Blues By Lonnie Johnson

Lonnie Johnson's influence on modern jazz and blues guitar is staggering. His intricate, fluid playing inspired a long line of musicians from Charlie Christian to Lowell Fulson. But the kind of success his scions enjoyed often eluded Johnson. These recordings took place after a determined disc jockey finally located Johnson holding down a job as a janitor in a Ben Franklin store. And while they don't display the improvisational brilliance of his youth, Johnson's playing is still sharp and almost always captivating. The songs that best capture his smooth fretwork are "She Devil," "She's Drunk Again," and "Blues Around My Door." Johnson sticks mainly to simple blues structures, and there is one riff he revisits a little too often. But his dignified field holler still carries the power of 10 hurricanes, and strong sax work by Hal Singer keeps spirits high. --Ken Hohman