Nobody expected it to happen this soon, but the Iowa Values Fund is up for its first performance evaluation, and the results are mixed. The program - which was supposed to attract high-paying positions in natural areas of growth for Iowa such as agriculture - has brought new jobs, but not nearly as many as promised.

Longtime fans of Rod Piazza know that the pinnacle for the harmonica-player and leader of The Mighty Flyers came with 1994's Live at B.B. King's Blues Club. After all, what better way to capture the blistering showmanship of this band than with a live record? "It's kind of a hallmark album for me," Piazza said.

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown will not have the blues when he performs at the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival this weekend and receives the RiverRoad Lifetime Achievement Award. There's too much music in him. He plays guitar, harmonica, violin, mandolin, viola, and drums, and he simply doesn't abide by any musical boundaries, comfortable in the Cajun music of his birthplace and the Texas blues and country styles of his youth, along with jazz and R&B and calypso and pretty much anything else he can get his hands on.

W.C. Clark is something of a legend in his native Austin, Texas, having been a key player in the integration of the blues scene, giving a boost to artists such as the fiery guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. But it wasn't until 2002 - after Clark dedicated himself to his music in a new way - that he started to get his due.