Paul Pena, 55; blues guitarist mastered Tuvan throat-singing
Paul Pena, a guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist whose brilliance shone through a prism of hardships, including blindness and a quarter century of health and career setbacks, died Saturday from complications of diabetes and pancreatitis. The Hyannis native was 55.
For some, Mr. Pena was best known as the writer of the late 1970s rock hit ''Jet Airliner," which was recorded by the Steve Miller Band. For others, he was a wondrous comeback story, an artist whose most enduring piece of work sat unreleased on the shelves of a record producer for 27 years. Its release came after he was the centerpiece of the Academy Award nominated documentary ''Genghis Blues," about his musical, mystical trek to southern Siberia.
For a few, he was a life-altering inspiration.
''I've loved Paul Pena and his music since I opened gigs for him in Worcester," singer Bonnie Raitt said in the liner notes of ''New Train," which was recorded in 1973 and released in 2000. ''He was then, and is now one of the most extraordinarily gifted singers, guitarists, and songwriters I've ever heard. It was like finding my own Jimi Hendrix.
''Paul is a treasure, one of the most unique and soulful artists you'll ever hear."
Born with congenital glaucoma, Mr. Pena developed his love for music from his father, a jazz musician, and from a piano his family had hauled out a dump on Cape Cod. He attended the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, singing in its choir -- and occasionally at gigs with his father.
At age 19, he joined James Taylor and Joni Mitchell on stage at the Newport Folk Festival.
His star appeared to be rising rapidly and he moved to San Francisco in the early 1970s. He recorded a self-titled album -- which was greeted with much regional critic acclaim but few commercial sales -- and played with such blues legends as T-Bone Walker and B.B. King.
His next album was his last. The performers on ''New Train" were among the finest of the time: Gary Malabar, the drummer for Van Morrison; Harvey Brooks, the bassist when Bob Dylan decided to add electronic guitar and organ to his music; and the vocal group The Persuasions. Jerry Garcia played steel guitar on a couple tracks.
The producer, however, was record mogul Albert Grossman, Dylan's manager. And he thought the album's eclectic mix of rhythm and blues, country, and rock songs was unmarketable.
''Paul was devastated," his manager, Gunther Weil, told the Boston Herald in 2000. ''It was essentially the end of Paul's career."
Disillusioned, Mr. Pena dropped out of the music business to take care of his sick wife, Babe. Through the 1980s, he survived several muggings, a fire at his home, along with a series of health problems. At one point, he was incorrectly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In 1991, his wife died of kidney failure.
His renaissance began with a crackling transmission over a short-wave radio.
Mr. Pena had happened across a station coming from Moscow and a voice producing what the
The music was Tuvan, a style from a once-independent region between Mongolia and Russia. It features singers who can produce more than one note at the same time, a style known as ''throat-singing."
''The music was so strange, I thought my radio was broken," Mr. Pena said. ''The only thing was, it played a melody."
Mr. Pena was captivated. Through months of practice, he began to learn the technique; through the tedious process of working from an English-to-Russian dictionary and then a Russian-to-Tuvan dictionary -- all in Braille -- he began to learn the language.
By the mid-1990s, he was proficient enough in the singing to travel to Tuva for a contest. The journey was recorded by filmmaking brothers Adrian and Roko Belic.
''I feel unwanted and alienated in America," Mr. Pena says in the Belics' ''Genghis Blues."
By contrast, he is embraced by the people of Tuva, who dub him ''Earthquake" for his deep, tremulous voice.
In its review of the movie, the Post's critic writes: ''Watching this affair unfold is surprising, occasionally wrenching, sometimes hilarious, and always affecting. Tuva and Pena share not just a passion for the same music, but a history of struggle that renders them a near-perfect match."
Mr. Pena won the crowd-favorite award and first place in the deep-voice category at the contest in Tuva.
Upon returning home, Mr. Pena, with help from friends, released ''New Train." It received glowing reviews. ''Pena's guitar blends Buddy Guy's icepick class with the rainbow blues of Jimi Hendrix," a critic wrote in Rolling Stone. ''Pena's voice is a blast of fresh air, a hearty instrument of sorrow and joy dusted with finely ground grit."
Mr. Pena began touring again, including several shows in the Boston area.
''You got to go through hell before you get to heaven," Mr. Pena sang from one of the album's songs, ''Jet Airliner," in his shows. Many in the audience did not realize the song was his and the words had become his anthem.
Mr. Pena leaves his parents, Jack and Virginia Pena of Harwich; and two brothers, Jim of Lynnfield, and Peter of Bridgewater.
