The Hollywood Blue Flames began life in 1975 as The Hollywood Fats Band, led by guitar phenomenon Michael "Hollywood Fats" Mann, and featuring what was arguably the best traditional blues line-up this side of 1954 - the multi-talented Al Blake on harmonica and vocals, legendary bassist Larry Taylor from Canned Heat, veteran drummer Richard Innes, and featuring Lloyd Glenn protege Fred Kaplan on piano. Sadly, Fats passed away unexpectedly in 1986, and the band members all went on to other successful musical ventures.Now they"ve reunited for one of the most anticipated blues releases in years, under the banner The Hollywood Blue Flames - appropriately named, as they both fired and carry the torch of the blues into a new millennium. And to fill the huge musical shoes of Fats, no one could be a better choice than Kirk Fletcher, a young man who was literally raised on the sounds pioneered by the original incarnation of this band. Fletcher plays with the taste and power that truly does justice to not only this band"s illustrious legacy but also the blues masters who inspired them.The Hollywood Blue Flames literally burn their way through a set of fresh originals sprinkled with well-chosen covers on their new CD Soul Sanctuary. This is blues with both a history and a future - and it"s as fresh as today. It doesn"t get any better than The Hollywood Blue Flames.