Blind Blake (c.1896-c.1934) was an American blues and ragtime guitarist and singer, one of the most technically dazzling guitarists of the early recording era. His real identity remains partly uncertain, but the records are unmistakable.

His Paramount recordings from the 1920s show extraordinary fingerpicking fluency, rhythmic snap and comic verbal flair. In the Pristine catalogue he appears through early blues reissues.

Blind Blake’s guitar style could sound like a whole rhythm section in two hands, mixing ragtime complexity with blues bite. The playing is light on its feet and astonishingly intricate.

He remains one of the giants of pre-war blues guitar. The biography may be shadowed, but the fingers left sparks all over the shellac.