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Unlike many of his Chicago blues contemporaries, Jimmie Lee Robinson wasn't a Mississippi Delta emigre. The guitarist was born and raised right in the Windy City -- not far from Maxwell Street, the fabled open-air market on the near West side where the blues veritably teemed during the 1940s and '50s. Robinson learned his lessons well. He formed a partnership with guitarist Freddy King in 1952 for four years (they met outside the local welfare office), later doing sideman work with Elmore James and Little Walter and cutting sessions on guitar and bass behind Little Walter, Eddie Taylor, Shakey Jake, and St. Louis Jimmy Oden. Robinson cut three singles for the tiny Bandera label circa 1959-1960; the haunting "All My Life" packed enough power to be heard over in England, where John Mayall faithfully covered it. Another Bandera standout, "Lonely Traveller," was revived as the title track for Robinson's 1994 Delmark comeback album. Europe enjoyed a glimpse of Robinson when he hit the con...