Curtis Salgado walks onstage, tells a room full of strangers he’s about to play some blues, some rhythm and blues, some funk and soul — “are you with us, music lovers?” — and within three songs the place belongs to him. Not because of volume. Because of a voice that can whisper a ballad into absolute silence. Then, blow the walls out on a deep-pocket funk groove thirty seconds later. Ninety minutes in, the audience feels like they went to church.

That voice has been the throughline for over five decades. Salgado is a singer-songwriter whose work crosses funk, soul, gospel, R&B, and blues without asking permission from any of them. He calls his sound “swinging rhythm and blues, funk, soul — serious pocket.” Furthermore, Billboard calls it “hard-nosed blues, beautifully nuanced R&B, phat and funky.” Additionally, NPR just calls him “an icon.”

The credentials run deep. Salgado has won the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year award and collected fourteen Blues Music Awards across multiple categories. Also, he co-led the Robert Cray Band, backed Albert Collins — coining the nickname “The Master of the Telecaster”. Then, he fronted Roomful of Blues and served as lead vocalist for Santana. In 1977, he schooled a young John Belushi on the soul and blues canon, directly catalyzing the creation of the Blues Brothers. Moreover, Briefcase Full of Blues was dedicated to him.

“I want my songs to be heard and experienced, not just listened to,” says cliché-defying, internationally beloved Chicago bluesman Toronzo Cannon. Cannon is on the cutting edge of today’s contemporary blues scene. Gary Clark, Jr. declared, “Toronzo is a beast. He lights the room up.” Also, Joe Bonamassa rightly pronounced, “Toronzo’s a great guitar player, excellent vocalist and an amazing personality.”