Beginning in his early career playing the usual round of high school dances and local functions, it didn't take long before the young guitar player/ singer was setting up his gear on more visible stages.At the age of fifteen he played Ottawa's L'Hibou coffee house where he had occasion to meet blues heroes Howlin' Wolf, Otis Span and James Cotton. If there had never been any question as to which direction Muddy would venture musically, those auspicious meetings laid any doubts to rest. Some people are born to play the Blues. Whether he knew it at the time or not, Muddy Fraser was one of them.

At age 20, Muddy was playing in The Take It Easy Blues Band with the drummer from Howlin' Wolf's band, who hailed from Chicago. The other guitar player in that band, Jim Prophet, got Muddy into B.B. King's music and Chicago blue-style guitar, a la T-Bone Walker. Armed with that inspirational honing skills on guitar, blues harp and vocals, Muddy and his band toured Canada and the United States playing the coffeehouse and college circuit.

In 1975, it was Vancouver's turn to discover Muddy when he moved to the West Coast. It didn't take long for the tall man with the Les Paul and the soulful voice to make fans and musicians alike sit up and take notice. He became a familiar presence at Vancouver's premiere blues club, The YaleHotel, playing with veteran Jack Lavin(bass) in the bar's backup band. Together, they supported such established acts as Pinetop Perkins, TajMahal, Big Joe Duskin, Guitar Shorty and countless other blues greats. In 1983 and 1985, Muddy recorded two independent albums with his own band, The Muddy Fraser Band. A credit to his song writing skill that combine traditional blues elements with inspired new material, both albums boast an impressive selection of original tunes. In demand by other local blues musicians, Muddy's contributions can also be heard on several notable recordings. Russel Jackson, who played bass with B.B. King for seven years, made use of Muddy's talents both as a writer and player on his 1993 album,The Alley Man. Muddy's harmonica playing is featured on local artist Tim Hearsey's recently released CD, Close Calls, and can also be heard on BestKept Secret, a harp compilation album recorded live at The Yale and distributed by Thumbs Up Music.

Currently, Muddy is busy fronting The Muddy Fraser Band, and bringing his own brand of soul satisfying blues to the Vancouver-area clubs. He also spends his time teaching and has recently been making inroads to the film industry, with appearances in several locally shot movies.

Visit www.muddyfraser.com