TEMAKI STATE STREET BLUES FEATURES BRUCE ANTHONY

 BruceAnthony’s fingers move across the neck of his acoustic guitar, as the other hand picks and strums. Anthony’s dreadlocks, graying slightly, sway as he leans toward the microphone.

The important think about  improv is not where it is going, but how it takes over the player. Anthony is, at the moment, in another dimension.

For the past eight years, he has earned his living playing restaurants. There are no record deals or concert tours in his future. He is content as a local mainstay, which gives him freedom to be a craftsman, perfecting the art of playing and performing.

“My goal was to make a living as a musician, anonymously, and I’m doing it,” Anthony says. “When you burn really bright, you tend to burn out really fast. I want to be the musician who can grow old in Delaware, still playing well into old age, singing jazz standards.

“I want to live for a long time, and I want the music to go with me.”