Paul Banks

Back in the '20s, Paul Banks was a bluesman associated with the early days of the Kansas City scene. While the odor of cow manure was undoubtedly stronger in the air back then than in the Kansas City of today, this scent stands no comparison with his piano playing or songwriting craftsmanship, either in artistic merit or access to the general public's noses, so to speak. Banks is an obscurity even among the specialists in boogie-woogie piano or classic blues accompanists. In a climate reeking with reissues, only a few recordings involving Banks can be sniffed out. His activit...