 Forty-four-year-old
Bill Abel learned blues first-hand from musicians he has known throughout
his life. Born and raised in the Mississippi Delta town of Belzoni, Bill
has played with blues legends such as Honey Boy Edwards, Henry Townsend,
Hubert Sumlin, Big George Brock, T-Model Ford, and Sam Carr. Other delta
musicians include Cadillac John, Monroe Jones, David Lee Durham, Tommy
Hollis, WH Lowe and most notably the late recording artist and W. C. Handy
Award nominee, Paul “Wine” Jones. Paul traveled extensively playing blues
across the world from Europe to Japan and was a major influence on Bill’s
music.Bill has had the privilege of playing authentic Delta blues with many bluesmen in many different settings from juke joints to festivals (such as the Chicago Blues Festival and the King Biscuit) to national and international venues in the Northeast, Northwest and Midwest United States, as well as, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, England and Wales. These experiences have been used in Bill’s recorded music along with influences of traditional delta music from the 20's and 30's. Bill performs the music of Charlie Patton, Tommy Johnson, Son House, Skip James, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Junior Kimbrough, RL Burnside, Paul Jones, Cadillac John, Son Thomas, Elmore James, upon request and shares his experiences of growing up in the Delta.  Bill has been written up in French, Belgium, British and Italian publications and mentioned in many other international magazines and online publications. In 2004, he taught the blues guitar workshop at the 2nd Annual International Blues Symposium with national recording artist Cory Harris. He has had the privilege of opening up for Pinetop Perkins and is a featured performer in a film about Club Ebony by film maker Bob Mugge. Today, Bill performs solo with acoustic, electric, and cigar box guitars, which he makes himself from driftwood and cigar boxes and also with foot drums which include a kick and a snare and sometimes a hi-hat (one man band). You will also find Bill performing with a high-energy, electric band, which, consist of guitar, bass, drums, and sometimes harmonica. When requested, you will also find him playing with legendary drummer Sam Carr, Kenny Kimbrough of the Junior Kimbrough band, Terry Harmonica Bean, Cadillac John Nolden, Monroe Jones, George Brock, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, David Lee Durham, T-Model Ford and other local bluesmen.  This past year
Bill had the rare privilege of recording with Hubert Sumlin (Howling
Wolf’s Guitar player), and was recently awarded the 2006 Blues Musician of
the Year presented by the Mississippi Delta Blues Society of Indianola.
Recordings include; Live at the Longshot (Vocal and guitar), Cadillac
John’s “Crazy About You” (guitar), George Brock’s W.C. Handy-nominated
“Round Two” (guitar), George Brock’s “Live at 75" (guitar), Odell Harris’s
“Searchin for Odell Harris” (guitar), George Brock’s “Hard Times” DVD
(guitar), Wesley Jefferson and Terry William’s “Meet me in the Cotton
Field” (guitar), and many others. He was producer and engineer for some of
these records as well. Bill serves on the speakers bureau for the Mississippi Humanities Council and has done many speaking engagements about delta blues and workshops such as “How to build your own cigar box guitar.” A professionally trained artist and potter with a BFA, Bill spends his spare time throwing pots or painting the delta landscape when he is not busy playing music. His foundation for plein air painting is the Henry Hensche language of color visualization in which the subject is the light. He says “…the light key, not the local color, will determine what color the subject will be. Grass maybe many different yellow and orange colors in direct sunlight as opposed to a local green color.” His pottery is thrown and sometimes altered forms of utilitarian ware which is high fire reduction in a gas kiln. The main influence of the forms comes from the Korean Yi Dynasty and the Mengi Folk movement of Japan. Bill says, “I am striving to make pottery that is aesthetically pleasing, yet functional in use. My approach to form is an attempt at being expressive, while making multiples of simple utilitarian ware. Hopefully the form enhances the function of the pot, bringing it into a more intimate contact with the user.” Bill’s painting and pottery has been exhibited in many galleries through out the region.
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