A Real Bluesman

I was at the same Jonny Lang performance at the Hard Rock on April 5 as your reviewer (“A Blues Player in Need of a Little Aging,” April 7) but had a much different reaction.

I was moved; I was thrilled; I was jumping up and down. I was stunned to see a teenager play gut-bucket blues and deep-grooved rhythm-and-blues with such fiery conviction. But then, I remember that the artists whose biographies I’ve written--Ray Charles, B.B. King, Etta James, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson--began touring at about the same age as Jonny. The blues isn’t about age; it’s about feeling.

To my ears, Jonny Lang projects authentic feeling. His gifts are enormous. The hot blood of the blues flows through his veins. And all I can do is praise the power inspiring still another generation of musicians to carry on a tradition that excites our bones and nourishes our souls.

DAVID RITZ

Los Angeles