At this point in his career, harmonica legend Billy Boy Arnold could just coast on his Chicago blues laurels, rehashing his old tunes and tricks whenever he decides to cut a new album. But fortunately, Arnold doesn't buy into shortcuts, and neither does his producer for this session, Duke Robillard. On Boogie 'n' Shuffle, Arnold really lets it rip – not only in the John Lee Williamson tradition he's well-known for, but also in the R&B traditions of Ray Charles and Jimmy McCracklin. Robillard's band is certainly up to the task, seamlessly switching from flashy soul grooves ("Home in Your Heart") to lazy Jimmy Reed-styled boogies ("Come Here Baby") to Delta blues barrelhouse ("Greenville").

The Godfather of contemporary blues, who took modern Chicago blues and embellished it with the bite, fire, and flash of rock & roll, Buddy Guy had not yet broken through in America (although he was much appreciated in Europe) when he recorded three albums for JSP Records between 1979 and 1981, including this, the middle one, which found Guy working with a solid session band of guitarists Doug Williams, William McDonald, and Phil Guy, saxophonist Maurice John Vaughn, keyboardists Gene Pickett and Eddie Lusk, bassists Nick Charles and J.W. Williams, and drummers Merle Perkins and Ray Allison. It's vintage Guy, and shows the raw but applied talent and showmanship that would eventually bring him the large American audience he so justly deserved in the 1990s. A 2008 re-release added three bonus tracks.

Nick Moss decided to steer his band back to his first love, the greasy boogie of Chicago blues, around the time he hired harpist Dennis Gruenling as a featured musician toward the beginning of 2017. Not long afterward he signed to Alligator, that stalwart of Chicago blues, and cut The High Cost of Low Living, a jumping little record that keeps the postwar dreams alive. Moss seems revitalized by this pairing, and it's not just how he trades licks with Gruenling that gives the album a kick. The guitarist wrote eight new songs, all solid senders in the classic Chicago tradition, all pairing well with the two originals from Gruenling and smartly selected covers, highlighted by the Santo & Johnny obscurity "All Night Diner." While The High Cost of Low Living might not expand the form, it certainly makes a case for the vitality of old-fashioned Chicago electric blues in the 21st century.

Maria Muldaur's trilogy of old-timey blues and jazz releases for the Stony Plain imprint (she simultaneously records more contemporary music for the Telarc label) concludes with this appropriately titled set. Much is made in the liner notes of the veteran jazz/blues/pop/gospel singer being mentored in her early jugband years by no less of an icon than Victoria Spivey, so it seems Muldaur feels this tribute to the style and material of Spivey and other "classic blues queens" of the '20s and '30s is a sort of closure. It is also a history lesson, with detailed booklet information, some of it written by Muldaur, providing fascinating capsule biographies of the women whose music is covered here.

Daniel Castro released his debut CD, No Surrender in late 1999. Produced by Daniel and Lee Parvin at Parvin Studios in Pacifica, California, No Surrender features interpretations of well-known blues standards that Daniel put his own twist on, such as a very funky version of Muddy’s “Got My Mojo Working" and a soulful, moving version of Albert Kings “I’ll Play The Blues For You”, in which Daniel plays a mournful, yearning guitar solo, a fitting tribute to one of his guitar heroes. No Surrender also features six original compositions.

Drawing on over 30 years of experience playing the country-blues, complete with tutorials from some of the undisputed masters, it comes as no surprise that Stefan Grossman can so consistently conjure up the authentic spirit of the music with each successive release. His original compositions show Grossman to be the most confident of guitarists in his genre, effortlessly borrowing from the stylings of Mississippi John Hurt, Reverend Gary Davis, and Blind Willie McTell among various others. While his playing isn't overly flashy, it need not be. The precision and craftsmanship injected into the fluid, rolling original "Yazoo Strut," the harder blues groove of "Spider Web Blues," and a powerful rendition of Reverend Gary Davis' "Candy Man" are country blues at its very best.