J.P. Reali

Grateful Blues

Reali Records

J.P. Reali is a blues guitarist and singer-songwriter currently living in Newark, Delaware. Originally from New York, Reali spent nearly forty years living and performing in the Washington, D.C., area. A veteran of the D.C. scene, Reali has evolved from his early days as the lead guitarist for the psychedelic blues band the Next Step, to the acoustic blues duo the Reali Brothers, and onto a solo career. Reali is steeped in the traditions of both Piedmont and Delta blues with five solo releases under his belt: 2007’s “Cold Steel Blues,” 2010’s “Bottle of Blooze,” 2012’s “The Road To Mississippi,” 2019’s “A Highway Cruise,” and 2024’s “Blues Since Birth.” In addition, Reali won the D.C. Blues Society’s Battle of the Bands in the solo category in 2010 and 2011 and went on to compete in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. He was a Washington Area Music Association nominee for Best Blues Instrumentalist and for Best Traditional Blues Recording. He is a member of the D.C. Blues Society, the Baltimore Blues Society, and the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society.

Reali states, “Three pivotal things happened to me when I turned fourteen. I smoked marijuana for the first time. I started taking private guitar lessons, and I got my first Grateful Dead album. While I had heard their music previously, buying my very own Dead album was a big deal. It was the greatest hits album ‘Skeletons From The Closet.’ It was an unusual collection of their songs, but it had ‘Truckin” and ‘Casey Jones.’ I really loved the way they incorporated the blues into their songs. It would be the beginning of a lifelong infatuation with the music of the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia. While I was instantly transfixed by the way Jerry played guitar, it took me longer to realize that rhythm guitarist Bob Weir was just as innovative as Jerry. Both left an indelible mark on my life. This project is the culmination of almost fifty years of studying their music and guitar styles, which opened the doors to all their influences. I feel fortunate that I got to see them perform around 100 times. Who can honestly remember? I respectfully dedicate this recording to the memory of Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir. Their music will never stop!”

The musicians include Reali on guitars and vocals; Rich Budesa on keyboards; Monty Cullum on bass; Rob Swanson on acoustic bass on “Tennessee Jed”; Jim Larson on drums and percussion; and Trina Meade on backing vocal on “Loose Lucy.” The album was produced by Larson, recorded at Turtle Studios in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Lev Ziskind, and mixed and mastered by Andy Kravitz.

The album opens with “Easy Wind,” solely written by Dead lyricist Robert Hunter in 1970, with some great piano from Budesa, as Reali sings “I been ballin’ a shiny black steel jack-hammer, been chippin’ up rocks for the great highway, I live five years if I take my time. Ballin’ that jack and drinkin’ my wine. I been chippin’ them rocks from dawn till doom, while my rider hide my bottle in the other room. Easy wind cross the Bayou today, ’cause there’s a whole lotta women, out in red on the streets today, and the river keep a talkin’, but you never heard a word it said.”

On “Loose Lucy,” co-written by Hunter and Garcia in 1973, with more great piano and a slide solo from guitarist Reali, he chimes “Loose Lucy is my delight, she comes running and we ball all night, round and round and round and round, don’t take much to get me on the ground. She’s my yo-yo, I’m her string. Listen to the birds on the hot wire sing…thank you, for a real good time…I got jumped coming home last night, shadow in the alley turned out my lights…Bebop, baby how can this be, I know you’ve been cheating on me…I was just hanging out with the other guys, went back home with two black eyes…I like your smile but I ain’t your type, don’t shake the tree when the fruit ain’t ripe, yeah, thank you for a real good time.”

“West L.A. Fade Away” is another song co-written by Hunter and Garcia in 1982, as Reali chants “Looking for a chateau, 21 rooms but one will do, looking for a chateau 21 rooms but one will do, I don’t want to buy it, I just want to rent it for a dollar or two. I met an old mistake walkin’ down the street today, I didn’t want to be mean, but I didn’t have one good word to say. West L.A. fadeaway, little red light on the highway, big green light on the speedway, hey-hey-hey, I had a steady job holding items for the mob, know the pay was pathetic, it’s a shame those boys couldn’t be more copasetic… I need a West L.A. girl…”

On “I Need A Miracle,” written by Bob Weir and John Barlow and first performed by the Dead in 1978, Reali moans “I need a woman ’bout twice my age, a lady of nobility, gentility and rage. A splendor in the dark, lightning on the draw, who’ll go right through the book and break every law…I need a woman ’bout twice my height, statuesque, reven-tressed, a goddess of the night, a secret incantation, candle burning blue, will consult the spirits, they’ll know what to do…just one thing and I’ll be o.k., I need a miracle every day.”

“Mr. Charlie,” written by Hunter and Rod McKernan in 1971, features Reali as he wails “I take a little powder, I take a little salt, put it in my shotgun and I go walkin’ out, Chuba, chuba, Wooley, booley, lookin’ high, lookin’ low, gonna scare you up and shoot you, Mr. Charlie told me so.”

On the closer, “Tennessee Jed,” written by Hunter and Garcia in 1971 and featuring some great finger-pickin’ from Reali, he croons “Cold Iron shackles, ball and chain, listen to the whistle of the evening train, you know you bound to wind up dead, if you don’t head back to Tennessee, Jed. Tennessee, Tennessee, there ain’t no place I’d rather be, Baby won’t you carry me, back to Tennessee.”

Raised on a steady stream of Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, and the blues — all frequent spins from his parents’ record collection, and not coincidentally, all influences themselves on the Grateful Dead — Reali gravitated toward artists that idealized it all into arena rock gold. Whether Jimi Hendrix, Yes, or the Allman Brothers Band — and of course, the Dead — Reali found overflowing founts of inspiration. He studied guitar as a prodigious young student encouraged by his public school music teacher. He formed bands and played the blues. At American University, he chased gigs and dreams, finding a compatriot in Larson. The obligations and opportunities of Reali’s life merged into a successful career as an audio engineer, working in studios booking everything from the Rolling Stones to Barbra Streisand. Additionally, he spent a tenured stint turning knobs at the venerable Kennedy Center in the nation’s capital. He made records of his own, including this, his sixth recording, the EP “Grateful Blues,” that will be sure to garner Reali more widespread recognition in the jam band scene.

Richard Ludmerer

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