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JIMMY CARPENTER BIO
Saxophonist, Singer-Songwriter, Arranger, and Gulf Coast Records Recording Artist
Jimmy’s career is hitting on all cylinders! His most recent release, Just Got Started, on Gulf Coast Records, opened to rave reviews, debuting at #3 on Apple Blues, and #10 on the Billboard Blues Chart. His 6th album in a series of critically-acclaimed releases, Just Got Started was produced by the multiple award-winning producer Kid Anderson, and recorded at famed Greaseland Studio in San Jose, CA. It is his third release on Gulf Coast, following The Louisiana Record (1922) and Soul Doctor (2019). In 2025 Jimmy received his 10th Blues Music Award nomination for Best Instrumentalist/Horn (he won in 2021 and 2022.) Jimmy tours internationally with his own band, and as a member of Bill Murray & His Blood Brothers, and is the Musical Director of The Big Blues Bender, one of the hottest blues festivals in the world. He is also a Grammy winner, having co-written a tune on The New Orleans Nightcrawlers’ winning album, Atmosphere. A professional musician since 1980, He has toured the world with Tinsley Ellis, Jimmy Thackery, Walter Wolfman Washington, Eric Lindell, and Mike Zito. When he isn’t on the road, he can be found in Las Vegas, playing the long-running blues bar The Sand Dollar, and serving as President of the Las Vegas Blues Society.

About "Just Got Started" :
“This album is very different than the previous five; more groovy and soulful, but not overdone. The musicianship really brings it home, and I could feel the love as we recorded it. I'm playing these songs live, and from the reaction we're getting, I think the people dig it! I am so grateful for Kid Andersen’s steady hand and unparalleled guitar work, Jerry Jemmott, Derrick D'Mar Martin, Jim Pugh, Bobby Vega, and Lisa Andersen for taking really good care of me and my songs... And of course, Mike Zito and everyone at Gulf Coast for this opportunity. I Just Got Started, and I still have a long way to go!” -- Jimmy C
“It is more than fair to say that the Saxophone Maestro has nailed one of the most inspired and well-crafted albums of 2024.”
-- Gio Pilato, BlueBird Reviews, UK
“One of the originals is the title cut (Feels Like) I Just Got Started and it should get serious consideration as song of year for its delightful sentimental mesh of Jimmy’s voice, sax playing, and lyrics.”
-- BenVeeBlues.com
“Just Got Started is a masterpiece of musicality!”
-- Colin Campbell, Blues Matters UK
“Jimmy Carpenter’s Just Got Started is a winning set of inspired tracks that masterfully blend blues, soul,
and American styles in spades”
-- Rock ’n’ Roll Truth, Rockwrite Blogspot


“He's always been one of the premier sax players around. But Jimmy is also a stellar songwriter and singer. His voice is at its best on ‘Soul Doctor’, Jimmy's best record to date.”
-- Mike Zito
“Jimmy Carpenter is truly one of the world's great rock and roll, Blues, and soul saxophone players.
Pure heart and soul mixed with amazing energy !!”
Walter Trout, October 2019
At the forefront is Carpenter, playing his saxophone and singing like a legend from an era gone by ...
The Soul Doctor has got the cure for your musical maladies.
-- The Real Music Observer for Rock and Blues Reviews
“...a vocal performance of timeless beauty, confirming Carpenter as one of the most complete and versatile artists of the Blues,
Soul, and Blues/Rock contemporary music scene
-- Gio Pilato, Bluebird Reviews
PRESS RELEASE
MULTI BLUES MUSIC AWARD WINNER HORN PLAYER EXTRAORDINAIRE
JIMMY CARPENTER JUST GOT STARTED
Las Vegas-based Jimmy Carpenter is on a roll. The saxophonist/ singer/ songwriter is a perennial favorite at the annual Blues Music Awards in Memphis, having been voted in the “Best Instrumentalist/Horn” category with seven nominations and two wins. Now, he proves he’s Just Got Started, with the upcoming release of his new album on September 13. Just Got Started was recorded in March at Greaseland Studios in San Jose, California, and was produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Christoffer "Kid" Andersen.
"Jimmy Carpenter continues to be a stand-out artist in the contemporary Blues genre. His songwriting is on point and his voice is front and center,” says Gulf Coast president Mike Zito. “Arguably one of the best sax players around, his artistry on this new record has come together to make the circle complete."
“When my dear friend Mike Zito asked if I'd be interested in working with producer Kid Andersen at Greaseland Studios for my third Gulf Coast Records release, my answer was an immediate and empathic ‘YES!,” recalls Carpenter. “Kid has done some very fine work with several friends of mine, and I love those records.
“I love Soul music, and my idea for this one was to lean in that direction. Still Blues-based, but also song oriented and funky cool with a kind of vintage soul vibe. I told Kid that, and he immediately said ‘Yes, we can do that!’
“The week before the session I was a little nervous, and called my friend Albert Castiglia, who had just recorded there. He gave me some very good advice: ‘Jimmy, just trust Kid, he has a plan;’ and he was so right. And the plan was to take my songs and put them in the capable hands of some of the finest musicians on the planet, which worked out very well.”
“The title track, ‘(Feels Like) I Just Got Started,’ is my attempt to use the last set of a night as a metaphor for my life in music,” explains Carpenter.” I've been at this a very long time and honestly, my career is at its high point; it's not ebbing, it's flowing! I really do feel in many ways like I'm just getting started. There's a line in the bridge, ‘Don't blink or you'll miss it!’ and that is a fact!
“Living in Vegas, people often ask if I'm a gambler. My stock answer is always - I only gamble with my heart. That's been banging around my head for years, and I finally wrote the song. It has the advantage of being true, and that gamble has paid off nicely here in Sin City.
“There are nods to some of the Blues icons: a very different version of Little Walter's ‘My Babe;’ a nice cover of Otis Rush's ‘Working Man;’ a nod to Delbert McClinton, one of my favorite people, and his song ‘Leap of Faith’ (Lisa ‘Li'l Baby’ Andersen absolutely crushes that one); as well as a super funky version of Allen Toussaint's ‘Night People.’
“And for the first time I was able to record not one, but two tunes from my saxophone hero, King Curtis: ‘Soul Theme’ and ‘Midnight Blue.’ In kind of a full circle thing, bass player Jerry Jemmott was King Curtis' bassist, so I felt kind of a cosmic connection to him as we recorded those, and of course, Jerry's bass lines were perfect.
“This album is very different than the previous five; more groovy and soulful, but not overdone. The musicianship really brings it home, and I could feel the love as we recorded it. I'm playing these songs live, and from the reaction we're getting, I think the people dig it! I am so grateful for Kid's steady hand and unparalleled guitar work, Jerry Jemmott, Derrick D'Mar Martin, Jim Pugh, Bobby Vega, and Lisa Andersen for taking really good care of me and my songs... And of course, Mike Zito and everyone at Gulf Coast for this opportunity. I Just Got Started, and I still got a long way to go!”
JUST GOT STARTED -- TRACK LISTING
1. (Feels Like) I Just Got Started - Jimmy Carpenter & Kid Andersen
2. My Babe - Willie Dixon
3. I Only Gamble With My Heart - Jimmy Carpenter
4. Jimmy Shimmy - Jimmy Carpenter
5. Shining Star - Leo Graham & Paul Richmond
6. Night People - Allen Toussaint
7. Live Again - Jimmy Carpenter
8. Soul Theme - Curtis Ousley
9. Keep On Stepping - Jimmy Carpenter
10. Working Man - Mike Bloomfield & Nick Gravenites
11. Leap of Faith - Glen Clark & Gary Nicholson
12. Midnight Blue - Curtis Ousley
MUSICIANS
ALL TRACKS
Jimmy Carpenter - Sax and Vocals
Christoffer “Kid” Andersen - Guitar
Jim Pugh - Keys
Derrick D'mar Martin - Drums and Percussion
Jerry Jemmott - Bass: tracks 1-4, 7-10, 12
Bobby Vega - Bass: tracks 5, 6, 11; Guitar: tracks 4, 9
Christoffer “Kid” Andersen - Organ: tracks 3, 5-8,11;
Fender Rhodes: track 6; Background Vocals: track 7
Endre Tarczy - Piano: track 2
Mike Galisatus - Trumpet; tracks 2, 6, 9, 10
Jack Sanford - Bari Sax: tracks 2, 6, 9, 10
Lisa “Little Baby” Andersen - Background Vocals: tracks 6, 11
Dwayne Morgan - Background Vocals: tracks 1, 2, 5
Walter Morgan - Background Vocals: tracks 1, 2, 5
James Morgan - Background Vocals: tracks 1, 2, 5
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