Coco Montoya's new album is a compilation of original songs and covers drawn from three albums released in the mid- to late-1990s, after a 10-year run with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. All three CDs received critical acclaim, and his debut album earned him a W.C. Handy Award for Best New Blues Artist, along...

When John Mayall reformed his long-defunct Bluesbreakers in the 1980s without Eric Clapton, Peter Green or Mick Taylor, but made up for its lack of star power with the sheer force of new guitarist Coco Montoya, a one-time drummer for Albert Collins who was hungry to prove himself on the ax. Montoya went solo in the ’90s, releasing a string of albums, which have found the guitarist moving away from traditional blues in favor of heavier...

Thursday, April 9, Brandi Carlile @ The Pabst Theater, 8 p.m. Like so many of her adult-contemporary peers who owe much of their name recognition to appearances on the “Grey’s Anatomy” soundtrack, Brandi Carlile plays melancholic but melodious folk-pop. She distinguishes herself, though, with an unusually...

After distinguished stints backing blues greats John Mayall and Albert Collins, guitarist Coco Montoya finally took a stab at his own solo career in 1995, and he’s been recording steadily ever since. Though he cut his teeth with sharp, electric riffs, on recent records he’s fall into a softer, more soulful sound a la Robert . . .