J. P. Soars and his band, the Red Hots, took home top honors at the 2009 IBC Challenge, and he won the Albert King Blues Guitar award. Soars was born in California, but raised in Arkansas and ended up in south Florida, where he not only plays with the Red Hots, but also with the Gypsy Blues Acoustic Revue, which focuses on the classic jazz material of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, so you might say that he’s pretty well-rounded in his musical tastes.

His debut release, Back of My Mind, focuses on the blues though, and it’s a keeper.

Soars’ guitar work is dynamite and his gravelly vocals suit his material well. The track list consists of four original tunes by Soars and eight covers. The original tunes include the autobiographical opening track, “Born In California, Raised In Arkansas,” which recounts Soars’ formative years and gives him a good opportunity to show his guitar chops. The other originals include the soulful “Will I Ever,” “Call My Baby,” a funky track featuring Soars’ growling vocals, some sweet fretwork, and Jon Epstein’s Hammond B3.

The cover tunes include Guitar Slim’s “Letter To My Girlfriend,” a buoyant Willie Dixon’s “29 Ways,” Muddy Waters’ “Gypsy Woman,” given a bit of a jazzy feel thanks to former Elvin Bishop saxman Terry Hanck, a hard-swinging version of T-Bone Walker’s “Low Dirty Deal,” an acoustic reading of Rev. Gary Davis’ “Cocaine,” Johnny “Guitar” Watson’s “Gangster of Love,” and J. B. Lenoir’s “Been Down So Long.”

The final two tracks, Soars’ “Baby I Used To Love You,” and Josef Myrow’s “Blue Drag,” are solid representations of the Django Reinhart style that Soars is so fond of and provide a nice change of pace to close the disc out.

From the sound of things, Soars has a bright future that might not necessarily be limited to the blues side of things. He’s a very versatile guitarist who is well-versed in several different genres. Hopefully, he will focus on the blues for a while longer. Back of My Mind is a remarkable first release that blues fans need to check out. Visit Soars’ website or his MySpace page for more information.