Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
I’ve been getting back into the blues lately, as I periodically do to keep myself grounded. Among my favorite white blues (not necessarily an oxymoron) releases of the last few years is The Chill by Rusty Zinn.
Zinn is a brilliant young singer and guitarist from NorthernCalifornia who proves that you don’t have to live in Chicago to play the Chicago sound. Zinn’s guitar is supple, clean, yet stinging, and his vocals are surprisingly soulful and bluesy without sounding contrived.
He combines Chicago South Side grit with West Side tunefulness, West Coast jump blues, and roots rock into a very pleasing stew. Though in his early 30s, Zinn has performed and/or recorded with Jimmy Rogers, Luther Tucker, Snooky Pryor, James Cotton, and Kim Wilson (lead singer of the Fabulous Thunderbirds).
