Bob Corritore Taboo Delta Groove Music

Though Bob Corritore has previously released albums under his own name, he has usually shared the spotlight with other blues musicians to the point where he took a backseat on his own record. He is usually content to play some of the finest harmonica in the blues today behind an impressive list of blues legends and current of future stars. Over the past few years, he’s appeared on collaborative discs with Tail Dragger, John Primer, and Dave Riley, but with the release of Taboo (Delta Groove Music), Corritore steps out front as much as he ever has before, offering a rousing set of blues harmonica instrumentals.

Taboo covers a broad range of blues styles, mostly of the Chicago variety that Corritore grew up listening to, and he gets plenty of assistance from a veritable all-star squad of musicians, including guitarists Jimmie Vaughan and Junior Watson, keyboard wizards Fred Kaplan and Papa John DeFrancesco, sax man Doug James, Kedar Roy on acoustic bass, and a quartet of drummers/percussionists (Richard Innes, Brian Fahey, Dowell Davis, and Tobb Chuba).

Fully in the spotlight on this release, Corritore makes the most of it. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to make an all-instrumental album and keep it compelling from start to finish, but that’s what he does here. His playing is rooted in the old-school harp style, but he mixes in enough modern concepts and variations to keep the listener riveted. There’s a dozen tunes on Taboo and you never feel like you’re hearing the same thing at any time …. the mark of a great album.

Bob Corritore never fails to please his audience, whether on one of his All-Star sessions or on his weekly radio show or on one of his numerous collaborations with other artists. As good as all of his previous releases have been, I would put Taboo a notch above them, because we hear so much more of his talents than usual … even though most of us knew it was there all along. It’s a genuine pleasure to listen to, one of the best discs of the year so far.

--- Graham Clarke
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