At just 13 years old, it became apparent that Bernard Allison was going to be a force to be reckoned with when his father, Luther Allison, heard him play with his own “Love Me Mama” note-for-note. Impressed, the elder Allison told him, “Tonight you’re gonna record with me.”
On the road with his father, he’d met Muddy Waters, Hound Dog Taylor and Albert King, and many more of his heroes. Just a week out of high school he joined Koko Taylor’s touring band.
As his career and ability progressed Allison collaborated with his father and also learned from other greats including Johnny Winter and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Allison’s latest album, Let It Go, is out on Ruf Records January 26th in Germany and in US and UK on February 2nd. Allison notes that “We made the decision to not flood the CD with keyboards or horns, to go back to the true basic rhythm section sound – and to show more mature songwriting.”
Indeed. Let It Go is filled with one tasty sonic nugget after another. Premiering here, the title track has a beat that draws listeners in immediately, and a groove that doesn’t quit. And while everyone knows that Allison can burn up a fretboard with the best artists out there, here he invites us to savor every note.
Allison says, “Let’s talk about the future and learn from the past!! Let It Go because dwelling on the past makes no sense anymore!”
