BOB CORRITORE, VARIOUS ARTISTS

Bob Corritore and Friends, Harmonica Blues

By Dawn O’Keefe Williams

2010 will be remembered as the year when some of the best blues CDs of the millennium were released.  Bob Corritore’s Harmonica Blues is one of them.  Having learned from blues greats like Robert Lockwood, Jr., Big Smokey Smothers and Little Mack Simmons, Bob Corritore has developed his own style of playing harmonica and has incorporated his 40 years of performing experience into creating a remarkable CD.  Harmonica Blues is historical, spanning twenty years, from 1989-2009 featuring blues legends past and present.  This CD touts blues heavyweights such as the late Queen of the Blues, Chicago's own Koko Taylor, and also features Eddie Shaw, Pinetop Perkins, Nappy Brown, Little Milton, Honeyboy Edwards and Louisiana Red just to name a few of the 22 different featured performers. Not only are the artists who recorded with Bob Corritore legendary, but the style of blues throughout the CD is steeped in the tradition for which Bob is known. 

Corritore's musicianship is impeccable as he consistently performs as a part of the whole, allowing each featured recording artist and instrument to shine.  His timing and creativity is the epitome of how a blues harp should be played.  He harmonizes and plays along vocal lines yet remains a gentleman to his guest artists, thanks to each song’s arrangement.  Many times he is in the background as an integral part of the band so as not to play over the singer or instrument featured.  He then steps up with precision on his solos, varying his styles, which are never boring and never the same. 

Playing Hohner harmonicas exclusively, Corritore demonstrates the many sounds and moods of this instrument. From shuffles to Gospel influenced loops, where the music repeats itself, Bob expertly plays the fills or harmonizes.  His harmonica is full bodied with a bluesy distortion as in “1815 W. Roosevelt” with Eddie Shaw. Bob is also melodic on the first track “What Kind of Man is This” with the late Koko Taylor. In “Tell Me About It” with Louisiana Red, Bob performs with precision, as a counterpoint to the guitar, with easy fills in between the lyrics and then gives a raw solo, adding to the gritty mix of the song.  On “Tin Pan Alley” Bob’s harp is soulful, with a gentle vibrato complementary to the piano and guitar.

What makes this CD stand out is not only Bob's talent and style, but how this was mixed.   Bob's producing skills have been honed over the years; his credits include producing 1999’s the All Star Blues Sessions, in 2001 the Rhythm Room Anthology, 2008’s Traveling The Dirt Road and last year’s Lucky To Be Living CDs as well.  The producer hat can be worn proudly as he worked on this current CD, Harmonica Blues, with Randy Chertkoff of Delta Groove Records and Clarke Rigsby of Tempest Recording, who engineered and mixed every track (except for Koko Taylor's which was done in Chicago, IL). Bob’s producing talent in this aspect is evident as the effects of masterfully mixing these recordings have created a harmonica blues CD that is brilliant and very enjoyable to listen to.  This shows how Bob is a team player, thus creating a CD that is a work of art. 

A former Chicagoan, Corritore, owns the renowned Rhythm Room, 1019 E. Indian School Road, Arizona which features blues musicians both famous and local. He hosts a radio program, “Those Lowdown Blues,” which airs on Sundays 6-11 p.m., mountain time, 91.5FM in Phoenix, KJZZ and is streamed on the web.  You can find out more about Bob on his website:  www.bobcorritore.com. 

###