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- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Jan 30, 2019
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Lefty Dizz was one of the greatest showmen in the blues
Guitarist Lefty Dizz toured abroad for decades, but even in his home base of Chicago he was never the star he played like.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Nov 20, 2018
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A linchpin of Chicago’s 1980s avant-garde has died in Florida
Daniel Scanlan played in groups as diverse as Liof Munimula, the Vandermark Quartet, Broken Wire, and Church Key.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Jul 2, 2018
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Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy did much more than join the Blues Brothers
By the time Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi recruited him, Murphy had worked as a sideman for the likes of Howlin' Wolf, Memphis Slim, and James Cotton.
- Blogs, Bleader May 16, 2018
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Remembering Glenn Branca, or at least his sound
Finding enlightenment and banishing evil with the Plastic Crimewave Vision Celestial Guitarkestra.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Mar 29, 2018
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Blues guitarist Joe Carter electrified Chicago’s 1950s club scene, but he never recorded in his heyday
Joe Carter's only LP came out in 1976, and original copies of the raw-as-hell Mean & Evil Blues now fetch more than $100.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Mar 14, 2018
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Bluesman Benny Turner has spent decades as a sideman—including to his brother, guitar god Freddie King
Benny Turner has often seemed content to stay 20 feet from stardom, but 60 years into his career he's finally making a name for himself.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Feb 13, 2018
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Catch up with the blues obsessives who already love guitarist Smilin’ Bobby
Sorely underrecognized guitarist Smilin' Bobby cut his teeth on Chicago's west side, learning from the likes of Magic Sam and Magic Slim.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Jan 2, 2018
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Underappreciated guitarist Johnny B. Moore links Delta blues with the electric postwar Chicago sound
Johnny B. Moore launched his career as a full-time bluesman in 1975 with the great Koko Taylor, and he's still kicking today.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Dec 4, 2017
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An untimely farewell to wizardly industrial guitarist and sound engineer Jason McNinch
Jason McNinch's band Lick put out just two albums in the mid-90s, but he lent his touch to dozens of other projects, including Pigface, Sister Machine Gun, Die Warzau, and KMFDM.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Nov 7, 2017
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Cosmic-minded jazz combo Spaceship Love made its only album in the 80s
Guitarist Samuel "Bebop" Thomas and vocalist Maja Rios formed the core of the groovy but underdocumented Spaceship Love.
- Music, Music Feature Aug 29, 2017
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Chicago guitarist Tim Fitzgerald summons the joy and grace of Wes Montgomery
Fitzgerald makes his Jazz Festival debut leading the seven-piece band Full House.
- Music, Music Feature Aug 29, 2017
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Mary Halvorson’s band keeps getting bigger—and better
The New York guitarist brings her daring but sophisticated octet to Chicago for the first time.
- Music, Music Feature Jun 7, 2017
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At age 88, late-blooming guitarist Jimmy Johnson enters his fifth decade in the blues
Syl’s older brother started out playing soul, but he came into his own as a bluesman in the late 1970s.
- Music, Music Feature Jun 7, 2017
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Guitarist Ronnie Baker Brooks balances his legacy with his drive to innovate
His father, the late Lonnie Brooks, appears on the new Times Have Changed—alongside Memphis rapper Al Kapone.
- Music, Music Feature Mar 29, 2017
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Chicago’s most popular young metal guitarist plays on YouTube, not onstage
Rob Scallon’s frequently goofy videos—among them a banjo cover of Slayer’s ‘Raining Blood’—have earned him an audience of millions.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Mar 28, 2017
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Otis ‘Big Smokey’ Smothers recorded with Howlin’ Wolf even before his own first session
Guitarist Big Smokey Smothers wrote for Muddy Waters and partnered with Freddie King, but his traditional style of Chicago electric blues didn't help him make his own name.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Nov 15, 2016
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Overlooked guitar god Harvey Mandel borrows Ryley Walker’s band for his new album
Forty-seven years after Harvey Mandel played Woodstock with Canned Heat, Snake Pit could be the record that finally gets the guitarist his due.
- Blogs, Bleader Jun 21, 2016
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‘Anglo-Naive’ guitarist C Joynes plays his first U.S. show at the Empty Bottle
C Joynes takes fingerpicked guitar in all sorts of directions—bluegrass, blues, folk, drone, gospel, African music—with production that borrows ideas from dub.
- Music, Music Feature Jun 8, 2016
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John Primer sustains the living heritage of the blues
The Chicago guitarist honors his mentors—including Muddy Waters and Magic Slim—by serving as a role model for young musicians.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Mar 29, 2016
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Blues guitarist Andrew Brown died just as his fame began to catch up with his importance
Andrew Brown cut his teeth alongside Magic Sam and Freddie King, but despite his distinctive talent he spent much of his life working in a steel mill.
- Music, Gossip Wolf Mar 22, 2016
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Expat jazz guitarist Dave Miller returns from Brooklyn with a new album in tow
Plus: Postpunk trio World War Tree celebrate a new EP, Gramps the Vamp crowdfund ‘the soundtrack to a faux-horror adventure film,’ and more.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Mar 21, 2016
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Buster Benton kept playing blues even after losing parts of both legs to diabetes
Guitarist Buster Benton played for years with Willie Dixon, who wrote his only hit, "Spider in My Stew."
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Mar 1, 2016
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Blues guitarist Lonnie Brooks has had careers under two different names
Lonnie Brooks has worked with Clifton Chenier, Jimmy Reed, and Johnny Winter, and keeps on playing into his 80s.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Feb 2, 2016
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Luther Allison was the Jimi Hendrix of blues guitar
Guitarist Luther Allison learned his craft in Chicago, but he spent much of his career in Europe when American interest in the blues waned.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Jan 25, 2016
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Magic Slim isn't as famous as Buddy Guy yet—but Secret History is on it
Blues guitarist Magic Slim was a giant who combined furious power with keen expression.