Sean Costello played lead guitar on Susan Tedeschi’s debut album while still in high school

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 4, 2007

By Steve Newton

The world is full of wicked blues guitarists, but few are as downright tasty as 26-year-old Sean Costello. He started playing at the age of nine, shortly after moving from Philadelphia to Atlanta, absorbing the skills of the sharpest pickers around.

“Hubert Sumlin was the first guy to really catch my ear,” recalls Costello from his Atlanta home, before citing Otis Rush, Muddy Waters, and Freddie King as influential too. He quickly adds swing-jazz players Charlie Christian and Tiny Grimes to the list, and “the Muscle Shoals guys”, Eddie Hinton and Jimmy Johnson.

“Steve Cropper is a big hero of mine too,” he offers, not wanting to leave anyone out.

By the time he was 14, Costello had won an award from the Memphis Blues Society; three years later he released his first album, Call the Cops. He now has four CDs under his belt, although it’s his playing on Susan Tedeschi’s gold-selling debut, Just Won’t Burn, that has managed to reach the most ears so far. He recorded most of his work on that disc before graduating from high school.

“They flew me up to Boston and paid me, like, 600 bucks and I thought I’d hit the big time,” he says. “It was my band backing her up, and we were touring, and all of a sudden she blew up and got that gold album. I wasn’t expecting that; I thought I was just makin’ a little record.”

Costello’s latest album shows him branching out from traditional Chicago-style blues to incorporate more funky and soulful sounds. The self-titled disc—which features appearances by bass god Willie Weeks and legendary drummer Levon Helm—was recorded in New York City at the Magic Shop, which is owned by producer Steve Rosenthal (the Rolling Stones, Lou Reed).

“I wanted to branch out and do some different sorts of songs,” notes Costello, “and Steve just helped me feel comfortable with that.”

Rosenthal was responsible for hooking Costello up with Weeks, as well as with the horn section from Conan O’Brien’s band (trumpeter Mark Pender and saxophonist Jerry Vivino), which plays on four tracks. Levon Helm’s daughter, Amy, provides backing vocals on five songs, while Costello handles lead vocals and guitar, except for the National Steel that NYC Renaissance man Jimi Zhivago subtly strums on a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Simple Twist of Fate”.

When it comes to songwriting influences, Costello rates Dylan number one.

“I actually like his singing a lot too,” he points out. “I think he’s a real expressive singer. A lot of people don’t agree with me, but I think he really knows how to deliver a lyric and create an image in your mind.

“I’ve always been more of a blues/jazz/gospel sorta fan, even as a young kid, but I’ve always liked Dylan’s stuff. Dylan and the Band are probably my favourite rock ’n’ roll artists.”

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