Christian Lancry

Chris Lancry, guitar and harp player born in 1951 in Marseille France, started playing guitar at the age of 12. Playing Beatles and Stones songs with various bands, he discovered Bob Dylan in 1964 and started to play blues and American traditional folk music. In 1970, he went to Paris and started performing at the T.M.S and the American Center. In this famous place, he met Bill Deraime, Jean-Jacques Milteau, Pat Woods (2), Roger Mason (3), Steve Waring, Alain Giroux and later, Marcel Dadi and Dick Annegarn. Philippe Rault and Philippe Paringaux, two rock’n roll journalists and record producers, noticed him while he was playing on street corners. In 1971, he recorded his first album, in the vein of traditional blues: Blues From Over The Border with other musicians like Karel Bogard, Roger Mason (3) and Derroll Adams (Woody Guthrie road fellow), Chris played National steel guitar and harp. At the end of 1971, he left France for the United States hoping to see his idols, Big Joe Williams, John Hammond etc.… in Greenwich Village clubs. After returning to France, he started to perform in the budding club and festival circuit. His guitar style is based on both traditional playing and improvisation. After studying Lightnin’ Hopkins, Robert Johnson and different acoustic blues styles, he discovered «White music» by Doc Watson, Merle Travis and Jerry Reed. His playing is a mix of all these influences. Since the Sixties, he has been playing with a plastic thumbpick and two irons fingerpick (index and middle finger). He also plays «Strumming» and «Flat picking». In the best tradition of Bob Dylan, Doc Watson or John Paul Hammond, he plays guitar and harp simultaneously (with a rack). In 1998, he was named Best Acoustic Blues Guitarist at the First Edition of the France Blues Awards. He plays at clubs and festivals, and he has released several albums. He also plays with the Autour Du Blues on their albums and in concerts, playing mainly acoustic slide guitar and harp.