If you want to hear what they get up to these days in the big smoke, Toronto, check out the Toronto Blues Society’s twentieth anniversary compilation — a gorgeous two CD set full of blues for all moods, folky delta, country rock, jazz, Chicago blues and all kinds of horns. And names, lots of big names — Jack deKeyser, Ken Whiteley, Jackie Washington’s peppy Ain’t Got You, the Pappy Johns Blues band, David Wilcox going acoustic, Colin Linden, The Paul James Band, the Downchild Blues Band and a really exotic sounding selection from Madagascar Slim—Mbo Plus there are a heap of up and comers who are must hears like the Jimmy Bowskill band and Suzie Vinnick, many from fledgling blues label Northern Blues including Paul Reddick, Carlos Del Junco and John and The Sisters. There are more highlights than you can shake an empty whisky bottle at. Danny Brooks’ Soulsville, Brian Blain’s Blues Are Hurtin’, Gerome Godboo’s Goddamn Money, David Rotundo’s Drinkin’ Overtime— pick one. It is all good, all original and all new as all of these tracks date back no later than 1998. And what is even cooler, to show just how tightly knit the Toronto Blues scene is, is seeing how many of these artists are involved with each other’s CDs either helping to produce them or just playing on them — sweet. The only shortcoming, if I had to find one, is there is nothing here from Rita Chiarelli, but then she’s from Hamilton. The Toronto Blues Society has to make an exception for her on the next CD.