Title: Delmark: 55 Years of Blues
Artists: Various
Label: Delmark
Catalog No.:  (CD + DVD)
Release date: 2008

Title: Delmark: 55 Years of Jazz
Artists: Various
Label: Delmark
Catalog No.:  (CD + DVD)
Release date:  2008

Bob Koester may have been selling records since the early 1950s, but the Chicagoan truly could be called one of America’s finest music archivists. Not simply content to sell records, initially out of his dorm room at St. Louis University and later out of storefronts, he began to seek out blues and jazz musicians from decades before to record them. His Delmar Records later became Delmark and his Jazz Record Mart is a mecca for all music lovers.

While others, including his protégé Bruce Iglauer of Alligator Records, sought to take the blues to wider commercial exposure, Koester remains the person who takes listeners- and more recently DVD viewers- into storied haunts such as Rosa’s, B.L.U.E.S., the Velvet Lounge and the Green Mill, simply because it’s where the music still lives.

These two anthologies, which also feature live recorded performances on DVD, showcase the support that Koester has had for underappreciated performers such as Curtis Fuller (who was featured on John Coltrane’s “Blue Train” nearly 40 years ago), tenorist Ari Brown, and singing blues bassist Willie Kent. Country bluesman Big Joe Williams was a major part of Delmark’s history as one of its first recording artists. His “Coffeehouse Blues” is included here.

Sometimes, these recordings were not as slick as those produced by the major labels. Instead, Koester saw value in releasing performances that importantly provide a window into the development of artists such as the West Side soul man Magic Sam, pianist Roosevelt Sykes, and guitarist Otis Rush. Again, they often take listeners into the same, sometimes gritty clubs Koester famously has explored most Saturday nights.

Without Koester, we perhaps may have never known Junior Wells, whose “Hoodoo Man Blues” remains one of the label’s biggest sellers. 55 Years of Blues features Wells’s 1975 live radio recording of “Little By Little” in Theresa’s Lounge. Today, Koester supports artists such as James Yancy “Tail Dragger” Jones and Francine Griffin, who may not have recorded decades earlier, but still are part of the musical legacy.

Koester and Delmark are also renowned for unearthing old master recordings and long lost vinyl, including those featured in these collections from Coleman Hawkins, J.B. Hutto, Sun Ra and Art Hodes. Commercial viability wasn’t the first concern. It was simply important to rescue and release recordings that otherwise would have gone silent.

Many grateful fans have Koester to thank for sharing his love for the music.

Posted by George Vlahakis