Biography
The various bands led by harmonica player and singer George "Mojo"
Buford hark back to the classic Chicago blues sounds of the early '60s.
Among harmonica players, Buford has the distinction of being the only
musician to have played with various bands led by the late Muddy Waters
in the 1950s, '60s, '70s, and '80s. (Waters died in April 1981.) Buford
left Mississippi for Memphis in his teens and honed his chops around
Memphis before heading to Chicago in 1952. He began playing with Waters
in Chicago in the late '50s, but by 1962 Buford relocated to
Minneapolis, where he recorded several obscure albums for the Vernon and
Folk-Art labels. He rejoined Waters' band in 1967 for a full year and
then toured with him again in the early '70s, after harmonica player
Jerry Portnoy left to form the Legendary Blues Band. By 1979 Buford was
recording and touring around with bands under his own name. He recorded
Mojo Buford's Blues Summit in 1979 for Mr. Blues, later reissued on the
Rooster Blues label, and his 1990s recordings include Still Blowin'
Strong and Harpslinger, both issued in 1996 by the Blue Loon Records
label; a 1998 release for British blues label JSP Records entitled State
of the Blues Harp; and a 1998 stateside release, Home Is Where My Harps
Is, also for Blue Loon. More recently, he recorded a live album,
Champagne & Reefer, in 1999 for New York-based Fedora Records and
Chicago Blues Summit in 2002 for P-Vine Records. He continued to play
until his death in October 2011.
by Richard Skelly
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/george-mojo-buford-mn0000922782/biography
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Biografía
Las diversas bandas lideradas por el armónico y cantante George "Mojo"
Buford se remontan a los clásicos sonidos del blues de Chicago de
principios de los 60. Entre los armonicistas, Buford se distingue por
ser el único músico que tocó en varias bandas lideradas por el fallecido
Muddy Waters en los 50, 60, 70 y 80. (Waters murió en abril de 1981.)
Buford dejó Mississippi para ir a Memphis en su adolescencia y se
perfeccionó en Memphis antes de ir a Chicago en 1952. Empezó a tocar con
Waters en Chicago a finales de los 50, pero en 1962 Buford se trasladó a
Minneapolis, donde grabó varios discos oscuros para los sellos Vernon y
Folk-Art. Se reincorporó a la banda de Waters en 1967 durante un año
entero y luego volvió a girar con él a principios de los 70, después de
que el armonista Jerry Portnoy se fuera para formar la Legendary Blues
Band. En 1979 Buford estaba grabando y haciendo giras con bandas bajo su
propio nombre. Grabó Mojo Buford's Blues Summit en 1979 para Mr. Blues,
posteriormente reeditado por el sello Rooster Blues, y sus grabaciones
de los años 90 incluyen Still Blowin' Strong y Harpslinger, ambas
editadas en 1996 por el sello Blue Loon Records; un lanzamiento en 1998
para el sello británico de blues JSP Records titulado State of the Blues
Harp; y un lanzamiento en 1998 en los Estados Unidos, Home Is Where My
Harps Is, también para Blue Loon. Más recientemente, grabó un álbum en
vivo, Champagne & Reefer, en 1999 para Fedora Records, con sede en
Nueva York, y Chicago Blues Summit en 2002 para P-Vine Records. Continuó
tocando hasta su muerte en octubre de 2011.
por Richard Skelly
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/george-mojo-buford-mn0000922782/biography
