Otis Taylor Essentials

Otis Taylor's music, sometimes referred to as "blues trance", defies easy description as it ranges from sparse acoustic songs to layered and complex arrangements to something straight out of the American Delta in 1930. The Chicago-born multi-instrumentalist—he's skilled on guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica—began playing in bands in the late '60s but abandoned music in '77. He returned in '95, and has since recorded more than a dozen stunning albums that tackle tough themes like lynching, slavery, racism and social injustice. He continues to record and take his potent tunes on the road.