Jim Pelz

If there’s a single thread that ties together the musical career of Jim Pelz, it’s diversity - from the artists he’s performed with to the roles he’s inhabited as a working musician, the common denominators have simply been his love for music, and the passion with which he pursues it.

As both a trombonist and a guitarist, he has shared stages with the likes of Tony Bennett, The Temptations, Cab Calloway, Vince Herman, Ken Peplowski, Rosemary Clooney, The Drifters, Bobby Shew, and others. He’s opened for acts such as Chuck Berry, the Marshall Tucker Band, John Cowan (The Doobie Brothers, New Grass Revival), and Kenny Vaughan (Marty Stuart, Lucinda Williams).

In addition to being a multi-instrumentalist, he has worked as an arranger, band leader, songwriter, producer, and teacher.

Born in a suburb northwest of Boston, he began gigging in his teens. Jim attended Berklee College of Music from two years before hitting the road, and eventually obtained a BA in Jazz Performance from the prestigious University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music.

In the years that followed, he’s performed and recorded with: the Blue Wisp Big Band; Hickory Robot, a new grass quartet; Root Cellar Xtract (RCX), country-rock with Laurel Canyon leanings; and his own solo projects.

He’s recorded two solo albums, that have featured artists such as Forrest Lee, Jr., Greg Martin (Kentucky Headhunters), and Lloyd Maines (Joe Ely, Robert Earl Keen, Charlie Robison). 

He is currently hard at work on his third album - stay tuned for more details joining the mailing list, and take a listen to his first two albums!

REVIEWS:

No Depression, May 2015:

"This is gold. Jim has perfected a musical style that has been around for decades but has only been explored by eccentrics on the outer reaches of Americana. Artists like Buddy Miller, Prine, Rodney Crowell and Lyle Lovett... He has obviously worked diligently on his ability to craft music and showcase it with sincerity and poignancy. Every note is a careful accomplice to their clarity. The end result is an album that is what it should be: Enjoyable from beginning to end." - John Apice

Vintage Guitar Magazine, Sept. 2015:

"Make no mistake: if you are not Dead-friendly, itʼs well worth a trip down that road to get to the almost stupefying acoustic picking Pelz lays down." - RA

Cincy Music:

"Another New Morning, the latest from Cincinnati music veteran Jim Pelz, opens with a hot steel guitar lick over a cut time snare drum, and my first thought was, "Hot damn, a real country music record!"
There are, of course, a couple of things wrong with this. First, that
does not even begin to describe the breadth of this record - more on that later. Second, what is "real" country? In the 90s, it sure wasn't Garth Brooks. In the 60s, it sure wasn't the Nashville Sound. In the 30s, it definitely wasn't Bob Wills. In short, "tradition" in country has less to do with any objective truth and more to do with what the listener grew up with.
Through that objective lens of experience, Another New Morning
manages to tell stories that are familiar to many, steeped in a broad segment of that country music tradition. However, where so many modern purveyors of country music, when trying to tap into that tradition, create something that feels contrived or labored, Pelz has gone to the well to craft stories that feel honest.
For many, honesty - and its brother authenticity - is what makes a
"real" country music record, and Another New Morning has that to
spare. Songs like "Queen of the Last Lost Cause" paint a picture of
someone we all know, and "Homestead" tells a painful story of loss
told so profoundly, the listener is left wondering if Pelz is the son
riding like hell away from the family farm.
For those who grew up in certain churches, the Gospel of "When
Mavis Testifies" feels like being wrapped in a blanket from your
grandmother's house, where the musty but familiar smell and
warmth can transport you back to a particular moment of a long,
lost memory.
Sure, the musicianship on the Another New Morning is top-notch and the recording is clean. The styles run the gamut of most of the
country music from the second half of the 20th Century, with all the crying steel guitar and twangy Telecaster a good country fan could want. But it's the honesty in Pelz's songs that elevates this record. The songs are deceptive, but make no mistake, you'll find yourself engrossed in the stories." - Brandon Wheeler

DISCOGRAPHY:

AS LEADER:

Jim Pelz, “Loser Angels” (2015)

Jim Pelz, “Another New Morning” (2020)

WITH OTHERS:

Bailando Desnudo, “Bailando Desnudo” (1997)

Blue Wisp Big Band, “20th Anniversary” (2001)

Blue Wisp Big Band, “A Night at the Wisp” (2003)

The Royal Palm Orchestra, “‘Deed I Do” (2009)

Hickory Robot, “Firefly” (2010)

Hickory Robot, “Sawyer” (2012)

Root Cellar Xtract, “Rear View Mirror Eyes” (2017)

Hickory Robot, “Hickory Robot” (2019)

Root Cellar Xtract, “Lonesome Miles” (2019)

Rick Stepton, “Mellowtonin’” (2021)

Root Cellar Xtract, “Dusty Afternoon (2022)