By Johnny Petersen, 2021
Jesper Theis, born 1985 in Ålborg, is another outstanding Danish acoustic blues artist. Currently he is living with his girlfriend in a small village outside Barcelona, Spain, where he has found himself truly cut off from the music scene in Denmark and elsewhere, due to the prevalent Covid-19 pandemic. However, he is using his time as best as possible. On YouTube/Facebook we have seen him perform over the distance with famous mandolin player Bert Deivert in Sweden as well as playing alone. This last year he has also been busy with his second album, The Tide Will Turn, just released. To spend his time in a creative way waiting for restrictions being lifted, apart from writing new songs, he has begun a side career as a luthier, building acoustic guitars.
When he was a child, 7-8 years old, he stayed every second week with his father. Soon after his parents divorced his father took out his old guitar from the closet and that caught Jeper’s interest. They soon borrowed an electric guitar so they could play together. At the local library they found some Beatles Songbooks. The first Jesper learned was Day Tripper and he got more and more into it. So, he is grateful to his father for this kick start to a musical life.
Later he began playing in a band and got himself an arsenal of electric guitars, amps and pedals. This lasted some years until he got a growing interest in acoustic music and that’s the only thing he plays. When he should choose an education, it became school teacher and of course music teacher.
Working as a school teacher, at age 32, he realized that he just had to focus on his music so he quit his day job in favor of the insecure life of a traveling musician. Theis sees himself as a Delta Blues player, although he writes a lot of his song himself only equipped with a resonator guitar and a slide. He does fancy adding sounds from other musical styles as gospel, jazz, country and even calypso. There’s one song in particular that led him to the Delta style and that is Cocaine Blues with Rev. Gary Davis.
So how is his music then? Well, it’s real old timey soulful foot-stompin’ acoustic blues! Jesper’s raw and powerful voice, like vibrating sandpaper on your soul, opens up the last album. Leaves no one untouched. Underscored by Jarno Varsteds harmonica. Intervowen is a couple of soft sensible songs that gives the listener a chance to catch his breath.
This is Jesper’s second album and all are scores by himself. Jesper had the idea of recording the album the way the music sounds without any overdubs. Therefore, the whole album is recorded in one-takes with only one microphone with all the musicians around that one microphone, recording the songs together. As is usual the case in Denmark, the blues musicians help each other out, on stage as well as on albums.
Prior to Covid-19 he was touring around Europe and Scandinavia, doing gigs with several other famous names such as The Mojo from Hungary, Tim Lothar from his own neighborhood, Peter Nande and Bert Deivert, just to mention a few. He hopes that he will be able to book gigs again this spring and has already an invitation to the 8-day Blues festival in Malmö, Sweden this summer.
