To talk about Delmark records is to talk about an important piece of the history and jazz and blues development, not only as musical genres but also as the legacy and important heritage of Afroamerican culture Bob Koester founded the label in 1953 in Chicago His original idea was to give a useful platform for Chicago black community to express his music through records and spread it further up Illinois State He immediately got an enoumous success and what was first conceived as a small business daily was growing up with an increasing catalog of artists The original Koester’s idea of a label exclusively including pure genuine blues only devoted to blues fans, gradually opened to other more innovative and carefully selected sound but, over all, including much more contemporary blues music The list of artists who along the years have recorded for Delmark would never end, so I will only mention some of the most outstanding ones: Big Joe Williams, Sleepy John Estes, Curtis Jones, Yank Rachell, Roosevelt Sykes, Magic Sam, Carey Bell, Luther Allison, Junior Wells, Little Brother Montgomery, Sunnyland Slim, Pete Johnson, Otis Rush, Jimmy Johnson, Eddie Clearwater, Little Walter, Lonnie Brooks, Albert Ammons, Big Walter Horton, Memphis Slim, Arthur Crudup, Jimmy Burns, Big Time Sarah… on an endless list To celebrate their splendid fifty-five years of lively blues, Delmark Records have published a cd and this excellent dvd, which include remarkable live performances with nine of the most prestigeous representative and popular artists of their catalogue, along eighty minutes of pure hot flaming blues You will see on your TV screen a good number of Chicago sound bright stars like Zora Young, Jimmy Johnson, Aaron Moore, Little Arthur Duncan, Barry Dolins, Lurrie Bell, Shirley Johnson, Eddie Shaw and Tail Dragger who represent the most valid actual blues you can find The selection is really accurate with a variety of instruments that include guitars, piano, harmonica and sax, with priceless solos and backing the amazing voices of the performing artists who have already left their prints in the history of American popular music and twe can now discover and enjoy