Joe Louis Walker connects with a cast of great guest guitarists for Blues Comin’ On.

BY ART THOMPSON

“I’M A FAN of guitar playing, but I am more a fan of the diversity of guitar playing and different styles,” Joe Louis Walker says of his latest release, Blues Comin’ On (Provogue/ Mascot). Diversity is the key word, and Walker has built his reputation for pushing the boundaries of blues with his powerful playing and soulful vocals during a career that has spanned more than 50 years. He picked up the guitar at 14 and within two years was performing in and around his hometown of San Francisco, where he befriended blues icon Mike Bloomfield, who introduced him to Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead.

But in 1975, Walker exited the blues scene and for the next 10 years sang in a gospel group called the Spiritual Corinthians. When the group performed at the Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans in 1985, Walker was inspired to get back to blues, and formed the Boss Talkers, a band that gave him a platform to meld soul, gospel, funk and rock influences with his blues sensibilities. Released in 1986. Cold Is the Night was followed by a slew of releases throughout the ’90s that led to collaborations with artists such as James Cotton, Buddy Guy, Branford Marsalis, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Ike Turner, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and Tower of Power.