Mitch Woods must have a full iphone (or Rolodex, for the Old School crowd), as he invites just about everyone you’d want to invite to sit in for cozy duets and trios on this informal m ix of the blues. Woods plays piano and keyboards, but the joy here is the list of musicians and vocalists who grab a chair and microphone.
For instance, Van Morrison sounds absolutely joyful as he hammers out “CC Rider” and “”Midnight Hour Blues”, while Maria Muldaur gets off the Oasis for “Mojo Mambo”. John Hammond hits the steel guitar on “Mother-In-Law Blues” and Cyril Neville comes in from New Orleans to croon out “ The Blues”. A Chicago wind is blown from Charlie Musselwhite’s harmonica on “Cryin’ For My Baby” and Joe Louis Walker takes 8 to the bar on ”Nasty Boogie”. And speaking of boogie, Elvin Bishop grooves out “Saturday Night Boogie Woogie Man” , and John Lee Hooker wails on “Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive”. And I’ve only scratched the surface! If you don’t like this double disc, maybe you should buy some Yanni.