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Bob Corritore has assembled a winner here, both with the musicians that are playing on the songs band with the songs themselves. Each of the songs on Taboo explores a facet of the 1950’s Chicago Blues sound made familiar by Chess Records, the label behind artists that were seminal in Bob’s musical background.  The songs are all instrumentals, and the band he has put together is sympathetic to what he is trying to achieve: Junior Watson handles most of the guitar (However Jimmie Vaughan takes over on 2 cuts), Doug James plays saxophone, and Fred Kaplan plays piano and organ.

The disc starts with “Potato Stomp,” with Bob’s harp up front and leading the tune through its changes with some beautiful single-note playing.  He keeps the disc jumping with tunes such as “Harmonica Watusi” and if you are of age and you close your eyes, you can picture the dance floor with all those dancers keeping up with Bob and Fred.  There is a nice tip of the hat to the innovative guitarist Kid Ramos and his group Los Fabulocos.  He slows it down and shifts the mood with the title cut. He closes out the disc with a musical picture of what happens in those late hours when the bar is closed and every one is winding down with the very poignant “Bob’s Late Hours.”

This is a wonderful stroll through the blues of the 1950’s made all the more vivid that it is an all-instrumental look at the sounds that were there. Bob and Clark Rigsby did a wonderful job on the production.  Bob’s harmonica is spot on, and you can feel the passion this man has for this music.

– Bob Gottlieb