DELTA GROOVE LOOKING TO STRIKE A CHORD

With many blues record labels struggling to stay afloat, this would seem like an inopportune time to start a new label. But for Los Angeles native Randy Chortkoff, head of the new Delta Groove label, swimming upstream is nothing new. As a youngster in the 1950s, he recalls, "The first music I remember latching onto was James Brown. I liked black music, soul music. I don't think white kids were listening to that stuff too much then [but] what really moved me more than anything else was black music." His introduction to the music came even earlier. "My dad was a carpet layer and a big-time jazz fan. He used to have lots of jazz records, Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima. Somehow, he and his friend Abe became friends with Louie Armstrong. I've got really great photos of Louie with me and my dad, with Louie's band and his wife Lucille. My dad gave me a mouthpiece that was Louie_s. I was so young I didn't put any tremendous value on it, and somewhere along the line I lost it."

As a teenager in the 1960s Chortkoff rode the wave of the first blues revival, frequented the famous Ash Grove in Los Angeles, and saw many of the legendary blues figures who were then active. He also learned harmonica and began fronting local bands. Eventually he began booking gigs for some of his blues heroes around L.A., and he's been successfully promoting and producing blues shows for the past two decades. He's worked with veterans such as Big Joe Turner, Pee Wee Crayton, Otis Rush, Albert King, Jimmy Rogers, Billy Boy Arnold, Daveand Louis Myers, and Junior Wells, as well as more contemporary artists like Kim Wilson, Junior Watson, Rusty Zinn, Rod Piazza, Kid Ramos, and many others. Chortkoff is also responsible for the annual Little Walter Tribute / Blues Hall of Fame Awards; he gathered many of his favorites for these mini-blues fests at the House Of Blues and other L.A. area venues and presented lifetime achievement awards to some otherwise neglected blues legends. A by-product of these shows was Chortkoffs first serious foray into music production; his very first project as a producer was picked up by Alligator Records, becoming Billy Boy Arnold's acclaimed comeback, Back Where I Belong. More independent productions and several well-received releases on the Evidence label followed.

Until recently most of his blues endeavors have been part-time, while holding a day job to pay the bills. But thanks his success at that day job-as executive producer of independent films‹he's now able to devote his resources to creating a full-time business, Delta Groove Productions, out of his lifelong passion.

"I've been very fortunate to reach a point where through the independent film scenario, I'm able to put money into what I really love, and that's blues music and I feel that we can do something with this music to get it some exposure in the mainstream market so that people can understand the art form, and how all American music is derived from it. A good example is what the Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack did for bluegrass - it made people aware that that type of music, which people would not ordinarily go out and buy, could make them feel a certain way. I'm involved in a project right now to produce an independent film with Val Kilmer and other notable stars, and I'm hoping we can have the same effect."

Delta Groove Productions' first two releases, the Mannish Boys' That Represent Man and Kirk Fletchers Shades Of Blue, came out in late 2004. CDs from West Coast harpslinger and vocalist Mitch Kashmar, and the Hollywood Blue Flames (a Hollywood Fats Band reunion with Kirk Fletcher in place of the bands original namesake) are due out soon, and a new Rod Piazza CD is in the pipeline.