Many of Chicago's blues clubs could be described as "blues and soul clubs" because that's exactly what they are. Although blues is the main focus of those West Side, South Side, and North Side venues, so many of the artists they book include a lot of R&B in their sets. One of those soul-minded bluesmen who lives in Chi-Town is Detroit native Quintus McCormick, whose Put It on Me is a perfect example of an album that has one foot in electric urban blues and the other in soul (specifically, old-school soul of the ‘60s and '70s variety). Actually, McCormick's résumé says a lot about his musical outlook; he has been a sideman for both James Cotton and Otis Clay, and that explains why he handles blues and soul equally well on this 2010 recording…
Delmark Records consistently unearths blues talent heretofore undiscovered, and guitarist/vocalist Quintus McCormick certainly fills that bill. Born in Detroit in 1957, he was listening primarily to rock & roll, but upon a move to Chicago in the late '70s, it took yet another decade for him to discover his calling as a bluesman. This recording shows McCormick has emerged from the shadows of being a sideman (James Cotton, Lefty Dizz, A.C. Reed), leading a band with a horn section and backup singers to present his side of authentic urban music. His acknowledged influence of guitarist Albert King is quite evident in his solos and fills, while vocally he's quite reminiscent of Bobby "Blue" Bland, or former employer/mentor Otis Clay…