Journeyman Adams Does His Own Thing--at Last

The name Arthur Adams may not be familiar, but his music probably is.

The singer-guitarist known as “Mr. Rhythm of the Blues” has been a behind-the-scenes fixture on the L.A. and national music scenes for more than 30 years, working as session player and songwriter in the realms of blues, jazz, pop and R&B.; He takes center stage Saturday as part of the Summer Blues Jam ’97 at the Bren Events Center on the UC Irvine campus.

Born 56 years ago in Jackson, Tenn., Adams grew up in a religious household, listening to the gospel music of the Dixie Hummingbirds, the Soul Stirrers and the Five Blind Boys of Alabama. At night, he’d turn on the radio, keeping the volume low as he tried to catch some B.B. King or Muddy Waters--until his mother caught him and shut the devil’s music down.

But for young Adams, there was no turning back. He studied music at a state university before touring the South with the bands of Gene Allison (“You Can Make It If You Try”) and Jimmy Back (“Pipe Dreams”).

Moving to Los Angeles in 1964, Adams joined the R&B; group Al & the Originals and recorded on the side as a solo blues act for such small labels as Kent and Chisa. Adams also played live on the East L.A. club circuit and, in 1967, became a regular performer on “The Rosey Grier Show,” a short-lived ABC variety program. Among those tuned in was Quincy Jones.

“Quincy saw me on the show and liked it, so he called me,” Adams said in a recent phone interview from his Los Angeles home. “So he started using me on the Bill Cosby show, playing in the band.”

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After Jones recorded an Adams composition called “Love & Peace” on his 1968 Grammy-winning album, “Walking in Space,” Adams became an in-demand musician.

“I really appreciated the fact that Quincy used my song,” he said. “It was an honor, and it got my name out there on the network, so to speak.”

Adams soon found himself composing, working sessions for and touring with the likes of Diana Ross, James Brown, the Jackson 5, Bonnie Raitt, Nina Simone, Albert King, Lowell Fulson, the Crusaders, Buddy Rich, Johnny Nash, Herb Alpert and Hugh Masekela, among others--an impressive and eclectic roster.

For a country boy from Tennessee, the musical and financial windfall afforded a change in direction.

“We grew up real poor, so when I got those calls I just went with the flow,” Adams said. “I’d go into the studio and come out with a nice check.”

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But earning a buck meant neglecting a career as a blues performer in his own right.

“You could call me a journeyman, I guess,” he said. “I’ve been out there recording with almost everybody in the field. I fell off into, like, being a session man. It was OK, but I always wanted to do my own interpretations, do my own thing, you know?

“I look back, and I kind of kick myself for not doing more blues. . . . The blues has made a big surge in the last few years, and it’s still surging. To be honest, I feel like I do blues better than I do any of the other stuff. That’s my roots.”

For the past few years, Adams has been holding court at B.B. King’s Blues Club in Los Angeles. (King recorded Adams’ “Something Up My Sleeve” and “Mean & Evil” on his recent “There’s Always One More Time” album on MCA.) Adams also plays the blues-fest circuit nationwide to keep his retooled career on track.

Adams has a new album in the can too; if a label doesn’t snap it up, he may decide to release the project independently, he said.

Whatever the future holds, Adams will continue to dream in large strokes:

“I’d love to put on a blues show at Hollywood Bowl with various artists,” he said. “I want to play the Royal Albert Hall in Europe. I would like to play Radio City Music Hall.

“I’d like to see someone put on a live, blues-based TV show with dancers and a variety of acts. To me, if you had something like that it seems like it would be a huge success, but I guess people just aren’t doing things like that anymore.”

* Arthur Adams will appear Friday at Summer Blues Jam ’97 at the Bren Events Center, corner of Bridge and Mesa roads on the UCI campus. Also featured: Eric Burdon, Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers, the Blue Spirit Band and Back Door Blues Band. 6 p.m. $20. (714) 824-5000.