Contemporary blues is probably the best way to describe the music from this band out of Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Inspired by innovative blues musicians such as Lucky Peterson, Joe Louis Walker and Chris Cain; Fat Harry and the Fuzzy Licks have developed a unique style, that isn’t often played at the opposite end of the Atlantic Ocean.
Low-down dirty shuffles and slow blues are easily ex-changed and mixed with other styles out of the Afro-American musical heritage, such as soul, funk and gospel.
Their last CD “Pentatonic Pleasures” is a good example of this versatility, and the majority of their tunes are originals.
Harry’s “fat” guitar sound is inspired by the three Kings (B.B, Freddie and especially Albert King) and has been heard at numerous clubs and festivals in Holland and Belgium. In Chicago people were also impressed when he played at the famous Buddy Guy’s Legends and Kingston Mines.
Keyboardist Rene Schutte never disavows his gospel roots and he has played in several bands before joining the Fuzzy Licks in 2002.
The rhythm section has been faithful to Harry since the late eighties; Patrick Obrist is on bass and Jack Hill on drums. They are responsible for the tight and funky sound and accompany Harry in his search for new musical challenges.
Since that time, Jan Peter Klijn (a.ka.”LD”) has been their manager, sound engineer, web-designer and trouble-shooter, and he is considered the most important band member for that reason. Occasionally the band is joined by Jan de Ligt (nicknamed by Harry as “Johnny Delight”) on tenor sax. He is a well known veteran in the Dutch musical scene.
The song “You Didn’t Think About That” from the album “Pentatonic Pleasures” was chosen by the Belgian blues magazine “Back To The Roots” to go on their anniversary CD in 2003, along with celebrities like Kim Wilson and Craig Horton.
The whole album received very positive criticism by several international blues critics and fellow colleagues alike (see: news at website). At the International Pajot Blues Festival in 2003 they were considered (by the press) as the only band at the festival who could captivate the audience for a whole hour.
Summary: a Fat Harry and the Fuzzy Licks show stands guarantor for a professional performance with true and honest music!
Albert King would have said: “let’s have a natural ball”.