Category Archives: Albums

Guitarist Joe Louis Walker, harp ace Giles Robson and piano man Bruce Katz team for Journeys to the Heart of the Blues

Posted on March 26, 2019 by Mike

We’ve liked an awful lot of what we’ve heard from guitarist and singer Joe Louis Walker in recent years, but we’re not sure we’ve heard him sounding any better than on his latest project Journeys to the Heart of the … Continue reading →

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Guitarist/singer Robben Ford works off diverse palette for Purple House

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Mike

Although genre-melding guitarist Robben Ford describes his latest album as “a real departure from tradition in terms of the songwriting” (“tradition” referring to the strong blues and rhythm-and-blues elements that often serve as the basis of Ford’s music), Purple House … Continue reading →

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Screenwriter John Fusco returns to the crossroads with superb self-titled debut recording

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Mike

The first time New England native John Fusco came to this crossroads, as a young musician who had already had the honor of meeting and learning from blues masters such as Frank Frost and Sonny Terry, he ended up deciding to head back north to pursue another … Continue reading →

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Music Maker Relief Foundation celebrates silver anniversary with Blue Muse CD compilation featuring Taj Mahal, Eric Clapton, Dom Flemons & others, graphic novel, and more

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Mike

Last fall, we gave you a preview of the Music Maker Relief Foundation‘s (MMRF) 25th anniversary compilation album in the form of a track from longtime MMRF supporter and board member Taj Mahal and promised we’d bring you more on the album upon its release. Although the names of many of the artists on the … Continue reading →

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6-CD box set reveals studio, live mastery of late, great harmonica player and singer Junior Wells

Posted on January 29, 2019 by Mike

Here’s another blues box set worth checking out: a compilation of tracks from throughout the career of vocalist and harmonica player Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., better known by his stage name of Junior Wells. Born in West Memphis, Arkansas, Wells moved to Chicago at age … Continue reading →

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Harmonica player Mark Hummel delivers knockout instrumental album in Harpbreaker

Posted on December 11, 2018 by Mike

We don’t write about a whole lot of all-instrumental albums here, but harmonica player Mark Hummel‘s latest release Harpbreaker (Electro-Fi Records) is one that’s really too good to let pass without mention. A mix of newly recorded, live, previously issued … Continue reading →

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The Rolling Stones still Confessin’ the Blues with band-selected 2-CD compilation of classics

Posted on November 28, 2018 by Mike

When it comes to the Rolling Stones, you needn’t look far for evidence of the band’s love and support for the blues throughout the decades, from taking their name from a Muddy Waters song, to some of their earliest recordings … Continue reading →

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Jawbone gives lots to jaw about with self-titled debut

Posted on November 8, 2018 by Mike

Sticking with the UK flavor of our last review (Ian Parker’s album paying tribute to blues great Willie Dixon), today we’re discussing the eponymous debut album from a new four-man band called Jawbone (who take their name from a song … Continue reading →

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Ian Parker dishes Spoonful of Gold on album paying tribute to blues great Willie Dixon

Posted on October 30, 2018 by Mike

We hadn’t heard much about British blues-rocker Ian Parker before we caught a track from his new album on BBC recently, but that — plus learning that said album was a tribute to Chicago blues musician/writer/producer and “Poet Laureate of … Continue reading →

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Hold On tight because Kirk Fletcher’s latest album will blow you away

Posted on October 19, 2018 by Mike

In introducing the band on his recent recording paying tribute to the Three Kings of the Blues, Joe Bonamassa called fellow guitar-slinger Kirk Fletcher “one of the greatest modern blues guitar players in the world”, and one listen to that … Continue reading →

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