American+blues

This band is hot. Very, very hot. And those aren't just empty words. After all, the Blues Company from Osnabrück, Germany is neither a hodgepodge of rank beginners nor - to borrow business lingo - a group of new business starters. Rather, they are a team of artists who have made their mark, musicians with experience and know-how aplenty. The musicians at work here have long since ensured that the name of their “company” is a recognised “seal of approval”. In a nutshell, “Blues Company” stands for German's longest-running and most successful blues band. And with each new recording, with each concert, these pros underscore that their passionate love affair with the blues is burning brightly as ever.

As far as debuts go, the one from James "Super Chikan" Johnson is one of the most auspicious and accomplished of modern times. Recorded in Clarksdale, MS – about as close to a home as blues has – it covers the bases, from the sophisticated soulful swing of "Crystal Ball Eyes" to the funk of "Super Chikan Strut" and the Mississippi pride of "Down in the Delta" (albeit with a bayou rhythm). Unlike so many bluesmen, however, Super Chikan doesn't always take himself too seriously……

The documentary Willie Dixon: I Am the Blues examines the remarkably influential career of musician Willie Dixon. In addition to an explanation of how his work for Chess records revolutionized blues and rock & roll, the man performs eight songs, including "Wang Bang Doodle," "I Just Want to Make Love to You," and "I Got the Blues."
Willie Dixon's life and work was virtually an embodiment of the progress of the blues, from an accidental creation of the descendants of freed slaves to a recognized and vital part of America's musical heritage.