Living Blues
If, in fact, knowing the blues is a prerequisite to singing the blues, suffice it to say Mick Kolassa is highly qualified. His life has been informed by m mix of triumphs and challenges, and yet he’s approached each encounter with a knowing attitude and a well-shared sense of propriety… MORE HERE ~ Lee Zimmerman, Living Blues, Issue 302
Blue Monday
I was thrilled to receive the latest disc from one of my favorite artists, Mick Kolassa, titled “Blues To The Bone,” released on his own Endless Records label about a month ago. Some musicians play the blues, but Mick is a bluesman who plays music. Whereas a lot of us learned of our favorite musical genre through covers by Led Zeppelin, the Allman Bros., and others, Mick discovered the real legends and their music first, like Muddy, Howlin’ Wolf, and Sonny Boy. Mick’s “Free Range Blues” style doesn’t fall under any one type or region ….. he plays it all, and this wonderful disc is no exception… MORE HERE ~ Kyle Christen, Blue Monday
La Hora del Blues
For over 30 years, singer Mick Kolassa has been a true blues activist. He is not just a musician, he’s deeply involved with the Blues Foundation in Memphis, even donating all his album proceeds to that organization’s HART Fund and Generation Blues programs.
Mick is a versatile artist who feels comfortable performing Delta and Piedmont blues in a duo format, but he also leads his group, The Endless Blues Band, where he explores a more actual Chicago and Memphis blues with a touch of rock. He often teams up with Memphis guitar player Mario Monterosso, leaning into a classic “old school” sound with jazz influences in the path of T-Bone Walker, Louis Jordan or Lowell Fulson. He also collaborates with Mississippi bluesman Dexter Allen, delivering deeper and more expressive songs with touches of soulful rock.
On this last recording, Mick has gathered some of his favorite musicians and some guests, including Jeff Jensen on guitar, bass players Bill Ruffino and Carl Caspersen, drummers James Cunningham and Tom Leonardo, Rick Steff on keys, Eric Hughes and Bob Corritore on harmonica, and a horn section featuring Mark Franklin on trumpet and Kirk Smothers on sax.
Rather than trying to be a “superstar”, Mick’s goal is simply to bring the blues to most listeners, sharing with them his personal triumphs and tragedies. He balances melancholy with a sense of humor, talking about the bittersweet reality of growing old, his love for blues or the heart-wrenching memories of his wife’s battle with alcoholism during her final days.
Once again Mick Kolassa reinvents himself, showcasing the maturity and experience he has gathered over his long journey through the world of blues. ~ La Hora del Blues, April 2026
BiTS – Blues in the South
Mick may be singing about growing older and losing faculties on the first track here, ‘This Getting Old Is Getting Old’, but the witty, incisive lyrics, sly vocal delivery and big, blasting blues backing belie it. ‘All It Takes Is Blues’ shows Mick’s antidote as he celebrates that blues is all he needs. Mike returns to the theme of aging with the rather upbeat ‘Something To Look Forward To’ and the slower ‘I’d Like To Be Recycled’. ‘Please Don’t Write That Song’ is a plea to keep things fresh and original – it might not always be the case but the sentiment is certainly understandable. ‘Text Me Baby’ is about (relatively) new technology – or is it? – and ‘Mr Right’ is a fine boastful blues.
In complete contrast is ‘For Better Or Worse’, a follow-up to ‘Baby’s Got Another Lover’, about his wife’s addiction to alcohol. It is chilling, a deep and hopefully cathartic side of the blues not heard to this extent very often these days.
Mick brought together many of his favourite Memphis musicians who have made his previous blues albums so successful – guitarist Jeff Jensen, bass player Bill Ruffino, drummer James Cunningham, Rick Steff on keyboards, Eric Hughes blues harp, and horn players Kirk Smothers on sax and trumpeter Marc Franklin. They know and provide exactly what is needed. Harmonica legend Bob Corritore pops up to good effect on the very bluesy ‘Sixteen Tons’, one of two covers on the set – the other is the obscure country tune ‘If My Nose Was Runnin Money’, which certainly fits Mick’s approach! Chalk up another winner for Mick. ~ Norman Darwen – BiTS, May 2026
Rootstime.be
His new album “BLUE TO THE BONE” (2026) is already his 22nd studio album, still featuring Jensen as one of the guitarists and producer. The track list includes 9 original songs, a blues classic, and an obscure country number. Mick has been making blues albums for more than 30 years, and each time he learns a little more about what works and what doesn’t. During that time, life has also presented him with many challenges and opportunities. Inspired by all those experiences, Mick created this album, infused with personal tragedies and triumphs, with a touch of humor and pain—but that’s typical Mick! The album title “BLUE TO THE BONE” is a quote from Blues Blast Magazine about him. For this album, Mick assembled his favorite team of musicians, starting with producer and guitarist Jeff Jensen, along with a solid group of musicians from Memphis: James Cunningham, Bill Ruffino, Rick Steff, Tom Lonardo, Carl Casperson, Eric Hughes, Marc Franklin, and Kirk Smothers. Harmonica player Bob Corritore also joined for a very special track, Merle Travis’s blues classic about a coal miner, based on life in the mines of Rosewood/KY, “16 Tons.”
The album opens with the telling “This Getting Old is Getting Old,” Mick’s song about the misery of aging, followed by “Bourbon and You,” which is about making choices and missing a loved one. Mick’s love for the blues then fully comes to the forefront in “All It Takes is Blues.” The very bluesy “For Better or For Worse” is also about making choices—or not. It is Mick’s follow-up to his most played song (literally millions of streams!), “Baby’s Got Another Lover,” which he wrote about his wife’s alcohol addiction. This new song describes the last months of her life. It is not meant to make you laugh. After “Something to Look Forward To,” Mick revisits the theme of the opener—aging—in “I’d Like to Be Recycled.” The humor of this song is followed by the humor in Mick’s version of an obscure country song by Mike Snyders (featuring Eric Hughes on harmonica), “If My Nose Was Running Money”: “If my nose was running money, We could have anything we please. The first time you wanted cash all I’d have to do is sneeze.” After the plea “Text My Baby,” Mick gives a new twist to his previously released song “Mr Right,” and then closes the album with “Please Don’t Write That Song,” which really speaks for itself! The album is once again a hit, a stoic Mick at his very best! ~ Eric Schuurmans, Rootstime.be – May 2026
