Magic Dick, the legendary harmonica player for Boston’s legendary J. Geils Band has recently partnered up with guitar and vocal sensation, Shun Ng, to create one of the most dynamic musical acts to come out of Boston in a long time. The music is soulful blues, rockin’ yet thoughtful and performed by arguably two of the top musicians at their respective instruments. Since 1969, MagicDick has toured the world playing and blowing away clubs and stadiums with the J. Geils Band. He explains the formation of the duo: “From the moment I first heard Shun Ng’s CD “Funky Thumb Stuff” I knew that a manifest musical collaboration was about to happen. Shun’s sound simply made me feel very alive and induced in me a synchronous alignment of musical DNA as if it was his intention as well as mine all along! I helped it along by asking his manager, Ralph Jaccodine to introduce us at his office. A long and enlightening conversation happened on that day of our first meeting and now we are a duo and I couldn’t be more delighted.”

Shun Ng was born in Chicago, raised in Singapore now based out of Boston. At 24 years old, he is already an international star, a soulful, world-class guitarist, vocalist, and electric performer who in a short period of time, has caught the attention of the top players in the music world including Quincy Jones who said: “When you see Shun Ng, you won’t believe your eyes nor your ears – he belies all stereotypes, all premonitions. I was simply blown away by both his soul and his science – his creativity and his uniqueness is astounding.”

“In this collaboration with Magic Dick,” Shun says, “we wanted to make music in a way that no one had quite done before while remaining grounded in our roots. Magic Dick brings a powerhouse attack with ferocious precision and a killer groove to this duo. I have great respect for him, he has seemingly done it all, but is still constantly trying to push the boundaries of music and chase the best in himself, a true artist. To be working with a true Boston legend is a real privilege.”

Magic Dick was born in New London, Connecticut, Magic Dick arrived in post-war America to the Atomic Bomb, World Peace, Bebop and Rhythm & Blues. Dynamic change and growth in the arts and technology would be the hallmark of this era and by the time he was eight Dick knew that music, painting and physics would be his primary interests. The trumpet was his constant companion and served as a springboard to the harmonica in his sophomore year at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts where he met J. Geils and Danny Klein and became a founding member of the J. Geils Blues Band in 1968.

By 1969 the band had moved to Boston and joined forces with Peter Wolf, Stephen Jo Bladd and Seth Justman. In 1970 the J. Geils Band recorded their first of nine albums for Atlantic Records and toured incessantly, jamming with many of the blues greats including Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Junior Wells and James Cotton. The band developed a reputation for 'getting crazy' and devastated audiences for fifteen years with their high-energy style of Rhythm & Blues and Rock & Roll. These recordings showcase Magic Dick's innovative harmonica playing, which served as a strong distinguishing sound for the band.

A series of five albums for EMI America followed culminating in the Platinum album Freeze Frame, released in 1981, which ascended to #1 on the Billboard album charts, spent four weeks there, and remained on the charts for a total of 70 weeks. The album's first single, "Centerfold," spent six weeks at #1 in Billboard. Freeze Frame's title track followed "Centerfold," peaking at #4.

Subsequent to The J. Geils Band, Magic Dick performed as a guest artist harmonica soloist for Patty Smyth, Debbi Harri, Full Circle, The Del Fuegos and Ryuici Sakamota, among others. In 1992, Magic Dick and J. Geils formed the band Bluestime featuring Magic Dick on harmonica and vocals and J. Geils on guitar.

Magic Dick's years of experimentation and searching for new sounds and stylings for the harmonica cultivated a strong desire to improve the flexibility and quality of the harmonica so as to better fit into contemporary music yet retain the best characteristics of harmonica sound and cultural history. This development continues to this day in the recordings of Bluestime on Rounder Records, which feature prototypes of Magic Harmonicas’ expanding the role of the harp now, and for the future. Magic Dick's intense drive to extend and enlarge the cultural history of the harmonica is shared in a balanced and fruitful union with Magic Harmonicas co-inventor and partner Pierre Beauregard.

In 2016, Magic Dick partnered up with award-winning guitar virtuoso and vocal sensation, Shun Ng for their debut release, "About Time". The debut album is a collection of technically daring interpretations of old classics and virtuosic originals and has been received with high reviews from the music world. The music is soulful yet intimate and intricate, performed by arguably two of the top musicians at their respective instruments. As an acoustic duo, each song and arrangement showcases the breadth and depth of the two instruments and the wide-ranging, adventurous spirits of these two artists and the results are astonishing.

+ Bouchard Brothers

http://www.joebouchard.com/bouchard_bros.

Albert and Joe Bouchard, are former members of the rock-and-roll band Blue Oyster Cult. Albert and Joe Bouchard have been honored with an induction into the 1000 Islands Hall of Fame in NY.

This show is a close-up look at two creative brothers whose music has lasted over the decades. The Bouchard Brothers also features Joan Levy Hepburn on guitar and vocals.

Joseph Bouchard and brother Albert Bouchard are former members of Blue Öyster Cult. Joe is skilled on many instruments including keyboards and trumpet. Bouchard's songwriting contributions often dealt with otherworldly themes, such as "Nosferatu" and "Light Years of Love".

Bouchard left Blue Öyster Cult in 1986, and since then has worked with several musical projects, including the Spencer Davis Group, and appeared on records by Deadringer (with Neal Smith & Dennis Dunaway), Fabienne Shine and his own X Brothers. In the last few years he completed his master's degree in music, and recently welcomed the new release of a CD with his band, BDS (Bouchard, Dunaway, Smith) with Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith of Alice Cooper Group and Deadringer. He also currently teaches at a number of preparatory school academies in Connecticut. He recently performed with his Washington Montessori School Acoustic and Rock band. He is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity.

Albert Bouchard is one of the founding members and driving force through the Blue Öyster Cult first decade. He has played on records for Mike Watt (Firehose, Minutemen) and Richie Stotts (Plasmatics), Gumball and Fabienne Shine. Bouchard has produced records for many other musicians, including Maria Excommunikata, Heads Up! and David Roter.

Until 2006, Bouchard's main musical project had been The Brain Surgeons, with whom he released several CDs on his own Cellsum Records label.

Albert Bouchard formed the band 'Blue Coupe' with his brother Joe and original Alice Cooper bassist Dennis Dunaway. Originally an Alice Cooper/Blue Öyster Cult cover act, 'Blue Coupe' has released two albums of original material.