Biography

Jeff Shucard (aka Sweet Papa Lowdown), began his musical journey through the American Songbook as a child in his grandparent’s attic in Paterson, N.J. There he cranked up the family’s old Victrola and spent many dreamy hours listening to the jazzy, bluesy 78’s of artists such as Cliff Edwards, Red Nichols and Sophie Tucker. In some mysterious way, these scratchy old recordings captivated the boy - as, indeed, they still do today, some 60 years later.

This love of early 20th Century jazz and blues deepened when in his late teens he began frequenting the music clubs of nearby Greenwich Village. There he regularly heard such greats as Alberta Hunter, Doc Cheatham, and Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - as well as gifted folksy singer-songwriters like Jerry Jeff Walker, Paul Siebel, and Tim Harden. This experience, he well understood, was an exceptional privilege – and inspiration, as it was not long before he formed his first band, a folk rock group called the Wild Ammonoosuc String Band, a popular attraction in New England venues.

In the early 1970’s Jeff went into exile as a draft resister. After several years of foreign travel he took up residence in the west of Ireland where he performed in local pubs and folk clubs, concentrating on the music of Blind Blake, whose piano sounding guitar and tongue in cheek lyrics he found both challenging and entertaining.
By 1982, he had immigrated to Canada, setting up shop in Vancouver. It was there with Ray Charles alumnus Dan Marcus and Bocephus King - Jamie Perry that he created a group called Sweet Papa Lowdown. The trio performed a hybrid style of music he called post-modern retro-fusion hokum jazz and blues. This sound, he imagined, was what Blind Blake would have sounded like were he in New Orleans playing with a hot band of his own.

Local record label Azimuth signed the popular group to a three record contract on first hearing. Extensive airplay and festival appearances soon followed. Their CD release "Lost & Found" soon caught the attention of British jazz great Chris Barber. Barber had singlehandedly turned an entire generation of British musicians into blues fanatics in the 1950’s by bringing artists such as Muddy Waters and Sister Rosetta Tharpe to England. Impressed with Sweet Papa Lowdown’s sound, CHRIS BARBER contacted Jeff to suggest a collaboration. Summing up his admiration for the group, he told Jeff, “I RARELY HEAR AN ALBUM I WISH I HAD MADE MYSELF”.

This was high praise, indeed. Over the next two years Chris joined Sweet Papa Lowdown on successful concert tours. These performances resulted in a live CD titled "One of Your Smiles", produced by CBC Radio, Canada. Unfortunately, a subsequent European tour and further collaboration was cancelled due to Jeff being hospitalized with incapacitating health issues that sidelined him for the next several years.

Recovering from the debilitating illness, Jeff’s next found inspiration came from even further across the sea in the form of one Göksenin Tuncalı, a Turkish blues artist who has garnered international acclaim. The two met in Istanbul and being kindred spirits, immediately began working together. Göksenin, who sounds like a cross between Ma Rainey and Janis Joplin, is a passionate student of blues history and the president of the Turkish Blues Association, the first organization of its kind in Turkey. Here Jeff’s own lifelong interest in the blues found an unlikely but perfect home with Göksenin and company. This relationship resulted in many concert appearances, Göksenin’s release of Jeff’s song "Just Like a Fool" as a single and Jeff’s current release in hand, titled As Good As This, a collaboration of North American and Turkish musicians. This highly rewarding experience has been is in Jeff’s own words, "a true blessing that transcends all borders to a place of heart and harmony".

Jeff regularly returns to Turkey to work with his Turkish family of musicians. He also is a published writer who is currently working on a historical novel of the early jazz career of Jimmy Durante. He and his wife now live in Portugal.