PATRICK HAZELL

PATRICK'S BIO

Patrick Hazell grew up on the Mississippi River.

As a performer, he can fill up a large hall with up-tempo dance music, or he can create an intimate small-club atmosphere with jazz-inflected ballads and blues. His wide repertoire includes rhythm and blues standards, as well as many original compositions belted out from the heart and soul. Pat delivers a spontaneous performance suited to each particular setting, be it a large concert, back-country roadhouse, Mississippi River beach party, wedding dance, school assembly, or downtown blues club.

Hazell gets the sound of a full band by accompanying his vocals with keyboards, foot-powered percussion, and harmonica - all at the same time. But, as one reviewer put it, "Don't call Hazell a novelty act... he's a full-blown, throttle-open blues experience."

With his "one-man-band" set-up he continues to stretch and develop an original style that began when he taught himself to play boogie-woogie piano at age eleven in 1956.

Hazell started his professional career in 1960, playing piano in a three-piece band in Burlington, Iowa. In 1968, he established the Mother Blues Band in Iowa City. Through the 1970's and early 1980's, Mother Blues toured extensively in the Midwest and achieved legendary status.

In 1983, Hazell decided a change was needed, and he launched a career as a solo performer. In this format, he was able to expand his music into Europe.

In addition to exposure from his live performances, many of his recordings (36 albums as of the year 2007), have had significant airplay, both regionally and nationally, and he has been the subject of numerous news articles and television-radio broadcasts throughout his career.

He has also composed and performed sound tracks for several short independent movies throughout his career beginning with a 1965 University of Iowa production by film maker, Jack Galif, that was included in an international film festival in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Other short film projects include the 1999 SKYY VODKA CINEMA release, Meeting Genevieve, strarring super model, Claudia Schiffer; and the 2002 ARIESWORKS ENTERTAINMENT release, The Next Table. Hazell, along with his band, The Mother Blues Band, performed much of the sound track for the full-length 1970 release, Nine-O'Clock In The Afternoon. Some of his music is also included in The Yoofo Club--full-length film produced in 1998 by THE TALENT SOURCE/MAD GENIE PRODUCTIONS.

Hazell is affiliated with Broadcast Musicians Incorporated (BMI), The National Academy of The Recording Arts; and he is affiliated with Arts Midwest, the Iowa Arts Council, and is listed in the Iowa Arts Council's Arts In Education and the Performing Artists Touring Rosters. Funding is available through these programs to finance his appearance in community festivals, concerts, workshops, and educational events.

As an educator, Hazell plays his music and deals with such topics as songwriting, improvisation, and the elements of jazz and blues music. In this capacity, he was an instructor in a special music class at Washington (Iowa) High School from 1987-1995. Entitled 'Advanced Instrumental Music', the class was spotlighted by Iowa Public Television (Living in Iowa, December 25, 1992) for its innovative approach to music education, allowing the students to create and perform their own music. He has also presented numerous Blues-In-The-School programs.

The Des Moines Register has called Hazell "a legend in Iowa Music," is considered by many to be one of the finest and most creative harmonica players in the music world, and was inducted into the IOWA BLUES HALL OF FAME on December 17, 2000, and the IOWA MUSIC ASSOCIATION ROCK N ROLL HALL OF FAME, on September 2, 2007.