…and then there is this guy in the desert down in New Mexico! They got good blues on each side of the Mississippi, but New Mexico is not exactly known as a Mecca for our favorite genre. It’s a place more famous for Polka based Mexican Norteno and Cojunto accordion music than the blues. Hirsch embodies the universalism of this music and proves that you can find amazing blues no matter where you go.
Stan the man, a fine blues player, will stop you dead in your tracks, mesmerize you on the spot and make you gasp or air from hyperventilating. Whenever blues fans eventually find their way to Hirsch’s blues, with just the right combination of incredible technique and heartfelt feeling, they are amazed that he is not yet internationally famous. Not to say he hasn’t gotten around. Indeed, he’s played some of the great festivals, but his profile is still not as high as it belongs. He’s one of those intimidating players that, just as you think you are getting good at the guitar, will make you walk out the gig with your head hung low, feeling unworthy to carry his guitar case. Cruel, but awesome.
There are a lot of people playing the acoustic blues. That’s the celebration and point of this website. Among them are a chosen few fierce and fiery players that evoke direct comparison to the original masters. John Hammond, Alvin Youngblood Hart and Paul Geremia come to mind. Not because they necessarily emulate the old blues songs note for note and mimic the originals, but because they play with a combination of passion, true-grit feeling and virtuoso mastery. Hirsch is every bit as good as the best of his peers, but lesser known, and he surely should be considered as one of the best, if unsung, blues musicians in the USA. Even though he is an acoustic bluesman, Stan Hirsch is strongly influenced by Jimi Hendrix. He often features Hendrix in his repertoire—a sensational mix of deep roots, real true blues with Hendrix-drenched acoustic guitar mastery. How can that be wrong? Rock god Hendrix was a bluesman just the same. Yet, Hirsch will satisfy Country blues purists with his covers of the traditional blues master, which he performs with his own unique style drenched in guitar artistry. No matter what he plays he gets attention for his soulful virtuosity and mastery of a wide range of acoustic blues styles. Hirsch plays his blues with a funky, energetic essence and a harrowing sense of tension.
If his CDs are not yet in your collection, or if you have a chance to see him, Stan Hirsch is all that!
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