Hubert Wolf

Tony O was given his name by the great late Howlin' Wolf and his guitar player Hubert Sumlin back in the late 60's. Wolf was a friend and mentor. Tony O has toured and recorded with Jimmy Rogers, Victoria Spivey, James Cotton, Pinetop Perkins, Willie "big eye's" Smith, Hubert Sumlin, Bob Stroger, Calvin "Fuzz" Jones, The Legendary Blues Band, Little Mike and the Tornado's, Zora Young, Louis Myers, and more. Tony has recorded on over twenty five records and for seven different record labels. His debut record (Top of The Blues) on Deluge Records was released in 1995 with only great revues world wide, it included special guests Pinetop Perkins (piano), Willie "big eye's Smith (drums), Brad Vickers (bass) & Stan Bronstein (Sax).

Rocking Chicago blues in all its glory and intensity - in a series of live sets from the great Buddy Guy's Legends club in Chicago. The show brings great icons of blues - Junior Wells, Hubert Sumlin, Buddy Guy - together with younger artists - Pistol Pete, Roy Hytower, Rod Piazza - to showcase generations of great players of this hard driving American tradition.
The great Junior Wells' harmonica playing defines the Chicago sound: he worked with Muddy Waters in the 50s and with Buddy Guy in the 60s. Hubert Sumlin brought the Mississippi sound to Chicago and contributed to the dark sound of Howlin Wolf. Buddy Guy blew hippies away in the late 60s with his guitar theatrics.

This soundtrack to the movie features an astonishing array of blues artists from three generations. Recorded during one long night at NYC's Radio City Music Hall on Feb. 7, 2003, the electricity is in the air and on stage. While it may not have been the finest blues show in history, the collection of founding fathers such as David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Buddy Guy, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Larry Johnson, Hubert Sumlin, Solomon Burke, and the ubiquitous B.B. King along with their spiritual offspring (Gregg Allman, John Fogerty, and Steven Tyler) and some usual suspects like Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, and Keb' Mo', makes it arguably the most significant blues session ever captured on film. Beginning acoustic, the double disc builds momentum and volume as we hear the blues mutate to electric and finally hip-hop with Chuck D. exploding on a rap version of John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom".

Even though Chess should be releasing collections with more than just over 30 minutes of music on them, this thin blues roundup from the legendary Chicago label's vaults still works well enough as a sampler of vintage electric blues. Recorded between 1952 and 1960, the 12 tracks spotlight such legends as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, and Sonny Boy Williamson. Most of the numbers are classics, including Waters' "Hoochie Coochie Man," Wolf's "Smokestack Lightning," and Walter's "Juke." The inclusion of Lowell Fullson's perennial "Reconsider Baby," Chuck Berry's "Worried Life Blues," and Jimmy Witherspoon's "When the Lights Go Out" does come as a surprising but welcome addition to a basic overview such as this…

The SOULFIRE LIVE! Blu-ray video edition will include Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul’s complete Cavern Club concert alongside video performances of each song on the 3CD set, exclusive interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage. In addition, the Blu-ray edition will feature a special documentary about the Cavern Club…

This 45-song, two-disc collection is subtitled "two decades of killer fretwork", and never was a set so aptly described. Chess Records was the home to seemingly every hot guitar player in the Chicago area, and many of them make their appearance here. Besides the usual label guitar hotshots (Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, Lowell Fulson, Earl Hooker, Otis Rush, Robert Nighthawk, Little Milton), space is given to sideman work from legends like Hubert Sumlin and Robert Jr. Lockwood and great one-offs by lesser-known artists like Jody Williams, Danny Overbea, Eddie Burns, Joe Hill Louis, Morris Pejoe, Lafayette Thomas and others. It seems as if everyone recorded for Chess at one time or another, also explaining the inclusion of tracks by John Lee Hooker, Albert King, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Lonnie Brooks, Hound Dog Taylor and Elmore James. If electric blues guitar's your thing, then look no further than this fine two-disc compilation.