Always Funkin’ Da Blues

“When the blues began, the countryside was quiet. Loudest of the sounds to break the stillness was the roar of a steam train as it traced its way through the lowlands, leaving a smudge of smoke against the blue sky. A brief moment of excitement as it passed, a shrill whistle, dipping and wailing like a blues and, it would be gone. It’s said that the engineers tuned their steam whistle ‘quills’ to play a blues but, it probably just sounded like this to the field hands who knew the hour by the regular trains.”

ColdtrainBlues: The Story

I was invited by a friend to a rehearsal to hear a guitarist everyone was buzzing about—Jeffery “Coltrane” Colbert.
He had taken the nickname “Coltrane,” spelling it in homage to the legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane.

From the first notes, Jeff’s talent was undeniable.
He wasn’t just a master of the blues; he could move effortlessly through jazz, bop, pop, latin—whatever you threw at him, he could play it.

Still, the blues remained his true home, and he had developed a sound that was both authentic and remarkably versatile.

At the time, the blues world was still mourning the loss of the great Johnny “Guitar” Watson.

Sensing Jeff’s potential to help fill that musical void, I told him we ought to tweak the spelling of his nickname, because as much as we admired Coltrane, there could only ever be one. Jeff agreed, so we settled on “Coldtrain,” and I named the new band ColdtrainBlues.

We booked time at the legendary MidiCity Sound studio, run by Rising Sun Records, and began work on our debut album, “The Party Train.”

Jeff proved the perfect choice—not only did his guitar work shine, but his voice delivered a raw, earthy blues vibe that anchored the band’s sound.
The album was a hit, winning praise from the blues community and earning rave reviews in major publications, including the influential Living Blues World.

Eventually, Jeff decided to pursue a solo career, releasing his first solo album, “American Bluesman,” while the band carried on, recording two more acclaimed albums:
“Funking Da’ Blues” and the latest,“Jumping’ At Da’ Juke Joint!”.

And as the late Paul Harvey would say, that’s the rest of the story.