John Mayall"s death, on July 22, 2024, aged ninety, devastated blues fans throughout the world. As a harmonica player, keyboard player and guitarist Mayall was accomplished but as a bandleader he was extraordinary, with a remarkable gift for identifying talented musicians and creating a context that enabled their talents to flourish. In the 1960s alone his band The Bluesbreakers variously included Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce, who went on to form Cream; Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, who went on to form Fleetwood Mac; Mick Taylor, who went on to join The Rolling Stones; Jon Hiseman, Tony Reeves and Dick Heckstall-Smith, who went on to form Colosseum; Andy Fraser, who went on to form Free; and so on and so on. Mayall had several British chart albums in the 1960s, including Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton, surely the most influential British blues album ever. But in the 1970s he began to struggle. "There was a period I couldn"t even get a record deal although we continued to play live as much as always," he said. Reuniting with earlier band members Mick Taylor, John McVie and Colin Allen for a tour seemed to refocus Mayall and in 1984 he formed the Bluesbreakers lineup that features on The Power Of The Blues Part II, featuring guitarists Walter Trout and Coco Montoya. Both Trout and Montoya hugely admired Mayall"s bandleading skills with Trout telling "You won"t find a more accomplished bandleader. What I learned from watching him was that being a bandleader is a talent in itself. He was fun and humorous." The Trout/Montoya Bluesbreakers inevitably ran its course. Drummer Joe Yuele stayed with Mayall until 2008 but Trout and Montoya left in 1989 and 1993 respectively, to lead their own bands. Bassist Bobby Haynes also left, in 1990, to form a jazz band, before his death on July 31, 2018, aged 83.