"mojo 2005"

This Muddy Waters set was recorded live in at the so-called "Jazz Jamboree" at the Palace of Culture and Sciences in Warsaw, Poland, in 1976 and has been issued many times under various titles over the years, including Floyd's Guitar Blues, Baby Please Don't Go, Hoochie Coochie Man Live!, I'm Ready Live, In Concert, and Live at Jazz Jamboree '76, among others. It's actually a pretty decent outing, and finds Waters working with what amounts to an all-star band with Bob Margolin and Luther Johnson on guitars, Pinetop Perkins on piano, Jerry Portnoy on harmonica, and a rhythm section of Calvin Jones on bass and Willie Smith on drums. It probably isn't an essential Muddy Waters purchase, but it certainly isn't a waste of money either, and dedicated fans shouldn't hesitate to pick it up under one of its various titles.

Stingingly sweet slide guitar and barrelhouse piano come to life on this spontaneously authentic and passionate recording from these seasoned blues veterans. "This recording contains thirteen of those songs just as they sounded that Sunday when they were recorded live at Mojo Boneyard Studios. This is how the band sounds at any number of clubs in and around the Pittsburgh area. These are all first takes and a fair representation of the energy and spontaneous creativity that the band exhibits when we’re swinging out in the clubs. I had a good time making music with these fine musicians and I'm glad we captured some of it on this recording. It’s been a long time comin" ~ Jimmy Adler

Extending the good vibes created out of their first pairing on the live recording Incredible!, organists Joey Defrancesco and Jimmy Smith get down to business on Legacy. The two stellar and funky musicians have a great musical rapport and seem to really enjoy playing together. Fans of Incredible! will most likely find much to enjoy here. The album has a heavy Latin sound with percussionists Ramon Banda and Jose "Joey" de Leon supplying additional timbales and conga rhythms respectively. Also joining in this time around is special guest tenor saxophonist James Moody, who adds his fiery bop chops to "Jones'n for Elvin." Backing Defrancesco and Smith here are bassist Tony Banda, guitarist Paul Bollenback, and drummer Steve Ferrone.

Louisiana Red (born Iverson Minter) was a flamboyant guitarist, harmonica player, and vocalist. He lost his parents early in life through multiple tragedies; his mother died of pneumonia a week after his birth, and his father was lynched by the Klu Klux Klan when he was five. Red began recording for Chess in 1949, then joined the Army. After his discharge, he played with John Lee Hooker in Detroit for almost two years in the late '50s, and continued through the '60s and '70s with recording sessions for Chess, Checker, Atlas, Glover, Roulette, L&R, and Tomato, among others.

Contrary to what the title of Her Story: Scenes from a Lifetime suggests, this double-disc set is not an anthology, yet it is an overview of Wynonna Judd's career, finding her live in concert sifting through her back pages. To be exact, it captures her live at the Grand Ole Opry House on February 1, 2005, singing hits that she had as a member of the Judds and hits she had as a solo artist, covering a few songs along the way. All the songs follow roughly in chronological order, so the 27-track album functions as something like a musical autobiography.