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Chicago is the city where blues went electric, and Paul Filipowicz learned from the people who made it happen.  Paul was born in Chicago, but growing up in the Illinois corn fields of the 1950s, the only music Paul heard was the piano his sisters played at church, until, at the age of 6, he tuned into a blues radio station from Tulsa and heard Sonny Boy Williamson, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf back to back.  Already he was hooked.  He first saw live blues in ’64 or ’65, standing outside a club on Chicago’s South Side.Chicago is the city where blues went electric, and Paul Filipowicz learned from the people who made it happen.  Paul was born in Chicago, but growing up in the Illinois corn fields of the 1950s, the only music Paul heard was the piano his sisters played at church, until, at the age of 6, he tuned into a blues radio station from Tulsa and heard Sonny Boy Williamson, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf back to back.  Already he was hooked.  He first saw live blues in ’64 or ’65, standing outside a club on Chicago’s South Side.

 “It was boiling hot, at about 2 p.m., and these people were all dressed up and going into this air-conditioned club,” Paul remembers. Otis Rush and his band were tearing it up right there, and Paul instantly knew that electric guitar was it!

Paul learned the same way the early blues masters did–by ear. “I was playing without a pick and the first time I heard Magic Sam it clicked,” Paul says.

Once Paul started playing Chicago’s famous blues scene, his blues education continued from some of that city’s greatest masters, and it left the young player with incredible memories. Some of his fondest memories are shows with Hound Dog Taylor, Mighty Joe Young, Lefty Dizz and Jimmy Dawkins in the ‘70s. Legendary keyboardist Ken Saydak, Young’s piano player, became a long-time friend and appears with Paul on his fifth album, Chinatown.

Luther Allison in particular was a great friend, and Paul made a special guest appearance at the 2004 Luther Allison Celebration in Madison, Wisconsin in remembrance of the blues legend.

Today, after 45-plus years of fronting his own band, Paul has played all over the U.S. and has released 10 critically-acclaimed albums, including two Real Blues Magazine “Top 20 Texas Blues New Releases” in a row (1998’s “Never Had It So Good” at #14 and 1999 “What Have You Done For Me Lately” at #7).Paul’s original slashing guitar style has become a landmark in the industry, and the bluesman has, over the years, warranted comparisons in such publications as Living Blues, Blues Revue, Soul Bag, Blues Access, and Big City Blues to greats such as John Lee Hooker, Albert King, Buddy Guy, and Albert Collins, just to name a few.

Today, on his chart-climbing release Unfiltered, Paul pays tribute to some of the masters who inspired him early on, including Magic Sam. As critics continue to shower praise on the seasoned pro, and as he racks up awards, he has inarguably become one of the greats who will inspire the next generation of young players.