BOB CORRITORE & FRIENDS - EARLY BLUES SESSIONS

BOB CORRITORE & FRIENDS
Early Blues Sessions
VizzTone 
As Bob Corritore releases another of his “From The Vaults” compilations, it’s as if he’s reaching into the vaults at Fort Knox and grabbing yet another bar of pure gold. This desirable 16 track CD opens with Corritore accompanying Little Milton in “I Want To Be The One” just three years before this great musician’s passing. And, oh my, the rest of the CD is a treasure trove of ear catching and intimate blues tunes that offer the talents of many varied singers/musicians.

Other vocalist/guitarists include Dave Riley, Jimmy Rogers, Tomcat Courtney, Clarence Edwards, Robert Lockwood, Jr., Jimmy Dotson, and Lowell Fulson. Other contributing guitarists include Johnny Rapp, Chris James, Buddy Reed, Bob Margolin, and Rusty Zinn. Sam Lay and Chico Chism both offer their vocals and drums while Henry Gray adds piano to his vocals. King Karl’s vocal is heard on “Cool Calm Collected.”
Pianists include S.E. Willis, Pinetop Perkins, and Tom Mahon. There are six bass players: Patrick Rynn, Bruce Lopez, Pops MacFarland, Paul Thomas, Mario Mareno, and Scott Myer. The contributing drummers are Frank Rossi, Elmer Scott, Brian Fahey, Greg Zark, and Richard Innes. All are worth hearing.
The lively cut, “Cool Calm Collected” has Zinn’s guitar excelling to Karl’s bouncing lyrics. You’ll enjoy listening to this tune often. Especially pleasing is the Wes Montgomery piece, “Naptown Blues,” in which Robert Lockwood, Jr. dazzles on his blues/jazz guitar phrasings with Corritore adding that extra depth of sound on a chromatic harp as Eddie Hollis lays on his Hammond B-3 organ enhancements. It’s a slick and perfect recording. Two tunes have the artist on both vocals and drums: Sam Lay on “So Glad I’m Living” which has him singing, “When she starts to loving, ooh-ee, hear me squall!” Chism sings/drums a tune about a woman who is just the opposite on “Five Long Years.” Corritore addresses each of the tracks with his harp that accentuates the differences between their two themes. One of Corritore’s greatest talents is that he adapts his blues harp style to meld differently on each of the 16 tracks to fit the singer’s intended message and mood.
This generous CD ends with a 1984 recording of Lowell Fulson at age 63 singing “West Texas Blues” while adeptly playing an acoustic guitar as a 28-year-old Corritore deliciously plays his harp acoustically between the verses. Fulson then shouts out, “Yeah, that boy put a name to that! Bob Corritore answers, ‘West Texas Blues.’”
If you make room in your CD collection for Corritore’s Early Blues Collections, it just might make your other blues CDs jealous!
– Pete Sardon