By Michael Swanger michael@dmcityview.com

With a sound that blends equal parts jazz, R&B and gospel, Chris Cain is that rare breed of sophisticated bluesman whose sound is not easily identified with one category of music.

"If it sounds good and I dig it, I don't care what style it is," he says. "I'm a blues guy, but there's a big musical world out there and I would lose my mind if I had to limit myself to one style."

The 49-year-old Cain was born into the blues and his expressive sound is the result of a lifetime of study and relentless pursuit of music mastery. At the tender age of 3, his parents took him to see B.B. King and family outings were concerts by the likes of Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Johnny Otis and Jimi Hendrix. At home, in San Jose, Calif., the stereo was always blasting blues tunes.

"My parents had great taste," he says. "I was lucky like that. Their love of music bled over to me."

As a child, Cain taught himself how to play the guitar, practicing every day after school to albums by B.B. King, Albert King and Michael Bloomfield. By the age of 18, Cain started playing professionally. "I was just one of those guys always in his room with a guitar," he says. "I was obsessed with anything I heard. My curiosity drove me."

That obsession carried over into college where Cain enrolled at San Jose City College. There, he studied music for six years and learned how to play several instruments before eventually becoming a teacher from 1983 to 1986. "I didn't know what the hell I was doing and I wanted to learn," Cain says. "I had a beautiful time there. The discipline for an undisciplined player like me was a big help. The teachers knew I had a knack for music and they'd take extra time to help me. I can't tell you what that meant to me."

After college, he formed a band with his classmates and released his debut album, 1987's "Late Night City Blues." The record garnered four W.C. Handy Award nominations, including "Guitarist of the Year." Cains next three albums, 1990's "Cuttin' Loose," 1992's "Can't Buy a Break" and 1995's "Somewhere Along the Way," also earned the singer-guitarist awards and critical acclaim. In 1997, he signed with Patrick and Robben Ford's Blue Rock'It Records, releasing three more albums including his latest, 2003's "Hall of Shame." He even served as the musical director for a blues musical, "Thunder Knocking on the Door," which played on the West Coast in the late 1990s.

These days, Cain is working on a handful of albums and he has launched his own record label, Chris Cain Records. The West Coast musician says he prefers the artistic freedom that small record companies offer. "I don't want anybody leaning over my pot of soup telling me what to put it in it," he says.

The same goes for blues "experts" who feel the need to tell him what the blues should sound like.

"There's always a guy in each town with a pompadour and a bowling shirt telling people what to listen to. I'm not going to listen," he said. "Then there was the Stevie Ray Vaughan period where everyone had a hat and a Strat. I love Stevie Ray Vaughan, but I already heard Albert King do that shit. There was even a period where if you had any skills it was a bad thing. Well, I've been playing for 30 years, so I can't help it if I know some shit. I can't start playing stupid. I'm too much of a music guy." CV

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