I have to admit, I didn’t know who Gary Allegretto was when his cd landed on my doorstep. What I do know is that I will now never forget his name. “Many Shades of Blue” (Big Fiore Records) is the title of the new disc by vocalist/harp player Gary Allegretto. 14 solid tracks of pure electric and acoustic blues, is how I would describe Gary’s new cd. Allegretto wrote 12 of the 14 tracks and chose to cover two of the greatest songwriters ever (Chuck Berry “Back To Memphis” & Hank Williams “Mind Your Own Business”). Gary was inspired by the Piedmont Bluesman John Jackson at a very young age. One of the many guests on this new release is John Cephas (a contemporary and close friend of John Jackson). Other guests on “Many Shades of Blue” include Ivan Neville, Doug Macleod, Rich Delgrosso and vocalist Janiva Magness.

Gary is one of the great sideman on todays blues scene. He is also the founder and director of Harmonikids which is a 501(c)3 non profit charitable organization that provides music therapy with harmonicas and lessons to special needs children internationally. Allegretto has provided aid to special needs children from the Tsunami refugee camps of North Sumatra, Indonesia to the Katrina evacuee trailer villages of Louisiana and many points in between. Harmonikids has recieved widespread acclaim in the media including The Today Show, Blues Revue, and Living Blues Magazines. For more information about his unique charitable work visit www.harmonikids.org and see You Tube video.

Sometimes the sideman needs to step into the spotlight to really shine. This one shines all the way through. I hope Mr. Allegretto finds Rochester, NY on his GPS soon.

On a side note, you can catch the legendary harp player John Cephas with his partner Phil Wiggins (Cephas And Wiggins) at the Chenango Blues Festival, August 15 & 16th in Norwich, NY.     Greg “Doc” Lefebre