Born in New York, Skoller took up blues harmonica and lent his skills to outfits such as the Chi-Town Hustlers and Big Daddy Kinsey And The Kinsey Report. Once he had established a presence on Chicago’s blues-club circuit and drawn widespread notice, he assembled his own group. His raw, unpolished vocal style brings conviction to time-honored blues subjects while openly reflecting his respect for James Cotton, Walter Horton, Junior Parker and Jimmy Reed. The ensemble soon cultivated a devoted local audience. Among those who have passed through the ranks are guitarists Lurrie Bell and Larry Skoller, shakuhachi player Brian Ritchie, pianist and organist Sidney James Wingfield, bassist Willie ‘Vamp’ Samuels, and percussionists Kenny Smith and Heitor Garcia. Skoller also contributed to Koko Taylor’s 2000 album Royal Blue. Much of the material he performs—numbers such as ‘Ghosts In Your Closet’, ‘Wired World’, ‘Let The World Come To You’, ‘Handful Of People’, ‘Down At Your Buryin’’, ‘Stolen Thunder’ and ‘Where Can You Be’—he writes himself. Although his reputation remains strongest in the Chicago area, he has performed regularly in Greece and has appeared at clubs and festivals across the UK, Belgium, France, Italy, Norway, Spain and Switzerland.
