BIO
Brazilian guitarist, singer and songwriter Celso Salim presents a contemporary blues sound rooted in the past. With soulful and energetic performances, his music takes on many styles mixing deep blues with hints of soul, country, jazz and rock. Celso moved to Los Angeles in 2014 becoming one of the busiest and most respected blues artists in Southern California. His latest album Mama's Hometown (2018) received great reviews and in 2019 Celso and his band finished in 3rd place at the International Blues Challenge, promoted by the Blues Foundation.
Currently, Celso is now working on a new album in collaboration with Harmonica player Darryl Carriere, to be released in 2023. Besides that, he is a co-founder of rock and roll band Kozmic Lizards, which is currently recording their first EP.
Brazilian guitarist Celso Salim had his first contact with the instrument when he was six years old. At the age of 12 the talented young musician started to listen to his first Blues records, which changed his life forever. Since then, Celso knew what he wanted to be. For years he studied guitar hours each day, learning from old records by artists such as Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Freddie King, BB King, and Johnny Winter. A little later he began listening to 60’s & 70’s artists like the Allman Brothers Band, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. At age 17, Celso moved to the US for the first time and spent 3 years studying music at Musicians Institute, where he received the Outstanding Stylist Award and during this period he was also performing live with locals bands.
In Brazil, Celso has built a solid career, releasing 5 solo albums since 2001 and working with several artists in the Brazilian Blues/Rock scene. Frequently featured among top acts in his home country, Celso has performed at its biggest festivals and venues with his band and also with prestigious Brazilian artist like Ari Borger Quartet & Sergio Duarte Blues Band . He has toured Europe and opened for legendary artist B. B. King as well as Deep Purple and John Hammond. He has also toured with bluesman Larry McCray and performed with blues legends Magic Slim and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith (Muddy Waters drummer).
Since Celso re-located to the US, the Celso Salim Band has won the Southern California Blues Society Battle of the Bands twice (2015 & 2017) and were semi-finalists at the International Blues Challenge 2018 in Memphis, TN. He has also opened for renowned artists Joe Bonamassa, Canned Heat, Kim Wilson, Joe Louis Walker and Larry McCray, performing all over Southern California. Besides that, Celso has performed with high profile musicians such as Scott Page (Pink Floyd/Supertramp), Kenny Lee Lewis (Steve Miller Band), Josh Smith, Jason Ricci and Gov’t Mule’s Matt Abts & Jorgen Carlsson. He also performed many shows in collaboration with guitarists Johnny Stachela (Allman Betts Band) & Artur Menezes.
Celso has won five Independent Music Awards in these categories: Blues Song (2008), Blues Album (2015), Jazz with vocals Song (2015), Funk/Fusion/Jam Song (2017) and R&B/Soul song (2018). His latest albums To The End Of Time (2014) & Mama’s Hometown (2018), received great reviews from major publications in the U.S. and around the world such as Blues Matters! (UK) and Blues Blast Magazine (USA) and they also have been featured in several Blues radio shows in the US and other countries including UK, Australia, Netherlands and many more.