International blues guitar legend. Headlined the 1995 Chicago Blues Festival with an amazing mainstage set, and was nominated for a "Best Traditional Blues Album" Grammy, and Contemporary Blues - Male Artist of the Year (1996). The New York Times calls him "One of the best living bluesmen." The Chicago Reader concurs, saying "when he's on there's still no better blues guitarist in this city." Definitely check out Ain't Enough Comin' In (a Mercury disc produced by John Porter, also producer of Buddy Guy's last two recordings) -- though it's 35 years since his initial Cobra recordings (his 1958 "All Your Love (I Miss Loving) remains the stereotypical west-side blues tune), and almost 2 decades since he'd been in the studio, you'd never know it...

Rush grew up on a farm in Mississippi, but moved to Chicago as a teenager. Though his first recording brought him a good deal of fame, his recording career is a bit checkered. The temperamental southpaw's live performances are worthwhile though, every one of them.

You can hear him playing on a track of Joe Louis Walker's most recent album, Great Guitars. Also, check out So Many Roads, just reissued on Delmark.

Who's the guitar king of Chicago blues? Those truly in the know will swear on a stack of Robert Johnson 78's that it is Otis Rush, whose ringing, minor key laden southpaw licks have reigned as the Windy City's most intense for more than four decades. Otis pioneered what's known as the "West Side School" of Chicago blues guitar, a harrowing vibrato-streaked sound lionized by Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, and John Mayall. Otis's 1956 debut single for the Cobra label, "I Can't Quit You Baby," was a national hit. But contemporary Otis Rush albums are rare and precious commodities, making the appearance of ANY PLACE I'M GOING a major blues event. Co-producer, Willie Mitchell - the genius behind Al Green's incredible 70's hit-making run for Hi Records - has assembled a cast of heavy hitting Memphis musicians (including bassist Leroy Hodges and drummer, Steve Potts) as supporting cast for this eagerly awaited album.