Led by singers/songwriters/guitar wizards Breezy Rodio and Will Jacobs, “Electric Soul Company” evokes in name the late great American TV show, “Soul Train”– a dance party going full blast with an abundance of hair, colorful outfits, and limbs flailing to the infectious soul R&B, and funk hits of the day. Spin up Electric Soul Company and you will find there is definitely a party going on – yeah, THAT kind of party!
Breezy and Will bring to this project a deep affection for, and mastery of, myriad tangent forms of 20th century American music – particularly genuine deep blues, but also soul, funk and even shades of dance music –t o producing a masterfully crafted album in which the interplay of the two guitars is bedrock to their sound. The two pack a maximum amount of music with a minimum amount of instrumentation: just straight-ahead blues, searing soul, and no-frills funk.
The astute listener to these stylistically varied, primarily original, compositions will surely surrender to the intensity of their feeling, marvel at the musicianship, savor acute attention to the musical details, and move in full appreciation of their blues, soul, and funk. There is indeed an electric soul party going on! Get in here!
–JUSTIN O’BRIEN • LIVING BLUES MAGAZINE
Electric Soul Company – ELECTRIC SOUL COMPANY – Delmark 899 (2026)
TRACK LISTING
➊ IF YOU THINK I NEED YOU……………..5:57 (Jacobs)
➋ DOWN ON HALSTED STREET…………3:17 (Jacobs)
➌ SO CLOSE TO IT…………………………………4:08 (Rodio)
➍ BEEN THERE DONE THAT………………..5:02 (Linsey Alexander/Rodio/Hall)
➎ HEY BABY……………………………………………….2:23 (Jacobs)
➏ ARE YOU SERIOUS……………………………..5:04 (Leo Graham/R. Miner/LV Johnson)
➐ OUR LOVE……………………………………………….3:41 (Jacobs/Rodio)
➑ SHO FEELS GOOD……………………………….2:49 (Rodio/Jacobs)
➒ WOMAN’S GOTTA HAVE IT……………..4:30 (Daryl Carter/Bobby & Linda Womack)
➓ WE STILL GOT A THING……………………3:27 (Rodio)
WHO
BREEZY RODIO.…………. Guitar and Vocals
WILL JACOBS…………….. Guitar and Vocals
LIGHT PALONE…………………………………Bass
LORENZO FRANCOCCI………………..Drums
SHERYL YOUNGBLOOD……………..Vocals on “So Close To It”
BREEZY RODIO – vocals, guitar
Born in Rome and forged in Chicago, Breezy Rodio has become one of the city’s standout blues guitarists and vocalists. After joining Linsey Alexander’s band, Rodio went on to build an international career as a bandleader and recording artist. Breezy’s Delmark releases (If It Ain’t Broke Don’t Fix It and Sometimes The Blues Got Me) showcase his love of classic Chicago blues, soul, jump blues, R&B and funk—and his guitar and vocals bring that experience straight into Electric Soul Company.
WILL JACOBS – vocals, guitar
Chicago-born and raised, Berlin-based Will Jacobs is a guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and producer with an international résumé. A Berklee College of Music graduate, Jacobs has toured extensively and performed with artists including C.J. Chenier, George Clinton, Carl Weathersby, Mike Wheeler, Sharon Lewis, Mississippi Heat, Shemekia Copeland, and more! His playing brings together blues, funk, soul and R&B, making him the perfect musical counterpart to Rodio.
“The Electric Soul Company is a musical project formed by Will Jacobs and Breezy Rodio, two musicians with extensive Blues and Soul experience who merged their talents for a new venture after playing together in Chicago. They tour and perform their unique style of Blues and Soul worldwide, representing a combination of their individual careers and musical growth.”
When two-time Delmark recording artist Breezy Rodio and Ruf Records’ Will Jacobs hit the stage together, magic happens. These musical brothers started their journey in the heart of Chicago’s blues scene, cutting their teeth backing the legendary Linsey Alexander. After years learning from the city’s finest and touring the world with their own distinctive sounds, they’ve reunited to create something extraordinary: Electric Soul Company.
This is blues and soul forged in the fires of Chicago, tempered by a decade of global touring, and delivered with the raw energy and refined artistry that only comes from true masters of their craft. Expect a full band experience that bridges generations, blending classic grit with contemporary fire.
Two brothers. One stage. Pure Electric Soul. Full Band Show
Check out some of the videos!
“ARE YOU SERIOUS” (big soul hit from Tyrone Davis!)
The ultra Chicago funk blues dance party original
“Down on Halsted Street”
And their version of their mentor Linsey Alexander‘s hit,
“Been There Done That”
Bio of Electric Soul Company
Electric Soul Company is a high-energy blues and soul collaboration between Breezy Rodio and Will Jacobs, two of the most respected young artists in the genre. The project was formed after the two musicians played together in Chicago’s vibrant blues scene, eventually merging their talents into a unique musical partnership Delmark Records.
Breezy Rodio is a Delmark recording artist and acclaimed Chicago guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter known for his crisp electric blues playing and expressive vocals inspired by legends like T-Bone Walker and B.B. King. Will Jacobs is a Ruf Records recording artist with a strong background in blues and soul. Both grew up in Chicago, performing with notable acts such as Linsey Alexander, and developed their careers through years of touring and learning from the city’s finest musicians.
Electric Soul Company blends classic electric blues with contemporary soul and R&B, delivering a full-band sound that bridges generations. Their performances are known for upbeat grooves, funky rhythms, and the raw energy of Chicago blues, often featuring Lorenzo Francocci on drums and Light Palone on bass.
The duo has toured and performed worldwide, representing the best of Chicago’s blues heritage while bringing a fresh, modern edge to the genre. They have appeared at major festivals such as the Lucca Blues Festival in Italy and have delivered live shows in the UK and beyond Delmark Records+1. Their music has been released on Delmark Records, with singles like “Are You Serious?” and albums in the works.
Electric Soul Company is more than a band — it’s a musical partnership forged in Chicago’s blues heartland, combining decades of experience, shared roots, and a passion for the genre. They are recognized for their ability to deliver both the grit of classic blues and the soul of modern R&B, making them a standout act in the global blues and soul scene.
Breezy Rodio Bio
By any standard, Breezy Rodio’s blues odyssey has encompassed quite a few more miles than that of most up and coming musicians now riding the competitive Chicago circuit. In 2007 Rodio joined the band of guitarist Linsey Alexander, known as “The Hoochie Man” to his many devoted fans.
Breezy soon advanced to a bandleading role with Alexander’s outfit, the guitarist working on his 2010 CD If You Ain’t Got It as well as Linsey’s two acclaimed Delmark albums, 2012’s Been There Done That and his most recent release in 2014, Come Back Baby. But Rodio found time to do his own thing too, cutting his 2011 debut album Playing My Game Too with a stellar supporting cast that included guest guitarists Lurrie Bell, Rockin’ Johnny, and Dave Herrero and bassist Bob Stroger along with Alexander and Guy King. In 2015 Breezy releases his second album, So Close to It. The album obtained very favorable reviews from all corners of the map. It reached the number two spot nationwide in the Chicago Blues category on the Roots Music Report, the number one independent music chart in the world.
On So Close To It, Breezy reaffirms his crisp, clean mastery of electric blues guitar, displaying a keen sense of tradition and proving himself a convincing vocalist as well. He’s invited another cadre of Chicago’s top blues luminaries to join him, led by harpist extraordinaire Billy Branch, searing guitarist Bell, and two-fisted pianist Ariyo. Hammond B3 master Chris Foreman is on board too, along with jazz mainstays Art Davis and Bill Overton on trumpet and saxophone respectively. He toured Japan three times, playing clubs and festivals, then embarked on several tours of South America, two tours of Europe, plus jaunts to Canada and Mexico.
His first Delmark Release, “Sometimes the Blues Got Me” sparkles throughout with clean guitar lines, masterfully played, and with plush, richly layered arrangements in which horns evoke the early orchestrations of T-Bone and B.B. Incorporating lump, swing, jump, early double shuffle, ballads and funk, the hard working, ambitious Breezy Rodio displays his mastery of the guitar while spanning the breadth of his interests, from 1940s jump blues to today’s funktinged urban blues. It sure seems that “The Blues” has got Breezy Rodio more than just ‘sometimes.’ It’s got him good.
In 2019 Breezy released his second album with Delmark Records, “If It Ain’t Broke Don’t Fix It” receiving rave reviews all over the world. The album made it to the “Living Blues Magazine top 50 Blues Albums of 2019”
His latest CD, “Underground Blues” is a combination of traditional and modern indie Blues. Produced by Texas Guitar legend Anson Funderburgh. Recorded at The Wire Studios in Austin, TX in 2022 by Stuart Sullivan.
Will Jacobs Bio
“Take a Chicago born Blues Man and transplant them to Germany, things can get wild in an exciting sort-of-way. Will Jacobs is that excitement, and plays like a Blues Man possessed. His mastery of the guitar leaves one in complete admiration of his dedication to the Blues/Rock craft.” –– INDIE PULSE MUSIC
“It’s amazing where your instrument will take you,” reflects Will Jacobs – and when the acclaimed 29-year-old bandleader looks back up the tracks from his latest album, Goldfish Blues, his backstory feels like a wheel spinning road movie. Stick a pin in Jacobs’ early timeline and you’ll find a teenage guitarist with an old-soul touch, backing up the blues-club veterans of his native Chicago and adding his own thumbprint to the Windy City lineage sparked by towering figures like Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy.
Catch him further down the line and you’ll find a professional musician making a big noise at 2009’s Memphis International Blues Showcase, where Jacobs’ first band, Dirty Deal, turned heads with their leader’s improvisational chops and gale-force vocals. Trekking north to Berklee College Of Music, he seemed the student most-likely-to, and so it proved, with Jacobs pinballing from his role as a first-call songwriter and sessioner in the US, to a musical residency in Sri Lanka and tours with the Zydeco talisman C.J. Chenier.
Flash-forward to 2016 and it took a leap of faith for Jacobs to put down roots in Berlin, but planting that flag in Europe has paid off, with a steadily growing fanbase and sell-out tours that span from Germany to Poland, Ukraine to Armenia. “One of the most memorable gigs,” he remembers, “will always be playing in the oldest bullfighting arena in the world in Béjar, Spain.”
By now, you might have guessed: Jacobs is a man in constant motion, both geographically and creatively. So it’s apt that his new release, Goldfish Blues, was tracked in one whip-cracking, blue-sky-thinking burst, in the same time period it takes most bands to open their flight cases and tune up. “We had a week,” says Jacobs of the sessions at Berlin’s Big D Studio. “In comparison to most albums, it’s a short time. But I’ll always have that image of us all being in one room together, and you’ll definitely hear that come out in the music.”
As renowned for his writing as his burnt-honey voice and stinger guitar, Jacobs brought the best songs of his career to Berlin. From the irresistibly lazy roll of Katie’s Blues to the frayed strut of Dirty Dog, via the jazzy swirl of I Wish and the no-explanation-needed Funky Woman, these tracks nod to vintage traditions but are tooled for modern listeners, with Jacobs barking universal truths that cross generations. “Love, anger, money, happiness and being naïve,” he explains. “These are some of the things you’ll hear about in the album. But you’ll have to listen yourself to find out the rest.”
Likewise, while Goldfish Blues keeps one foot in that titular genre, Jacobs shakes off prescriptive tags and spices his material with anything that makes his neck tingle. “I’d describe the music as a funky blues experience,” he explains. “While there are some traditional blues songs on the album, there is definitely a mix of funk and soul within the album.”
It takes a special group of players to make this music fly in the face of a ticking clock. But while Jacobs led the line with his commanding vocals and hot-knife fretwork, he’s matched by a crack studio band that comprises Stef Rosen (guitar), Brian Sauls (drums), Matthias Falkenau (organ) and Thomas ‘Tomek’ Germann (bass). Their nose-to-nose chemistry, Jacobs reflects, was verging on telepathic, and the results are often speaker-shakingly loud. “Make sure to turn it up to 11,” he advises.
Almost two decades into his career, the accomplishments in Jacobs’ rear-view mirror are quite something. But as he prepares to release the game-changing Goldfish Blues – and take these new songs on the road – it’s where the guitarist is headed next that’s most compelling. Catch him if you can…
https://www.instagram.com/electricsoulcompany
CONTACT
Kevin Johnson
Delmark Records, Publicist – Blues Radio/Press
773.742.4327
“If you don’t love THE BLUES, then you gotta hole in your soul!”
