When I saw Joanna Connor tear it up at a blues festival awhile back I swore I would never neglect work her again. She’s great. Go see her and buy her music, including her new release, Best of Me.
Connor is known for her commanding vocals and brazen guitar licks. Her mastery of the guitar is so complete that her performances appear effortless. But anyone who has spent countless hours trying to attain just a fraction of her skills will understand just how much work went into Connor’s casual virtuoso performances. She is a true master who rivals best blues musicians playing today. You can get a taste or her stage presence from the concert footage below.
Originally from Brooklyn and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, Connor moved to Chicago in 1984 and quickly became a mainstay on the blues scene there. By 1987, she was fronting her own band, signing with blues label Blind Pig Records shortly thereafter. For most of the 2000s, she homesteaded in Chicago blues clubs while she raised two children as a single mother. But in the 2010s, she hit the road again.
From her back catalogue, I can recommend 2016’s Six String Stories, and 2021’s 4801 South Indiana Boulevard. With Best of Me, her first on Gulf Coast Records, Connor’s soul-blues vocal and guitar work are on full display. Check out the title track, “Highway Child” (which you can listen to below), and “All I Want Is You” for some slow-cookin’. All the songs were written by Connor and/or bass player Shaun Galloway, except “Mercury Blues,” by Robert Geddins and KC Douglas.
Joining Connor and Galloway on the album were her usual “Wrecking Crew” of Dan Souvigny on guitar and keyboards, Curtis Moore Jr. on keyboards, and Jason J Roc Edwards on drums. Guest musicians included guitarists Joe Bonamassa, Josh Smith, Gary Hoey and Gulf Coast president Mike Zito; saxophonist Eric Demmer; harmonica player Jason Ricci; drummer David Abbruzzese; and the Grooveline Horns.
About the author: Bill Wilcox is a roots music enthusiast recently relocated from the Washington, DC area to Philadelphia, PA and back again.