RIP, Koko Taylor

by folkbum

There is no question that the sept- and octogenarian bluesfolk had a particular mystique. The show(wo)manship, in particular, of coots like BB King or the now-late Koko Taylor, is something borrowed and, I think, vastly improved upon, from big-band leaders of the generation before, like Louis Armstrong or Cab Calloway or Duke Ellington. I saw Koko Taylor in, I believe, 1995. I understand she hadn't slowed down one bit until just recently. Classy lady, and one of the last of a (literally) dying breed.