Local twentysomething Burnham plays a blistering blues guitar with his trio for a brief set at the 9. Early, 8pm start, with no opener, was all business. We enter to a tasty rendition of Dear Mr. Fantasy the Winwood classic. Burnham is from Ethiopia, adopted by a couple from Middletown CT, seems that they fostered a musical upbringing. Amani has the unusual style of playing with thumb, not pick, which provides for a clear, confident tone. The hits keep coming with beautiful takes on Howlin Wolf’s Killing Floor and a speedy Sunshine of Your Love. The comparison to the Jimi Hendrix Experience is apt. African prodigy on guitar with two white guys on bass and drums. While Redding and Mitchell had purple shoes and paisley Nehrus, these guys had backwards ballcaps and ratty Vans. Even more fitting was their reading of Hendrix’ take on Like A Rolling Stone. Amani had the crowd singing the refrain. We were standing amongst the bass players posse and they yelped their support at every solo. While the focus was on Amani, the other two more than held their own with one remarkable bass passage. Couple of notes into Zappa’s Muffin Man, some old guy starts feeling the vibe. Wait, that old guy is me. Yes, 50 years ago Zappa and Beefheart lit up Austin TX (wherever that is) with a seminal jam that reverberates to this day. Closed the show with a great Dear Prudence. The evolution of this blues phenom is on full display. Get a guitar, lock yourself in your room and develop mind bending technique. Pay homage to the masters, Clapton, Winwood, Hendrix, even Frank Zappa by incorporating their work in your performance. Amani and bassist even did the back to back jamming gesture. The next step will be tricky, establish more confident vocals (or team up like Tedeschi Trucks) and formulate your own amalgam of originality that leans on the past while creating something new. Happy to have a front row seat to watch this young man evolve.
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