Gray Skies

Mato Nanji, long-time front man of Native American band Indigenous, makes an effort to improve his craft with each record. His playing and singing have never been better than on his 11th commercial outing, ''Gray Skies.'' On this fourth CD for Blues Bureau International, produced by Mike Varney, Mato once again forges ahead, pushing himself to new personal bests. ''Gray Skies'' contains the high-caliber guitar playing for which Mato has become known, alongside his strong, soulful voice which are applied to a fresh assortment of high-level blues rock songs. After delivering Indigenous' last three critically acclaimed Blues Bureau CD's and 2012's much lauded ''3 Skulls And The Truth,'' where he shared the guitar and vocal duties with Los Lobos' front man David Hidalgo and North Mississippi Allstars' front man Luther Dickinson, ''Gray Skies'' is Mato's next logical step in the evolution of Indigenous' time-tested blues rock brand. Like the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Cream, Indigenous' songs feature a strong lead singer/lead guitarist in Indigenous' front man, Mato Nanji, who is without a doubt, one of the most impressive blues-rock players/singers on the circuit today.