For this episode of Quickies, we stick mainly with the jazz genre with a couple of diversions to other styles found here and there. These new releases all start with traditional jazz, but our protagonists each put their own little twist on it. Our first entrant is a well-known quantityRead More

NICK DERISO: This Smithsonian Folkways release, issued today, is a hot-dawg compilation that sets up both as primer for the new-to-this and reminder for the been-there-done-that crowd. A remarkably deep catalogue has helped the label continue for years with a series of myth-confirming sets. “Classic Piano Blues” is no different,Read More

by S. Victor Aaron With the tragic, unexpected death of Sean Costello, the blues world lost a guy I and others thought was the Next Big Thing in that idiom. The good news is that there are still others out there working hard to put their own stamp on theRead More

Doyle Bramhall II has been around so much fame and combined with his songwriting and guitar talents, it’s downright shocking that he hadn’t become more than an underground hero himself. But, man, what a résumé. The son of drummer and Stevie Ray Vaughan collaborator Doyle Bramhall, Doyle The Deuce co-frontedRead More

Rock Roll Hall of Famer Allen Toussaint brought me to James Hunter’s “The Hard Way,” produced by Liam Watson of the White Stripes and set for June 10 release on Hear Music. But Hunter — a remarkably soulful presence in the style of Jackie Wilson, Van Morrison, Ray Charles andRead More

NICK DERISO: To put it bluntly, you need to get hip to Linkchain — a player/singer gone too soon, but not before leaving one final blast of brilliance. “Airbusters,” which included his final recordings, jumped off with a rocking barrelhouse number. (Of course, it did: That was ‘Barrelhouse Chuck’ onRead More

They grew up, practically, as neighbors in Louisiana. But strangers, all the same. Here’s how they became the country blues duo Po’ Henry and Tookie.

Koko Taylor marked her 20th year on Alligator Records with an album reminds you she’s still got it. A lot of it.

NICK DERISO: One of those all-star dates that bridges genres, even generations, “The Trumpet Kings” is an amalgamation of so many concurrent joys that it’s a wonder this Pablo release ever got made. We have out front one Big Joe Turner, a 6-2, 300-something pound Kansas City belter known asRead More

Charlie Musselwhite, who once played with Muddy Waters, has just gotten better in his absence. A fine example is this Grammy-nominated release, which includes a deft cover of Sleepy John Estes’ fine “Brownsville Blues.” It’s a career highpoint, and (funny thing) Musselwhite hasn’t even put harmonica to mouth yet atRead More