This is Bob Corritore’s 30th album and a real cracker it is too.
Officially ‘Bob Corritore And Friends’ and he does have an awful lot of top players as friends. Too many to list here but the likes of Bob Margolin, Duke Robillard, Bobby Rush, John Primer, the amazing Francine Reed, a stack of others. All helping make an album of many different styles and no shortage of good music.
Corritore is a harmonica player and he has been into the Blues since age 12 when he first heard Muddy Waters on the radio – now aged 69 he has a long career and has been around the Chicago scene since age 15 when he first played with John Henry Davis and in the next few years he was mentored by Louis Myers, Lester Davenport, Junior Wells, Big Leon Brooks, Little Mack Simmons, Big Walter and others.
So to this release and at the very least, every track has something special about it. Produced by Corritore, the tracks include numbers written by B.B. King, Bobby Rush, James Moore and many feature their creators, such as this version of ‘Three Problems, written by and featuring Bobby Rush.
My personal favourite is an electrifying version of Robert Johnson’s ‘Twenty Room House’, featuring John Priner, but my guess is that everyone who delves into this album will find their own.
Corritore is a recipient of a ‘Keeping The Blues Alive’ award, and this album definitely shows that the Blues is still a real ‘thing’, vibrant and real. The artists featured are all part of the 21st century Blues scene but they also hearken back to a classic form that has its roots in the last century.
