Coco Montoya had the good fortune of having several key events help shape his musical career. As a teenager growing up in California during the 1960’s Coco saw an Albert King performance that gave him a completely new perspective on what guitar playing was all about. The second event came in 1972 when Albert Collins, after hearing Montoya play the drums, called him in need of a drummer. Coco ended up playing with Albert Collins for the next five years. He found in Collins a mentor and father figure who taught him how to play the guitar. Collins, the Master of the Telecaster, told Montoya, when teaching him guitar, "Don’t think about it, just feel it." Montoya has taken that advise to heart and readily displays this passionate feeling approach in his guitar playing.

 

The third major turning point came in 1980 when John Mayall gave Montoya a call looking for a new guitar player for his Bluesbreakers. Following in the footsteps of Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor, all former guitar players for Mayall, was not an easy task, but Montoya was determined to prove himself. This stint lasted ten years and was the proving ground where Montoya honed his guitar skills and forged his own brand of guitar fire power.

 

In 1993, after going solo, Montoya established a reputation as one of the strongest performers on the blues circuit, tearing up clubs and knocking out festival audiences around the country with his spectacular shows. Montoya’s first solo album, "Gotta Mind To Travel" (1995) was one of the best blues albums of the year. In 1996 he won the W.C. Handy Award for Best New Blues Artist and followed that up with his 1996 release, "Think I’d Know Better" and 1997’s, "Just Let Go" also on Blind Pig. His newest release is the 2000 Alligator, "Suspicion."

 

Montoya’s guitar playing has been described as, "scorching," "ferocious," "scalding hot," "expressive," "chops to burn," "blistering blues," "steely guitar licks"…well you get the idea. His recent show at the Minnesota Music Café was no exception. In fact, this show was the other side of the coin from his rather flat performance at Famous Dave’s two years ago when local guitarist Jimi Smith’s opening act far upstaged the star.