Jeff Pitchell (born April 11, 1966 in Hartford, Connecticut, United States) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, recording artist, instructor, and actor who is inducted into the Connecticut Blues Hall of Fame. He leads the band Jeff Pitchell and Texas Flood performing original and classic rock selections. Based in

Rocky Hill, Connecticut Rocky Hill is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,845 at the 2020 census. It was originally land of the Wangunks (a tribe of Native Americans). Europeans began to settle the area of Rocky Hill in 1650, a ...

, Pitchell has performed throughout the United States as well as internationally.

Life and career

Pitchell earned early recognition for his guitar prowess at the age of 15 by winning the Best Guitarist in State of Connecticut contest held at the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. The university attracts students from 48 states and 43 countries. The university and it ...

. He graduated from the

Watkinson School Watkinson School is a private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Pr ...

in Hartford, Connecticut in 1984. He has since won numerous additional awards for music performance and recording. Pitchell set aside a teaching career to pursue his true passion: playing the guitar and entertaining people. Pitchell and Texas Flood recently won recognition as the Best Blues Band Show in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...

Performances

Pitchell in 2014 performed Southbound with the

Allman Brothers Band Allman may refer to: Music *The Allman Brothers Band, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame southern rock band, formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Allman Joys, an early band formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Gregg Allman Band People * Allman (surna ...

at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. This performance was recorded and released on Peach Records/Munck Music in March 2014. He has also performed and/or recorded with

Phil Lesh Philip Chapman Lesh (born March 15, 1940) is an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career. After the band's disbanding in 1995, Lesh continued the tradition of ...

Rick Derringer Rick Derringer (born Richard Dean Zehringer; August 5, 1947) is an American guitarist, vocalist, producer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the 1960s as founding member of his band, the McCoys. Their debut single, " Hang on Sloopy", was ...

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, B.B. King,

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaug ...

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Dave Mason David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic. Over the course of his career, Mason has played and recorded with many notable pop and rock m ...

James Cotton James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career. ...

, Fabulous Thunderbirds,

NRBQ NRBQ is an American rock music, rock band founded by Terry Adams (musician), Terry Adams (piano), Steve Ferguson (guitar) and Joey Spampinato (bass). Originally the "New Rhythm and Blues Quintet", the group was formed around 1965. Adams disbande ...

John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among its ...

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, and The Commitments. Pitchell has appeared on national TV and radio, including for the World Champion

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and Boston Braves (baseball), since 1953, i ...

, and for

Don Imus John Donald Imus Jr. (July 23, 1940 – December 27, 2019), also known mononymously as Imus, was an American radio personality, television show host, recording artist, and author. His radio show, '' Imus in the Morning'', was aired on various sta ...

on his radio and TV show on

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politic ...

Associations

Pitchell has collaborated with many internationally recognized performers; Michael Allman (

Gregg Allman Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman Br ...

’s son), Claudette King (B.B. King's daughter), Sheila Raye (

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

daughter, James Montgomery,

J. Geils John Warren Geils Jr. () (February 20, 1946 – April 11, 2017), known professionally as J. Geils or Jay Geils, was an American guitarist. He was known as the leader of The J. Geils Band. Growing up in New York City, Geils became interested in ...

, Charles Neville, and Carla Cooke ( Sam Cooke's daughter).

Awards and recognition

He was inducted into Connecticut Blues Hall of Fame in 2018. ''Heavy Hitter'' was listed on the national ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Top Blues Album Chart at No. 7, where the majority of the songs on the album were written by Pitchell. He won the "Best Guitarist" in the State of Connecticut at age 15. He has won numerous awards since, including two songwriting awards from the Great American Songwriting Contest. The International Songwriting Contest (ISC) judge and blues musician,

, subsequently recorded Pitchell's song "An Eye for an Eye" on one of his albums, ''

Tough Tough may refer to: * Toughness, the resistance to fracture of a material when stressed * Machismo, prominently exhibited or excessive masculinity * Psychological resilience Tough may also refer to: People * Allen Tough (1936–2012), Canadian ...

''. Pitchell and his band, Texas Flood, won the Best Blues Act in New England in a six-state vote.

Discography

*''Fat Cigars'' (1997, Premier) *''One Day Away'' (1999, Premier) *''Face To Face'' (2001, Premier) *''Heavy Hitter'' (2002, Pyramid/EMI) *''One for the Fans'' (2006, Premier) *''Rockin' Songs for Kids'' (2010, Premier) *''American Girl'' (2010, Vizztone) *''Allman Brothers Band'' (Peach/Munck Music) *''Playin' With My Friends'' (2023, Deguello)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitchell, Jeff 1966 births Living people American blues singers American blues guitarists American rock singers American rock guitarists Musicians from Hartford, Connecticut Songwriters from Connecticut