Alexis P. Suter (born February 15, 1963) is an American blues, and

soul blues Soul blues is a style of blues music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music and urban contemporary music. Origin African American singers and musicians who grew up listening to the electric blues by ar ...

singer and songwriter, best known for her nomination in the 'Koko Taylor Award' category at the 33rd Blues Music Awards in 2015. She and her backing band have released six albums to date.

Life and career

Alexis P. Suter is the youngest daughter of Carrie and Albert Suter, and was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York City, United States. She began singing in church at the age of four, and met the Mills Brothers and saw them perform in concert five years later. Her interest in music developed at school where she learned to play the sousaphone, and expanded her knowledge of gospel music when attending different churches in her neighborhood. She was also influenced by the work of Ruth Brown, whom she heard on her family's radio. Suter also credited her mother as a source of musical inspiration, given that she had previously provided backing vocals for

Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to ...

, Sister Rosetta Tharpe,

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

, Mavis Staples and Dionne Warwick amongst others. Suter released her debut single in 1990, "Slam Me Baby", recorded in a house music setting, which led her to become the first African American woman to be signed to

Epic/Sony Records Epic Records Japan is a Japanese record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Its founder was Shigeo Maruyama. Between 1978 and 1988 the label operated as a wholly owned subsidiary: Epic/Sony Inc. () was established in August 1978

. Years later the track was used on the ''

Live & Remastered ''Live & Remastered'' (subtitled ''20th Anniversary Box Set'') is a box set released by the record label of British nightclub Ministry of Sound in September 2011. It was released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Ministry of Sound, as part ...

'' compilation album. She later signed with Hipbone Records, releasing ''Shuga Fix'', her debut album in 2005. The same year she and her backing band caught the attention of Levon Helm, who invited them to open for him at his Midnight Rambles in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 20 ...

. In 2008, her third album, ''Just Another Fool'', was released by Hipbone Records. It included a guest appearance on piano by

Ted Kooshian Ted Kooshian (born October 8, 1961) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer who has performed with Aretha Franklin, Chuck Berry, Marvin Hamlisch, Edgar Winter, Sarah Brightman, Il Divo, and Blood, Sweat, and Tears. Kooshian has ...

. Suter has been a guest on '' The Artie Lange Show'' and ''

Imus in the Morning ''Imus in the Morning'' was a long-running radio show hosted by Don Imus. The show originated on June 2, 1968, on various stations in the Western United States and Cleveland, Ohio before settling on WNBC radio in New York City in 1971. In Octobe ...

'', and with her band has opened for artists including

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, inc ...

Dickey Betts Forrest Richard Betts (born December 12, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. Early in his career, he collaborated with Duane Allman, introducing melodic tw ...

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

Coco Montoya Coco Montoya (born Henry Montoya, October 2, 1951, Santa Monica, California) is an American blues guitarist and singer and former member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Musical career Montoya's career began in the mid-1970s when Albert Col ...

, Etta James,

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaugh ...

, Allen Toussaint, and Emmylou Harris. B.B. King stated "It's a rare thing to share the stage with great talent like that young lady". On June 11, 2014,

John Ginty John Ginty (born 1972) is an American organist, keyboard player, and session musician. He was a founding member of Robert Randolph's "Family Band", and is often seen guesting with such jamband luminaries as the Allman Brothers, Santana, Govt. Mu ...

recorded his ''Bad News Travels Live'' DVD, which included a guest performance from Suter. Her five piece musical ensemble, released their sixth effort, ''Love the Way You Roll'', in August 2014. It contained two

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s: firstly of Big Mama Thornton's "You Don't Move Me No More" and also

Slim Harpo Slim Harpo (born James Isaac Moore; January 11, 1924 – January 31, 1970) was an American blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spiri ...

's " Shake Your Hips". The band currently comprises Alexis P. Suter (lead vocals), Ray Grappone (drums), Michael Louis (guitar), Tom Terry (bass guitar) plus Vicki Bell (backing vocals). Suter and her band have appeared at music festivals including

Springing the Blues Springing the Blues is an annual blues festival held in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. It is one of the largest and oldest blues festivals on the East Coast of the United States. It was first held in 1990 and has been held yearly on the first weeke ...

, Briggs Farm Blues Festival (2007, 2009, and 2011),

Musikfest ''Musikfest'' is an American music festival that has been held annually since 1984 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is the nation's largest non-gated free music festival. The festival begins on ...

(2011), and Blast Furnace Blues Festival (2012), In 2015, Suter was nominated in the 'Koko Taylor Award' category at the 33rd Blues Music Awards.

Ruthie Foster Ruthie Cecelia Foster (born February 10, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter of blues and folk music. She mixes a wide palette of American song forms, from gospel and blues to jazz, folk and soul. She has often been compared to Bonnie Raitt ...

won the title.

Discography

Albums

References

External links

Alexis P Suter at Discogs.comTour dates
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suter, Alexis P 1963 births Living people African-American women singer-songwriters American blues singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Singers from Brooklyn 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century American women singers