Dennis GRUENLING

⬇️ DENNIS GRUENLING ⬇️

DISCOGRAPHY 1999-2016 (10CD)

 BIOGRAPHY 

Dennis Gruenling is an American electric blues harmonicist, songwriter, record producer and radio DJ. He has released seven albums since 1999, with his most recent being 2016's Ready or Not. His contributions to other musician's albums has included stints playing the harmonica, audio engineering and mixing, production and album sleeve artwork.

Gruenling has also been employed for over a decade as a DJ on WFDU college radio. His dynamic harmonica playing style has been inspired variously by Little Walter, Lester Young and Illinois Jacquet.

Gruenling, who plays both chromatic and diatonic harmonica, has been awarded the title of 'Best Modern Blues Harmonica Player' three years in a row by Real Blues magazine.

In 2007, Adam Gussow described Gruenling as having "limitless potential".

Gruenling was born in New Jersey, United States. He acquired his first harmonica in his teenage years as a Christmas present from a family friend. With an earlier healthy interest in music, Gruenling then heard Harp Attack! (1990), an album featuring the harmonica playing of James Cotton, Junior Wells, Carey Bell, and Billy Branch.

Gruenling later stated "I made my uncle play the record for me and I was blown away by what I heard. I hadn’t heard real blues players before – or real blues music in general. I was knocked out by the music and the harmonica playing."

Further inspired by records he purchased by Cotton, Wells, Little Walter, George "Harmonica" Smith and Big Walter Horton, Gruenling set about teaching himself to play to an accomplished standard. Having dropped out of school and moved with his then girlfriend to New Orleans, he continued to practice and largely self-learn the instrument before returning to New Jersey in 1994.

He worked in a number of local bands around New Brunswick, New Jersey, before forming his own outfit in 1998, and then recording his debut album, Dennis Gruenling and Jump Time (1999). It was released by Back Bender Records, Gruenling's own label.... (Wikipedia)