2 bedrocks of British Blues: Alexis Korner and John Mayall

[jazzboCR]

Between them there's easily 100 years of band-leading experience; and it's safe to say, British Blues and Blues-derived music would be very different and vastly diminished if they didn't exist. But they do (or did) exist and every British Bluesman of note or not either played with them or learned from them. Every one.
Mr. Korner, being the elder and deceased, is first up. Known and revered as much for his broadcasting, spreading the word...His Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_Korner 25 years of recorded excellence--bang out of the hole with a 5-Star live album but check the comps: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/alexis-ko...mpilations

Some tunes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUYo8PeO96g << All-star session; some favors repaid with pleasure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9XknSGQSyE << Gotta be on somebody's "Top 25 Covers" list << great fun all 'round
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkKrh7CeDkY << I challenge you to find us a better 2-fer club performance. Ruby Tyler and a fabulous 'bone break\; then some killer guitar on a Willie Dixon classic. Turn this up and maybe bookmark as the Brit big-band R&B/Blues outing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ONNzX8eJdY << From a German TV appearance. They played well together and were personal friends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_ARjfJkrzk << From the beginning, he was adventurous.

BONUS: Full album from '71: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1QxoAVVI0k << Very earthy and ethnic; not for every taste

[jazzboCR]

At 81, still tours massively, a month at a time: John Mayall His Site: http://www.johnmayall.com/ << Go to the "Listen to this!" section for his personal picks from his 61 official albums >> http://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-maya...iscography << The few mutts are basically record company repackaging, and he's come back strong this century. As usual, a compilation or 2 is the way to start: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-maya...mpilations If you want a good DVD documentary to get the feel of the early days and all the outstanding musicians he's employed, this is the way to go: http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-godfat...0001082449 His Wiki is very good, delineating the various eras he made--he was always and to this day, re-examining and changing all aspects of his music: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mayall
For a complete list of players and albums made with them, go here (but allot a goodly amount of time): http://www.classicwebs.com/mayall.htm
Some tunes (gonna go long with this but click on any one--you won't be disappointed):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwc7ZEYfWYc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVcx2IaKaLw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzk0g36MFeo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqXY2RHas1A << This and the next from a '67 solo album
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ7SvIJnVr0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVBgvniryxM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej0iJ1PGkko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rd21dVJpjM

BONUS 1: His 80th B'day concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BeuZ0ve7Hs
BONUS 2: A concert from 33 years ago (and check the special guests!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfvQCtak7Ok

All this is a mere taste of his career.