Thorbjørn Risager - Here I Am (2007)

HERE I AM is the third album from one of the top names in Danish blues, Thorbjørn Risager. He has been called Scandinavia’s best blues singer, and this is how BluesCritic (Dylan DeAnna) describes his voice: “Take one part Ray Charles, one part Bob Seger and one part Joe Cocker and you may have the vocal instrument of Denmark's Thorbjorn Risager.” BluesNews in Germany (Karl Leitner) called his voice “breathtaking”.
What makes this music so strong, and gives such fantastic reactions from audience, press and radio, is the combination of this “larger-than-life voice” (BluesWax) and very strong compositions, in a style that for each album crystalizes more and more into a unique style.
Each song is combining elements of blues, R&B, rock, soul and New Orleans, with great horn arrangements to complete them. The powerful voice balanced with the horn section, and in the middle a keyboard player who “pumps Dr. John and Professor Longhair out of his fingertips” (BluesWax) when he doesn’t supply soulful organ sounds. Two guitars, one on the rough side and one on the smooth side, and right in the middle a bass player with the genuine “old school” sound and playing style – that’s the line-up, on all three CD’s as well as live.
Their previous CD, FROM THE HEART, released exactly one year before HERE I AM, has been played by more than 60 radio stations in 17 countries, and there’s no reason why this talented group should not proceed on their road to international success.