Michael Coleman & The Delmark All-Stars - Blues Brunch At The Mart

Year: 2006
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:16
Size: 160,1 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Full

1. Little Arthur Duncan - Knockin' On Your Door (4:34)
2. Michael Coleman - The Sky Is Crying (6:48)
3. Lurrie Bell - I Need You So Bad (4:20)
4. Lurrie Bell - Reconsider Baby (6:51)
5. Willie Kent - Something New (4:35)
6. Bonnie Lee - Sad & Evil Woman (6:06)
7. Steve Freund - My Little Playhouse (4:31)
8. Zora Young - Toxic (6:50)
9. Steve Behr - Memories Of Albert Ammons (4:53)
10. Shirley Johnson - As The Years Go Passing By (6:23)
11. Tail Dragger - Be Careful (5:22)
12. Aaron Moore - Wading In Deep Water (3:34)
13. Michael Coleman - You're Going To Miss Me (4:22)

More than 50-years-old and still going strong, Delmark records is Chicago's oldest jazz and blues label and arguably the most important one still operating. They've released stone-cold classics in both genres over the years and currently maintain one of the best rosters of Chicago talent in the field. You can thank Bob Koester for that; a nominee for "Patron Saint of Chicago Jazz and Blues" if ever there was one. He also heads up the world's largest blues and jazz retail store: Chicago's Jazz Record Mart. Every year during the Chicago Blues Festival, Jazz Record Mart hosts the blues brunch, where members of the Delmark blues family put on a free show (and brunch!) inside the store.

In 2005, Michael Coleman & the Backbreakers acted as house band, backing a variety of other Delmark artists in a great informal setting, and Blues Brunch at the Mart was recorded for posterity. Aside from the two solo piano numbers (Steve Behr and Aaron Moore), the Backbreakers back all performers giving the album a unified sound, even as the lead performers come and go. But don't think this all sounds the same.

You go from an updated version of "The Sky Is Crying" by Michael Coleman to the gritty blues of Lurrie Bell to the gospel-informed sounds of Shirley Johnson to the growling, extroverted Tail Dragger. The late, great Willie Kent takes a final bow as well. From the between-song patter, one gets the sense that this isn't just a group of musicians united by their label; this is the Delmark blues family, and the patriarch is Bob Koester (who turns in a couple of priceless introductions). Part label roster sampler and part historical souvenir, Blues Brunch at the Mart is a fine snapshot of Delmark blues circa 2005. /Sean Westergaard, AllMusic

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

Blues Brunch At The Mart mc
Blues Brunch At The Mart zippy

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Willie Kent & Willie James Lyons - Ghetto

Year: 1998
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:43
Size: 138,6 MB
Styles: Electric blues, Chicago blues
Scans: Full

1. Little Red Rooster (4:23)
2. Nineteen Years Old (4:15)
3. What Will Tomorrow Bring (4:19)
4. I'm Not The Same Person (5:49)
5. Ghetto (7:50)
6. Dust My Broom (3:59)
7. I Wonder Why (2:10)
8. You Don't Love Me (2:33)
9. Chili Con Carne (3:01)
10. Blue Guitar (5:30)
11. Sweet Home Chicago (3:01)
12. Bobby's 'Rock (4:13)
13. Tell Him He Got To Go (4:21)
14. Chicken Shack (4:11)

Willie Kent (February 24, 1936 – March 2, 2006) was an American blues singer, bassist and songwriter. Kent was born in Inverness, Sunflower County, Mississippi. Although he had played the bass guitar in Chicago's clubs since the 1950s, Kent worked full time until he was over 50 years of age. Following heart surgery, he stopped work as a truck driver, and formed a band. His impassioned singing was deemed similar to both Byther Smith and John Primer. In early 2005, Kent was diagnosed with colon cancer, but continued his busy live schedule in spite of chemotherapy treatments. He died in Englewood, California in March 2006.

Willie James Lyons plays just a few bars and if you dig the blues you immediately realize that he is one of the greatest blues guitarists. Yet, this album is the first he has recorded! He is a very personal musician, an exceptional creator with inventive ideas, with phrases full of lyrism and feelings. His very beautiful, warm and pure tone allows one to identify him from the very first notes. Along with Willie Kent the singer of the band, you'll get a taste of an every night blues session on Chicago's West Side. Hot, pure, intence, and full of deep emotion of the blues.

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

Ghetto mc
Ghetto zippy

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Willie Kent - Long Way To Ol' Miss

Year: 1996
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:32
Size: 146,7 MB
Styles: Electric blues, Chicago blues
Scans: Full

1. Long Way To Ol' Miss (5:36)
2. Blues In My Bedroom (4:34)
3. Dirty Works (5:46)
4. It Ain't Right (4:59)
5. Ain't Got Long To Stay (4:47)
6. My Friend (4:50)
7. Don't Know Much About Love (5:18)
8. Extension 309 (2:53)
9. All My Life (4:49)
10. Ain't No Love In Your Heart (4:33)
11. Dont' Drive Me Away (4:43)
12. Black Night (6:45)
13. What You Doin' To Me (3:51)

Bassist Willie Kent has been a mainstay on the Chicago scene since the ’50s. He’s played sideman to just about everybody and has released a few albums as a leader. His latest, Long Way To Ol’ Miss, kicks ass while staying strictly in the Chicago blues tradition. Kent’s big-chested deep soul vocals add Delta punch to driving shuffles like “Blues In My Bedroom” and “Dirty Work.”

Guest guitarist James Wheeler plays sweetly on “Extension 309” while Kenny Barker and Ken Saydak add that all-important Chicago piano sound that Roosevelt Sykes made famous. But the secret weapon in this band is killer guitarist Vernon “Chico” Banks, who is turned loose with a vengeance on “What You’re Doin’ To Me,” “Ain’t Got Long To Stay” and “Black Night.” His stinging blues-rock tendencies enliven these tracks. Expect to be seeing a solo recording from this guitar slinger in the near future. /Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

Long Way To Ol' Miss mc
Long Way To Ol' Miss zippy

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Lil Ed Williams & Willie Kent - Who's Been Talking

Year: 1998
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:27
Size: 123,7 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Full

1. Who's Been Talking (3:14)
2. Someday (5:43)
3. Bobby's Rock (4:06)
4. As The Years Go Passing By (4:51)
5. My Bleeding Heart (4:50)
6. The Ghetto (4:34)
7. Newspaper Blues (4:35)
8. Going Shopping (5:31)
9. I Wanna Get Married (5:06)
10. Your Love Is Strong (3:43)
11. My Life, My Love (3:27)
12. Bird Nest On The Ground (3:43)

This blues-oriented set has the feel of a jam session. Bassist Willie Kent and Lil Ed Williams split the vocals on a date that features contrasting guitar voices in the relatively clean Eddie C. Campbell and the more distorted playing of Williams; both have plenty of solo space. Pianist Allen Batts and drummer Baldhead Pete Williams are quite solid behind the lead voices who get to stretch out on the basic but highly appealing material. Who's Been Talking, which includes songs by Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James and J.B. Hutto in addition to the newer songs, is easily recommended to modern blues collectors. /Scott Yanow, AllMusic

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

Who's Been Talking mc
Who's Been Talking zippy

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Bonnie Lee - I'm Good

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:20
Size: 106.1 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1983/2002
Art: Front

[3:15] 1. I'm Good
[3:27] 2. Fast Life
[3:09] 3. Summer Is Gone
[4:28] 4. Sad And Evil Woman
[4:22] 5. You Got Me Running
[6:05] 6. I Love You Baby
[2:43] 7. Tryin' To Make A Livin'
[6:08] 8. Got The Blues
[4:04] 9. Bye, Bye, Baby
[4:18] 10. I Need Someone
[4:14] 11. I've Got A Man

Bass – Willie Kent; Drums – Cleo Williams, Tim Taylor (10); Guitar – John Primer, Johnny B. Moore, Luther Adams, Magic Slim; Saxophone – Fred Laster; Vocals – Bonnie Lee.

Bonnie Lee was a longtime fixture of Chicago's contemporary blues scene as well as one of the last surviving links to its postwar heyday. Born Jessie Lee Frealls on June 11, 1931, in Bunkie, LA, Lee grew up in Beaumont, TX, where she studied piano and sang in her church's choir. Gospel singer Lillian Ginn was sufficiently impressed to extend an invitation to join her on tour, but Lee's mother refused to grant her permission. As a teen Lee nevertheless toured the South as a member of the Famous Georgia Minstrels, befriending blues legends Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Big Mama Thornton along the way. She relocated to Chicago in 1958, hitching a ride with a delivery van driver and settling at the West Side apartment of an aunt. After toiling in anonymity as a singer and dancer, in 1960 Lee signed to J. Mayo Williams' Ebony label to cut her debut single, "Sad and Evil Woman," credited at Williams' insistence to Bonnie "Bombshell" Lane, a moniker she reportedly despised. The single fared poorly, and Lee continued touring the Chicago jazz and blues club circuit, developing a potent voice as earthy as it was electrifying. Family obligations forced her to retire from music during the middle of the decade, but in 1967 she resurfaced alongside the legendary pianist Sunnyland Slim, a longtime confederate of Muddy Waters. Lee regularly opened for Slim in the years that followed, becoming a legend on the North Side blues circuit via residencies at clubs including Wise Fools, B.L.U.E.S., and Blue Chicago. In the late '70s, she also cut a handful of singles for Slim's own Airway label. Lee also enjoyed a decade-long collaboration with renowned bassist Willie Kent, during which time she recorded the 1995 Delmark LP Sweetheart of the Blues as well as the 1998 Wolf Records set I'm Good. In addition, she contributed to myriad compilations, most notably Women of Blue Chicago and Chicago's Finest Blues Ladies. Health problems nevertheless plagued Lee throughout the latter half of her life, and she died September 7, 2006, at the age of 75. ~ Jason Ankeny

I'm Good mc
I'm Good zippy

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Nora Jean Bruso - Sings The Blues

Year: 2003
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:16
Size: 159,6 MB
Styles: Electric blues, Chicago blues
Scans: Full

1. When You Leave Don't Take Nothing (5:48)
2. I'm Leaving You (3:39)
3. Howlin' For My Baby (2:56)
4. If That's What You Wanna' Do (5:55)
5. Doin' The Shout (3:25)
6. Members Only (3:54)
7. Untrue Lover (3:41)
8. I'd Rather Go Blind (4:51)
9. Can't Shake These Blues (5:38)
10. Who's Been Talking (3:52)
11. It Makes Me So Mad (6:15)
12. Spoonful (3:17)
13. All Your Love (3:57)
14. Big Boss Man (4:36)
15. Killing Floor (4:16)
16. He Belongs To Me (3:09)

Vocalist Nora Jean Bruso has been an up-and-comer in the blues world, but go and see her perform live at a club or a festival, and you'll quickly discover she's a polished professional, a stone cold pro. Bruso, or Elnora Wallace, was born and raised in Greenwood, Mississippi, a town famous for producing a variety of blues and gospel greats. Her father was Bobby Lee Wallace, a blues singer and sharecropper; her mother was Ida Lee Wallace, a gospel singer.

In high scool, Nora Jean won the West Tallahatchie High School Talent Show grand prize for singing, and she began to perform in other area schools with small groups. Realizing her opportunities for recognition and recording were limited in Mississippi, Bruso moved to Chicago in 1976 and began her professional singing career with Scottie and the Oasis. Six years later, Scottie passed away and the band broke up, but Nora Jean began singing with other West Side bands she had already developed relationships with, including Little Johnnie Christian. By 1985, she joined Jimmie Dawkins' band and recorded her first single, "Untrue Lover" for Dawkins' own record company, the Leric Label. (Some of Dawkins' Leric sides were reissued by Delmark Records.) She also sang on Can't Shake These Blues, an anthology released by Earwig Records.

In 1991, she recorded with Dawkins on his album for the British JSP label, Feel the Blues, which was later re-released in 2003 with a bonus track from Bruso. In 1992, she retired from the rigors of regional touring to concentrate on raising her two sons, but by 2001, she was called back into the studio by fellow Jimmie Dawkins band alumnus Billy Flynn. She provided four vocal tracks on Blues and Love, a 2002 release, and later that year, she resumed her blues career, such as it was, appearing on the main stage at the Chicago Blues Festival with Dawkins' band. Later in 2002, she recorded her first album, Nora Jean Sings the Blues, and was awarded a "Keeping the Blues Alive" citation by the Black History Association in Chicago. In 2003, she released Sings the Blues on the Red Hurricane Records label and the album garnered critical praise from radio programmers around the U.S. and Canada. She performed again at the 2003 Chicago Blues Festival and headed to Europe that summer for a tour.

By 2004, Bruso was nominated for two W.C. Handy Awards, one for Best New Artist and one for Best Traditional Female Artist. Later that year, she signed a deal with Maryland-based Severn Records and released Going Back to Mississippi, which debuted at number five on the Living Blues magazine radio charts and climbed to number one on XM satellite radio. In June, 2004, she performed again on the main stage at the Chicago Blues Festival, with her own band, and in 2005 she made a slew of other festival performances around the U.S. and Canada, including the Cape May Jazz Festival and the Pocono Blues Festival.

During the 2000s, the Nora Jean Bruso band included Carl Weathersby on guitar, James Carter, drums, Bruce Belgin, bass and Brian Lupo, guitar. When they weren't on the road, Nora Jean was based in LaPorte, Indiana. /Bio by Richard Skelly, AllMusic

Sings The Blues mc
Sings The Blues zippy

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VA - The Chicago Blues Box 2

Size: 157,5+148,5+153,5+155,7+149,8+140,2+147,3+128,0 MB
Time: 67:44+64:01+66:16+67:09+64:36+60;28+63:18+55:07
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Front

CD 1:
01. Eddie Taylor - Opening (2:58)
02. Eddie Taylor - Red Light (4:30)
03. Eddie Taylor - Big Town Playboy (3:23)
04. Eddie Taylor - Blow Wind Blow (4:04)
05. Eddie Taylor - Down In Virginia (2:53)
06. Eddie Taylor - Lucky Lou (4:37)
07. Eddie Taylor - Tell Me Mama (4:53)
08. Big Mojo Elem - Talk To Your Daughter (2:53)
09. Big Mojo Elem - Hide Away (4:49)
10. Big Mojo Elem - Be My Little Girl (2:28)
11. Andrew Blueblood McMahon - Red Light, Pt. 2 (3:56)
12. Andrew Blueblood McMahon - Mojo Hand (4:44)
13. Big Voice Odom - Mojo Working (2:44)
14. Big Mojo Elem - Dry Land, Pt. 2 (5:53)
15. Big Voice Odom - Where Are You Goin' (8:38)
16. Big Voice Odom - Thrill Is Gone (4:15)

CD 2:
01. Hip Lankchan - You Left Me With A Broken Heart (5:12)
02. Hip Lankchan - I'm On My Way (5:20)
03. Hip Lankchan - Last Night (4:58)
04. Hip Lankchan - All Your Love (4:47)
05. Hip Lankchan - I Don't Want No Woman (4:27)
06. Hip Lankchan - Black Nights (5:24)
07. Hip Lankchan - Somebody Loan Me A Dime (4:43)
08. Hip Lankchan - Same Old Blues (3:27)
09. Hip Lankchan - Why I Sing The Blues (5:50)
10. Eddie Clearwater - Everyday I Have The Blues (4:25)
11. Eddie Clearwater - You Don't Have To Go (4:57)
12. Eddie Clearwater - Poison Ivy (3:39)
13. Eddie Clearwater - My Babe (6:47)

CD 3:
01. Jimmy Dawkins - Way She Walks (4:27)
02. Jimmy Dawkins - Rock Me Baby (5:08)
03. Jimmy Dawkins - I Wonder Why (4:46)
04. Jimmy Dawkins - Cold Sweet Blues (7:14)
05. Jimmy Dawkins - Driving Wheel (5:39)
06. Jimmy Dawkins - Will My Baby Home Tonight (5:44)
07. Jimmy Dawkins - Big Duke's (4:40)
08. Jimmy Dawkins - Hard Road To Travel (6:54)
09. Jimmy Dawkins - J.D's Jam (3:31)
10. Jimmy Dawkins - Nature Ball (5:41)
11. Jimmy Dawkins - Pretty Woman (4:42)
12. Jimmy Dawkins - Ode To Billy Joe (7:44)

CD 4:
01. Jimmy Johnson - Long About Midnight (7:06)
02. Jimmy Johnson - Strange Thing Happening (5:29)
03. Jimmy Johnson - Look On Yonder Wall (3:34)
04. Jimmy Johnson - I'm Crazy About You Baby (4:28)
05. Jimmy Johnson - Breaking Up Somebody's Home (5:01)
06. Jimmy Johnson - Sweet Little Angel (5:22)
07. Jimmy Johnson - Three Times Chicago (4:42)
08. Jimmy Johnson - Midnight Hour (4:08)
09. Jimmy Johnson - My Own Fault (5:26)
10. Jimmy Johnson - Get Ready Here I Come (3:51)
11. Jimmy Johnson - Same Old Blues (4:09)
12. Jimmy Johnson - So Many Roads (6:45)
13. Jimmy Johnson - As The Years Go Passing By (7:02)

CD 5:
01. John Littlejohn - Dust My Broom (4:31)
02. John Littlejohn - Rob And Steal (3:39)
03. John Littlejohn - Five Long Years (3:21)
04. John Littlejohn - Kiddeo (2:44)
05. John Littlejohn - That's All Right (7:17)
06. John Littlejohn - I Can't Stay Here (5:10)
07. John Littlejohn - Bobby's Rock (3:43)
08. John Littlejohn - Twenty Nine Ways (6:13)
09. John Littlejohn - So Glad You're Mine (4:13)
10. John Littlejohn - All I Want (2:48)
11. John Littlejohn - Dream, Pt. 2 (6:39)
12. John Littlejohn - All Your Love (6:26)
13. John Littlejohn - Sunny Road (7:46)

CD 6:
01. Magic Slim - Buddy Buddy Friend (4:25)
02. Magic Slim - You Upset Me Baby (3:45)
03. Magic Slim - Born Down The Bridge (6:30)
04. Magic Slim - Rock Me Baby (5:02)
05. Magic Slim - Tell Me Baby (2:52)
06. Magic Slim - Jumpin' At Ma Bea's (4:56)
07. Magic Slim - I Don't Got Over (5:22)
08. Magic Slim - Tramp (6:04)
09. Magic Slim - Josephine's (4:49)
10. Magic Slim - As The Years Go Passing By (6:04)
11. Magic Slim - Everything Gonna Be Alright (5:02)
12. Magic Slim - Mary Lou (5:31)

CD 7:
01. The Aces - Rock Me Baby (4:25)
02. The Aces - You're The One (3:08)
03. The Aces - Baby What You Want Me To Do (4:04)
04. The Aces - Someday Baby (3:41)
05. The Aces - Off The Wall (4:24)
06. The Aces - Bobby's Rock (4:16)
07. The Aces - Kansas City (4:51)
08. The Aces - Honky Tonk (4:50)
09. The Aces - Don't Throw Your Love On Me (3:45)
10. The Aces - C.C. Rider (4:07)
11. The Aces - Sweet Home Chicago (2:49)
12. The Aces - Hide Away (5:05)
13. The Aces - Tribute To Little Walter (1:54)
14. The Aces - The Ace's Shuffle (3:09)
15. The Aces - Blues With A Feeling (3:42)
16. The Aces - Honky Tonk, Pt. 2 (5:01)

CD 8:
01. Willie Kent - I'm Not The Same Person (5:42)
02. Willie Kent - Ghetto (7:43)
03. Willie Kent - Dust My Broom (3:55)
04. Willie Kent - Chili Con Carne (3:08)
05. Willie Kent - Blue Guitar (5:26)
06. Willie Kent - Bobby's Rock (4:06)
07. Willie Kent - Sweet Home Chicago (2:54)
08. Willie Kent - Tell Him He Got To Go (4:17)
09. Willie Kent - Chicken Shack (4:10)
10. Willie Kent - 19 Years Old, Pt. 2 (3:44)
11. Willie Kent - I Love The Woman (4:44)
12. Willie Kent - You Know I Love You (5:13)

After the popularity of Storyville’s first best-selling boxed set of Chicago blues recordings, we’re delighted to present another outstanding 8 CD collection from the vaults of MCM Records. As in the first boxed set, the live atmosphere of these unedited performances shines through, revealing the true ambiance of the Chicago Blues club scene in the mid-1970s, as well as the individuals whose talents MCM Records would preserve. They captured an authenticity that rarely surfaced on the major label recordings that some of these artists made.

MCM was a labour of love by a young French woman, Marcelle Chailleux, and her future husband Jacques Morgantini. In the 1950's Jacques had brought the likes of Big Bill Broonzy, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker to Europe to appear at his French hometown event - a dedicated Chicago blues festival - but it was recent blues convert Marcelle who travelled to Chicago in the mid-1970s to record a unique collection of live performances.

Some of the performances presented here were by men who would become giants of the blues; others were by talented artists who never found wider fame and whose MCM recordings remain the only surviving evidence of their talent.

In this superb collection, you will find rare tracks by Eddie Taylor, Big Mojo Elem, Andrew “Blueblood” McMahon, Big Voice Odom, Hip Lankchan, Eddie Clearwater, Jimmy Dawkins, Jimmy Johnson, Magic Slim, John Littlejohn, Bobby King and The Aces. The recordings stem from famous Chicago blues venues Ma Bea’s, the Golden Slipper and Big Duke’s. Marcelle was only just in time to capture the genuine feel and sound of those old-time clubs before they disappeared. Jimmy Dawkins, bluesman par excellence, was her guide to the 1975 Chicago blues scene, and has said: “It was natural and ‘for real’ without over-preparation. You get the feeling of the room, the music, the audience, and the blues. It was the real thing. Places like Ma Bea’s and the old Golden Slipper are all gone now.” Jacques Morgantini writes in the liner notes: “These records capture the music that was played in the clubs at that time, the real Chicago blues sound! And that was exactly what Marcelle wanted: to give those musicians a chance to get themselves better known”.

The Chicago Blues Box 2 Vol. 1
The Chicago Blues Box 2 Vol. 2
The Chicago Blues Box 2 Vol. 3
The Chicago Blues Box 2 Vol. 4
The Chicago Blues Box 2 Vol. 5
The Chicago Blues Box 2 Vol. 6
The Chicago Blues Box 2 Vol. 7
The Chicago Blues Box 2 Vol. 8

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Willie Kent - Everybody Needs Somebody

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:25
Size: 145.2 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1998/2015
Art: Front

[5:41] 1. Better Days
[4:17] 2. Don't Mess With My Baby
[3:52] 3. Thought I Was Lucky
[6:19] 4. My Baby's Gone
[7:17] 5. One More Mile
[3:00] 6. Too Hurt To Cry
[7:01] 7. Everybody Needs Somebody
[3:54] 8. I Just Want A Little Bit
[6:11] 9. All Your Love
[4:21] 10. Chicago Bound
[4:52] 11. No Love In Your Heart
[6:34] 12. Since I Met You Baby

WILIE KENT - bass/voc, CARLOS SHOWERS & WILLIE DAVIS - gtrs, KEN BARKER - kbd, JAKE DAWSON - drums.

The preeminent Chicago blues bassist of the postwar era, Willie Kent was the city's last surviving link to the Mississippi Delta tradition, backing a who's who of immortals including Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Junior Parker as well as fronting his own long-running band, the Gents. Born in Inverness, MS, on February 24, 1936, Kent was the product of a sharecropping family, and was enlisted to pick cotton at the age of six. While local musician Dewitt Munson afforded his first exposure to the blues, as a teen he began dialing in Helena, AR's influential radio station KFFA, where the King Biscuit Time broadcast served as his introduction to formative influences including Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Robert Nighthawk. By age 11, Kent was a surreptitious fixture at the Highway 61 club the Harlem Inn, catching acts headlined by Howlin' Wolf and Ike Turner. Two years later, he left home for Memphis, and after a brief tenure at a Florida gas station, he migrated to Chicago at the age of 16. There Kent bought his first guitar, which he loaned to musician Willie Hudson in exchange for lessons. In 1959, he joined Hudson's band Ralph & the Red Tops as a chauffeur, occasionally appearing on-stage as a vocalist. Whenever Hudson's bassist brother showed up for a gig too drunk to perform, Kent was summoned as his replacement, eventually taking over the position for good.

Upon joining Little Milton's band in 1961, Kent's notoriety grew, and he became a steady presence at Kansas City Red's legendary "Blue Monday" parties. Kent was renowned as much for his talent as for his professionalism, a rare commodity in the blues world, and he regularly sat in with greats spanning from Muddy Waters to Little Walter. After leaving Little Milton, he tenured with Arthur Stallworth & the Chicago Playboys as the 1960s came to a close, followed by stints in support of Hip Linkchain and Jimmy Dawkins. After returning from a European tour, Dawkins relinquished his headlining gig at the West Side blues club Ma Bea's Lounge to Kent, who for the first time assembled his own band, Sugar Bear & the Beehives, with guitarist Willie James Lyons and drummer Robert Plunkett. Ma Bea's would serve as the setting for Kent's debut LP, 1975's live release Ghetto, and remained his home for over six years. In 1982, he returned to sideman duties, joining Eddie Taylor and contributing to his acclaimed 1985 swan song Bad Boy. After Taylor died that Christmas, Kent recruited his guitarist Johnny B. Moore and drummer Tim Taylor to form Willie Kent & the Gents: as their fellow bluesmen adopted an increasingly slick sensibility inspired by commercial R&B, the Gents championed the classic Delta 12-bar tradition, emerging as a favorite of blues purists at home and abroad.

After a series of heart ailments forced Kent to undergo triple bypass surgery in 1989, he spent his recovery examining his life and career, finally abandoning his longtime trucking gig in favor of pursuing music full-time. I'm What You Need, his first solo LP in 14 years, soon followed on the Big Boy label and proved the first in a flurry of releases that next included his Delmark debut, Ain't It Nice, which earned the Library of Congress Award for Best Folk/Blues Album of 1991. Kent also signed to the Austrian label Wolf for a pair of LPs, 1991's King of Chicago's West Side Blues and Live at B.L.U.E.S. in Chicago. With so many new records to his credit, it was inevitable that Kent finally earned the attention of blues fans and critics across the globe, and in 1995, he won the W.C. Handy Award for Best Blues Instrumentalist, Bass. Two years later, he earned the award again, and went on to claim the prize in nine consecutive years. Kent also notched five consecutive Most Outstanding Blues Musician, Bass honors from the magazine Living Blues, and with 1998's Delmark release Make Room for the Blues took home Chicago's Album of the Year prize. In early 2005, Kent was diagnosed with cancer, but continued his busy live schedule in spite of chemotherapy treatments. He lost his battle with the disease on March 2, 2006, just a week past his 70th birthday. ~ Jason Ankeny

Everybody Needs Somebody mc
Everybody Needs Somebody zippy

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Pinetop Perkins & Friends - Pinetorp Perkins & Friends

Year: 2008
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:30
Size: 96,1 MB
Styles: Chicago blues, piano blues
Scans: Full

1. Take It Easy Baby (3:12)
2. Got My Mojo Working (3:30)
3. Down In Mississippi (3:56)
4. How Long Blues/Come Back Baby (5:23)
5. Hoochie Coochie Man (4:10)
6. Barefootin' (3:06)
7. Look On Yonders Wall (4:29)
8. Anna Lee (4:28)
9. Sweet Home Chicago (3:49)
10. Bad Luck Baby (5:23)

These superstar guest "friends" affairs can get awfully tiresome, but this one is better than most. It was recorded over a two and a half year period when the irrepressible Chicago blues and boogie pianist was 92-94 years old, yet he seems decades younger. The songs are generally Chicago blues standards such as "Got My Mojo Working," "Hoochie Coochie Man," "Look on Yonders Wall" and, Lord help us, "Sweet Home Chicago."

Still, if anyone has earned the right to give these chestnuts another go-round it's Perkins. Even though he's played nearly all of them thousands of times, he's as enthusiastic and invigorated as if he'd just written these well-worn classics. The piano man is spry on the 88s, tinkling the ivories like he's half his age, especially on the jaunty "Take it Easy Baby," the lively opener. Even though producer Doug B. Nelson overdubbed many of the higher profile parts, the set sounds open and natural, avoiding the stiffness that usually results with projects such as this.

Only Eric Clapton, Jimmie Vaughan, and B.B. King can be considered major stars with the rest of the "friends" lesser known blues stalwarts such as singer Nora Jean Brusco and bassist Willie Kent (Kent passed before this disc was finally released in June, 2008). Thankfully Perkins is in such bracing form that except for King, who trades quips with him on "Down in Mississippi," nobody overwhelms or even steals the spotlight from the album's star.

On the slow blues "Anna Lee," Perkins sounds positively lascivious, but in a charming, non-threatening way. He's also inspired by "Hoochie Coochie Man," with Vaughan assisting, laughing at the end like a child. Hotshot slide guitarist Eric Sardinas redeems himself for his own over the top albums with zippy work here on "Barefootin'" and especially "Mojo..." Pinetop is so loose, upbeat, and cheerful for these sessions, you'd think he had another 94 years left in him. /Hal Horowitz, AllMusic

(For complete info on featured musicians, see booklet details.)

Pinetop Perkins & Friends mc
Pinetop Perkins & Friends zippy

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Barrelhouse Chuck - Slowdown Sundown

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:08
Size: 117.1 MB
Styles: Chicago blues, Piano blues
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[3:12] 1. I Keep On Drinking
[3:45] 2. Mt. St. Helens Blues
[1:06] 3. Farfisa B3 Boogie For Steve Winwood
[3:01] 4. Searching For My Baby
[2:10] 5. Viola's Stomp
[1:26] 6. Iza Mae
[3:27] 7. Depression Blues #2
[4:07] 8. What's Wrong
[5:54] 9. You Told Me Baby
[2:07] 10. Ain't Got No Money Now
[3:40] 11. Ain't Nobody's Business
[1:27] 12. Nutty Boogie
[2:07] 13. Walk Don't Run 69
[7:25] 14. B.B.Q. Girl (Live)
[6:06] 15. Gigilo

Barrelhouse Chuck – Piano; Ben Andrews - Guitar; John Carpenter - Drums; Steve Cushing - Drums; Willie J. Davis - Guitar; Billy Flynn - Bass, Guitar; Erwin Helfer - Piano; Rick Holmes - Bass (Acoustic); Robert Hunter - Vocals; Calvin "Fuzz" Jones - Bass; Willie Kent - Bass, Vocals; S.P. Leary - Drums; Todd Levine - Harmonica; Josh Miller - Guitar; Leslie Milton - Drums; Johnny B. Moore - Guitar; Kenny Smith & The Loveliters - Drums; Otis Smokey Smothers - Guitar, Vocals; John Tanner - Harmonica; Larry Thompson - Drums; Rich Yescalis – Bass.

This is what Chicago blues used to sound like back in the old days. Barrelhouse Chuck should get lots more credit than he gets for his fine work! Who else does what he does? He never over plays. His playing is so lowdown and blue. I love your voice and the songs you write! Thanks for staying true to the music. Buy this to hear the way blues piano should sound like! ~ Lee Thomas

Slowdown Sundown

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Jimmy Rogers, Big Moose Walker - Chicago Bound

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:06
Size: 89.5 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1998/2015
Art: Front

[2:46] 1. Chicago Bound
[3:43] 2. St Louis
[3:31] 3. Do You Swear
[4:25] 4. Anna Lee
[4:58] 5. Sloppy Drunk
[3:27] 6. Lemon Squeezer
[2:52] 7. Last Time
[4:27] 8. Whoopin' Foolin' With You
[5:58] 9. One Room Little Country Shack
[2:57] 10. Goin' Away Baby

Johnny "Big Moose" Walker/ Piano, Vocals; John Primer/Guitar; Jimmy Rogers/Guitar, Performer, Vocals; Luther "Slim" Adams/Guitar; Billy Branch/Harp; Willie Kent/Bass.

Johnny Walker--Big Moose, Busy Head, Moose John, J. W. Walker--by whatever name he was called him, he was Chicago’s irrepressible wild man of blues piano. He wore a splendid smile and long, wavy hair; in his briefcase he carried a gorilla mask and a “Big Moose” jersey. Just as musicians and audiences enjoyed Moose’s antics, they also admired the exuberant, two-fisted blues he played. He’s worked alongside the best in the business and rambled from coast to coast.

Jimmy Rogers (June 3, 1924 – December 19, 1997) was a Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters's band in the early 1950s. He also had solo hits on the R&B chart with "That's All Right" in 1950 and "Walking by Myself" in 1954. He withdrew from the music industry at the end of the 1950s but returned to recording and touring in the 1970s.

Chicago Bound mc
Chicago Bound zippy

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Boston Blackie & Otis 'Big Smokey' Smothers - ABC Blues

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:59
Size: 144.2 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1998
Art: Front

[4:33] 1. I Can't Judge Nobody
[5:19] 2. Hello Little School Girl
[5:21] 3. Sad, Sad Day
[3:38] 4. Do The Thing
[4:52] 5. Abc Blues
[4:05] 6. Louise
[4:59] 7. Hey Baby
[4:03] 8. How Much More Long
[4:54] 9. Give Me Back That Way
[7:54] 10. Blues All Day Long
[6:25] 11. I've Been Drinking Muddy Water
[4:24] 12. ABC Blues
[2:26] 13. Find Me Another Babe

Boston Blackie, voc, g; Luther Adams, g; Willie Kent or Michael Riley, b; Cleo Williams, dr. Boston Blackie recorded January 29, 1992 at ACME Recording in Chicago, IL by Paul Smith.

Otis 'Big Smokey' Smothers tracks rec. 1984 & 1991. Smokey was a singer and a guitar player and also a master of the Slide guitar! He played on this CD with Eddie Big Town Playboy Taylor & John Primer! Boston was a great West Side Chicago artist, before he got killed from his buddy Tail Dragger! He played on this CD with a great band included John Primer & Willie Kent! These musicians also wrote blues history!

ABC Blues

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Freddie Roulette - Back In Chicago: Jamming With Willie Kent & The Gents

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:56
Size: 118.9 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1997
Art: Front

[ 7:09] 1. Need Your Lovin'
[ 3:55] 2. Back In Chicago
[ 3:51] 3. Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven
[ 4:28] 4. Sleepwalk
[ 3:14] 5. Killing Floor
[ 4:34] 6. The Thrill Is Gone
[ 4:37] 7. Soul Serenade
[ 5:27] 8. You're Gonna Need Me
[ 4:04] 9. Freddie's Funk
[10:34] 10. Laundry Mat Blues

Roulette is a fine blues lap steel player, and this disc should have you sliding around the room from the get-go. A tight band featuring Vernon "Chico" Banks on rhythm guitar and bass and Cleo Williams on drums keeps everything nice and funky throughout. His hearty vocals add a nice backbone to the songs, and his use of Hawaiian coloring on many numbers is sublime. ~Tim Sheridan

Back In Chicago: Jamming With Willie Kent & The Gents

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VA - The Chicago Blues Box: The MCM Records Story

Size: 148,0+144,8+182,4+144,7+143,7+167,5+166,7+147,5 MB
Time: 63:02+61:27+77:53+61:43+60:41+71:04+71:11+62:21
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2013
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Front

CD 1: MAGIC SLIM
Magic Slim (g, voc), Alabama Junior Pettis (g) Nick Holt (b) & Douglas Holt (d)
Recorded live at "Ma Bea's", Chicago, November 9, 1976

01. Magic Slim - That's All Right (5:55)
02. Magic Slim - Slim's Bump (3:57)
03. Magic Slim - Going Down Slow (7:21)
04. Magic Slim - Born In Missouri (6:43)
05. Magic Slim - Let Me Love You (6:11)
06. Magic Slim - The Things I Used To Do (7:34)
07. Magic Slim - That Ain't Right (4:02)
08. Magic Slim - Honest I Do (3:40)
09. Magic Slim - Nineteen Years Old (6:33)
10. Magic Slim - Born On A Bad Sign (7:00)
11. Magic Slim - Please Love Me (4:01)

CD 2: BIG MOJO ELEM, JOHN LITTLE JOHN
(on tracks 1-5, 7, 10-11) Big Mojo Elem (b, voc), Willie James Lyon (g) , Wayne Bennett (g), Freddy Below (d)
Recorded live at Golden Slipper, Chicago, October 12, 1977

(on tracks 6, 9 & 12) John Littlejohn (g, voc), Larry Burton (g) , Aaron Burton (b), Candy Utah (d)
Recorded live at "Ma Bea's", Chicago, November 8, 1976

01. Big Mojo Elem - Drowning On Dry Land ( 5:11)
02. Big Mojo Elem - Every Night And Every Day ( 3:33)
03. Big Mojo Elem - Black Nights ( 4:45)
04. Big Mojo Elem - Hush ( 5:18)
05. Big Mojo Elem - Red Light ( 5:03)
06. John Littlejohn - Dream ( 7:12)
07. Big Mojo Elem - Mojo Boogie ( 2:41)
08. Big Mojo Elem - Living In Paradise ( 2:32)
09. John Littlejohn - Twelve Years Old Boy ( 5:57)
10. Big Mojo Elem - Every Night And Every Day ( 3:32)
11. Big Mojo Elem - Long Meter Stomp (11:59)
12. John Littlejohn - Reconsider Baby ( 3:39)

CD 3: EDDIE CLEARWATER, EDDIE TAYLOR
(On tracks 1-6, 10 & 12) Eddie Clearwater (g, voc), Jimmy Dawkins (g) , Sylvester Boines(b), Freddy Below (d)
Recorded live at "Ma Bea's", Chicago, November 5, 1976

(on tracks 7-9 & 11) Eddie Taylor (g, voc), Lacy Gibson (g), Hayes Ware (b), Freddy Below (d)
Recorded live at Golden Slipper, Chicago, October 24, 1977.
Recorded live at "Ma Bea's", Chicago, November 8, 1976

01. Eddy Clearwater - Let's Jam (4:51)
02. Eddy Clearwater - I Came Up The Hard Way (6:48)
03. Eddy Clearwater - Three Ways To Skin A Cat (5:32)
04. Eddy Clearwater - Black Night (9:17)
05. Eddy Clearwater - Chicago Dailey Blues (9:26)
06. Eddy Clearwater - Hoochie Coochie Man (6:52)
07. Eddie Taylor - Jackson Town Blues (4:07)
08. Eddie Taylor - Train Fare Home (5:57)
09. Eddie Taylor - Route 66 (A One A Two) (5:47)
10. Eddy Clearwater - Rock Me Baby (6:34)
11. Eddie Taylor - Blues For Luc (4:18)
12. Eddy Clearwater - The Things I Used To Do (8:16)

CD 4: BOBBY KING
Bobby King (g, voc), Leonard Gil (g), Harry Mitchum (b), Bill Warren (d), Muddy Waters Jr (voc, on 7 & 10).
Recorded at Quuen Bee's, Chicago, October 9, 1975.

01. Bobby King - Reconsider Baby ( 5:34)
02. Bobby King - My Babe ( 5:31)
03. Bobby King - Everyday I Have The Blues ( 7:18)
04. Bobby King - The Chaser ( 4:04)
05. Bobby King - Sweet House Chicago ( 2:32)
06. Bobby King - Bad Luck ( 3:19)
07. Muddy Waters - Old Folks Boogie (13:46)
08. Bobby King - Stormy Monday Blues ( 7:18)
09. Bobby King - Hoochie Coochie Man ( 8:17)
10. Muddy Waters - Everything Gonna Be Alright ( 4:00)

CD 5: JIMMY JOHNSON, LUTHER JOHNSON JR., WILLIE KENT
(on tracks 1-4) Jimmy Johnson (g, voc), Jimmy Dawkins (g), Sylvester Boines (b), Tyrone Centuray (d)
Recorded live at "Ma Bea's", Chicago, October 15, 1975

(on tracks 5-7, 11-14) Luther Johnson Jr (g, voc)., Willie James Lyons (g), Willie Kent (b), Tyrone Centuray (d)
Recorded live at "Ma Bea's", Chicago, October 17, 1975

(on tracks 8-10) Willie Kent (b, voc), Willie James Lyons (g), Big ‘Guitar’ Red (g), Tyrone Centuray (d)
Recorded live at "Ma Bea's", Chicago, October 17, 1975

01. Jimmy Johnson - So Many Roads (6:28)
02. Jimmy Johnson - Crosscut Saw (4:08)
03. Jimmy Johnson - Ma Bea's Rock (3:13)
04. Jimmy Johnson - Feel So Bad (4:23)
05. Luther Johnson Jr. - I Believe My Time Ain't Long (4:54)
06. Luther Johnson Jr. - All Your Love (4:38)
07. Luther Johnson Jr. - You Gotta Have Soul (4:15)
08. Willie Kent - Little Red Rooster (4:16)
09. Willie Kent - Nineteen Years Old (4:08)
10. Willie Kent - What Will Tomorrow Bring (4:12)
11. Luther Johnson Jr. - Got A Mind To Travel (4:31)
12. Luther Johnson Jr. - Can You Use A Man Like Me (3:54)
13. Luther Johnson Jr. - I Got To Be Crazy (4:04)
14. Luther Johnson Jr. - Got Papers On You Baby (3:32)

CD 6: JIMMY DAWKINS, HIP LANKCHAN
(on tracks 1-4, 9-10) Jimmy Dawkins (g, voc), Richard Kirch (g), Sylvester Boines (b), Tyrone Centuray (d)
Recorded live at Big Duke's, Chicago, November 10, 1976.

(on tracks 5-8 & 14) Hip Lankchan (g, voc), Jimmy Miller (g) , Ernest Gatewood (b), Tyrone Centuray (d)
Recorded live at "Ma Bea's", Chicago, November 1, 1976

(on tracks 11-12) Jimmy Johnson (g, voc), David Matthews (g), Ike Anderson (b), Dino Neal (d)
Recorded live at Golden Slipper, Chicago, October 19, 1977

(on track 13) Alabama Junior Pettis (g, voc), Magic Slim (g), Nick Holt (b), Douglas Holt (d)
Recorded live at "Ma Bea's", Chicago, November 9, 1976

01. Jimmy Dawkins - Welfare Line (9:18)
02. Jimmy Dawkins - You Don't Love Me (4:27)
03. Jimmy Dawkins - Come Back Baby (5:51)
04. Jimmy Dawkins - I Got Wise (8:40)
05. Hip Lankchan - Millionaire Blues (3:57)
06. Hip Lankchan - Hip's Jam (3:22)
07. Hip Lankchan - All Right The Way You Do (2:50)
08. Hip Lankchan - Sweet House Chicago (4:05)
09. Jimmy Dawkins - Cross Road Blues (5:59)
10. Jimmy Dawkins - Blue Shadow Falling (5:26)
11. Jimmy Johnson - Little By Little (3:25)
12. Jimmy Johnson - Lucille (4:09)
13. Alabama Junior Pettis - I Want Some (4:38)
14. Hip Lankchan - Hide Away (4:50)

CD 7: BIG VOICE ODOM, JIMMY DAWKINS
Andrew Odom (voc), Jimmy Dawkins (g, voc) Jimmy Johnson (g) , Sylvester Boines (b), Tyrone Centuray (d)
Recorded live at "Ma Bea's", Chicago, October 28, 1976
Tracks 10 & 11, same place and personnel, recorded on October 16, 1975.

01. Big Voice Odom, Jimmy Dawkins - Going To California (7:41)
02. Big Voice Odom, Jimmy Dawkins - I Don't Know (7:37)
03. Big Voice Odom, Jimmy Dawkins - Thrill Is Gone (5:25)
04. Big Voice Odom, Jimmy Dawkins - Stormy Monday Blues (5:45)
05. Big Voice Odom, Jimmy Dawkins - All For Business (5:17)
06. Big Voice Odom, Jimmy Dawkins - Rock Me Baby (4:43)
07. Big Voice Odom, Jimmy Dawkins - Wonder Why (4:33)
08. Big Voice Odom, Jimmy Dawkins - Sitting Here Wondering (6:43)
09. Big Voice Odom, Jimmy Dawkins - I Can't Go On The Way (6:54)
10. Big Voice Odom, Jimmy Dawkins - I Want To Know (8:59)
11. Big Voice Odom, Jimmy Dawkins - I've Been Mistreated (7:29)

CD 8: BLUEBLOOD McMAHON, JOE CARTER
(on tracks 1-9) Andrew MacMahon (voc), John Littlejohn, Jimmy Dawkins & Larry Burton (g), Aaron Burton (b), Candy Utah (d)
Recorded live at "Ma Bea's", Chicago, November 8, 1976

(on tracks 10-12) Andrew MacMahon (voc), Jimmy Dawkins (g), Richard Kirch (g) Sylvester Boines (b), Tyrone Centuray (d)
Recorded live at Big Duke's, Chicago, November 10, 1976

(on tracks 13-14) Louis Meyers (g), Joe Carter (g, voc) Dave Meyers (b), Freddy Below (d)
Recorded live at "Ma Bea's", Chicago, October 14, 1975.

01. Andrew McMahon - Go Get Me Baby (4:43)
02. Andrew McMahon - I Wonder Why (4:12)
03. Andrew McMahon - Change My Way Of Living (4:47)
04. Andrew McMahon - You Got To Help Yourself (4:33)
05. Andrew McMahon - Give Up And Let Me Go (2:50)
06. Andrew McMahon - What Would We Do Later On (4:06)
07. Andrew McMahon - You Don't Have To Go (5:36)
08. Andrew McMahon - It Hurts Me Too (5:37)
09. Andrew McMahon - Got My Mojo Working (4:16)
10. Andrew McMahon - Little Red Rooster (3:39)
11. Andrew McMahon - So Glad (4:14)
12. Andrew McMahon - Stranger In Your Land (5:04)
13. Joe Carter - Worried About My Baby (4:29)
14. Joe Carter - It Hurts Me Too (4:07)

The brief and dazzling life of MCM Records was a labor of love that captured many treasurable live performances from the last flowering of the classic Chicago Blues age. A young French woman Marcelle Chailleux Morgantini was married to Jacques Morgantini who changed her life into American jazz and blues.

Guitarist Jimmy Dawkins was a good friend and helped them in Chicago to meet and hear the many good blues musicians that played at the different clubs in Chicago. Marcelle returned from her Chicago pilgrimage filled with excitement. Says Jacques Morgantini: It was the year of Marcelle’s 50th birthday and she came into some money from her family. She said to me, “I do not want an expensive coat or jewels – I want to go to Chicago to record the blues. She knew that it could only be done if she had her own record label and complete artistic control. Marcelle made three trips to Chicago in 1975,1976 and 1977 and arrived with her Nagra machine, a small mixing desk and a selection of microphones.

She recorded live: Magic Slim, Big Mojo Elem,John Littlejohn, Eddie Clearwater,Eddie Taylor, Bobby King,Jimmy Johnson, Luther Johnson Jr.,Willie Kent, James Lyons,Hip Lankchan,Big Vocie Odom,Bluebloos McMahon, Joe Carter and Jimmy Dawkins at “Ma Bea’s”, “Golden Slipper”, “Queen Bea’s”, and “Big Duke’s”, on Chicago west and south side. Many of the blues musicians had not recorded before and can only been found on the Storyville label that issued all the recordings on CD’s. She was at the right place at the right time.

The Chicago Blues Box CD 1
The Chicago Blues Box CD 2
The Chicago Blues Box CD 3
The Chicago Blues Box CD 4
The Chicago Blues Box CD 5
The Chicago Blues Box CD 6
The Chicago Blues Box CD 7
The Chicago Blues Box CD 8

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Willie Kent - Make Room For The Blues

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:12
Size: 165.3 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1998
Art: Front

[4:43] 1. Do You Love Me
[5:36] 2. Saturday Night
[7:48] 3. I Had A Dream
[6:29] 4. Make Room For The Blues
[5:49] 5. Teach Me How To Lie
[4:18] 6. 3-6-9
[6:10] 7. Help Me Make It
[4:34] 8. Address In The Street
[5:18] 9. I'm Hooked
[6:48] 10. I'm What You Need
[4:02] 11. Me And My Baby
[6:29] 12. I Know Where I've Been
[4:03] 13. Somebody Else

Willie Kent has been recognized as an outstanding bass player, bandleader, and bluesman by everyone from the Handy Awards to the Library of Congress to this magazine. His recent bands and recordings have epitomized the Chicago sound, with Kent's rough and tough vocals out front and his rock-solid bass playing providing the foundation.

This 13-track outing is another engaging set of powerhouse shuffles and lowdown slow blues. Kent's vocals convey the ultimate in sincerity and depth, seeming to spring from a well at the bottom of his soul. The band of seasoned professionals provides immaculate ensemble playing, with guts and grit intact. All of their musical statements are compact, both lyrically and instrumentally, with very little showy soloing. Kenny Barker's piano playing deserves special mention -- his driving rhythm parts propel the songs forward, and he adds several concise yet colorful solos. Another satisfying album of no-nonsense electric Chicago blues from Willie Kent. ~Niles Frantz, Living Blues

Make Room For The Blues mc
Make Room For The Blues zippy

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VA - Clark Street Ramblers

Size: 146,0 MB
Time: 62:45
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1997
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Front

01. Johnny B. Moore - Kokomo Me Baby (6:54)
02. George Baze - Park My Car (4:22)
03. Eddy Clearwater - Sun Is Shining (3:58)
04. Maurice John Vaughn - Turn Up The Heat (4:51)
05. Michael Coleman - I Been Foolin' Around (5:11)
06. Willie Kent - I Wonder Why (4:42)
07. Aron Burton - Nothing (5:43)
08. Eddie Shaw - I'm Tired (5:01)
09. Johnny B. Moore - Don't Lie To Me (3:44)
10. George Baze - Hush Hush (4:21)
11. Maurice John Vaughn - It's My Fault (3:04)
12. Michael Coleman - You're Going To Miss Me (4:29)
13. Willie Kent - All Night Long (6:19)

[Johnny B.] Moore graces Clark Street Ramblers with two of his own sides: "Kokomo Me Baby" is one of only a few successful updatings of the Fred McDowell classic, while "Don't Lie to Me" gives new life to the Tampa Red/Johnnie Jones chestnut with its Latin syncopation.... Maurice John Vaughn's send up of Detroit Junior's "Turn Up the Heat" is spiced by a stinging Albert King flavored guitar riff and a solid, Stax-like sax and trombone horn section.... Michael Coleman's "I Been Foolin' Around" opens with a Jimi Hendrix-style guitar riff, but then settles down into a strong soul/blues with vocals reminiscent of Z.Z. Hill; John Chorney's organ reinforces the soul flavor on one of the CD's best tracks. "You're Going to Miss Me" also stokes the soul/blues fires with an exceptionally strong guitar groove built on chunky, rapid-fire chords.... Aron Burton's version of Muddy Waters's "Nothing" is the most down-home track on the disc. -- Living Blues

Thanks to Marc.
Clark Street Ramblers

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Al Miller - 2 albums: ...In Between Time / Wild Cards

Album: ...In Between Time
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 72:03
Size: 165.0 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[2:48] 1. Rockin' All Day
[5:08] 2. I Need You So Bad
[4:07] 3. My Baby Walked Out
[5:10] 4. Old Friends
[4:57] 5. In Between Time
[3:00] 6. I Got It
[4:19] 7. Dead Presidents
[4:29] 8. A Better Day
[3:32] 9. Tighten Up On It
[6:57] 10. '1839'
[3:36] 11. Billy's Boogie
[2:58] 12. Make It Alright
[4:09] 13. Bachelor Blues
[3:28] 14. If You Don't Want Me
[6:06] 15. Lake Michigan Waters
[3:38] 16. Lawhorn Special
[3:34] 17. Blizzard

Harpist Al Miller’s blues timeline harks back nearly five decades. He’s had a frustrating habit of surfacing just long enough to cut loose with some succulent, stick-to-your-ribs traditional Chicago blues, only to recede into the shadows again for an extended stretch. The next time he pops up on the radar screen, he sounds just as fine as he ever did. This collection dates back to three sessions spread across 1999 and 2000 and was first released independently by Miller, who also served as its producer, but its appeal is timeless.

Miller was a proud member of the early wave of young white Windy City blues musicians. He gigged on the South Side with veteran mandolinist Johnny Young and Chicago Slim in 1964 before falling in with a crew of snarling blues-rockers, the Dirty Wurds who recorded on Chess Records. Emigrating to the Bay Area, he traded licks for a while with guitar wizard Michael Bloomfield around the end of the decade. Real life interrupted Al’s blues ambitions after that; he returned home to start a family and earn a weekly paycheck at a day job. But Miller never hung up his harp or his musical dreams altogether. In 1995, he released his first Delmark CD, Wild Cards (I had the pleasure of writing the liner notes for that one).

Miller exhibits excellent taste in covers on this album, reaching back for three numbers penned by his old friend Johnny Young as well as obscure gems by Jimmy McCracklin, Eddie Taylor, Percy Mayfield, and Elmore James. Though quite a capable singer, Miller brought in estimable guitarist John Primer to handle the vocal honors on B.B. King’s “I Need You So Bad,” Little Walter’s wry “Dead Presidents” (the only selection sporting a sax section), and Elmore James’ “1839,” adding to the fun and variety. There was room to lay down several rollicking instrumentals showcasing Miller’s mouth organ, Primer and Specter paid tribute to a long-gone (and too often-overlooked) Chicago guitar great on “Lawhorn Special.” Seems like it’s about time that Al Miller takes his spot among Chicago’s blues harp elite. ~Bill Dahl

...In Between Time

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Album: Wild Cards
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 69:16
Size: 158.6 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1995
Art: Front

[3:29] 1. I Don't Play
[3:45] 2. Stuck In Chicago
[6:46] 3. Seventy-Four
[4:06] 4. Long Grey Mare
[5:07] 5. Can't Stay Here No More
[4:27] 6. Special Way
[5:19] 7. Deal The Cards
[4:18] 8. Red Top Boogie
[5:13] 9. Fallin' Rain
[6:10] 10. I Had A Dream
[5:03] 11. Jockey Blues
[5:00] 12. Big 'C' Blues
[6:20] 13. Blues For John Littlejohn
[4:08] 14. Sittin' Here Thinkin'

Al Miller has assembled a full house of Chicago talent for your listening pleasure on his first album. Not only does this stacked deck feature Miller's triple threat talent as harpist, guitarist and vocalist, it boasts the formidable presence of some of the hottest blues artists from the Windy City circuit - Willie Kent, Dave Specter, Tad Robinson and Steve Freund.

Wild Cards

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MOJO BLUES BAND - The Wild Taste Of Chicago

Styles: Modern Electric Blues, Chicago Blues
Recorded: 1989
Released: 1996
File: mp3 @ 320 k/s
Size: 127.96 MB
Time: 68:51
Art: Full

1. Accordion Boogie (3:57)
2. Dancin' With Y'All (3:01)
3. Let Me Love You (3:30)
4. Lonely Man (4:35)
5. Just Sitting Here (5:07)
6. Rather Be Lonesome (3:49)
7. Please, Mr. Jailer (5:12)
8. Living In Paradise (3:34)
9. The Reedman's Boogie (3:05)
10. Enough Love (4:38)
11. This Little Voice (4:12)
12. Curly Head Woman (2:55)
13. Just A Poor Boy (4:24)
14. The Wild Taste Of Chicago (4:32)
15. MLove My Baby (6:08)
16. Good Bye Chicago (6:12)

Personnel: Erik Trauner - Guitar, Slide
Christian Dozzler - Accordion, Harmonica
Markus Toyfl - Guitar
Dani Gugolz - Bass
Michael Strasser - Drums
with guests:
A.C. Reed - vocals, Tenor Sax
Timothy Taylor - Drums
Willie Kent - Vocals, Bass
Taildragger - Vocals
Big Mojo Elem - Vocals, Bass
Robert Plunkett - Vocals

Notes: This album present recordings during a three weeks stay of the Mojo Blues Band in Chicago, undoubtedly the blues metropol of the United States. Without actually having planned such a project the band decided on a spontaneous recording session.

Erik Trauner, Christian Dozzler, Markus Toyfl and Dani Gugolz experienced Chicago "live". They were invited to barbecues in the heart of the South Side, encountered living blues legends, had memorable wild jam-parties in the back yards of terrace- houses and spent long nights in black blues clubs.

Even though only little can still be heard of traditional blues in Chicago, the "Mojos" consistanly strayed in its persuit until they made the aquaintance of several musicians who may be the last of their kind.

The Mojo Blues Band invited such musicians as Willie Kent, A.C. Reed, Taildragger, Big 'Mojo' Elem and Timothy Taylor to their recording session at ACME-studios in Southport Street.

In a 16-hours-marathon recording session the different cultures, languages and mentalities melted into one another to become a friendly whole - all made possible by the common love of music. Inspiration for the title came from a gigantic gourmet fair, named "The Taste Of Chicago", presenting local restaurants and organized at the time by the City of Chicago.

Consequently, this album can be regarded as an acoustic delicacy. Furthermore this record documents the first bridge between musicians of Chicago and Vienna in the history of the blues.

                                                    The Wild Taste Of Chicago
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Willie Kent - Blues And Trouble

Size: 129,0 MB
Time: 55:57
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2004
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Front

01. That Will Never Do (4:00)
02. Mean Old World (5:57)
03. Mean Mistreatin' Woman (3:24)
04. Going Down Slow (3:59)
05. Can't Get No Grindin (3:00)
06. Troubles, Troubles, Troubles (6:12)
07. Treat My Baby Right (3:16)
08. Reconsider Baby (2:47)
09. Memory Of You (3:52)
10. Come Home (4:44)
11. Somebody Got To Go (2:56)
12. Sloppy Drunk (5:46)
13. As The Years Go Passing By (5:59)

The preeminent Chicago blues bassist of the postwar era, Willie Kent was the city's last surviving link to the Mississippi Delta tradition, backing a who's who of immortals including Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Junior Parker as well as fronting his own long-running band, the Gents. Born in Inverness, MS, on February 24, 1936, Kent was the product of a sharecropping family, and was enlisted to pick cotton at the age of six. While local musician Dewitt Munson afforded his first exposure to the blues, as a teen he began dialing in Helena, AR's influential radio station KFFA, where the King Biscuit Time broadcast served as his introduction to formative influences including Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Robert Nighthawk. By age 11, Kent was a surreptitious fixture at the Highway 61 club the Harlem Inn, catching acts headlined by Howlin' Wolf and Ike Turner. Two years later, he left home for Memphis, and after a brief tenure at a Florida gas station, he migrated to Chicago at the age of 16. There Kent bought his first guitar, which he loaned to musician Willie Hudson in exchange for lessons. In 1959, he joined Hudson's band Ralph & the Red Tops as a chauffeur, occasionally appearing on-stage as a vocalist. Whenever Hudson's bassist brother showed up for a gig too drunk to perform, Kent was summoned as his replacement, eventually taking over the position for good.

Upon joining Little Milton's band in 1961, Kent's notoriety grew, and he became a steady presence at Kansas City Red's legendary "Blue Monday" parties. Kent was renowned as much for his talent as for his professionalism, a rare commodity in the blues world, and he regularly sat in with greats spanning from Muddy Waters to Little Walter. After leaving Little Milton, he tenured with Arthur Stallworth & the Chicago Playboys as the 1960s came to a close, followed by stints in support of Hip Linkchain and Jimmy Dawkins. After returning from a European tour, Dawkins relinquished his headlining gig at the West Side blues club Ma Bea's Lounge to Kent, who for the first time assembled his own band, Sugar Bear & the Beehives, with guitarist Willie James Lyons and drummer Robert Plunkett. Ma Bea's would serve as the setting for Kent's debut LP, 1975's live release Ghetto, and remained his home for over six years. In 1982, he returned to sideman duties, joining Eddie Taylor and contributing to his acclaimed 1985 swan song Bad Boy. After Taylor died that Christmas, Kent recruited his guitarist Johnny B. Moore and drummer Tim Taylor to form Willie Kent & the Gents: as their fellow bluesmen adopted an increasingly slick sensibility inspired by commercial R&B, the Gents championed the classic Delta 12-bar tradition, emerging as a favorite of blues purists at home and abroad.

After a series of heart ailments forced Kent to undergo triple bypass surgery in 1989, he spent his recovery examining his life and career, finally abandoning his longtime trucking gig in favor of pursuing music full-time. I'm What You Need, his first solo LP in 14 years, soon followed on the Big Boy label and proved the first in a flurry of releases that next included his Delmark debut, Ain't It Nice, which earned the Library of Congress Award for Best Folk/Blues Album of 1991. Kent also signed to the Austrian label Wolf for a pair of LPs, 1991's King of Chicago's West Side Blues and Live at B.L.U.E.S. in Chicago. With so many new records to his credit, it was inevitable that Kent finally earned the attention of blues fans and critics across the globe, and in 1995, he won the W.C. Handy Award for Best Blues Instrumentalist, Bass. Two years later, he earned the award again, and went on to claim the prize in nine consecutive years. Kent also notched five consecutive Most Outstanding Blues Musician, Bass honors from the magazine Living Blues, and with 1998's Delmark release Make Room for the Blues took home Chicago's Album of the Year prize. In early 2005, Kent was diagnosed with cancer, but continued his busy live schedule in spite of chemotherapy treatments. He lost his battle with the disease on March 2, 2006, just a week past his 70th birthday. ~Bio by Jason Ankeny

Thanks to Marc.
Blues And Trouble

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Billy Flynn & Friends - Blues Today

Size: 141,8 MB
Time: 61:32
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1993
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Front & Back

01. Roadhouse (3:24)
02. Nothing But Trouble (3:51)
03. Blues Today (4:21)
04. Conejitos Place [For Libbi] (5:39)
05. Can't Say Something Good About Me (3:32)
06. River Walk (3:18)
07. Tough Times Again (4:12)
08. 200 Dollar Dresses (4:06)
09. The Blues Side (6:23)
10. Hookin' Par (5:20)
11. Tryin' So Hard (4:39)
12. The Huckel Buck (4:18)
13. Midnight Soul (3:55)
14. Heads Up (4:27)

Billy Flynn has been around playing his blues for many decades now. He grew up in Green Bay, WI and got his first taste of real blues as he turned 14 (in 1970) when Clark Kent’s Super Joint opened. Legends such as Jimmy Rogers, Johnny Littlejohn, and Johnny Young were just a few of the acts that played at the club. Shortly after the joint opened, Billy got an opportunity to jam w/ his mentor, Jimmy Dawkins. In 1975 Dawkins invited Flynn to join his band and toured w/ him for over four years. After that, Billy continued to play in his home and Chicago area with such acts as Luther Allison, Mighty Joe Young, and Sunnyland Slim. In the late 1980’s he played with ex-Muddy Waters bandmates including Pinetop Perkins, Willy “Big Eyes” Smith, and Calvin “Fuzz” Jones. Billy has also worked w/ such greats as Kim Wilson and Otis Rush. He tries to make himself readily available for work and various blues opportunities as they arise. Billy has played the guitar guest spot on many remarkable blues discs.

Thanks to Marc
Blues Today

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