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STAR LETTER

UNDER THE INFLUENCE

Coco Montoya had a 10-year tenure with John Mayall

PHOTO BY PAUL NATKIN/WIREIMAGE

Having reached the age of 72 I have recently stopped gigging due to failing health after playing in local covers bands for over 50 years. I have been reflecting on my many influences over the years. One band that I have followed since the very early days is John Mayall and his Bluesbreakers, and it is great to see that he is still performing. My first repertoires consisted mainly of songs from his early albums with Eric Clapton and Peter Green. I have seen the Bluesbreakers live many times over the years and have loved the solo work of people like Walter Trout and Buddy Whittington.

I have recently been revisiting my favourite of [Mayall’s] guitarists, Coco Montoya. He is probably not as well known as some of the other names and I don’t recall many references to him in Guitarist. I was fortunate enough to catch one of his gigs with his band while on a trip to New York about 20 years ago at the Bottom Line Club. Before the gig I had been browsing in a nearby record shop and was approached by his keyboard player who had spotted me buying one of their CDs. After the gig he introduced me to Coco and we had a very pleasant half hour discussing guitars and amps and his time with John Mayall alongside Walter Trout.

I have recently been revisiting Coco’s several solo albums on Spotify and am still bowled over by his soulful playing as well as his great singing voice. He is now back on top of my playlists along with Joe Bonamassa and Matt Schofield. Well worth a listen for anyone not familiar with his work.

Tom Woods, via email

Thanks for writing in, Tom – and the praise of Coco Montoya is certainly deserved. He’s sometimes overlooked as a powerful but poised player with a great voice, too. It’s always a pleasure when you can enjoy a conversation with players of that calibre, not as a selfie-seeking fan but a fellow guitarist. Your letter is also a nice reminder of how some musicians, such as John Mayall, are like great trees in the landscape of music, whose long-lived branches support all kinds of careers; witness the number of great players Mayall has had in his band. Honestly, has anyone ever had more or better guitarists in his line-up than Mayall? At any rate, you’ve earned this month’s Star Letter prize.