by Whitney Youngs
When asked what jazz, country, and R&B have in common, famed trumpeter Wynton Marsalis said, “The blues. It runs through all American music. Somebody bending the note. The other is the two-beat groove. It’s in New Orleans music, it’s in jazz, it’s in country music, it’s in gospel.”
The trajectory of American music — from folk, country and jazz to soul, rock ‘n’ roll and hip hop — originates with the blues.
Just like Marsalis, Phil Collen, lead guitarist of Def Leppard, owes much of his stylings to the genre — especially in the context of his blues-heavy band Delta Deep. Collen founded the blues project in 2012, enlisting Robert DeLeo on bass (Stone Temple Pilots), Debbi Blackwell-Cook on vocals, and Forrest Robinson on drums (The Crusaders, Joe Sample, TLC, and India.Arie).
“I’m a bit disappointed in the blues in the same way I’m disappointed in jazz,” says Collen. “Blues was born out of misery and struggle, so I feel it’s a bit weird when people celebrate the blues as a style in the same way people celebrate punk rock as a style. I’m from London, and the punk rock movement came about out of frustration, wanting to break things because everything was so broken socially. It’s the same thing with rap music. Public Enemy, Run-D.M.C., and NWA came about as social commentary to violence and frustration with the system. But these musical movements have been watered down over the years.”
Collen first met singer Blackwell-Cook in 2010, and as godmother to Collen’s wife, Helen, she performed at his wedding. Blackwell-Cook sang lead in an R&B group from the ‘80s and as backup vocalist to Michael Bublé and Gregory Hines. Collen and Blackwell-Cook forged a distinct musical bond that began when Blackwell-Cook, while visiting her goddaughter in California, would sing Motown songs with Collen around the house.
“When I hear Debbi sing, I heard struggle, I hear pain, it’s coming as a release,” says Collen.
“I get a chill to sing along with her. You especially live for those moments when you get the harmonies together—it’s just a great feeling. We luckily have this blend with our vocals, it just works and it’s a joy.”
Delta Deep released its self-titled debut album in 2015. Collen, Helen, and Blackwell-Cook wrote the first ten songs in a kitchen in 2013. The album’s songs vary in tone and sound, but remain firmly entrenched in the blues.
“Hendrix used to play guitar to The Isley brothers and Little Richard,” adds Collen. “They all came out of the blues circuit and into soul, funk, and rock ‘n’ roll. That, to me, is a great output of work so when you are doing an album, it shouldn’t limiting to one thing.”
Delta Deep performs at Saint Rocke on January 13.
