Biography
Guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer Papa Mali applies a singular approach to American roots traditions, evident both onstage and across his sequence of solo recordings. Rather than confining himself to blues conventions, he fuses blues, funk, swamp textures, and soul in a manner shared by various New Orleans-associated players, though he resides in Austin while having grown up in Shreveport, Louisiana, with regular childhood trips back to family in that city.
Early influences arrived not via the Beatles but through the more roots-oriented Rolling Stones, prompting him to trace those source songwriters; he picked up guitar at age four and mastered favored blues and rock numbers by eleven. At twelve he witnessed the Meters at a Mardi Gras event in New Orleans, and as a young teen he received guidance from the late blues-rock guitarist John Campbell, whose later PolyGram albums demonstrated his commanding style. In his late teens Mali left home to roam the South, performing in juke joints, busking, and supporting touring blues and soul acts. A 1977 visit to Jamaica sparked a deep interest in reggae, leading him in 1980 to join Michael Johnson in forming the Killer Bees. That group became one of the rare American reggae-rock ensembles invited to Reggae Sunsplash in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in 1988; while touring the States with Jamaican reggae artists he acquired the nickname Papa Mali. Following the Killer Bees’ dissolution he continued solo, merging blues, swamp rock, reggae, and New Orleans funk.
His recorded output comprises the debut Thunder Chicken, the 2007 release Do Your Thing, and 2015’s Music Is Love; the second album featured New Orleans contributors Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, sousaphone player Kirk Joseph, and legendary blind piano master Henry Butler.
In 2009 Mali assembled 7 Walkers alongside Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, Meters bassist George Porter, Jr., and multi-instrumentalist Matt Hubbard. The band’s self-titled debut appeared in November 2010 and includes a duet with Willie Nelson. More recently he has concentrated on production, helming the 7 Walkers album as well as fellow Texas roots artist Ruthie Foster’s The Truth According to Ruthie Foster for the Houston-based Blue Corn Music label, along with projects for Austin vocalist Lavelle White and guitar slinger and vocalist Omar “Kent” Dykes.
Early influences arrived not via the Beatles but through the more roots-oriented Rolling Stones, prompting him to trace those source songwriters; he picked up guitar at age four and mastered favored blues and rock numbers by eleven. At twelve he witnessed the Meters at a Mardi Gras event in New Orleans, and as a young teen he received guidance from the late blues-rock guitarist John Campbell, whose later PolyGram albums demonstrated his commanding style. In his late teens Mali left home to roam the South, performing in juke joints, busking, and supporting touring blues and soul acts. A 1977 visit to Jamaica sparked a deep interest in reggae, leading him in 1980 to join Michael Johnson in forming the Killer Bees. That group became one of the rare American reggae-rock ensembles invited to Reggae Sunsplash in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in 1988; while touring the States with Jamaican reggae artists he acquired the nickname Papa Mali. Following the Killer Bees’ dissolution he continued solo, merging blues, swamp rock, reggae, and New Orleans funk.
His recorded output comprises the debut Thunder Chicken, the 2007 release Do Your Thing, and 2015’s Music Is Love; the second album featured New Orleans contributors Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, sousaphone player Kirk Joseph, and legendary blind piano master Henry Butler.
In 2009 Mali assembled 7 Walkers alongside Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, Meters bassist George Porter, Jr., and multi-instrumentalist Matt Hubbard. The band’s self-titled debut appeared in November 2010 and includes a duet with Willie Nelson. More recently he has concentrated on production, helming the 7 Walkers album as well as fellow Texas roots artist Ruthie Foster’s The Truth According to Ruthie Foster for the Houston-based Blue Corn Music label, along with projects for Austin vocalist Lavelle White and guitar slinger and vocalist Omar “Kent” Dykes.
Albums
Live
