Rick Estrin and The NightCats

One day back in 1970, a 20-year old Rick Estrin had the opportunity to play harmonica with Muddy Waters and his band at the Sutherland Hotel on 47th and Drexel on Chicago's South Side. During the break, Muddy called Estrin over, shook his finger in his face, and shouted, "You outta sight, boy! You got that sound, boy! You play like a man, boy!"

Rick Estrin ranks among the very best harp players, singers and songwriters in the blues world today. His work on the reeds is deep in the tradition of harmonica masters Sonny Boy Williamson II and Little Walter Jacobs. His award-winning original songs have been favorably compared with those of Willie Dixon and the team of Leiber and Stoller. And his hipster, street-smart vocals are the perfect vehicle for driving his songs home.

For more than 30 years and nine albums, Rick fronted the jumping, swinging Little Charlie & The Nightcats, featuring guitarist Little Charlie Baty. With Baty's recent retirement from touring, Estrin -- along with the Nightcats longtime rhythm section of J. Hansen and Lorenzo Farrell and a new member, fiery guitarist Kid Andersen -- takes the lead on his own. The band's debut album, Twisted, while still swinging the blues, is a harmonica-driven, rocking, guitar-fueled rave-up. Featuring 14 songs (including 10 Estrin originals, two by Kid Andersen, one by Hansen, and a superb band-created instrumental), Twisted showcases Rick's seemingly effortless command of the harmonica, his streetwise vocals and his remarkable original songs.

In addition to his harmonica and vocal skills, Rick Estrin is a songwriter of unparalleled talent. Critics have compared him to Cab Calloway, Louis Jordan and Willie Dixon. Blues Revue declared, "Estrin has created some of the finest blues songs of any artist on the planet. His carefully wrought lyrics penetrate human weakness with the precision of a boxer, though more often than not, he chooses to leave you laughing after the blow's been struck."

Estrin won the 1993 Blues Music Award for his composition My Next Ex-Wife and has written songs for a growing legion of famous fans. Three of his songs found their way onto Grammy-nominated albums: Don't Put Your Hands On Me (on Koko Taylor's Force Of Nature), I'm Just Lucky That Way (on Robert Cray's Shame + A Sin), and Homely Girl (on John Hammond's Trouble No More). Other artists who have covered Estrin songs include Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women, Little Milton, Rusty Zinn, Kid Ramos and Mark Hummel. "I like songs that tell stories," Rick says, "songs that are well-crafted and meaningful." Besides Dixon and Leiber and Stoller, Estrin cites Sonny Boy Williamson II, Percy Mayfield and Baby Boy Warren as his major songwriting influences. Billboard noted that Rick writes "fabulous, remarkable original material."

Estrin got his first harmonica at age 15, and by age 18 was proficient enough to begin sitting in at black clubs around the city. He first jammed with blues master Lowell Fulson and almost immediately was hired to open five shows for Z.Z. Hill. He worked five nights a week for almost a year with guitar legend Travis Phillips in a band fronted by famed pimp/bluesman Fillmore Slim (who was the centerpiece of the acclaimed Hughes Brothers documentary American Pimp). Phillips introduced Estrin to Rodger Collins, the man who would become Rick's first real musical mentor, and who schooled Rick on the finer points of songwriting and show business. He moved to Chicago and worked with Johnny Young, Eddie Taylor, Sam Lay and Johnny Littlejohn before meeting and jamming with Muddy Waters. In fact, Muddy wanted Estrin to go on the road with him, but due to nothing more than a missed phone call, it never happened.

Because of that missed connection, Rick eventually moved back to the Bay Area, met Little Charlie Baty and formed Little Charlie & The Nightcats. For the next 30 years, the band barnstormed around the globe, honing their skills and entertaining countless people. Now, as Rick Estrin & The Nightcats release Twisted and tour the country, they'll bring their raucous, rocking blues to fans both old and new. Clubs will be packed, dance floors will be filled and a guaranteed great time will be had by all.