Jeff Healey
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Jeff Healey (born Norman Jeffrey Healey on March 25, 1966 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian blues-rock guitarist.
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[edit] Life and career
Jeff Healey was raised in Toronto's west end. His father was a firefighter. Healey is perhaps most notable for his blindness, and his unique style of playing guitar flat on his lap. He lost his sight when he was one year old, due to cancer of the eyes - his eyes had to be surgically removed, and he was given artificial replacements. Nevertheless he began playing guitar when he was only three, developing his unique playing style. Because his parents had no idea how the instrument was supposed to be held, or played, Healey was left to figure out his own approach.
When he was 17 he formed the band Blue Direction, also known as Vision. This band was a five-piece band, primarily playing bar-band cover tunes; among the other musicians were bassist Ian McIntyre, and a schoolmate, Rob Quail on second guitar. This band played various local clubs in Toronto, including the Colonial Tavern.
Shortly thereafter, he was introduced to two musicians, bassist Joe Rockman and drummer Tom Stephen, and formed a trio, who made their first public appearance at The Birds Nest, located upstairs at Chicago's Diner on Queen Street West in Toronto. The new band received a write-up in Toronto's NOW magazine, and quickly were playing almost nightly in local clubs such as Grossman's Tavern and the famed blues club Albert's Hall. At this point, Jeff and the band were featured in a movie, Road House, which was inspired when its creator saw Jeff playing. With the resulting stardom, they soon signed with Arista Records and in 1988 released See The Light, which included the hit single "Angel Eyes". The song "Hideaway" was nominated for the "best instrumental" Grammy Award, and in 1990 the band won the "Entertainer of the Year" Juno Award. Other hits have included "How Long Can a Man Be Strong" and a cover of The Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".
Jeff was never particularly enamored with the world of rock music, however, and soon left it for music he preferred, vintage jazz. Jeff had been sitting in with traditional jazz bands around Toronto since the beginning of his music career.
In recent years he has released two CDs from his true passion, traditional American jazz from the 1920s and 1930s. He is an avid record collector and has amassed a collection of well over 25,000 78 rpm records. For many years Healey ran his music-based club Healey's on Bathurst Street in Toronto, where he played with a rock band on Thursday nights, and with his jazz group, Jeff Healey's Jazz Wizards, on Saturday afternoons. He and the Jazz Wizards continue to tour and perform at other venues. Healey recently moved his club to a bigger location closer to the heart of the city at 56 Blue Jays Way and named it Healey's RoadHouse.
Though known primarily as a guitarist, Healey also plays trumpet and clarinet during live performances. He also appeared on Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan's CD/DVD "Gillan's Inn".
Jeff Healey has, from time to time, hosted a CBC Radio program titled, "My Kind of Jazz", in which he plays records from his vast vintage jazz collection. He currently hosts a program of the same name on Toronto station CJRT-FM, also known as JazzFM.
Jeff Healey has discovered and helped develop the careers of other artists, including Amanda Marshall and Terra Hazelton.
[edit] Album discography
- 1988 See the Light
- 1990 Hell to Pay
- 1992 Feel This
- 1995 Cover to Cover
- 1998 Very Best Of
- 1999 Master Hits Remastered
- 2000 Get Me Some
- 2002 Among Friends
- 2004 Adventures in Jazzland
- 2006 It's Tight Like That
