Rick Estrin & The Nightcats

Singer, songwriter, and virtuoso blues harpist Rick Estrin was born in San Francisco, California in 1949, and even as a boy he frequented the tough Market Street area, falling under the spell of music by Ray Charles, Jimmy Reed, Nina Simone, Champion Jack Dupree, and others, and when he picked up the harmonica at age 15, he was already immersed in the urban black culture around him. By 18, he was proficient enough on the harp to jam with the likes of Lowell Fulson and Travis Phillips. After a move to Chicago, Estrin worked with Eddie Taylor, Sam Lay, Johnny Young, and Johnny L...