KOKOMOBLUES & BEYOND

www.kokomo.co.nz

Derek Jacombs – vocals, acoustic guitar Grant Bullot - harmonica

Sonia Bullot - trumpetNigel Masters – bass

Mike Kirk – electric guitarIan “Beano” Gilpin - drums

Hailing from the sunny Bay of Plenty, Kokomo (originally “Kokomo Blues”) has been together now for 23 years, and has become renowned for dynamic live shows and smart distinctive song-writing, as well as the band’s unique harmonica-trumpet horn section. During this time the band has toured extensively throughout New Zealand, performing at the country’s major rock, blues, jazz and folk festivals.

Between touring the band has released ten albums and a live concert DVD. The first two were collections of traditional blues, while subsequent albums feature the band’s own songs.

Along the way Radio New Zealand has recorded five programmes focusing on Kokomo’s music, and they have appeared from time to time on various TV channels. Kokomo’s music has also been used as the soundtrack for projects as diverse as TV gardening shows and surfing videos. It has also featured on such popular programmes as Shortland Street and Jackson’s Wharf.

They have also played with and supported a number of overseas blues and jazz acts, including Georgie Fame, Doug McLeod, Keb Mo, Buddy Guy, Mississippi Willie Foster, The LeRoi Brothers, New Orleans singer Lillian Boutte, Hawaiian steel wizard Ken Emerson, and legendary guitarist Amos Garrett (ex-Butterfield Blues Band).

On the local front they have performed and toured with the likes of Roy Phillips (ex-Peddlers), Hammond Gamble, Dragon, Jan Preston, Midge Marsden, Shona Laing, Barry Saunders, Mike Cooper and many others.

A LITTLE HISTORY…The band was formed in 1991 after a chance performance at the National Jazz Festival. Derek Jacombs had been invited to present a set of solo blues and brought Grant Bullot to join him. The concert turned into a runaway success and they decided to form a full-time band to spread their love of acoustic blues.

Later that year the band set out on the road with a “we play anywhere” policy, which saw them playing around 200 shows a year, everywhere from Great Barrier Island and the smallest country towns to Auckland’s Aotea Centre. And they started recording. That set the scene for following years.

Skipping ahead...

2007 saw the release of the Kokomo à Gogo DVD, a full-length concert film, and later in the year harmonica player Grant Bullot featured on the Harmonica Masters of New Zealand CD. 2008 marked a departure for Kokomo when the band released In The Well. A long-planned labour of love, it is a collection of the songs of Bob Dylan, rearranged and reinvented with inimitable Kokomo style. The album was launched at a headline concert along with Billy TK Jr at the National Blues Festival in Rotorua.

During 2010 the band performed at the National Jazz Festival where trumpeter Sonia Bullot released her first solo trumpet album, Tonight On Trumpet, featuring a host of top New Zealand musicians including Julia Deans (Fur Patrol), Wellington swing kings Shaken Not Stirred, and Sydney-based jazz piano virtuoso Gerard Masters.

In late 2011 Kokomo went back to its roots, recording a new album – It All Comes Round - and returning to the original Kokomo Blues line-up of the early nineties: an acoustic trio exploring early Delta blues and ragtime, with a scattering of contemporary Kiwi blues and oddities from through the years. A year of touring and festival appearances followed, during which time Derek Jacombs and Nigel Masters released a second album under their nom-de-plume The Self-Righteous Brothers.

2013 saw Kokomo headline the National Jazz Festival in Tauranga, The Manawatu Jazz Festival in Palmerston North, The Queen's Birthday Jazz Festival in Upper Hutt and the Bay of Islands Jazz & Blues Festival. The full band hit the studio late in the year to start recording on a new album...

Bigger Than Brando contains ten new songs. The first single, “Travel All Over The World”, was released in mid-2014 and the full album launched in September 2014.

DISCOGRAPHY etc...AS KOKOMO:

The Old Original Kokomo Blues (1992)When In Rome, Do Rome (1994)To Be Or What (1996)Little Heroes (1999)Blues And Beyond (2001) (limited edition 10th anniversary collection)Songs Of Love And Not (2003)Kokomo À Gogo CD (2006) (live)Kokomo À Gogo DVD (2007) (live)In The Well (2008)It All Comes Round (2011)Bigger Than Brando (2014

OTHER RELEASES:

Stromboling (1996) (Kokomo with Tracie de Jong)RustySwingFeel (2006) (Derek Jacombs & Nigel Masters as The Self-Righteous Brothers)Tonight On Trumpet (2010) (Sonia Bullot)Social Fretwork (2012) (Derek Jacombs & Nigel Masters as The Self-Righteous Brothers)

MEDIA:

“These guys are a must to see - blues at its best.” BOP Times

“Riveting acoustic blues.” The Dominion

“Still the finest exponents of the blues New Zealand has… but there’s a little country and a bit of rock and roll, a touch of jazz and a sniff of gospel thrown in for good measure… thought provoking and spot on.” The Northern Advocate

“They played Strawberry Fields (rock festival) at Raglan one night and the Hamilton Jazz Festival the very next. The crowds were radically different at each event, but their reaction at each was superb” Bay News

FESTIVALS:

Kokomo have played many festivals over the years, as well as performing for events such as The America’s Cup. Festivals include:

Auckland Folk Festival 1998 Auckland Jazz & Blues Festival 1993 Auckland Viaduct Jazz & Blues Festival 2003/2004 Bay Of Islands Food & Wine Festival 1996 Bay Of Islands Jazz & Blues Festival

1993/1994/1995/1996/1997/1998/1999/2000/2001/2002/2003/2004/2005/2007/2008/2009/2011/2012/2013/2014

Coromandel Blues & Roots Music Festival 2008 Gisborne Blues Festival 1996 Hamilton Traditional Jazz Festival 1993/1994 Hokitika Wild Foods Festival 1997 Marlborough Food & Wine Festival 1997 Manawatu Jazz Festival 1996/1997/2001/2009/2013 Martinborough Wine Festival 1997/1998/1999/2000 Mission Bay Jazz & Blues Festival 2001/2002/2003/2004/2005/2007/2010 Ponsonby Jazz & Blues Festival 1992 Ponsonby International Blues Festival 2010 Ponsonby Music Festival 1993/1994 Queens Birthday Jazz Festival 2009/2013 Rotorua National Blues Festival 2008/2009/2010/2011/2012 Rotorua Jazz Festival 1995/1997/1999/2002/2003/2004/2005/2006/2008 Strawberry Fields 1993/1994/1995 Sweetwaters 1999 Tauranga International Arts Festival 2007 Tauranga National Jazz Festival

1992/1993/1994/1995/1999/2000/2001/2002/2003/2004/2005/2006/2007/2008/2009/2010/2011/2012/2013/2014

Waiheke Island Festival Of Jazz 1996/1997/1998

Wairarapa Festival Of The Arts 1998 Walkworth Jazz & Blues Festival 1999/2001 Wellington National Folk Festival 1996 Whangarei International Blues Festival 2010 Whangarei Jazz & Blues Festival 1997/1998/1999/2000/2001/2002/2005/2007 Whitianga Scallop Festival 2006/2007/2009

CONTACT:

Kokomo are represented by Colin Lunt Creative:0273 704188 or 07 562 2626colinlunt@xtra.co.nz www.colinluntcreative.com

For more information please contact CLC or Derek Jacombs:(07) 578 9578derekj@xtra.co.nzwww.kokomo.co.nz