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DAVID ROTUNDO

www.davidrotundo.com

	photo by Mako Funasaka, takin' blues productions

Toronto blues harpist David Rotundo bought his first harmonica after seeing James Cotton perform at the El Mocambo in 1991: "He blew one note on the harmonica that hypnotized me and I've been playing the blues ever since."

This passion for the blues music led David to travel through the United States, spending time in many of the blues epicenters -- New Orleans, Clarksdale, Austin, Memphis and Chicago -- with little more than his wits and a bag full of harmonicas.  "I wanted to hear and experience the real thing," he explains.

David returned to Toronto with a greater perception of the blues and a heightened knowledge of the history of the music.  Today, he spends hours listening to the greats: Sonny boy Williamson, T-Bone Walker, Little Walter, George "Harmonica" Smith, William Clarke and countless others.  And so it is that David has strived to develop his own language of the blues.

Doors started to open for David in 2001 when he released his debut album, Blowin' For Broke, with his band The Blue Canadians.  The album features twelve original songs written by David and produced by bassist and engineer Shane Scott.  The disc earned Rotundo a nomination for the Canadian Independent Artist Association "Blues Album of 2001" and a MapleBlues Awards for "Best New Artist of The Year 2002".

Rotundo has since produced two fine CD’s, (including the critically acclaimed Blues Ignited featuring International guitarist Enrico Crivellaro), and has another ready to hit the street this spring.

David Rotundo, who seems to be continually on the road, has never lost sight of that James Cotton experience.  Audiences are instantly struck by the fact that David “lives the life he loves and loves the life he lives”.