Houston musicians Rich DelGrosso (mandolin) and John Del Toro Richardson (guitar) teamed up on the recent Time Slips On By, a collaboration of original Delta blues songs, and they bring the product of their partnership to San Antonio this weekend.

“I am really glad that Jonn wanted to record together,” DelGrosso told the Current. “He is one of the finest guitarists in the business and together we have a unique sound and powerful energy.”

For their opening set, they will honor Johnson with at least one tune, but their homage will be more based on style than on material. “We have really been stressing the original material,” DelGrosso said. “We will play a Johnson tune, but our music really comes from different places: mine from my mandolin inspirations and heroes and Jonn from his East Texas heroes and his family and community.”

The blues/mandolin connection is not as rare as you think. In his memoir, blues pioneer W.C. Handy mentioned that he first heard the blues in 1903 with a compact of bass, mandolin, and guitar. “The mandolin played an important role in the music of the African-American community,” said DelGrosso, “especially the jug and string bands of the ’20s and ’30s, from Mississippi to Texas, from Tennessee to New York.”

To play in San Antonio, the site of most of Johnson’s greatest songs, is a special deal for DelGrosso. But opening for Block is a thrill in itself. “I’m honored,” DelGrosso said. “She has captured the essence of players like Johnson and Son House, and watching her perform is like looking through a window on the past.”

Source: San Antonio Current - Rich DelGrosso/Jonn Del Toro Richardson: The Opening Act

T h e s e t w o H o u s t o n - b a s e d , v e t e r a n b l u e s musicians jump-started new work together in 2011 with their widely acclaimed Mandolin Blues release Time Slips on By, original music from the fertile blues territory of Southeast Texas.... rocking, solid mandolin with fiery guitar in a new spicy mix of Texas blues and roots. DelGrosso, a seven timeBlues Music Award nominee, has been performing for the blues, folk and mandolin communities for over thirty years. As the leading exponent of the mandolin in the blues, DelGrosso has toured the Americas and Italy performing and conducting numerous workshops. As Tom Clarke added “his box o’ rocks voice, locomotive riffs, and sparks-a-flyin’ licks doing nothing but right.” _Hittin' The Note

Del Toro Richardson is an Albert King winner for his acclaimed guitar with Diunna Greenleaf’s Blue Mercy and his backing Pinetop Perkins in the Grammy and BMA awarded: “Best Traditional Blues Album of the Year” - Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen. “ [he] possesses plenty of amazing technical skill on guitar but what really stands out... is the exquisite tone he achieves no matter what guitar he is playing.” Mark Thompson - Crossroads Blues Society

Now is the time for DelGrosso and Del Toro Richardson ...“a breath of fresh air for the blues”....as they perform an eclectic collection of songs and sounds, born and nurtured in one of the richest, cultural centers of American Roots music."

And that’s what it all comes down to. Hot, sticky, real deal blues bred in the heart of Houston. Grab a cool drink and have a listen." _Blue Lisa - Southwest Blues

Official Website: The Rich Delgrosso / Jonn Del Toro Richardson Band
Official Website: Rich Delgrosso
Official Website: John Del Toro Richardson Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.