Bernard's next release will be a tribute to Luther Allison... All Luthers songs re-done by Bernard

There's nothing like the sound of a world-class bluesman getting back to business. Last October, when Bernard Allison returned to his old haunt of Bessie Blue Studios, Tennessee, to be greeted by fabled producer and career-long collaborator Jim Gaines, it felt like coming home. And when Allison fired up the amps, counted in the band and embarked upon his latest studio album, Highs And Lows, everything felt right with the world. "Just to be able to create music again after the pandemic," he says of that long-awaited rebirth, "was incredible." For 56 years, music has been Bernard Allison's essence. As the youngest son of the much-missed Chicago bandleader Luther Allison, he was a bluesman from birth, naturally drawn to this ancient music that seemed to heal deep wounds, and held spellbound by early encounters with heavyweights like Muddy Waters, Albert King and Hound Dog Taylor.

Vinyl LP pressing. Live album from the iconic blues guitarist and vocalist.

Recorded live in Germany april 2024 eric johanson from new orleanse alastair gereen from Austin Texas katarina pejak from serbian

Bernard's next release will be a tribute to Luther... all Luther's hits re-recorded by Bernard

2022 release. There's nothing like the sound of a world-class bluesman getting back to business. Last October, when son of the late blues legend Luther Allison, Bernard Allison, returned to his old haunt of Bessie Blue Studios, Tennessee, to be greeted by fabled producer and career-long collaborator Jim Gaines, it felt like coming home. And when Allison fired up the amps, counted in the band and embarked upon his latest studio album, Highs And Lows, everything felt right with the world. "Just to be able to create music again after the pandemic," he says of that long-awaited rebirth, "was incredible."

The great Chicago bluesman Luther Allison lived by a simple philosophy that he was happy to share ("Leave your ego, play the music, love the people"). Now, twenty-three years after Luther's passing, the great man would surely be thrilled to hear Bernard Allison's Songs From The Road, and proud to find that his ferociously talented son is sworn to the same mission, bringing soul-soaked, all-guns-blazing blues to audiences who need it more than ever. Released in February 2020 as a CD/DVD set on Ruf Records, Songs From The Road is a live snapshot so raw and real that hearing it feels like hanging off the security barrier of Dortmund's Musiktheater Piano club when Bernard and his crack-squad band hit town last October 23rd. With an A-list crew on-hand - and a dynamic mix from industry legend Jim Gaines - this immersive recording catches every last flash of virtuosity, bead of sweat and drop of atmosphere. "I actually prefer live performances," says Bernard, "because you can communicate and interact with the audience. I basically feed off of that energy, combined with my group's talent and personalities."

2019 release. They might have an illustrious history, but The Soul Of The King reminds us that The B.B. King Blues Band are a lineup moving forward, writing a love-letter to their fallen leader while staking their own claim in the modern era. Choosing songs from King's sprawling catalog could have been an ordeal. But for The Soul Of The King, the lineup made a smart move, letting the A-list guests dictate the material. There's a heartfelt turn from Michael Lee on 'The Thrill Is Gone'. Mary Griffin and Taj Mahal combine their vocal and guitar talents on 'Paying The Cost To Be The Boss'. Kenny Neal lends poignant vocals and licks to 'Sweet Little Angel'.

2018 release. Starting the blues calendar with a bang in 2018, Let It Go feels like a homecoming. After all, this studio album sees Bernard return to Ruf Records: the iconic German label that was created in 1994 to serve as a home for his father, the much-missed Chicago heavyweight, Luther Allison. Just as significant, Let It Go also found Bernard recording in the birthplace of the blues - Tennessee - and returns his sound to it's raw fundamentals, on 12 songs that hold up without embellishment. Let It Go was recorded at Bessie Blue Studio, Stantonville, Tennessee, with legendary music producer Jim Gaines, recalls Bernard. "We made the decision to not flood the CD with keyboards or horns, to go back to the true basic rhythm section sound - and to show more mature songwriting."

If you love the ragged edges of mud-crusted Delta-style blues, look no further than Memphis Mojo! This live session marks one of the greatest moments of Louisiana Red's nearly 60 years of recording.

Blues legend Luther Allison is considered to be one of the greats, with a career that lasted nearly 40 years, but didn't make him famous until the last few years of his life. UNDERGROUND is a lost recording from his early session years, recorded in 1957 under the guidance of Bobby Rush, this album features 8 never before heard tracks of Luther in his early years. A must for fans of Luther Allison.

Two years ago, Canadian blues artist Sue Foley put together a two CD compilation call BLUES GUITAR WOMEN (RF1110.2). The album featured over 2 dozen female artists playing both traditional and contemporary blues. Now, for the third edition in the Blues Caravan tour, 3 artists have been carefully selected from the growing generation of blues women. Sue Foley, the veteran musician with 10 albums to her name; Deborah Coleman, who waited until her motherly duties were done to join in the music; and Roxanne Potvin, the new comer to the blues scene. A truly brilliant collection.

LIVE TROUT: AT TAMPA BAY BLUES FEST MARCH 2000

LIVIN EVERY DAY

Dangerous" - that's the word Luther Allison came up with to describe his son's guitar playing. At the age of 32, Bernard Allison combines the fiery influences of his father and others of that generation (like Freddy King and Albert Collins) with blues rockers like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, while capturing an aggressive, no-holds-barred sound all his own. 1st singles: "I Can't Get You Out Of My Mind" and "The Way Love Was Meant To Be.

Reissue of 1997 album. The title is program. Born in 1965 in Chicago Bernard Allison was introduced into the roots of black music and playing electric guitar by his father, the living blues legend luther allison. At the age of 20 he played with the Queen of Blues Koko Taylor for two years and took part in countless sessions with musicians like Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jeff Healey. He joined the tour band of Luther Allison in 1989 after a furious collaboration of "Father & Son" at the '89 Chicago Blues Festival. A recording of this formation is to be heard on the Luther Allison album Let's Try It again. Bernard released his first solo album in 1990 with the significant title The Next Generation. Bernard was not only influenced by the old masters or musicians like Jimmy Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan but also grew up with the music of George Clinton and Johnny Guitar Watson. Born With The Blues was recorded in Chicago and mixed in Memphis - together with the band of blues legend Buddy Guy (with Ray Killer Allison/drums). Bernard's co-producer is the Rounder Bullseye producer Ron Levy who also plays the keyboards.

REDUX: LIVE AT THE KEYSTONE KORNER

This is volume 2 of a projected 3-volume set of Lead Belly's performances recorded by Moses Asch during the 1940s. The original masters now reside in the Folkways Archive at the Smithsonian Institution. Completely remastered from the best sources in our collections, this recording contains the highest sound quality possible. The liner notes contain extensive annotation and reflections on Lead Belly's music as you've never heard it before. Compiled and annotated by Jeff Place. "The soul expressed is full-fledged and sublime." -New England Folk Almanac.

The classic 1957 release from one of the greats of gospel blues, a rough diamond of hard, pure country gospel expression, at odds with the earthly concerns of the blues and yet entwined with the devil's rhythms. Listen to the splendid Moon Goes Down, the skittering guitar figures on Bad Company and classic ragtime of I Didn't Want to Join the Band for confirmation of his brilliant originality. 17 cuts total, including a couple of unreleased items.

Tony "Little Sun" Glover (b. 1939) is a Minneapolis-born harmonica player and singer, most notably associated with guitarists "Spider" John Koerner and Dave "Snaker" Ray during the folk revival in the early 1960s. Glover performed with Ray until the latter's death in 2002, and he still performs with Koerner on occasion. This session, recorded in 1965, is an introduction to the basics of playing blues harmonica. Glover stresses that the student should first listen to a wide range of players before attempting to play. The liner notes cover the recorded material in greater depth, as well as a discography of Glover's favorite blues harp recordings.

Taken from unreleased recordings, previous Folkways releases, and early blues recordings, this two-disc set offers an introduction to the vocal styles, ornamentation, and instrumentation of this "highly personal, expressive idiom." Copious liner notes by Samuel B. Charters accompany the musical material.

From the early blues of Son House, Willie Brown, and Charley Patton to the assertive music of the Depression, the Mississippi delta has produced songs and singers with a fierce honesty that has ensured the style's enduring popularity. This selection features a range of songs and extensive liner notes.

During the folk revival of the 1950s and 60s, documentarians and aficionados searched for country blues singers whose music had previously only been known through old recordings. This album's music presents historic recordings of these singers from 1920-1940, while it's liner notes describe these "rediscovered" musicians' lives in the 1960s.

Texan Blind Willie Johnson was one of the most successful recording artists in the South in the late 1920s, before the Depression ruined the company for which he recorded. This collection demonstrates the singer's unique ability to express his personal poetic style through the genre of religious song.

This second volume continues Folkways' The Country Blues (FW00RF1) and is the result of efforts in the early 1960s to find singers who were previously known only as names on commercial recordings. Volume Two includes works by these lesser-known singers, as well as a pseudonymous recording by Blind Willie McTell, who recorded as "Georgia Bill."