designated this weekend’s appearance a “CD-release” show.

The record opens with Leroy Carr’s “How Long Blues” and proceeds through numbers by Robert Johnson and Tommy Johnson before hitting “Knoxville Blues,” a bit of angst and sorrow from a bedraggled soul. The song is Short’s own, and the original composition sits comfortably alongside the historic pieces. Short has four other originals included in the 15-song set, and in each case shows how comfortable he is in the tradition.

“I got a record by Paul Rishell and Annie Raines and listened closely to Paul Rishell. He is an excellent interpreter and skilled writer. When I compared the songs he did that I’ve heard 3,000 times to the ones they had written, both were very close in form,” Short said. “I saw how you can write in a tradition using its vocabulary and still be original.”

Short’s own originals demonstrate a facility with the various nuances of the acoustic blues. He latched onto the various regional overtones and different guitar-picking styles spread across the - Telegram & Gazette - 11/3/05


"...hypnotic passion"

(Selection, full article below)
Thursday, November 3, 2005
Telling, singing the stories of the blues

By Scott McClennan Entertainment Columnist


...Short picks away at various resonator and acoustic guitars with hypnotic passion, typically feeling his way through chords with his eyes closed and feet stomping time on the floorboards. When he sings, Short’s voice wanders from the place it normally inhabits as a 29-year-old, white and college-educated man and goes in search of the lonelier, more rural tones his inspirations devised.

...Short’s own originals demonstrate a facility with the various nuances of the acoustic blues. He latched onto the various regional overtones and different guitar-picking styles spread across the acoustic blues for fine results. If Short did not point out his own tunes during a live set, most listeners would simply assume he was playing another tune from the past.
- Telegram & Gazette - 11/3/05


"Reviews"

"What makes The Late Messengers special is how they combine four or five musical worlds that rarely meet. Jazz and blues heads can dig on the smart solos of Smith and keyboardist Jon Short, not to mention the Howlin’ Wolf and Jimmy Smith songs the band has up its sleeve. Jam band fans can dance to the interlocking funk and reggae grooves of drummer Josh Teter and bassist Jeff Burch. And pop lovers can appreciate Short’s strong, soulful vocals – something all too often lacking in local bands of all stripes and in the jam band world at large. "

"...Playing two weekly gigs has given The Late Messengers a near-telepathic level of communication while on the bandstand. Just as one of the organ or guitar solos are winding down, you’ll catch the rhythm section offer a perfect, subtle change in the groove without a moment’s hesitation."

Winners of the Reader’s Pick for “Best New Band” in 2004 – Worcester Magazine

Jambalya Jam
Worcester Phoenix - 12/11/98

"...The Jambalaya Jam features the Outcats, who include wildman accordionist J.J. Chenevert, Bob Jordan, stand-up bassist Conrad Mylnarski, and former Junior Brown drummer Bill Nadeau, along with Jason James and the Bay State Houserockers and the Mississippi Jon Short Blues Band tonight at 9:30 p.m. at the Above Club, 264 Park Avenue, Worcester." - Worcester Magazine, Worcester Phoenix


"Critical acclaim for HAVE BLUES, WILL TRAVEL - volume 2"

...The record opens with Leroy Carr’s “How Long Blues” and proceeds through numbers by Robert Johnson and Tommy Johnson before hitting “Knoxville Blues,” a bit of angst and sorrow from a bedraggled soul. The song is Short’s own, and the original composition sits comfortably alongside the historic pieces. Short has four other originals included in the 15-song set, and in each case shows how comfortable he is in the tradition.


“This is the disc for fans of rustic acoustic blues. Short wails on resonator guitar and invokes the spirit of Robert Johnson and the like with his original tunes and interpretations of Delta and Piedmont classics.”
Telegram & Gazette, 12/8/05
- Telegram & Gazette - 11/3/05 & 12/8/05


"Review of "HAVE BLUES, WILL TRAVEL - volume 1" & "Mississippi to Massachusetts 2005""

*The following review was originally written in Polish. The text here is the first translation I have been able to encounter.



The following is the white young man in love with acoustics, and in
addition very talented with his guitar and is getting widespread
rapport from Delta across Piedmont to Chicago. The second of his CD's
engaged at a time of many concerts is decidedly better. It seems that
popularity is falling on him. Jon, in spite of coming from
Massachusetts, the climate and music of Delta are everything to him as
heard played by his guitar. And it is this instrument that appears to
be a very good workshop instrumentally and determines the value of both
CD;s.
- Two J Blues - Poland


"Critical acclaim for HAVE BLUES, WILL TRAVEL - volume 2"

...The record opens with Leroy Carr’s “How Long Blues” and proceeds through numbers by Robert Johnson and Tommy Johnson before hitting “Knoxville Blues,” a bit of angst and sorrow from a bedraggled soul. The song is Short’s own, and the original composition sits comfortably alongside the historic pieces. Short has four other originals included in the 15-song set, and in each case shows how comfortable he is in the tradition.


“This is the disc for fans of rustic acoustic blues. Short wails on resonator guitar and invokes the spirit of Robert Johnson and the like with his original tunes and interpretations of Delta and Piedmont classics.”
Telegram & Gazette, 12/8/05
- Telegram & Gazette - 11/3/05 & 12/8/05


Discography

Big Jon Short - Live at The Stomping Ground - 2013
Big Jon Short - Song & Play Party 2013
Big Jon Short - 34 Special - 2012
Big Eyed Rabbit - Band debut EP - 2012
Big Jon Short - Folk, Blues for Children - 2011
Big Jon Short - Live from The Shack at Vincent's - 2011
Big Shorty - 2010
Jon Short - Live from The Shack at Vincent's - 2009
Jon Short - Live at Terra Blues, NYC - 2008
Jon Short & Keith Carter - "Three Different Ways" - 2007
Jon Short & Brandan Santini - BACKPORCH BLUES - Sam Phillips Session - 7/28/06
Jon Short & The Barrelhouse Ramblers - 3/30/06
HAVE BLUES, WILL TRAVEL, volume 2 - 2005.
Mississippi to Massachusetts Spring 2005 - live recording
HAVE BLUES, WILL TRAVEL, volume 1 - 2005.
The Late Messengers - 2004.

Radio Airplay:
XM Radio - "Bluesville" with Bill Wax
100.7 FM WZLX "Blues on Sunday" with Carter Alan (Boston, MA)
92.9 FM WBOS (Boston, MA)
90.9 FM WBUR Radio Boston
90.7 FM WFUV (Fordham U., NYC)
89.1 FM WNYU (NYU, NYC)
90.5 FM WICN (Worcester, MA)
91.3 FM WCUW (Worcester, MA)
88.9 FM Radio Città Aperta, Mojo Station & So What! (Roma, Italia)
John Sinclair Radio Show - Radio Free Amsterdam

Photos

Bio

Armed with foot percussion, a National Reso-phonic Guitar and Lowebow cigar-box reso-hillharp, Big Jon Short's high energy solo performances bring a foot-stomping Country Blues show that taps into the heart of the songs, regional styles, and folklore of the Blues and its importance to American music. Based in the Northeast US, he travels and performs between 150-200 shows per year in BBQ joints, blues rooms and festivals from Massachusetts to Mississippi. With performing experience in fifteen states, and five countries over the last ten years he has been able to perform at some of the best known venues for Blues music and for more than two years he held a residency at the famed Terra Blues in NYC - all while continuing his work as a public school teacher, running Blues in Schools programs and workshops and was recently awarded the 2010 Worcester Cultural Commission Artist Fellowship.

Shared stage/festivals/opened for:
David "HoneyBoy" Edwards, John Hammond, Taj Mahal, Paul Rishell & Annie Raines, Rory Block, Charlie Musselwhite, Elvin Bishop, Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers, Shemeika Copeland, Henry Butler, Booker T. Jones, James "Superchikan" Johnson, Big George Brock & the Houserockers, Robert Belfour, LC Ulmer, Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, Terry "Harmonica" Bean, North Mississippi All Stars, Bobby Rush, Jimbo Mathus, Rev.Peyton's Big Damn Band, James Montgomery, Duke Robillard, Lightnin' Malcolm, Cedric Burnside, Kent Burnside, Troy Gonyea, Kerry Kearney, Reggie Walley, Toni Lynn Washington, Willie King & the Liberators, John Sinclair, Billy Gibson Band, Brandon Santini, Michael Powers, Ray Shinnery, Saron Crenshaw, Michael Hill, Slam Allen, Frank Morey & His Band, Jeff Pitchell & Texas Flood, Chris Fitz Band, Seth Yacavone, Junior Brown, Pete Huttlinger, Ed Gerhard, Max Creek, Strangefolk, Zen Tricksters, Ryan Montbleau, Hillstomp, Jawbone, The Delta Generators, Ten Foot Polecats, The Scissormen, Cannibal Ramblers.

BLUES IN SCHOOLS
Drawing upon over a decade of working in public schools, Big Jon Short also provides assemblies, workshops, lectures and professional development on the history, development and importance of blues music in American culture to students and K-12 educators. Holding a M.Ed in Curriculum and Instructional Technology and Orff Level III certification he is able to incorporate state frameworks into presentations and workshops that address learning standards across the curriculum.

Available for artist residency and after school programs his "Blues in Schools" programs have served as enrichment in the arts and academic curriculum. Using large and small group activities his programs range from single 45-60min presentations to ongoing workshops that can provide instruction in singing, dance, songwriting and instrument lessons for individual, group and ensembles (guitar, harmonica, piano, bass, drums, Orff instruments).

With twelve years of experience as a classroom teacher, after-school and athletics onsite coordinator he has been able to provide in-school and after school programs for groups ranging between 5 and 95 students at a time and professional development programs for educators in multiple school districts, pediatric care facilities and YMCAs between Central MA and Downstate NY.

Recent partnerships include two multiple NAMM Grant Recipients: Raising The Blues, Ltd (www.raisingtheblues.org) and Guitars In The Classroom (www.guitarsintheclassroom.org) with his inaugural GITC program sponsored by Martin Guitars, D'Addario Strings, Dunlop capos and Intelli-Touch Tuners.

For more information: bigjonshort@gmail.com

Semi-finalist at the 2008 & 2010 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN

2010 Worcester Cultural Commission Artist Fellowship Award

Winner of the 9th Annual Lyon/Pitchford Cigarbox Award - Memphis, TN 2010

Voted "Best Blues Musician" by Worcester Magazine: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

Selected as Downstate NY Blues Society's "Artist of the Month" January 2007

Selected as one of Pulse Magazine's "27 to watch in 2007"

Winner of The Pulse Magazine's 2006 Worcester Music Award for "Best Blues Act"