Celso & Darryl

Brazilian guitarist Celso Salim and Californian harmonica player Darryl Carriere have been making music together for over two decades and are now working on their first record as a duo. With all original compositions, the album is set to be released in 2022. Known for having great musical chemistry, Celso & Darryl deliver a powerful show that captivates audiences everywhere. Alternating on lead vocals and sometimes singing in harmony, the duo presents inspired performances featuring a soulful blend of guitar & harmonica sounds.

Born and raised in Santa Monica, CA, Darryl started playing harmonica around 12 year of age influenced by his junior high school buddy Lester Butler, who later became a world famous Blues artist. One day Darryl heard Lester blowing his blues harp in the school hallways and the sound coming from that instrument completely captivated him and he was hooked for life. A self-taught musician, Darryl started playing the instrument upside down and when he realized that it was too late and that’s how he developed his technic. In the late 70’s, around sixteen years of age, Darryl joined The Soultones and played in that band for many years, performing all over Southern California.

The Soultones broke up in the early 90’s and for a few years Darryl played as a sideman with different bands. In 1997 he met young Brazilian guitarist Celso Salim, who was studying music in the US. With great musical chemistry they formed a Blues band called “The Green Lizards”, which had Darryl for the first time as a lead singer. Before Celso returned to Brazil in the year 2000, Darryl participated in his first solo album “Lucky Boy’ co-writing songs and recording vocals & harmonica. They stayed in contact and Darryl toured Brazil with Celso in 2004 and also recorded on many of Celso’s albums including Going Out Tonight (2004), To The End Of Time (2014) and Mama’s Hometown (2018).

In the early 2000’s Darryl formed The PCH Band with drummer Gary Mallaber (Van Morisson, Steve Miller Band), bassist Ralph Carter (Eddie Money) and guitarist Mike Iba. The band’s still active and they are now recording their 1st original album.

Also, between the years 2012 & 2013, Darryl performed several times with guitarist Corey Stevens.

In 2014 Celso moved back to the US and they started performing together again. Frequently featured as a special guest with the Celso Salim Band, in 2018 Darryl joined the band for the 2019 International Blues Challenge where they won two awards: Band Third Place and Lee Oskar Harmonica for Darryl as best harp player of the year. Also with the Celso Salim Band, he opened up for renowned artists Canned Heat, Joe Louis Walker, Jason Ricci and Kim Wilson among others. They are now working on a new album together to be released in 2019.