As with so many efforts in the Blues, IL Blues is a labor of love for its creative director Marino Grandi and his wife Luciana. For 25 years, IL Blues has published a fifty-page, black and white collection of all things Blues from around the international Blues world. Four times a year, readers can read concert reviews of shows throughout Europe; they can read over a dozen pages of Blues CD reviews and more pages of Blues book reviews. And there are profiles of old and new Blues performers. Though many American’s Italian may be limited to “vino rosso,” the care and professionalism of Marino and Luciana breaks through all language barriers. Animated photos, professional layout, and a director who strives for accuracy to keep his readers informed, IL Blues is another fine example of European scholarship in Blues magazines.
