Since his 1992 debut Nice And Warm, you always know exactly what you’ll get from a Tab Benoit record: honest, rough-and-ready electric blues with a dash of Cajun seasoning, soulful bayou ballads and a two-step or two thrown in for good measure. You May Also Like: How Anders Osborne CameRead More

by Mark Saleski Ronnie Earl is one of the most soulful blues guitar players out there. Though he’s played with vocalists (Sugar Ray Norcia being my favorite), he specializes in instrumental recordings like the ones found on Hope Radio, a live recording put together at Wellspring Sound in Acton, Massachussetts.Read More

by Tom Johnson When Tool’s Lateralus came out a few years back, there was much talk about how intense it was going to be, how it was going to be all about building tension and sudden release. I ran out and scarfed up a copy You May Also Like: JohnRead More

Guitarists Bill Anderson and Billysteve (yep, one word) Kopri turn the blues inside out on Churchwood’s “Vendidi Fumar,” then wear it around like Lady Gaga’s meat dress. Theirs is a sound — sudden, bright and menacing — not unlike a car crash You May Also Like: Otis Taylor, “Cold atRead More

Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Alvin Lee, Robin Trower and the late Gary Moore … all part of British blues guitar legacy. But try to name someone who came of age after the 1960s and belongs in that company? Matt Schofield may be the one who should be the first mentioned.Read More

by Derrick Lord Occasionally jazz and blues fans need to be reminded that we don’t have to limit ourselves strictly to musical recordings. Keep in mind there is plenty of great artwork available that would be a nice addition to any collection or music room. You May Also Like: TomRead More

This remarkable lost classic was not released until 2000 — because the tapes were thought to have been destroyed … until they were found in a warehouse in 1999. Done just three weeks before Otis Spann’s death from liver cancer, Muddy Waters‘ most sympathetic pianist is featured primarily with hisRead More

Like an aging boxer making an heroic late-round stand, James “Superharp” Cotton brilliantly tangles on a timeless favorite from his 1960s tenure with Vanguard, giving fellow harp master Billy Branch all he can handle. You May Also Like: James Cotton, Shemekia Copeland, Gary Clark Jr. + others – Muddy WatersRead More

“Midnight in Harlem” is the sweet-swaying centerpiece of an all-you-can-eat buffet of deep-fried delights called Revelator. You May Also Like: Tedeschi Trucks Band – Let Me Get By (2016) Susan Tedeschi’s Varied ‘Back to the River’ Set the Stage for Greatness Derek Trucks Band’s ‘Already Free’ Gave Us a Fine-Tuned,Read More

Over the course of the striking, stripped-down Medicine, former Detroit autoworker Solomon King returns to that moment when the blues moved inexorably away from the uplift that defined gospel music, and ultimately toward rock ‘n’ roll and then hip hop. You May Also Like: How B.B. King Left Us WithRead More