Henry “Coco” Montoya was born in 1951 and through his long career, the drummer-turned-guitarist has played with musical geniuses like Albert Collins, John Lee Hooker, Kim Wilson, Big Joe Turner and Ronnie Baker Brooks.
“I’ve been doing this for a while, that’s for sure,” Montoya reflects. “And I’ve been blessed to know and work with some of the great names in the business."
Montoya first achieved fame when he joined John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers as their lead guitarist in the 1980s where his extraordinary guitar skills and powerful vocals gave him a reputation as an iconic blues man.
“I’m steeped in tradition, and I knew that if I played what I love, I was going to stand out. Good or bad, they’d know it was me,” Montoya said. "You have to find your own identity, your voice … that’s the hardest thing to do, but when you do, it’s the ultimate prize.”
Montoya’s career has seen a constant stream of releases that date back to 1995 with Gotta Mind to Travel, but in 2023 he brought his road band into the studio for the first time for his latest album, Writing on the Wall. The results were spectacular.
“Who else is going to play better with me than guys who have been on the road with me for years?” Montoya says. “Don't get me wrong, some of my best friends have played on my albums that are legends in the business, and I'm grateful for that – I've got great memories and I'm very proud of the music we've done.
"You have to find your own identity, your voice … that’s the hardest thing to do, but when you do, it’s the ultimate prize.”
"But this was a time that I wanted to have my boys come out and show what they can do in the studio and that was really important for us.”
The resulting album, with Rene Beaver on drums, Nate Brown on bass and Jeff Paris on keyboards, was a defining moment in Montoya’s journey.
“It was a great experience,” he says. “I hope to do it again.
“This industry has a tendency to put you in a box, but I’ve always appreciated all kinds of genres of music,” Montoya notes. “Musicians, including myself, always want to experiment and appreciate other genres and you’re always going to be influenced by the music of others. But like Eric (Clapton) said to me once, I’m a product of the blues and it’s a mainstay of what I do. I play the blues, and I apply that to any other genre that I do.
“The blues is a roux. It’s like for you make a good gumbo, you start with the blues as the roux and then you can add to it to make it even better.”
Montoya chuckled when asked about the changing face of music.
“To start with, music has to exist and be free. The blues has come and gone (into popularity) several times in my career. And each time it comes back it’s better.
“It’s important that we let the music breath. I remember that my dad loved big band music and heard me playing a record by Cream in my room when I was a kid. The lyrics ‘I’m so glad’ were repeated over and over and it didn’t make sense to him. The same thing happens to me now with what my daughter listens to. But you gotta let it breath and develop.”
Montoya does just that and allows his own music to continue to evolve.
“I’m 72 and I’m still hearing some great things – both new and old. I was listening to Charlie Pride the other day and I’d forgotten how good it was, so we can always learn from what we hear.”
Coco Montoya will be appearing at the Nanaimo Blues Festival on Saturday, Aug. 9. Find tickets and details at nanaimoblues.com/schedule.
