When I was 14, I could barely put a vinyl album on a turntable successfully. When Alex Tintinalli was 14, he had been playing professionally for four years, leading a blues band for two and had issued his first CD. It's like Samuel Johnson's comment on the talking dog: it doesn't matter what he says; the fact that he can do it at all is astonishing.

What is even more astonishing is that Tintinalli is an amazing guitar player, a fine singer and a very good blues songwriter. He is a wonderfully talented kid who can't be judged as a kid; he is a professional, playing in a man's game and he holds up to comparison to adult players very well. He can shred on a guitar and is well on his way to mastering many different forms of blues. On this CD, he plays jump blues, Chicago style, ballads, blues-rock -- Tintinalli can do it all. And he's only been playing for four years.

When I played the disc for a guitar playing friend of mine, he listened in amazement and said, "The only way you can get that good that fast is to play for 14 hours a day. I hope he doesn't burn out."

So do I. Tintinalli has a lot of blues in him and I really look forward to his future growth. He has the talent to become legendary.