Charles Baty (Little Charlie)

Charles Baty (born 1953) was studying mathematics at University of California Berkeley and when he and Rick Estrin (born 1949) formed Little Charlie & the Nightcats in 1976.  Their first album, "All the Way Crazy", was issued in 1987.  It includes the songs "Poor Tarzan", "Suicide Blues" and "When Girls Do It". The following album Disturbing the Peace (1988), included "That's My Girl", "My Money's Green", "She's Talking" and "Nervous". They began touring the United States and internationally.  They have played at the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1980 and 1982, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the San Diego, California Street Scene, and Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival plus the Juneau Jazz & Classics Festival in 2002.

Their 1993 album, Night Vision, was produced and played on by Joe Louis Walker. The album included "My Next Ex-Wife," which won a W.C. Handy Award for Song of the Year

In early 2008, Baty announced he was entering "soft" retirement, no longer touring with the band, except for possible reunion tours/shows in Europe and select North American festivals. Baty performed with JW-Jones at the Mont Tremblant Blues Festival, Ottawa Bluesfest, and Piazza Blues in Bellinzona, Switzerland in July 2009. Estrin continued with the band re-billed as Rick Estrin & the Nightcats. Baty was replaced on guitar by Chris 'Kid' Andersen (born 1980), originally from Telemark, Norway. Andersen had played backing Charlie Musselwhite and Terry Hanck as well as fronting his band.

Baty's most recent blues recording was as a guest on JW-Jones, "Bluelisted" (2008), an album that marked the first time in his career that he documented his harmonica playing on a recording, and the first time he and another West Coast blues musician, Junior Watson, had recorded together on the same tracks.

In 2013, Rick Estrin was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the 'B.B. King entertainer' category. He was nominated again in 2014 for the same award, with the ensemble also being nominated as 'Band of the Year'

(Charles Baty at 4th annual Poconos Blues Festival 1995)