Dave Specter – Live At SPACE – Delmark Records 889

Now, here is a recording to get very excited about!

The Delmark Records label has been in existence since 1953 and was started by Bob Koester, who was the spirit of blues and jazz in Chicago, plus the owner of a number of iterations of the celebrated Jazz Record Mart.  Koester sold the label’s operations to Julia A. Miller and Elbio Barilari in 2018, and the imprint has continued to provide tremendous blues releases ever since.

Projected to have a release date of June 6^th is the latest Delmark Records collection from Dave Specter entitled Live At SPACE, resuming a relationship with Delmark Records that goes back an astounding 30-plus years.  With this phenomenal outing, Specter is now represented on Delmark Records across an amazing 14 collections.  And trust me when I say that this one is a front-to-back top-tier musical assemblage!

Specter carries a well-deserved status as one of the foremost musicians on Chicago’s broad scene, with that hard-earned reputation being forged from roughly four decades of performing on the big city’s stages.  Specter has extensively traversed the globe plying his formidable guitar skill set with top-flight blues artists too numerous to outline here, and he is a partner in Evanston, Illinois’ extraordinary music venue, SPACE, from where the remarkable music on Live At SPACE was recorded.

Additionally, Specter is celebrated for hosting the podcast entitled Blues From The Inside Out, and for being inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall Of Fame in 2018.

The 13-cut musical tour de force CD considered here was recorded roughly a year ago, and is presented on the front cover as including the vocals and keyboard work of Brother John Kattke, the bass efforts of Rodrigo Mantovani, and the percussion services of Marty Binder.  Kudos to Specter for placing their contributions front-and-center on the outing’s front jacket, as a more ideal team to blend with Specter’s astounding guitar excursions cannot be comprehended.

Without going into a song-by-song analysis of each of the compelling offerings across the landscape of this exemplary collection, Specter’s six-string proficiencies are oh-so-welcome for their well-considered and -structured forays.  Specter is virtuosic with his discerning manner on guitar, economical yet deeply affecting, no matter the cadence or mood of the tune at hand.  His is a master class of the true art of utilizing the instrument to convey the atmospheric realm where any given song lies.  Any guitarist aiming for high achievement should intensely study Specter’s approach.

Seven of the 13 tunes here come from Specter’s pen, with covers from Magic Sam, Sonny Boy Williamson I, and Allen Toussaint, among others, melding gloriously into the overall aural celebration.

As earlier referenced, Specter’s choosing of the collective of Kattke, Mantovani, and Binder as his musical co-conspirators was nothing short of brilliant.  Each of, and I mean each of these top-tier musicians, brought their “A” game to this performance.  This is in no way a “lump-de-lump” Chicago club set.  No, this is a thoughtfully contemplated show designed to entertain, not to merely be background for watering hole drinking.  This is an absolute primer on how the blues should be bestowed.  All others are advised to listen very closely to the blues magic staged here.

With superb production by Specter, Freddie Breitberg’s engineering, mixing by both the men just mentioned, and the foresight by Miller and Barilari to continue Specter’s magnificent involvement with Delmark Records, this is a contemporary blues recording that sets the bar very, very high for others to chase.

One of 2025’s best?  Without doubt!  Your collection needs this awesome musical document in it.  This reviewer firmly believes that it stands tall as an essential modern-day blues manuscript that presents the blues in its best light.

This greatly impressive outing will be available on CD, LP, and via streaming platforms.

Pick this one up as soon as it sees the light of day!