Bob Corritore & Friends – High Rise Blues
14 Tracks – 59 minutes
Chicago transplant Bob Corritore moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1981 where he opened a legendary blues club called the Rhythm Room. He booked many of the top name blues artists over the years and recorded their performances for posterity. In recent years he has released a large number of those recordings under the umbrella name of “Bob Corritore’s From The Vault“. The series started in 2007 and now contains 25 releases. “High Rise Blues” is the latest in the series and his third release in 2023 following “The World In A Jug” with Jimi “Primetime” Smith and a collection of female blues artists titled “Women in Blues Showcase“. Bob’s harmonica is always a feature of every recording, but his guests are out front on every song.
“High Rise Blues” focuses on the blues musicians from Chicago. According to the liner notes, the songs were from recordings dating back to 1992 and as recently as 2022. Many of the artists represented are now deceased. Bob has delivered some classic songs never before released that herald many of those greats, as well as some current artists that are the epitome of the current Chicago sound. Forty-four major musicians and Bob Corritore play on the fourteen songs represented on the album. Unfortunately, there is no indication of when each track was recorded. It would be interesting to know.
Jimmy Rogers kicks off the album with the rocking shuffle “Last Time” he first recorded in 1953. Corritore’s harmonica offers some great fills against Roger’s smooth vocals and guitar work. S.E. Wilis also plays piano, Chico Chism is on drums, and Bruce Lopez on bass.
Next up is the stinging guitar and vocals by Magic Slim on “Buddy Buddy Friends” addressing those who only want to become your friends when you have money in your pocket noting that “I don’t trust nobody that wants money”. Andre Howard adds bass and B.J. Jons plays drums on this one with rhythm guitar from Jon McDonald.
The title song “High Rise Blues” features Chico Chism on vocals and drums with Luther Tucker on guitar. Chico advises that “You better leave these married women alone. One day her husband will be at home.” If you don’t “you can end up looking down the barrel of a .44 magnum. Adam Moraga plays bass and Johnny Rapp plays rhythm guitar.
Koko Taylor joyfully presents her classic song “Twenty-Nine Ways” with Corritore wailing on the harp. Bob Margolin and Little Frank Krakowski provides guitar with Bob Stroger on bass and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith on drums.
Manuel Arrington tells a talking story of a sexual nature playing off a not too subtle use of the names of “Candy Bars” concluding the story with a result of the action when she gave birth to Baby Ruth. Jon Atkinson and Danny Michel play guitar, Troy Sandow on bass, and Marty Dodson plays drums.
Next up, Eddie Tayor, Jr. plays guitar and sings that “I don’t want no woman whose hair is not hanging in my eyes.” on “Short Haired Woman”, which criticizes the use of wigs. Illinois Slim provides rhythm guitar, Bob Stroger on bass and Brian Fahey on drums.
Sam Lay plays the drums and asks, “Honey Where You Going?”. His woman is “fine and the one for me”. Johnny Rapp again shows up on guitar with Chris James on rhythm and Patrick Rynn on bass.
The still very much alive John Primer has worked with many of the blues greats in his career, including Muddy Waters, Magic Slim and Willie Dixon. He has been nominated for a Grammy award and continues to present some of the top selling and award-winning blues albums including this year’s Hard Times. John’s guitar blends excellently with Corritore’s harmonica as John wants to know “Why Are You So Mean to Me”. Sid Morrow adds piano, Kedar Roy on bass, and June Core on drums fills out this combo.
Pinetop Perkins plays his usual fine piano and identifies himself as “Grinder Man”. Chris James is on guitar with Patrick Rynn on bass and Brian Fahey on drums. Corritore’s harmonica again wails on this one.
Bo Diddley rocks out on “Little Girl”, as he asks, “Can I go home with you?” “You look so fine.” Tom Mahon plays piano with Paul Thomas on bass and Johnny Rapp adding rhythm.
John Brim’s deep voice and guitar drive a “Hard Pill to Swallow” when he came back home from the army and heard his woman had a new baby amid stories of her running around while he was gone. Henry Gray is again on piano with Johnny Rapp on guitar and Paul Thomas on bass.
Willie “Big Eyes” Smith plays drums and declares “She’s Alright” with Billy Flynn and Johnny Rapp on guitar, Calvin “Fuzz” Jones on bass.
Eddy Clearwater provides the vocals and guitar as he says I would “Sail A Ship” “way across the desert sand, if I could be your man” with Bob Riedy on piano. Chris James adds guitar with Patrick Rynn on bass and Jon Hiller on drums.
The album ends with Lil Ed Williams on guitar and provides a smooth blues notifying that she was “Caught in the Act”. “It hurt me so bad when I saw you coming out of that bar last night. If he was not such a big boy, I would have had to start a fight”. Johnny Rapp on rhythm guitar and Paul Thomas on bass complete this line-up.
As cited at the beginning of this review, Corritore does an excellent job with the release of every album in his series. This album is certainly an epitome of his efforts. His harp is constantly strong but never dominating. This album should definitely be on your list if you love the blues coming from Chicago or if you just have an appreciation for the fine work that Bob does with all of these albums. Great work, Mr. Corritore, and I hope you keep them coming.
