Ruthie Foster is a Texas-based singer/songwriter who seamlessly weaves together blues, soul, gospel and even reggae. You can hear several of her songs on both KNKX jazz and blues programs. She’s been nominated five times for a Grammy Award and won multiple Blues Music Awards. Her latest album Healing Time came out in 2022 and received one those Grammy nods in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category. Foster visited Seattle earlier in April, putting on a show at The Triple Door, and stopping by the KNKX Seattle Studios for a performance and conversation with KNKX All Blues host John Kessler ..read more

Mavis Staples performs at the sixth annual Love Rocks NYC benefit concert for God's Love We Deliver at the Beacon Theatre on Thursday, March 10, 2022, in New York. (Evan Agostini / Invision/AP) Mavis Staples began singing in church at age eight, and by age 12, she was singing professionally with her family — father Roebuck “Pops” Staples, and siblings Cleotha, Pervis and Yvonne — as part of the Staple Singers. The churches were their venue of choice, ranging far and wide—from their hometown of Chicago to playing churches throughout the Midwest and South. With a voice that belied her tiny size ..read more

Maria Muldaur in a promotional photo for her 2011 album <i>Steady Love</i>. Muldaur began her music career in the early 1960s and released her first solo album in 1973.(Alen Mercer / Maria Muldaur) Maria Muldaur’s biggest hit – “Midnight at the Oasis” – dropped in 1973 and got to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Soft rock combined with her rough, yet sweet, voice blends blues sensibility with heart-felt softness. Muldaur has made a career of singing music beautifully, but also in a warm and approachable manner. Her cover of Peggy Lee’s “I’m a Woman,” which reached No. 12 on the Bill ..read more

The Wood Brothers recently visited the Pacific Northwest, performing shows to promote the release of their latest album, Heart is the Hero. They stopped by KNKX's Studio X for an exclusive trio performance with All Blues host John Kessler. The Wood Brothers are Oliver Wood on guitar, Chris Wood on bass, and honorary brother multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix. They are not easily categorized and draw on many influences including folk, gospel, blues and jazz. As The Wood Brothers, they have made nine studio albums since 2006 and five live albums. While living in Atlanta, Oliver played with well ..read more

(KNKX graphic via Canva) For Valentine's Day, KNKX compiled a list of songs about love that feature all of your favorite jazz and blues artists including Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bonnie Raitt, Lamar Odom Jr., Chick Corea and Peggy Lee, just to name a few. Listen to a preview below or log into Spotify to enjoy the full set. Also, be sure to tune in on Feb. 14 for a romantic edition of Evening Jazz, starting at 7 p.m. Listen to KNKX on air, online, or using your smart speaker. Happy Valentine's Day ..read more

Bassist Keegan Harshman grew up on Whidbey Island and moved back in 2016. He owns Blue Sound Music in Langley and started producing LittleBIGFest in 2018.(Dennis Brown) If Keegan Harshman existed to do one thing, it was to do a lot with little. Harshman produces and sustains the grassroots all-ages music and arts festival Little BIG Fest. It’s a three day affair on Whidbey Island, Washington, that he works on 11 months out of the year. In August, he will not only helm the event, but also play in bands performing at the festival. Previous incarnations featured artists like Outer Orbit, High Pu ..read more

Singing since the age of five, Lady A retired from her day job in 2023 to focus on her music full time.(Stephan Nord / Lady A ) Lady A looks at her 2024 performance schedule as a way to share the blessings she’s received recently. Speaking from France during a European tour, Lady A spoke excitedly about upcoming concerts, festivals, and music conferences. But to get to those shows she first had to take on the biggest fight of her life – a battle over her name, a modern-day David-and-Goliath tale. When the singer known as Lady A picked up the phone one spring day in 2020, she found herself ste ..read more

Blues guitarist Earl Hooker was born on Jan. 15, 1930. In the spring of 1970, at age 40, he died of complications due to tuberculosis. It is because of his regrettably short life, I think, that he does not come up more often when the talk turns to great or influential blues guitarists. It isn’t as if he was obscure. In the 1950s and ‘60s, he was smack dab in the middle of the Chicago blues scene as a performer and as a recording artist, whether he was leading bands of his own or accompanying peers such as Junior Wells. Hooker’s musical influences included slide guitarist, Robert Nighthawk (wit ..read more

Born in Denmark, Lee Oskar is a world-renowned harmonica virtuoso, composer, visual artist and manufacturer of Lee Oskar Harmonicas, widely considered the world’s gold standard. Oskar is a founding member of the pioneering funk/jazz group WAR, with the hits “Low Rider,” The Cisco Kid,” “The World is a Ghetto,” and many others. He’s released 11 albums as a solo artist and the latest, She Said Mahalo, came out in September of 2023. He also makes his home in the Pacific Northwest, which is one reason we could host some of the finest players in the region at KNKX's Studio X. Oskar played selection ..read more

Tina Turner performs in a concert in Cologne, Germany on Jan. 14, 2009.(Hermann J. Knippertz / AP) Anna Mae Bullock, or as we know her, Tina Turner, was born in Tennessee in 1939. She was the youngest daughter of a family of sharecroppers. While still in high school, Bullock was already singing in nightclubs around St. Louis, where she met bandleader and producer Ike Turner, who hired her in 1956 for his Kings of Rhythm. A break came in 1960 when “A Fool in Love” was a hit, with the newly named Tina’s voice all but overwhelming the microphone. Not long after this, in 1962, Ike and Turner were ..read more