Unique flute work in an intimate quartet setting, supported and stimulated by some of Chicago's finest improvisers: Jeff Parker, guitar; Harrison Bankhead, bass; Avreeayl Ra, drums. Named 2010 Flutist of the Year in the Down Beat Critic's Poll, she rides the wave into new compositions that explore many colors, moods and rhythmic grooves. Mitchell's earlier projects involved larger groups; Black Earth Ensemble, Black Unstoppable (DMK 575 CD and 1575 DVD) and Black Earth Strings, Renegades (587). This smaller group setting opens the door for Mitchell to stretch out as a soloist more so than on any of her previous recordings.

Traditional jazz tubaist Mike Walbridge has been active on the Chicago scene for forty five years as leader of the Chicago Footwarmers and a member of the Chicago Salty Dogs. Clarinetist/alto saxist Kim Cusack has been jamming with Mike since their teens! Kim has been active for many years also in the Footwarmers, the Salty Dogs, Jim Dapogny's Chicago Jazz Band and several groups at Andy's, one of Chicago's best jazz clubs. This CD features two mid-60s sessions previously available on the Blackbird label plus a newly recorded 2007 session. The 60s sessions feature Johnny Cooper, piano; Eddie Lynch, banjo; Glen Koch, drums. The 2007 session features Don Stiernberg, banjo/guitar; Bob Cousins, drums.

Intimate live performance of avant duo Mikrokolketyw at the legendary Polish film studios Wytw�rnia Film�w Fabularnych in April of 2010. Dew Point places the material of "Revisit" into the performance setting, expanding their tunes into improvised forms, playing as the soundtrack to director Harmon's film Sound in Motion. Mikrokolektyw's electronics driven compositions become more acoustic, the dynamic of each song expanded and explored. Visually the DVD provides a lush and atmospheric backdrop in which the band plays out against rich colors touched with interludes of abstraction from the film they accompany. 5.1 surround sound, PCM Stereo, plus the film Sound in Motion. Directed by Raymond Salvatore Harmon. NTSC all region, 70 minutes.

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.

After a 20 year hiatus, virtuoso guitarists Goran Ivanovic and Fareed Haque have joined forces again! A year of intensive touring and composing has produced INDOBALKAN, the duo's debut release on Delmark Records. Featuring rising star percussionist Juan Pastor and incorporating elements of jazz, classical, Indian and balkan music, the duo explore longer, more complex compositions and stunning technical challenges while retaining their love for beautiful melodies and sweet tones. Two of the most gifted guitarists performing today, their styles and backgrounds are vastly different but, as the Chicago Tribune wrote of them "when their two guitars play, cultural barriers melt away."

Solo jazz guitar is an exacting art, and Chicago guitarist Andy Brown has been pursuing his unique finger-style approach to chord-melody playing since falling under the spell of George Van Eps, Joe Pass, and Kenny Poole a couple of decades ago. Praised by Just Jazz Guitar magazine as "a world-class guitarist who is more than capable of giving a clinic on solo guitar performance," this recording captures Andy's nuanced playing on a beautiful array of standard songs, bossa novas, and jazz tunes. Recorded on a frigid January evening during one of Chicago's worst winters in history, this CD is sure to warm your soul! 14 tracks include "Stompin' at the Savoy", "Drum Boogie" and "Anything Goes". Also available: Howard Alden / Andy Brown Quartet, Heavy Artillery (5008).

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.

Rob Mazurek (cornet), John Herndon (percussion), and Jason Adasiewicz (vibraphone) are deeply rooted in the Chicago and international avant garde, jazz and post-rock scenes. Starlicker expel sound with pervading energy and other-worldly delicacy. Mazurek leads, composes for and performs with the critically acclaimed Exploding Star Orchestra, Chicago Underground, Smarcho Paulo Underground, and Sound Is Quintet. Herndon, of the post rock collective Tortoise, creates waves of rhythm and maintains an abstract pulse uniquely his own. Adasiewicz is a Chicago mainstay and Down Beat magazine rising star, and plays in his own Sun Rooms Trio, Exploding Star Orchestra, Rolldown, and Loose Assembly.

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.

Sun Rooms consists of Jason Adasiewicz on vibraphone, Mike Reed on drums and Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass. Arise as a trio that focused on free improvisation, they mostly use documents of Adasiewicz off. These recordings were made in Amsterdam at the end of a tour. Under the slogan "We are all Drummers and we all want to swing ", the trio also pushes this CD bounders on the musical sound of world famous Chicago.

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".

Jazz saxophonist Rich Corpolongo is back with his 3rd Delmark CD. The first two Smiles (Delmark 502) and Just Found Joy (Delmark 489) featured Rich's avant-garde as well as his mainstream jazz music and both received a four star rating from Down Beat. Get Happy is straight-ahead jazz in trio format (Rich Corpolongo, tenor sax; Dan Shapera, bass; Rusty Jones, drums) reminiscent of Sonny Rollins. Features 2 Charlie Parker compositions, "Chi Chi" and "Dewey Square" and eight standards including "Body And Soul", "Get Happy" and "Lullaby of the Leaves".