Deeper Digs: Kiss the Sky - Jimi Hendrix Special Pt. 4
Our final Jimi Hendrix special has Christian join three rock n rollers to discuss what the man means to them. First up is Bassist and perhaps oldest collaborator Billy cox, followed by percussionist Juma Sultan and finally with Hendrix re-creator Jimy Bleu, guitarist for Kiss the Sky.
Billy Cox
Billy Cox is best known for performing with Jimi Hendrix. Cox is the only surviving musician to have regularly played with Hendrix: first with the experimental group that backed Hendrix at Woodstock (informally referred to as "Gypsy Sun and Rainbows"), followed by the trio with drummer Buddy Miles that recorded the live Band of Gypsys album, and, lastly, The Cry of Love Tour trio with Mitch Mitchell back on drums. Cox continues to perform dates with the Band of Gypsys Experience and the Experience Hendrix Tour. As well as sitting in with Kiss the Sky several times.
Today, Billy Cox owns a video production company. He has produced numerous blues and a myriad of gospel shows. He co-authored the books Jimi Hendrix Sessions and Ultimate Hendrix with John McDermott and Eddie Kramer. He released Old School Blue Blues in 2011, and continues to tour with "The Experience Hendrix Tour" each year and his own Band of Gypsys Experience. http://www.bassistbillycox.com/
Juma Sultan
Juma Sultan (born April 13, 1942) is a jazz musician, most often recording as a percussionist or bass player. He may be best known for his appearance at the Woodstock festival of 1969 at Bethel, New York, playing with Jimi Hendrix. He currently plays in the African performance group Sankofa, the band Sons of Thunder, and with the Juma Sultan Band.
Sultan was born in Monrovia, California on April 13, 1942. In 1969, he performed at the Woodstock festival in Hendrix's band, Gypsy Sun and Rainbows and on The Dick Cavett Show and at a special show in Harlem, New York several weeks later. He was interviewed extensively for the documentary films, Jimi Hendrix and Jimi Hendrix: Live at Woodstock. He appears on approximately 12 of Jimi Hendrix' posthumous releases.www.jumasarchive.org.
Jimmy Bleu
Kiss the Sky, who you will see performing at the Historic Bearville Theater in Woodstock New York is fronted by virtuoso guitarist and former Columbia recording artist, Jimy Bleu, and backed by a cast of world-class touring musicians from the NYC metro area. KTS musicians are so 'EXPERIENCED' that all 3 of Jimi's remaining former bandmates and living legends (Billy Cox, Juma Sultan and Jerry Velez) have each played on stage along side KTS performers. Most especially, Jimy Bleu, is the longest running Jimi tribute specialist in the world and even tours with former Hendrix Bassist, Billy Cox and his Band of Gypsys Experience
Jimy Bleu actually met Jimi Hendrix in 1968 while at Warner/Reprise records and a member of the official Hendrix fan club that got Hendrix to address an assembly at his high school of the Performing Arts in NYC. The very next year at Woodstock, Bleu was thrown one of the guitar straps Hendrix used in that famous performance and through this direct musical lineage, Jimy Bleu has carried the figurative baton of the Jimi Hendrix guitar showmanship legacy ever since. Jimy Bleu attended Berklee College of Music on the recommendation of Hendrix himself and went on to become a Columbia/Def Jam recording artist.
A Hendrix historian, Bleu has given lectures on radio, TV and college campuses about the musical, spiritual and political importance of Hendrix. His musical talents and Hendrix stage show expertise has even landed Bleu a touring member spot with former Jimi Hendrix bassist, Mr. Billy Cox’s band ... The Band of Gypsys Experience! Like Jimi Hendrix...Jimy Bleu is also one of the only lefthanders in the guitar biz... bringing even more authenticity to the concert re-creations he now performs in...KISS THE SKY!