Blues Mandolin Listening

This is a list of blues CDs that include mandolin, organized by musician or the group with which they played. There is also some instructional material listed and some non-blues material.

Blues

Howard Armstrong

Carl Martin / Willie '61' Blackwell 1930 - 1941 Document DOCD-5229
Louie Bluie - Arhoolie 470 Soundtrack from Terry Zwigoff 1985 documentary
Martin Bogan and Armstrong / That Old Gang of Mine (Martin, Bogan and the Armstrongs) Flying Fish 70003, 1992; a re-release of two LPs combined on one CD
Louie Bluie (Howard Armstrong and friends) Blue Suit Records, 1995

w/ Paul Geremia - Self Portrait in Blues. Red House. Howard plays mandolin on a couple tunes including Charlie Patton's Shake It and Break It.

Birmingham Jug Band

Band listed as possibly Jaybird Coleman (hca), Joe Williams, One-Armed Dave Miles, Dr. Scott, and Bogus Ben Covington gtr/mand., Honeycup (jug), New Orleans Slide (washboard). It doesn't sound like Coleman at all.
Jaybird Coleman and the Birmingham Jug Band DOCD 5140

Clara Burston (unknown mandolin)

Barrelhouse Women 1925-30 Vol 1 - Document DOCD-5378
unknown mandolin player on "Weak and Nervous Blues" and "Georgia Man Blues"

Lonnie Clark (unknown mandolin)

Lonnie Clark, piano, with unknown mandolin player
Two tracks from 1929: Down in Tennessee / Broke Down Engine
Rare Paramount Blues 1926-29 DOCD-5277

Lonnie Coleman

banjo-mandolin
Two tracks from 1929 Old Rock Island Blues / Wild About My Loving
Sinners and Saints 1926 - 1931 Document DOCD-5106

John Copeland

John Copeland, mandolin, recorded with Tom Johnson, guitar, by Frederic Ramsey Jr. as "Mississippi String Band", Vicksburg, Miss., on June 29, 1954.
Four songs appear on Music from the South, Vol. 5: Song, Play, and Dance, on Smithsonian Folkways

Dallas String Band

Coley Jones, mandolin
Texas Black Country Dance Music Document 1927-35 DOCD-5162

King David's Jug Band

Sam Jones (Stovepipe No. 1) vocals and stovepipe, David Crockett guitar, with unknown mandolin player
Stovepipe No. 1 & David Crockett 1924 - 1930 Document DOCD-5269
Cincinnati Blues. Catfish Records
2 tracks also on Ruckus Juice and Chittlins Vol. 2. Yazoo

Arizona Dranes (unknown mandolin)

Unknown mandolin player on "I Shall Wear a Crown," "God's Got a Crown," "He Is My Story," and "Just Look."
Arizona Dranes 1926-29 DOCD-5186 and Spreading the Word boxed set - JSP

Charles Johnson

Charles Johnson, mandolin, backing up Furry Lewis on Everybody's Blues, Mr. Furry's Blues, and Sweet Papa Moan
Furry Lewis 1927-29 DOCD-5004
Masters of Memphis Blues - JSP 7725

Bobby Leecan's Need More Band

Alfred Martin - mandolin
Leecan & Cooksey Vol. 2 1927-28 DOCD-5279

Carl Martin

Carl Martin - Crow Jane Blues - Testament CD (with Johnny Young)

Charlie McCoy

Charlie McCoy - Complete Recorded Works 1928 - 1932 Document BDCD-6018

Charlie & Joe McCoy
Charlie & Joe McCoy - Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Vol. 1 (1934-1936) Document BDCD-6019
Charlie & Joe McCoy - Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Vol. 2 (1936-1944) Document BDCD-6020

Mississippi String Bands & Associates 1928 - 1931 Document BDCD-6013 - Mississippi Mud Steppers (McCoy and Bo Carter), Mississippi Blacksnakes

w/ Bo Carter
Bo Carter - Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1928-1931) Document DOCD-5078
Bo Carter - Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 5 (1938-1940) Document DOCD-5082

w/ Walter Vinscon
Walter Vinscon - Complete Recorded Works (1928-1941) Document DOCD-6017 Chatman's Mississippi Hot Footers

w/ Ishman Bracey
Ishman Bracey/Charley Taylor - Complete Recorded Works (1928-1929) Document DOCD-5049

w/ Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe
Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe - Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 4 (1933-1934) Document DOCD-5031

w/ Memphis Minnie
Memphis Minnie - Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 4 (1938-1939) Document DOCD-6011
Memphis Minnie - Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 5 (1940-1941) Document DOCD-6012

w/ The Harlem Hamfats
Harlem Hamfats - Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order, Vol. 1 (1936) Document DOCD-5271
Harlem Hamfats - Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Vol. 2 (1936-1937) Document DOCD-5272
Harlem Hamfats - Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Vol. 3 (1937-1938) Document DOCD-5273
Harlem Hamfats - Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Vol. 4 (1938-1939) Document DOCD-5274
Harlem Hamfats - Hamfat Swing 1936-1938 EPM Musique BC158932

w/ Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy - Complete Recorded Works, Vol.5 (1936-1937) Document DOCD-5127

w/ Mattie Hardy
Swingin' The Blues 1931 - 1939

w/ Monkey Joe (Jessie Coleman)
Monkey Joe Complete Recorded Works Vol. 1 1935-39 DOCD-5412

w/ Curtis Jones
Curtis Jones - Complete Recorded Works Vol 1 1937 - 1938 DOCD-5296
Curtis Jones - Complete Recorded Works Vol 2 1938 - 1939 DOCD-5297

Memphis Jug Band

Vol Stevens on banjo-mand; Charlie Burse, mand.; Will Weldon, mand.

Memphis Jug Band Complete Recorded Works Vol 1 1927 - 1928 Document DOCD-5021
Memphis Jug Band Complete Recorded Works Vol 2 1928 - 1929 Document DOCD-5022
Memphis Jug Band Complete Recorded Works Vol 3 1930 Document DOCD-5023
Memphis Jug Band - The Story 1927-34 Blues Collection EPM
Best of the Memphis Jug Band Yazoo 2059

Memphis Minnie

Minnie plays mandolin on one song, "After While Blues".
Memphis Minnie & Kansas Joe Vol. 3 1931-32 DOCD-5030

Al Miller

Al Miller, mandolin
Al Miller Complete Recorded Works 1927-1936 Document DOCD 5306

Cora Perkins (with unknown mandolin)

Cora Perkins recorded 2 songs on 14 May, 1926. "Today Blues" features an unknown mandolin player.
Blue Girls Volume 3 DOCD-5646

Matthew Prater

String Bands 1926-29 DOCD-5167 Matthew Prater & Nap Hayes
Violin Sing the Blues for Me. Old Hat Records. Violin Blues, Johnson Boys with Lonnie Johnson

Milas Pruitt

Backing up Ida Cox with Miles Pruitt, guitar, on "Mean Lovin' Man Blues" / "Down the Road Bound Blues"
Takes 3 for both on Ida Cox Volume 2 1924-25 DOCD-5323, and Takes 1 for both on Classic Blues, Jazz and Vaudeville Singers Volume 3 DOCD-5626

Yank Rachell

Complete Works V.1 1934-1938 Wolf Records
Complete Works V.2 1934-1941 Wolf Records
Sleepy John Estes Complete Recorded Works Vol 1 1929-1937 Document DOCD-5015
Chicago Style (on Delmark)
Tennesee Jug Busters (on Delmark)
Too Hot for the Devil (on Flat Rock)
"Yank Rachell" (the Blue Goose album - released on CD by Random Chance)
"Yank Rachell: Blues Mandolin Man" (Blind Pig - also released on CD by Random Chance)
w/ John Sebastian and the J-Band - Chasin' Gus' Ghost and I Want My Roots
Henry Townsend - Mule, Nighthawk Records

Vol Stevens

banjo mandolin
"Baby Got the Rickets" / "Vol Stevens Blues"
Memphis Blues Vol 3 1927-30 DOCD-5685 or Memphis Jug Band Volume 1 - Frog DGF15

Walter Taylor

The mandolin player on Taylor's recordings is unknown
John Byrd and Walter Taylor Complete Recorded Works 1929- 1931 Story of Blues 3517-2

Three Stripped Gears

RW Durden on mandolin
"Hokum Blues & Rags" Document DOCD-5392
Rounder's "Early Mandolin Classics"
Too Late Too Late Vol 6 1924 - 1946 Document DOCD-5461

Kid West

Kid West, mandolin, recorded with Joe Harris, guitar, during a Library of Congress field recording session in 1940 in Shreveport, Louisiana.
3 songs available on "I Can Eagle Rock: Juke Joint Blues Library of Congress Recordings 1940-41" - Travelin' Man

Compilations and Miscellaneous

Rags, Breakdowns, Stomps & Blues: Vintage Mandolin Music 1927-1946 Document DOCD-32-20-3

Mandolin Blues - Testament CD - Yank Rachell, Johnny Young, Willie Hatcher, Ted Bogan, Carl Martin.

Early Mandolin Classics, Vol. 1 Rounder

Violin, Sing the Blues for Me. Old Hat Records - has numerous tunes with mandolin including Johnson Boys (Prater), Mississippi Mud Steppers (McCoy), Tommie Bradley (Eddie Dimmett, mand.), Bo Chatman/Carter/Mississippi Sheiks (McCoy), Mobile Strugglers (Lee Warren).

Earliest Black String Bands Vol 1 (DOCD-5622) - 14 songs by Ciro's Club Coon Orchestra feature mandolin banjo in a string band setting.

White Country Blues 1926-1938 A Lighter Shade of Blue - Columbia Legacy. Includes Prairie Ramblers - Jug Rag / Deep Elem Blues with Chick Hurt on mand. Callahan Brothers - Somebody's Been Using That Thing, Roy Hobbs on mand. Allen Brothers - Drunk and Nutty Blues / Chattanooga Mama, with Austin Allen on tenor banjo/banjo mandolin.

Contemporary Players

Steve James - Boom Chang, Art and Grit, Fast Texas, Tonight (w/ Del Rey)
Alvin Youngblood Hart - Down in the Alley
Tim Williams - Riverboat Rendezvous, Indigo Incident, Evenings Among Friends
Ry Cooder - Boomer's Story, Into The Purple Valley
Rich Del Grosso - Get Your Nose Outta My Bizness
Bert Deivert - Kid Man Blues; Takin' Sam's Advice; Bert Deivert & Eric Bibb - Hello Stranger; Eric Bibb & Bert Deivert - River Road
Christer Lyssarides - w/ Eric Bibb on "Good Stuff" and "Spirit & the Blues"

Old-Time, Early Country and Miscellaneous

Allen Brothers

The Allen Brothers played old-time and blues-influenced songs. Austin Allen on tenor banjo/banjo mandolin
The Chattanooga Boys Allen Brothers Vol 1 1927 - 1930 Document DOCD-8033
The Chattanooga Boys Allen Brothers Vol 2 1930 - 1932 Document DOCD-8034
The Chattanooga Boys Allen Brothers Vol 3 1932 - 1934 Document DOCD-8035

Kentucky Ramblers

Mountain Blues - Blues, Ballads and String Bands, JSP. Ginseng Blues.
The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of, Yazoo. Ginseng Blues.
Paramount Old-Time Recordings, JSP. Various tracks.

Prairie Ramblers

Chick Hurt, mandola
Mountain Blues - Blues, Ballads and String Bands, JSP. Deep Elum Blues, Kentucky Blues, Go Easy Blues.

Three Tobacco Tags

Mountain Blues - Blues, Ballads and String Bands, JSP. V8 Blues, Reno Blues, and Jersey Bull Blues.

Instructional Material

Learn to Play Blues Mandolin Vol 1 - Steve James [Homespun Tapes]. Instructional DVD. Includes Divin’ Duck Blues, The Lonesome Train That Carried My Gal Away, Juanita Stomp, Saturday Night in Jail, Shotgun Blues
Learn to Play Blues Mandolin Vol 2 - Steve James [Homespun Tapes]. Instructional DVD. Includes Jackson Stomp, Prater Blues, Corrina,Corrina, Sittin’ On Top of the World, Long As I Can See You Smile and Texas Tommy.
Mandolin Blues - From Memphis to Maxwell Street. Rich Del Grosso. Hal Leonard publications. Book w/ CD, Hal Leonard ISBN 978-0-634-07249-9

Other Mandolin styles

BILL MONROE
The Music of Bill Monroe from 1936 to 1994 (Bill Monroe and various bands) MCA 11048, 1994
The Essential Bill Monroe & the Monroe Brothers (Bill Monroe and various bands) RCS 67450-2; 1997 (a BMG release).

DAVID GRISMAN
Tone Poems - The Sounds of the Great Vintage Guitars and Mandolins (David Grisman and Tony Rice) Acoustic Disc ACD-10, 1994.
Tone Poems II - The Sounds of the Great Jazz Guitars, Mandolins, Mandolas & Mandocellos (David Grisman and Martin Taylor) Acoustic Disc ACD-18, 1995.
Tone Poems III - The Sounds of the Great Slide and Resophonic Instruments (Mike Auldridge, Bob Brozman and David Grisman) Acoustic Disc ACD-42, 2000.
Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza (Sam Bush, David Grisman, Ronnie McCoury, Ricky Skaggs, and many others) 2 CD set, Acoustic Disc ACD-35, 1999.

TIM O'BRIEN
Hard Year Blues (Flying Fish FF 70319, 1984), includes Twelve Gates to the City.
Real Time (Howdy Skies HS-1003, 2000), includes Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning.
Red on Blonde (Sugar Hill SHCD-3853, 1996), includes an assortment of Bob Dylan compositions.

JOHN REISCHMAN
John Reischman & John Miller - The Singing Moon CORVUS-CD004
John Reischman and John Miller - Bumpy Road
John Reischman and John Miller - Road Trip

MIKE COMPTON AND DAVID LONG
Stomp

CRAIG VENTRESCO
Craig Ventresco and Meredith Axelrod