Aki Kumar

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Review:

This is the two hundred ninth in a series of special Jazz on the Tube reviews of live stream performances.

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Aki Kumar was born and raised in India, an unusual place for a blues harmonica player to start.

He studied keyboards and tabla and was exposed to a wide variety of music while growing up.

Kumar enjoyed playing harmonica (his father bought him his first one) although he studied computer science when he moved to the U.S., discovering the blues in San Francisco Bay area nightclubs.

While Little Walter was an early influence, Kumar developed his own sound within the vintage music, occasionally blending in melodies from Indian classical music and Bollywood into his blues.

On his LiveStream from Aug. 20, 2020, Kumar performs a variety of spirited blues and an occasional ballad with his trio, taking some vocals and giving listeners who enjoy blues a great time.

-Scott Yanow