This young man was an amazing guitar player and had often taken on a trumpet or keyboard too. He developed a unique style of playing perhaps due to being blind for most of his life. (He suffered from a rare for of cancer at 11 months old.) He plays his guitar flat on his lap and started playing when he was 3.
Discovered at Albert's Hall by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert Collins, he was signed by Arista Records in 1988. He and his band have sat in with Blues Royalty including The Allman Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, BB King, ZZ Top, Steve Lukather, Eric Clapton, and many more.
I first became aware of him in the 1989 Blockbuster movie Roadhouse where his band played in the cage at the roadhouse. At that point in his career he was focused on playing blues although his local radio shows often concentrated on jazz. His collection of 78 RPM records exceeded 30,000.
This is a full length televised show (over an hour) in Canada "Much Music, Big Ticket" that sponsored the recording so the quality is very good, There are some special guests who jam with the band too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKpFl17mO18&list=RDCKpFl17mO18
A full album "Live in New York City" 1988 is offered here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20G3nwTDR1w&list=PLDNkcWWFClMFO4Sbyp5eV8Mg6xJeHTvgu
51 Minutes at the Canyon Club in 2000 with a lot of tunes I never heard him play anywhere else. The video is not the best quality but the sound is fantastic!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J0d6u2Z4jk&index=3&list=RDCKpFl17mO18
In 2000 Jeff turned his sights on Jazz with his Jazz Wizards and recorded 4 albums as well as touring with them. Jazz is not exactly my thing so I really can't comment but I was glad to see he also continued to play blues.
In 2006, although Jeff was already battling sarcomas, the band played the Notodden Blues Festival. (The largest pure blues festival in Scandinavia.) This is also a professional recording almost an hour long playing with Dan Noordermeer on guitar, Al Webster on drums, Alec Fraiser on Bass, and Dave Murphy on harmonica, keyboard and vocals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5Qb-6Qkmlw&list=RDCKpFl17mO18&index=2
Jeff passed away in early 2008 at the age of 41. "Heaven just called another blues stringer back home."
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