Joseph W. Maher (born c. 1953), known as Big Joe Maher, is an American

electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplifier, amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the ...

drummer, singer and songwriter. He is known for his

jump blues Jump blues is an up-tempo style of blues, usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues was renewed in the 1990s as ...

group called Big Joe & the Dynaflows. He has worked with many blues musicians including

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, Mark Wenner, Ann Rabson,

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...

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Earl King Earl Silas Johnson IV (February 7, 1934 – April 17, 2003),
known as Earl King, was an American singer, guit ...

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, and

Tom Principato Tom Principato (born 1952) is an American electric blues and blues rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Principato has recorded more than twenty albums over the years. One of his most recent releases, ''Robert Johnson Told Me So'' (2013) ...

Life and career

Joseph Maher was born and raised in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and initially inspired by both his father's record collection and attending blues concerts in his hometown, Maher had learned to play the drums by his early teenage years. After graduation Maher assembled a three piece blues/jazz ensemble, before touring as part of

's backing band. He later put together a five piece band known as Big Joe & the Dynaflows, who specialised in dance-oriented

. Big Joe & the Dynaflows debut album, ''Good Rockin' Daddy'' was released by

Ichiban Records Ichiban Records is an American independent record label, founded in 1985 by John Abbey and Nina Easton in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. History Wrap Records and Nastymix Records were some of its subsidiary labels. Urgent! Records and Mr. Henr ...

in 1990. Then followed a string of releases on various record labels up to ''All Night Long'' (2000). These included, ''Mojo'', a stripped down affair which featured Jeff Sarli on bass guitar. In December 1994, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' noted that "listening to the opening (and title) track for a few seconds is all it takes to confirm that this session's atmosphere and pacing has more to do with Percy Mayfield's laconic balladry, than Big Joe Turner's barroom barking". His 1998 release, ''I'm Still Swingin, was given a Washington Area Music Award for Best Blues Recording. Maher has also performed with his own Big Three Trio and the Big Four Combo, which have included John Cocuzzi. Maher later worked as the musical director in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

, in the

Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of th ...

owned nightclub, Fleetwood's. Several occasions followed where Fleetwood booked Big Joe and the Dynaflows as his back-up band at the club. Maher has also worked extensively on other musician's recordings, including

's ''The Old School'',

's ''In Orbit'' (1991), Mark Wenner's ''Nothin' But'', plus Ann Rabson's ''Music Makin' Mama'' (1997). In 2005 and 2009, Maher was awarded the title of Male Blues Vocalist of the Year at the Washington Area Music Awards. In 2000, his band was involved in the recording of ''I Warned You Baby'', a compilation made for use by the

Carolina shag The Carolina shag is a partner dance done primarily to beach music (100-130+ beats per minute in 4/4 time signature). Today, the shag is a recognized dance in national and international dance competitions. Technique The basic step in Carolina Sh ...

scene. ''You Can't Keep a Big Man Down'' was released in 2011 on

Severn Records Severn Records is an American independent record label that concentrates on blues music. Its motto is "Roots Music for the 21st Century". History On July 11, 1997, a company named Echo Records was incorporated in Maryland by David Earl. By the t ...

. The title track related to the almost career ending back injury which Maher suffered in late 2001, and explained his long absence from recording. The album included a guest appearance from

Dennis Taylor Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He is best known for winning the 1985 World Snooker Championship, where he defeated the defending champion Steve Davis in a ...

on saxophone. In mid 2012, Maher jointly toured with

. Big Joe & the Dynaflows' most recent release, ''Rockhouse Party'', was issued on February 15, 2019.

Discography

Albums

References

External links

Images and information at Pinterest.comDiscography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maher, Big Joe 1964 births Living people 21st-century American composers American blues singer-songwriters Electric blues musicians American male singer-songwriters American male drummers 20th-century American drummers 21st-century American drummers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Singer-songwriters from Washington, D.C.

Life and career

Discography

Albums

See also

References

External links