Albert Cummings

In the trajectory of observing the development of great musicians, there is no set schedule. Some seem fully formed from the very beginning, while others may take an entire career to reach that sublime place. Albert Cummings was strong right from the start and has developed through endless touring and nine previous albums up to this day with the release of the album TEN. Now it's an irrevocable truth that the musician has made a full breakthrough.

When Albert Cummings started planning the sessions that would become TEN, the first sign that this would be a turning point for him was establishing contact with producer Chuck Ainlay. Cummings knew that a new perspective for his music was right in front of him. "When you enter a room with such a producer, it seems that a whole new world of possibilities awaits you."

For someone with as much experience as Albert Cummings, such certainty about his new music speaks volumes. He is a singer and guitarist who has played with many of the most outstanding musicians of the contemporary era. Raised in Massachusetts and self-taught on the banjo, it was Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble's 1987 concert that opened Cummings to a new world of contemporary blues and inspired him to take up the guitar. It didn't take him long before he found himself at the front of the pack. Albert Cummings' first album FROM THE HEART (2003) was produced by Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon of Double Trouble and featured keyboardist Reese Wynans from the group.

From that first album, the evolving blues world of the 2000s opened its doors for Albert Cummings. He recorded several albums for Blind Pig Records, and on the 2012 NO REGRETS record, the guitarist expanded boundaries beyond the blues world, embracing country and rock influences like never before. It was clear that the musician did not want to limit himself in any way and saw broader possibilities for where his music could go. With the release by Cummings' independent label, Ivy Music Company, TEN is the full realization of that possibility.