Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Rounder Records will release Corey Harris’ new album, Mississippi To Mali, on November 18. A select-city solo tour is already under way.
As on 2002’s Downhome Sohpisticate, the guitarist and composer explores the African and African-American influence on blues in tracks produced in both Mississippi and Mali.
“To make the connection between our ancestors’ music and today’s black music, we must listen,” Harris writes in the liner notes.
Ali Farke Toure, Ali Magassa, Souleyman Kane, Sam Karr, Bobby Rush and Sharde Thomas, joined by the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band, made cameo appearances on the album. The first episode of PBS’s The Blues, hosted by Harris, also featured many of these artists.
Harris will be touring solo through December to promote the album. Engagements on Nov. 13, 15, 16 and 17 will be with the “Tell The Truth” tour, a politically charged music trek with Billy Bragg, Lester Chambers and Steve Earle.
Corey Harris on tour:
Oct. 25: Durham, N.C.; Blues Festival
Oct. 29: Chicago; Fitzgerald’s
Nov. 5: Oakland, Calif.; Eli’s Mile High Club
Nov. 7: Whidbey Island, Wash.; WICA
Nov. 8: Seattle; Tractor Tavern
Nov. 13: Nashville, Tenn.; The Trap
Nov. 15: Asheville, N.C.; The Orange Peel
Nov. 16: Atlanta; Variety Playhouse
Nov. 17: Tampa, Fla.; Tampa Theatre
Nov. 29: Easton, Pa.; Museum Benefit (with Levon Helm)
Dec. 5: Asheville, N.C.; Grey Eagle
Dec. 31: Charlottesville, Va.; First Night Virginia (with Darrell Rose)
For more information, go to www.rounder.com
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
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