Blind Blake - The Paramount Years 1926-32 (2023)

Arthur ‘Blind’ Blake was a blues and ragtime guitarist, singer and songwriter who was a leading pioneer and member of what became known as the Piedmont school of bluesmen, performing in a style that was associated with the south-eastern states of the USA, mainly around Georgia. He was one of the most accomplished and distinctive of the guitarists associated with this movement. This great-value 74-track 3-CD set comprises most of the recordings released under his own name, all of which came out on the Paramount label, and were recorded variously in Chicago, Ill., Richmond, Ind., and Grafton, WI. It Includes recordings featuring Gus Cannon (‘Banjo Joe’), Johnny Dodds (clarinet), Jimmy Bertrand (slide whistle, percussion) and Charlie Spand, Alex Robinson, Aletha Dickerson (piano). He ceased recording when Paramount went bankrupt in 1932 by 1934 he had died from tuberculosis and pneumonia at the age of 37. Although not an absolutely complete or definitive anthology, this collection provides a substantial and comprehensive overview of the career and recordings of an artist who influenced other Piedmont artists like Blind Willie McTell, Buddy Moss, Josh White and Rev,. Gary Davis, as well as later top guitarists like Ry Cooder, Leon Redbone and John Fahey.