Nat Riddles

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Nat Riddles (1952-1991) was a blues harmonica player who played an important role in the New York City blues scene during the late 1970s and mid-1980s. Born in Bronxville, a Westchester County suburb of New York, he was educated at Brooklyn College and the Pratt Institute. In the early 1980s, he became known in New York blues circles for his street performances with guitarist Charlie Hilbert as part of a free-form duo that he labeled "El Cafe Street."

Riddles performed with Larry Johnson and Odetta as well as Hilbert. He recorded several albums with Johnson--one produced by Len Kunstadt for Spivey Records, one produced by Horst Lipmann--and a solo album on Spivey entitled "The Artistry of Nat Riddles." He also contributed several cuts to a Spivey series of LPs entitled "New York Really Has the Blues."

Riddles died of leukemia in August 1991.

Sources:

Gussow, Adam. Mister Satan's Apprentice: A Blues Memoir (Pantheon Books, 1998).

Nat Riddles discography [1]

Nat Riddles and Charlie Hilbert: El Cafe Street Live! [2]