With American Blues, Putumayo continues its successful series of blues and blues- influenced albums that began in 1999 with Mali to Memphis: An African-American Odyssey. American Blues is a collection of some of our favorite blues tracks by legends and rising stars that are helping to keep the blues alive and thriving. The artists on this compilation have remained true to the roots of the blues, be those the acoustic guitar sounds of the Mississippi Delta, the urban electric drive of Chicago, or the swamp boogie of Louisiana.

JJ Grey & MOFRO's Alligator debut, Country Ghettofeatures 12 original JJ Greycompositions that come right out of the Southern musical and literary tradition. Grey's ear for detail inhabits his songs, whether it is a story passed down to him from his grandmother or the tribulations of a childhood friend. His voice delivers them with an unflinching strength that makes the personal universal and paints a vivid portrait of an exact time or place with words and music. Like his songs, his rich, soulful vocals are forceful and commanding, seemingly old beyond his years. And the music, from smoldering soul ballads to gospel-fried funk to straight ahead rock `n' roll, brings it all home with danceable grooves and a melodic freshness that will stay with you long after the album ends.