Chris Dair – Crossroads To Freedom Crossroads To Freedom is written and performed entirely by Chris Dair and is his first album dedicated purely to the blues from the Mississippi delta all the way to the streets of Chicago and beyond! What is refreshing is that there appears to be no limitation as to how Chris Dair interprets the way his guitar should be played, having jammed with the best of them down the years including Jeff Beck, Peter Green, Rory Gallagher, Jimmy Page, Mark Knopfler and the great Bukka White to name but a few! Crossroads To Freedom gets straight down to business with 'No Reason Blues' that is classic Chicago blues harking back to the Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf era! Influences abound here as you would expect from such a seasoned musician, with a somewhat mystical sounding 'See The Stars' offering more than a hint of Ravi Shankar, before the Santana inspired instrumental 'Obsession' transcends over proceedings. Some of these recordings might easily lend themselves to a film soundtrack, that incidentally is not new territory for this man who is not afraid to experiment, as is well demonstrated on the innovative title track 'Crossroads To Freedom' which delivers some very interesting psychedelic blues! 'Please Don't Let Me Go' cruises into some really cool jazz tinged blues ahead of the vintage sounding 'Never Comin' Home Blues', which is given some authentic worn vinyl treatment that many listeners may find intriguing? Right from the first note on the laid back 'I Feel The Need', you become spellbound as his guitar riffs and smooth vocals combine to find the perfect blend and are only set fee once a wailing harmonica introduces 'Lovin' You Too Much', as he connects his wah-wah pedal to unleash some screaming guitar SRV style! The laid back 'Last Fall' and 'Leavin' Town Blues' lead us well into JJ Cale chartered territory and on 'Ya Smile At Me', he even finds time to mix in some rare juice harp with some good ole country blues. Listening to 'Goldwater Mountain', you discover a fabulous example of American acoustic roots music (reminiscent of the early Doobie Brothers), before 'Lost In Wasted Time' delivers a dreamy guitar solo that even Roy Buchanan might have taken his hat off to! Crossroads To Freedom is the album you always wanted to own that you could never remember the name of, and it also marks the moment Chris Dair stepped out of the shadows to become a genuine blues artist in his own right! Check him out on his website at http://www.chrisdairmusic.net/ where you can also order a signed copy of the Crossroads To Freedom CD, and discover what you've been missing! John Stracey – Blues Connections

I met Bukka White when I was a very young guitarist, he was doing a tour with several other great jazz/blues players - I am pretty sure it was in Leek, Staffordshire in the UK - I wish I'd chronicled all the people I played with during that period of my life! As a musician it was the really important things that stuck in my mind, for instance, who he was, what he was playing. He played with incredible technique on his right hand - kind of playing a double rythm (slide with left), he was playing a Dobro, I don't remember the song. Afterwards he was a true gent as always and said to me "That's some fine guitar!". Needless to say I never forgot that! Chris Dair

I was just a kid when I met Rory. I can't remember the venue (I really wish I could). It was a bar in Manchester sometime in either '73 or '74. A friend of mine introduced me to the band and I ended up playing. Rory asked me what my name was, I said Chris Dair, and he said "it can't be Dair, it must be O'Dair", which I later found was true! I remember we played Catfish Blues and it was absolutely brilliant, a knockout. I met him again at the Free Trade Hall awhile after that. The guy I was with knew the singer out of the support band and we were backstage saying Hi, talking and drinks etc. All of us, including Rory of course, went back to the Imperial for drinks after the gig, and I was there till about 5 am, Rory just played all night. I remember he played Traintime Blues on this old steel guitar (not sure if it was a Dobro) for about half an hour. Rory also played my Dobro. He was a very down to earth guy, there was no edge to him whatsoever, he said what he believed and that was it. I got the impression he wouldn't say anything unless he meant it. He believed very passionately in what he was doing. I remember having to get a taxi to the station and coming back home on the "milk train" in the morning. The way I feel about people like Rory now is very different to how it felt at the time. Then it didn't seem that much out of the ordinary to any of us. Hope this is of interest to you - It was a very special time for me as a guitarist, and I treasure the opportunity I had to meet and play with Rory...Chris Dair

http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/chris-dair/id337 463573

Fantastic Review from the American Blues Scene on the new Blues album Crossroads To Freedom - http://www.americanbluesscene.com/2010/11/chris-da ir-puts-out-amazing-collection.html