Frank Ace

If you go to www.frankace.com you can read his Bio and see pic's from 50 years of performing. It's a great website. F. L. Wallace pres. of Chueffa Records. When Frank Ace plays the blues on his guitar, it is a rich sound that is smooth and demonstrates his mastery of a technique that has become his recognizable signature. Catching the beat from the legendary James Brown, Ace creates hard, vigorous sustaining notes that magically flow into resonant bright hues.

F. L. Wallace pres. of Chueffa Records.

When Frank Ace plays the blues on his guitar, it is a rich sound that is smooth and demonstrates his mastery of a technique that has become his recognizable signature. Catching the beat from the legendary James Brown, Ace creates hard, vigorous sustaining notes that magically flow into resonant bright hues. Brown's rendition of Sex Machine in the sixties influenced Ace's style and gave it a startling quality with unexpected twists and turns. Frank also developed a cachet all his own from the powerful input of the late Freddy King's blues, Kenny Burrell's jazz, and Chet Atkins' country/western. As a child, Frank learned to play country/western under the unlikely tutoring of rodeo cowboys who came to his stepfather's boots and saddle shop in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He developed his love for the blues when he later lived with his grandparents. "Back then, my grandmother defined the blues for me, and I've never forgotten it," says the Arizona native. "You didn't have to have the words. Blues is a feeling; it comes from way down inside." When he attended Phoenix Union High School, he was making big bucks for a 17-year-old. Thanks to Carver Barnes, a park director, who took Frank under his wing and helped him to form his five-piece band, The Continentals. Between engagements, however, Frank picked and chop cotton in the fields to earn money for sound equipment. The talented group caught the attention of John Fulbright, agent for Ray Agee, big-time blues singer and songwriter. After spending a year in Los Angeles with him, the group returned to Phoenix as professional savvy musicians known as the Frank Ace Combo. Frank always was the leader of the band; he has a happy, contagious smile, a showmanship personality, and the ability to organize and get things done. In 1964, Fank cut his first records, Kirk and Lady Margaret, under the Hydra label. Since then, he has played in every state in the continental United States, and every club on the blues circuit. There were also dazzling USO shows on a Far East tour and memorable engagements at Mugen's in Tokyo and the 9000 Penthouse in Hollywood. 1994 Monterey Bay Blues Festival, 2000 Utrecht Blues Festival, 2006 Denmark, Sweden, and Norway tour. Plus a live recording in England. Blues has been making a dramatic comeback, and Frank explains the universal appeal to audiences of all ages and eclectic tastes: "Blues Artists are great entertainers. They have heart and expression and feeling, and this is what they give back to the audience." He adds, "I'm from the old school. I love rhythm and blues -- I can't separate them." And it's his touch of finesse that weds his poignant and personal interpretation with the seductive sweet notes of his Ibanez guitar. An example of his distinctive blues style that's gaining popularity is "Money Don't Matter 2 Me, Doing Time, and No Moe" on his new CD, "Cry u out of my heart." This latest achievement unmistakably locks it down, stays in the pocket and holds the groove. It's the pure Frank Ace sound. Frank Ace just released his new CD, "Live in England" and the re-release of "It's About Time" with (2) Bonus Tracks from his 1964 Frank Ace Combo. Influenced by vocalist Vernon Garrett, Frank adds his own singing arrangement to melodic blues lyrics. He points out that the success of his career has been helped along the way by many other talented people. He thinks Carver Barnes (the bus driver in the Clint Eastwood movie, The Gauntlet) had the biggest impact on his life. "Carver is just an all-around nice guy," says Frank. "He instilled high standards and ethics in us when we were kids. He believed in us, and told us we could make it." Today, Frank is proving that with his growing list of fans, and making blues-lovers out of the uninitiated. He does it because Lou Rawls once told him, "You want to get beyond just being a good band." This is the challenge that has motivated him all of his life. The Frank Ace sound IS the blues -- full-bodied, energized, synchronized and radiant -- making it come alive on concert stages and blues clubs around the world.