Slide 7

From the very start, blues guitarists forged an irresistible partnership with the slide, the sound of which epitomizes the very essence of the genre. This Rough Guide highlights the revolutionary players who pioneered this most captivating of styles during the early recorded heyday of the blues.

This 2CD set contains the A and B side of every 78 and 45 released in the period 1952 to 1962. It features original releases from Trumpet, Meteor, Flair, Checker, Modern, Chief, Vee Jay, Fire and Enjoy. The recordings were produced mainly in Chicago and New York with others made in Mississippi, New Orleans and Los Angeles and constitutes as formidable a body of work as could be found anywhere in blues history.

Sanctified, indeed - and just the kind of record to show why Slide Hampton was unlike any of his trombone-playing contemporaries! The set's got a tightness and punch that's really unique - not the compact quality of JJ Johnson and Kai Winding, but also not the hardbop of Curtis Fuller either - instead king of a rousing approach to jazz trombone that really makes Hampton the kind of the soul jazz approach to the instrument! Slide's working here with a cool octet that has the focus of a group half their size - a really well-chosen lineup of young, hip players that includes George Coleman on tenor sax, Hobart Dotson and Richard Williams on trumpets, Larry Ridley on bass, and additional trombone from a y oung Charles Greenlee!

Trombonist Slide Hampton, just 30 years old at the time of this octet session in Paris, had already developed into a forward-thinking arranger. Scoring a mix of standards and well-known jazz compositions for a group that included two trombones, two trumpets, tenor sax, baritone sax, bass, and drums, Hampton's stunning interpretation of "Exodus" (from the film of the same name) still sounds very fresh decades later. The brisk "Star Eyes" might suggest the so-called "cool" players of the 1950s, featuring excellent solos by trumpeter Richard Williams and bassist Butch Warren. Baritone saxophonist Jay Cameron shines in "Confirmation," while the leader explodes in a powerful rendition of "Moment's Notice".

Sterling Koch returns with a new album "Let It Slide," the follow up to his very successful 2011 release "Slide Ruler." "Let It Slide" includes 13 songs, 8 originals and 5 covers, of varying blues and blues/rock styles. The cover songs include songs by Elmore James, Doyle Bramhall (I and II) and Rick Vito (Fleetwood Mac) as well as the single "Mercury Blues" by K.C. Douglas. "Let It Slide" features Gene Babula on bass and John Goba on drums taking over for Tommy Shannon (Double Trouble) and Chet McCracken (Doobie Brothers) from the "Slide Ruler" album. Sterling only began to play the lap steel in 2004 as the result of a neck injury, a herniated disk. He had previously played the conventional 6 string guitar for 35 years. Sterling specializes in playing slide guitar blues on the lap steel guitar and is widely acclaimed as one of the foremost propnents of the lap steel guitar.

A firey stormer from the great Slide Hampton! The album's one of his few early sides for Atlantic - and like the others, it's a groundbreaking batch of larger group material, with slide out front on trombone, and the rest of the ensemble vamping along like a tight Blue Note combo. Players are excellent - and include George Coleman on tenor, Horace Parlan on piano, Hobart Dotson on trumpet, and Ray Barretto on drums - and Slide makes them come together so tightly, you'd think they were working together every night of the week!

Trombonist Slide Hampton, just 30 years old at the time of this octet session in Paris, had already developed into a forward-thinking arranger. Scoring a mix of standards and well-known jazz compositions for a group that included two trombones, two trumpets, tenor sax, baritone sax, bass, and drums, Hampton's stunning interpretation of "Exodus" (from the film of the same name) still sounds very fresh decades later. The brisk "Star Eyes" might suggest the so-called "cool" players of the 1950s, featuring excellent solos by trumpeter Richard Williams and bassist Butch Warren. Baritone saxophonist Jay Cameron shines in "Confirmation," while the leader explodes in a powerful rendition of "Moment's Notice".

This compilation provides an interesting survey of 9 blues slide guitar players. Collected from various independent record labels and recorded over the period 1960 through 1993, all of these tracks have been previously released albeit on hard to find albums and CDs. It is great to have these tracks collected in one place.

A firey stormer from the great Slide Hampton! The album's one of his few early sides for Atlantic - and like the others, it's a groundbreaking batch of larger group material, with slide out front on trombone, and the rest of the ensemble vamping along like a tight Blue Note combo. Players are excellent - and include George Coleman on tenor, Horace Parlan on piano, Hobart Dotson on trumpet, and Ray Barretto on drums - and Slide makes them come together so tightly, you'd think they were working together every night of the week!