Lynwood Slim (born Richard Dennis Duran, August 19, 1953,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

; died August 4, 2014) 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 spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

player and

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

. Slim was best known as a singer in the style of smooth easy jazz/blues, as well as his harmonica and

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

playing.

Biography

Slim started playing the trumpet at age 18, and the harmonica when he was 15. His early influences included

Jimmy Reed Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with blues as well as non-blues audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), " ...

Little Walter Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him ...

and

Big Walter Horton Walter Horton (April 6, 1921 – December 8, 1981), known as Big Walter (Horton) or Walter 'Shakey' Horton, was an American blues harmonica player. A quiet, unassuming, shy man, he is remembered as one of the premier harmonica players in the hi ...

. He played the Los Angeles music scene then moved to

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

in 1974. He became a major force on the music scene, winning awards for best blues band in 1986. Slim moved to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1988, returned to Los Angeles later that same year. He started working with

Junior Watson Junior Watson is an American jump blues guitarist and singer. Career Watson is a West Coast blues guitarist. He was a founding member of the blues band The Mighty Flyers and, starting in the early 1980s, he performed with the band for a decade. ...

, as well as

Hollywood Fats Band Michael Leonard Mann (March 17, 1954 – December 8, 1986),Liner notes from Al Blake's album ''Dr. Blakes Magic Soul Elixir'' by Eric LeBlanc known as Hollywood Fats, was an American blues guitarist, active in Los Angeles, California. Biograp ...

alumni

Larry Taylor Samuel Lawrence Taylor (June 26, 1942 – August 19, 2019) was an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of Canned Heat from 1967. Before joining Canned Heat he had been a session bassist for The Monkees and Jerry Lee Le ...

, Fred Kaplan and Richard Innes. He started playing the flute after listening to James Moody and

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (incl ...

. Recording credits included a number of solo albums as well as numerous as a guest performer, producer, engineer, arranger and songwriter. Slim was latterly currently signed to Delta Groove, an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

based in

Van Nuys, California Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, ...

. He toured and recorded in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

as well as

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Slim's health declined from early 2011. Initially he was diagnosed with

hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, a ...

, which he overcame, but the damage to his liver caused

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue repai ...

. In late 2011, Slim was given news that without a liver transplant he would only survive for two years. In July 2014, he suffered a stroke and died from mounting health challenges on August 4, 2014. Slim did not have health insurance and his family accepted donations through his website.

Discography

* 1996: ''Soul Feet'' (Atomic Theory ATM1121) * 1991: ''Lost in America'' (Black Magic CD9017) * 1994: ''Too Small to Dance'' (Black Magic CD9025) with Big Rhythm Combo (featuring

Kid Ramos Kid Ramos (born January 13, 1959) is an American electric blues and blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. Ramos has released four solo albums since 1995 on Black Top and Evidence Records. He has worked with James Harman, Roomful of B ...

) * 1997: ''Lost in America'' (Atomic Theory ATM1135) * 1998: ''Back to Back'' (CrossCut 11059) with

* 1998: ''Off The Wall Jive'' (Gold Plate GP220371) with Mannie & The Swingin' Hipshakers (featuring Kid Ramos, Otis Grand) * 1999: ''Too Small to Dance'' (Pacific Blues PBRC9902) reissue * 1999: ''World Wide Wood'' (Pacific Blues PBRC9903) * 2006: ''Last Call'' (Delta Groove DGPCD108) * 2010: ''Brazilian Kicks'' (Delta Groove DGPCD141) with Igor Prado Band * 2014: ''Hard to Kill'' (Rip Cat RC1116) featuring Johnny "Cat" Soulbrand, The Red Wagons, Alberto Colombo, Nico Duportal, Kid Ramos, Trickbag, Fariz Bouzit, Bluescrowns, Igor Prado Band, Mark Dufresne.

References

External links

Official Website

Official site on Myspace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slim, Lynwood 1953 births Living people American blues harmonica players American blues singers American flautists Musicians from Los Angeles Singers from California