Internationally recognized Grana Louise has delighted countless music fans around the world with her outstanding blues performances. Her deep, rich voice belts out the kind of raw, gut blues that makes your spine tingle and heart ache. Grana performs at Chicago's hottest blues clubs including Blue Chicago, Buddy Guy's Legends, B.L.U.E.S and the Kingston Mines. Grana has rocked the house at the acclaimed Apollo Theater in New York and festivals from Detroit to Mexico, Reykjavik to the French Riviera and beyond. CD combines studio and live recordings, brand new original songs and covers that have been personalized to make them her own.

The rough and rowdy blues heard at Turner's Lounge was the inspiration for this explosive 1968 recording. Blues legend Sunnyland Slim guests with The Hawks on piano and organ. This Digipak Deluxe Edition contains the previously unissued song "I'll Cry Tomorrow", five alternate takes and a 16-page booklet with many never-before-seen photos from the recording sessions and Turner's. "The raw-as-an-open-wound Chicago slide guitarist J.B. Hutto outdid himself throughout an outrageously raucous album anchored by an impossible-to-ignore "Hip Shakin'", the blaring title cut, and savage renditions of "20% Alcohol" and "Notoriety Woman". " - Bill Dahl A.M.G.

2022 release. Demetria Taylor was born to sing the blues. The songs on Demetria Taylor: Doin' What I'm Supposed To Do are a balance of traditional blues and modern R & B, with some written by her family, some by fellow musicians Mike Wheeler and Larry Williams, one by the venerable Magic Sam, and two by Demetria herself. This second Delmark record is a strong follow up to her Delmark debut, Bad Girl, and also features the legendary Deitra Farr on one track.

The plural "kings" comes from the fact that this CD is divided between Alfred "Blues King" Harris and Big Walter. You'll hear Walter's first Chicago recordings under his own name ('54); he plays Hard-Hearted Woman; Back Home to Mama; Card Game; Remember Me, and more!

Dave Specter'S 30 YEAR MUSICAL JOURNEY ON DELMARK showcases the guitarist, songwriter and vocalist surrounded by a stellar lineup of special guests including: OTIS CLAY, JIMMY JOHNSON, RONNIE EARL, LURRIE BELL, BILLY BRANCH, WILLIE KENT, JORMA KAUKONEN, JACK McDUFF, LYNWOOD SLIM, SHARON LEWIS, JESSE FORTUNE, BARKIN' BILL SMITH, STEVE FREUND, FLOYD McDANIEL, TAD ROBINSON, LENNY LYNN and more! Specter's career has been intertwined with the deepest roots of Chicago blues and Delmark's rich musical history. This double CD release constitutes a definitive testimony to one of today's most tasteful and versatile blues artists featuring Specter in a wide variety of styles, all played with six string soul., ALL TRACKS REMASTERED AT DELMARK'S RIVERSIDE STUDIO BY JULIA A. MILLER. INCLUDES GATEFOLD JACKET WITH EXTENSIVE DISCOGRAPHY, LINER NOTES BY HISTORIAN DICK SHURMAN, DIGITAL DOWNLOAD CARD OF THE COMPLETE DOUBLE CD EDITION FEATURING 11 MORE TRACKS.

Sykes was a primary creator of the modern blues style and an outstanding singer, songwriter & performer; this CD is the first album to contain all 17 songs Sykes recorded for the United label from 1951-53, plus 3 alternate takes.

Pianist Frank Melrose was the younger brother of music publishers and agents Walter and Lester Melrose, who ran Melrose Brothers music store in Chicago and were very involved in the business end of the Chicago jazz and blues scene of the '20s and '30s. Frank left Chicago as a teen and settled in Kansas City. He recorded sporadically in the '20s with Wingy Manone and Johnny Dodd's. His last session was in '41 as he was found dead that Labor Day. This previously unissued session was recorded in 1940 and features quintet sides with trumpeter Pete Daily, trio and solo material.

Blues guitarist Dave Specter is never prone to grandstanding. He communicates an inherent sense of style and form, subtlety and swing, keeping his magnetic needle always fixed on a steady, unalterable course.

DELMARK'S 70th ANNIVERSARY BLUES ANTHOLOGY Featuring 10 of the finest tracks from the Delmark blues music vaults. Seventy years on, Delmark is the oldest independent jazz and blues record label in the world, boasting a catalog bulging with over twelve thousand recordings by a virtual who's who of jazz and blues.� Although Bob Koester retired in 2018, under the leadership of President/CEO, Julia A. Miller and Artistic Director�Elbio Barilari, Delmark has released over 30 thirty albums in five years, has made digitally available over twelve thousand songs and continues it's mission.

2022 Release. NINETY-YEAR-OLD"SIR"BOB STROGER, LORD OF THE BLUES, has had a glorious musical career and played with the greatest. He has appeared on more than 30 Delmark releases. "That's My Name" by Bob Stroger & The Headcutters marks his rst Delmark album as a leader. The Headcutters are a crack blues quartet hailing from Brazil, and they are a welcome addition to the Delmark family.

One of the greatest blues albums of all time, West Side Soul was chosen by Living Blues magazine as one of it's top ten Desert Island Blues Discs. The new digipak case contains previously unissued photos and 1960s pluggers (promoting west side gigs) from the private collection of Bill Lindemann. The source material for the CD is now the original 1967 analog stereo mix by Stu Black who recorded many of Delmark's classic 1960s blues and jazz recordings. Featuring Mighty Joe Young, guitar; Stockholm Slim, piano; Earnest Johnson or Mac Thompson, bass; Odie Payne Jr. or Odie Payne III, drums. 12 tracks including "That's All I Need", "I Need You So Bad", "Feelin' Good", "All Your Love", "Sweet Home Chicago" and more.

Blues guitarist Dave Specter is never prone to grandstanding. He communicates an inherent sense of style and form, subtlety and swing, keeping his magnetic needle always fixed on a steady, unalterable course. Recorded live at Buddy Guy's Legends and Rosa's Blues Lounge, Live in Chicago features special guests Jimmy Johnson, Tad Robinson and Sharon Lewis. The CD contains four instrumentals and two songs by each of the guest vocalists. Tracks include: Boss Funk, What Love Did to Me, What's Your Angle, Feel So Bad, Out on the Road, in Too Deep, Angel and more. DVD with more tracks also available in the DVD new release section.

Johnny Iguana toured with Junior Wells and Otis Rush and recorded with Buddy Guy and James Cotton. He's played piano with the best, and this is his first blues album as a leader. Johnny grew up on Erik Satie, Raymond Scott and Mike Watt as much as Otis Spann and Johnny Jones. His own compositions here-with the blues classics and a bevy of Chicago blues greats-inhabit the space of Spann, Sunnyland and Big Maceo but also busting the blues box open with new adventures in soulful surrealism. Ripples of punk, soul, jazz, classical - Johnny has drunk from these waters. But this is a blues album. It's Johnny Iguana's Chicago Spectacular!

The reviews of Quintus' first CD, Hey Jodie! (DMK 801), were stunning. "... best studio debut of 2009 and one of the best soul-blues albums of the past decade." -Blues Revue "McCormick possesses a rich, soulful voice and an incredible versatility on guitar. At one moment he's laying down an edgy blues-rock intro, and the next he's shifting into funk mode with confidence and swagger." - Living Blues with such a great debut CD one might wonder if his second Delmark CD could be as good. It is! Fourteen new original compositions. With special guest Billy Branch.

Growing up in the shadows of Chicago's blues mecca, Theresa's Lounge, had a lasting effect on Toronzo Cannon. He'd listen to the raw, soulful sounds of legends like Junior Wells, Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters. This led him to pick up his first guitar as a teenager and learn to sing and play the sounds he heard. Inspired by the 3 Kings (Freddie, B.B. & Albert), a little Hendrix and some 70s r&b/soul, Toronzo soon developed his own powerful, gospel-flavored vocal style and electrifying stage presence. "Aside from his fretboard chops, Cannon is notable for being one of the few local artists to emphasize original material in his live performances... his lyrics are witty and vivid." - Living Blues.

My thing has always been live music. Going to shows, booking shows, playing shows. Playing with the best musicians I could. More than anything, I loved the feeling of getting in the van and going. Even better, once I got there, I love the feeling of knockin' em dead. It's been nearly 20 years since my last live recording. That one, More Real Folk Blues Live, was Chicago in every way, back when living in Chicago was like Christmas for me every day. It was the result of seeing and playing with great blues artists all the time - artists like Eddie C. Campbell, Tail Dragger, Sam Lay, Eddie Taylor Jr., Jimmy Dawkins, Eddie Shaw, Little Arthur Duncan, Jimmy Burns, Big Smokey Smothers, L.V. Banks, Eddy Clearwater - and many others. It was a recording borne of a long, self-imposed apprenticeship - the kind musicians like me came to Chicago from all over the world to get. Although that apprenticeship ended some time ago, I have begun another journey that's taken me from coast to coast in the US and all around the world, across Europe, to Russia, Japan and beyond. Live recordings often just repeat well-worn songs played by well-oiled machines. This live session is the exact opposite. It offers twelve brand-new originals done by artists who don't play together regularly, performed for a packed house of enthusiastic fans of course! We had just one night to nail it - which made this recording a crazy, but thrilling, high wire act! The many miles and musical clairvoyance I've enjoyed with my road band of bassist Chris Matheos and drummer Steve Dougherty gave me the confidence for this do-or-die session. I drew from the great Bay Area blues talent pool that lured me to the West Coast back in 2016. I count all my special guests as friends and knew their contributions would carry me through. Blues legend Charlie Musselwhite's driving boogie-woogie harp on 'California Blues' is an absolute highlight. The end result is a raw, fresh, and original all-star set of blues, shot through with live energy. Chicago Blues sax legend Eddie Shaw once said, 'It takes 20 years to make a bluesman.' Here I am, ready to play my blues for you.

Featuring Monster Mike Welch, Kid Anderson, and Corey Dennison the latest project by Breezy Rodio, If It Ain't Broke Don't Fix It, presents vibrant, new, quality original material. Rodio has produced a veritable smorgasbord of tasty songs. With the use of A-list musicians, dynamic horn arrangements and inventive original lyrics, Breezy has managed to produce a recording full of musical delights. I met Breezy shortly after he appeared on the Chicago Blues Scene. I watched him grow from a shy, young aspiring guitar player into the confident guitarist and vocalist that he has become. Believe me; I know a thing or two about navigating the Chicago Blues landscape. It may sound cliche, but you absolutely must pay your dues to get accepted here on the scene. Though long gone are most of the classic great musicians, Chicago is still the world Mecca of the Blues. I have seen many musicians with great potential fall by the wayside, succumbing to the many pitfalls that plague the path to success. Breezy has not only survived but has emerged as a dynamic artist. It is worth mentioning that Breezy's nine-year tenure as a guitarist in the band of Chicago's illustrious Linsey Alexander definitely gave him the experience and confidence to develop his own musical identity. I became acutely aware of his musical growth and development when I collaborated with him on his previous Delmark release, Sometimes The Blues Got Me (Delmark DE 853). I am confident that Breezy's musical growth will continue. I am happy to know him as a friend, and a serious musician, who shares the same respect for those who paved the way before us. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

The 70's Japanese tours of Otis Rush, Jimmy Dawkins, Eddie Taylor and others created a small but intense Japanese blues following that bursts over with talent three generations and forty years later. Delmark Records presents No Border Blues, the first-ever American compilation of some of the best bluesmen and women in the Japanese underground blues scene today, with musical contributions by Johnny Burgin and production by Stephanie Tice.

A walk in the Delta with sanctified swagger, It Ain't Right is a joyous culmination and testimonial to Jimmy's vocal talent and musical gifts. Relevant and inspiring, these songs are loaded with a great sense of collective purpose. Other musicians may cover a tune, but his clear and soulful message and individual approach make any song directly his own, and Jimmy Burns our musical treasure. Jimmy is accompanied by his working band Anthony Palmer, guitar; Greg McDaniel, bass: Bryant "T" Parker, drums; with additional support from Sumito "Ariyo" Ariyoshi, piano; Roosevelt Purifoy, organ; Marques Carroll, trumpet; Chris Neal, tenor sax; Aaron Getsug, baritone sax.

With Billy Branch, Eddie Shaw, Big Time Sarah, Eddie Taylor Jr.., Shun Kikuta, Roosevelt Purifoy, Greg McDaniel and Pookie Styx. The debut CD by the daughter of legendary Eddie Taylor (Jimmy Reed rhythm guitarist), who had a hit for VJ with the song "Bad Boy" in 1955. Demetria revisits the song here as a tribute to her late father. But Demetria is not just riding pops' coattails. Even though she just turned 38, Demetria won the B.L.U.E.S. on Halsted Blues Diva Contest 2010, has already performed three times at the Chicago Blues Festival and guested on two Eddie Taylor CDs. 11 songs including the rousing duet with Big Time Sarah on "Wang Dang Doodle".

Blues From The Inside Out is the most expressive project of Dave Specter's 35 year career. Featuring his debut as a vocalist, the album is an exciting and timely celebration of blues, soul, jazz, funk and gospel. With a guest appearance on guitar by Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna fame, who also co-wrote one of the album's 12 original tunes. These are exciting times to hear Specter, an evolving artist who embraces growth and discovery. In times when darkness and doubt may seem to hang over us, we need to remember the world is illuminated by possibilities. With this new album, Dave Specter's brilliant light shines down on us all.

Blues harmonica legend Carey Bell created his own style after learning from the masters Big Walter Horton, Little Walter Jacobs and Sonny Boy Williamson II. Bell is a veteran of both Muddy Waters' and Willie Dixon's bands.

Tennessee blues poet Sleepy John Estes made his recorded debut in 1929 with the song "Broken Hearted, Ragged and Dirty Too". In '35 John teamed up with Hammie Nixon and they went on to record many classic sides together until WWII. After a twenty-year absence Delmark's Bob Koester rediscovered John and presented him to the new blues audience in '62. This led to a series of LPs and a reinvigorated career. This album was recorded in November of 1974 at concerts in Japan, one of the very first tours of that country by a blues artist - preceded only by a B.B. King State Department appearance. The Estes tour was a great success and even resulted in an Estes track appearing on the Japanese Top 100 chart! 73 minutes.

Soulful Days is the debut album by Soul Message Band but, for the most part, these masterful musicians are not appearing on Delmark for the first time. Organist Chris Foreman and drummer Greg Rockingham both came from the now defunct Deep Blue Organ Trio who have two Delmark albums and one DVD. Alto saxophonist Greg Ward appeared as a sideman on Jason Roebke's High Red Center album (DMK 5014) and tenor man Geof Bradfield recently came out with his Delmark debut, Yes, And... Music For Nine Improvisers (DMK 5027). Newcomer Lee Rothenberg is featured on guitar and wrote "Sir Charles", the smoking opener for this funky, greasy organ combo album.

Bluesman Linsey Alexander was born in Mississippi and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. His first guitar was never retrieved from the pawn shop where he left it almost 50 years ago. Using the money to help pay his way to Chicago, he now has a variety of guitars. Linsey has played with B.B. King, Bobby Rush, Buddy Guy, Little Milton, Magic Slim Johnnie Taylor, Larry McCray, A. C. Reed, Byther Smith, John Primer, Otis Clay and Eddie Clearwater. Been There Done That is Linsey's Delmark debut and it features an eight piece band including the LA Horns plus special guest Billy Branch on harmonica. Lots of brand new original songs brought to life by Linsey's powerful vocals.