At 87, Sherman Holmes has spent nearly seven decades making music rooted in blues, soul and gospel, and One Step Ahead Of The Blues draws on every mile of that remarkable journey. The longtime bassist and voice of the Holmes Brothers brings his unmistakable warmth to a collection that honors the music he made with his late bandmates while giving him plenty of room to tell the next chapter of his own story.

Born in New Jersey in 1939 and raised in Virginia, Holmes began his professional career in 1959 as a founding member of the Holmes Brothers alongside his brother Wendell Holmes and drummer Willie "Popsy" Dixon. After years of building a loyal following around New York and the tri-state area, the group signed with Rounder Records in 1989 and eventually took its deeply personal blend of blues, gospel, soul, country and roots music around the world. Five albums for Alligator Records followed, and in 2014 the trio received a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship, the nation's highest honor for traditional artists.

The deaths of Dixon and Wendell Holmes in 2015 brought that extraordinary run to an end, but Sherman kept making music. He formed The Sherman Holmes Project and released The Richmond Sessions in 2017, carrying forward the spirit of the group while establishing a musical identity of his own.

One Step Ahead Of The Blues continues that journey with producer Andreas Werner, who first met the Holmes Brothers at a 2004 concert in Zurich and reconnected with Sherman at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2019. Werner surrounds Holmes with an impressive cast that includes the Blind Boys of Alabama, Grammy-nominated songwriter Mark Narmore, the Funky Chester Rhythm Section and the "Honorary Holmes Sisters" of Catherine Russell, Joan Osborne, Amy Helm and Ada Dyer.

The connection to the Holmes Brothers remains especially strong. The album includes two previously unrecorded songs written by Wendell Holmes, while Sherman returns to "I'm So Lonely" with an entirely new approach that came together spontaneously on the very first take.

Werner and songwriter Jon Tiven wrote the title track specifically for Holmes, with its idea of staying "one step ahead of the blues" capturing something essential about a musician who has endured tremendous personal loss without allowing it to silence him. Holmes' gospel foundation remains at the center of his singing, joined by the blues, soul and roots traditions he has explored throughout his career.

That history gives One Step Ahead Of The Blues its weight, but Sherman Holmes isn't relying solely on the past. His voice remains warm, expressive and instantly recognizable, and the carefully chosen musicians and singers around him give the songs space to breathe.