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Fresh Air

Johnny Nicholas

A year ago, a few months after the passing of his wife Brenda, blues wizard Johnny Nicholas released a masterful album called "Fresh Air." It's a vibrant, emotional and fiercely performed encyclopediai of electric and acoustic blues styles — all delivered in the artist's distinctive fashion. When he delivers uptempo material, as on the self-penned "Moonlight Train" and "Red Light" or a sprightly cover of Willie Dixon's "Back Door Man," there's an infectious and defiant joy. But it's on the slower material, "How Do You Follow a Broken Heart," the title track or "Play Me Like You Play Your Guitar," that Nicholas digs deep and tranforms his sorrow into a thing of melancholic beauty — virtually musical prayers. (For more on Nicholas, see the Main Event on page WHAT.)