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
