Jazz Gillum

If he hadn't been shot dead in 1966, Jazz Gillum's name would undoubtedly be better known than it is. In the '30s and '40s, Gillum played as a session harpist on innumerable blues recordings in addition to recording his own material, and he was considered the best harmonica player of his time -- second only to Sonny Boy Williamson. While interest in his music seems to be of largely historical purpose, Gillum's spare, forlorn style is an integral part of the very basis of Harmonica Blues.