Like many another blues great, pianist/singer/songwriter Memphis Slim moved from Memphis to Chicago before his career really took off. Upon his arrival in the Windy City in 1939, Slim began working and recording with such exemplars of prewar Chicago blues as Big Bill Broonzy and Sonny Boy Williamson, but adopted his approach towards the emerging jump R&B style during the war and postwar years. One might say that his classic approach combined early 30s barrelhouse/boogie piano and an early 40s singing style with a 1950s jump blues band. At the Gate of Horn was his first LP, recorded in 1959 for Vee Jay, and it found him revisiting 78-era hits like “The Comeback” and “Mother Earth” and introducing the crackerjack instrumental “Steppin’ Out.” Apart from the leader’s great piano breaks, the most memorable instrumental contributions are from another Memphis transplant, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, who had worked regularly with Slim for years. Murphy’s two-chorus turn on “Steppin’ Out” is as concise a statement as any blues solo one could name, but he really cuts loose on slow songs like “Messin’ Around.” As usual, full marks are due to Craft for this beautifully produced and remastered classic. A real must for audiophile blues fans.