Bo Diddley Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and a Grammy Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He is also recognized for his technical innovations, including his distinctive rectangular guitar, with its unique booming, resonant, shimmering tones. Born in McComb, Mississippi, as Ellas Otha Bates, he was adopted and raised by his mother's cousin, Gussie McDaniel, whose surname he assumed. In 1934, the McDaniel family moved to the South Side of Chicago, where he dropped the Otha and became Ellas McDaniel. He was an active member of Chicago's Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he studied the
Blues, Ballads and Beyond well he plays the trombone...Unbelievable! Remarkable playing. What being a true musician is all about."" Jean-Yves Duperron - Classical Music Sentinel ""Trombonist Mark Hetzler has assembled a collection of contemporary trombone compositions that brighten the light on this often ill-considered instrument on his Blues, Ballads, and Beyond: Influences Outside the Concert Hall."" C. Michael Bailey - All About Jazz ""Listeners seeking excellent interpretations of the familiar works on this album with find it. Those seeking newer works with influences beyond the concert hall will be even better served by this album."" Jeremy Kolwinska - ITA Journal Blues, Ballads and Beyond