https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/may/14/popandrock.usa
The singer and guitarist Sean Costello, who was found dead in an Atlanta hotel room on the eve of his 29th birthday, was one of the most promising blues-based artists of his generation. In little more than a decade he developed from a teenage talent-show winner into an acclaimed and rapidly maturing performer, unshackled by the conventions of the genre.Costello, always a modest man, said of himself only recently: "All I've ever wanted to do was play the guitar well. I've been fortunate to be able to make a living doing it, and I plan to keep it up."Born in Philadelphia, he grew up in Atlanta, where he began playing guitar in his early teens and attended the North Atlanta School for Performing Arts. Among his early influences were guitarists Felix Reyes and Ronnie Earl. At the age of 15 he was recognised as an up-and-coming talent by the Beale Street Blues Society, and two years later he recorded his first album, Call the Cops, displaying a flawless command of 1950s blues guitar. Soon afterwards he joined the fast-rising young singer and guitarist Susan Tedeschi, playing on her bestselling album Just Won't Burn, and touring with her for almost two years.On a couple of albums of his own, Cuttin' In (2000) and Moanin' for Molasses (2002), both on the Landslide label, Costello showed how much he had learned since his debut. Revealing something more than a precocious talent for replication, he proved himself capable of handling formidable numbers such as Otis Rush's Double Trouble or Buddy Guy's No Lie.In 2002 he was the subject of a cover story in Blues Revue magazine, and in 2003 he won an award for best new blues act at a festival in France. Up to that point, Costello could be regarded as belonging to a group of young guitarists - others include Kirk Fletcher from California or the Canadian Josh Wynne-Jones - who had put together a style by plundering the blues' past. While that might delight backward-looking blues enthusiasts, it could not satisfy an ambitious and imaginative musician, and in 2005 an album simply called Sean Costello served notice that he had no intention of being pigeonholed. Its songs were drawn from sources as diverse as the 1920s blues singer Tommy Johnson and Bob Dylan, but what chiefly struck his admirers was that his singing, until then rather characterless, had acquired a ragged edge of considerable power.It was a mark of Costello's quality that better-known musicians were glad to collaborate with him: among the guests on his eponymous album was Levon Helm, and Costello himself played, by invitation, on guitarist Jody Williams's 2001 album Return of a Legend. He also lent valuable assistance to the veteran r&b singer Nappy Brown on his 2007 comeback album Long Time Coming. He performed at shows headlined by BB King, Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Pinetop Perkins, Bo Diddley and many others.The ravaged intensity lately introduced into his music was no less evident on the album he released in February, We Can Get Together. A spokesperson for Delta Groove Records was moved to say of their new signing: "As the world continues to experience the loss of so many originators of the art form, you can rest assured that the future of the blues is in capable hands."Costello had many admirers who would have confidently backed the publicist's words, hardly expecting the testimonial to turn so abruptly into a memorial.He is survived by his parents, stepfather, sister and step-sisters.Sean Costello, blues musician, born April 16 1979; died April 15 2008