VA - This Is The Blues Harmonica Vol. 2 (2004)

This is a particularly valuable sampler of great blues harmonica players, with the music drawn from the Delmark and United catalogs. The first six selections were never previously released and these include gems from Junior Wells, Sleepy John Estes (with Hammie Nixon on harmonica), Carey Bell, Mark Hummel, Magic Sam (with Shakey Jake) and the obscure but talented Walto Pace (on an unaccompanied medley of the primitive "Fox Chase" and "Lost John"). While the other ten numbers are available elsewhere, the selections are pretty representative of the musicians and cover a wide range of blues styles, from swinging instrumentals to low-down blues, from traditional to adventurous. Fans of the blues harmonica who are alerted to the rarity of much of this material will not have to be told about this CD twice! ~Scott Yanow