Blues Harmonica

Big Walter's first album and with an all star cast - Buddy Guy (guitar), Jack Myers (bass), Willie Dixon (vocals), and Willie Smith (drums). Although not definitive, this album is worth seeking out for Horton fans. It features Walter in a variety of musical styles, including a good rendition of "Hard Hearted Woman" and a wild version of "La Cucaracha".

A coupling of the harpist's first and third LPs for Stax's Enterprise subsidiary and the best spot to inaugurate a Little Sonny CD collection. 1970's New King is mostly instrumental and places Sonny in a funky, contemporary setting; 1973's Hard Goin' Up was his best album for the firm, benefitting from excellent material spotlighting his vocal talents in a soul-slanted format.

This Dutch blues band was formed in the Hague around 1967, becoming a regular outfit from 1969. The early line-up included Bjorn Toll (vocals), John Lagrand (harmonica), Ted Oberg (guitar), Ruud Fransen (bass) and Niek Dijkhuys (drums) but although the name remained wholesale changes soon took place, bringing in a new singer, Nicko Christiansen, and new bass and drums, Peter Kleinjan and Beer Klaasse, the latter pair being swiftly replaced by Gerard Strutbaum and Cesar Zuiderwijk, while keyboard player Henk Smitskamp was added. Other changes followed through the 70s, by which time the band’s repertoire was more inclined towards rock.

Nico Wayne Toussaint is a unique french blues artist. His album «Blues entre les dents», a personal creation largely inspired by blues music, as usually but, for the first time, with more french lyrics than english lyrics. Nico Wayne Toussaint is one of the rare artists to have created, starting from Chicago blues, a completely personal vocal and performance style. His current musical universe goes way beyond his earlier influences. Nico was born on august 1973 in Toulon, France and started playing harmonica since the age of 18. He ran into the blues when he was 15, through Muddy Waters¹record ³Hard again² featuring James Cotton on harp. Since then, the wildness high energy of James Cotton’s playing have always been his musical credo. With his explosive concerts and his exceptional charisma on stage, Nico has managed to build a solid reputation in France and around the world (he tours regularly all over USA and Canada).