Bman's Blues Report

Raised on Maui, Willie Kahaiali’i (a.k.a.Willie K.) has been playing music and entertaining audiences since the age of 10. His father Manu Kahaiali’i, one of Hawaii’s most respected musicians, recruited Willie and his brothers to perform in his band. From the very beginning, Willie was influenced by and exposed to a myriad of musical genres; from the Hawaiian, Jazz, and early R&B he heard at his father’s side, to the sounds emanating from the radio and TV from musical giants such as B.B. King, Santana, Jimi Hendrix, and Willie Nelson. It is no wonder why Willie has evolved into such an eclectic and charismatic singer/songwriter/entertainer. By his high school graduation, Willie was playing in as many as 8 bands from country and western, salsa, rhythm and blues, rock, and of course Hawaiian. A few years later he moved to San Francisco determined to make it in the music scene there. After several years in California, Willie gained some notoriety opening for groups such as Cecilio and...

Son Bonds (March 16, 1909 – August 31, 1947) was an American country blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a working associate of both Sleepy John Estes and Hammie Nixon, and was similar in his guitar playing style. According to Allmusic journalist, Jim O'Neal, "the music to one of Bonds's songs, "Back and Side Blues" (1934), became a standard blues melody when Sonny Boy Williamson I from nearby Jackson, Tennessee, used it in his classic "Good Morning, School Girl"." The best known of Bonds's other works are "A Hard Pill To Swallow" and "Come Back Home." Born in Brownsville, Tennessee, Bonds was also billed on record as "Brownsville" Son Bonds, and Brother Son Bonds. Sleepy John Estes earlier recorded work had used backing from Yank Rachell (mandolin) or Hammie Nixon (harmonica), but by the late 1930s he was accompanied in the recording studio by either Bonds or Charlie Pickett (guitar). Bonds also backed ...

Formed in 2010 from Columbus Georgia. Nickie Thompson - Vocals/Guitar Tyler McDaniel - Bass/Vocals Chris Wyatt - Drums/Vocals If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

For three decades, San Jose harmonica player Gary Smith has been an influential figure in the San Francisco Bay Area Blues scene. His band was the first to grace the stage at the inaugural San Francisco Blues Festival way back in 1973. Long regarded as the Godfather of San Jose Blues Harmonica, he really demonstrates his harp playing prowess and Little Walter influenced tone on Blues For Mr. B. If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

Born in Cabinda (Angola) Eastern Africa on Aug. 7, 1957, Nuno Mindelis became a guitar enthusiast at the very young age of 5. By the age of 9 he began building and playing self-made guitars. A primary influence at that time was Otis Redding and his great rhythm section, Booker T. & The MG's, made up of Booker T., Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, and Al Jackson. Nuno continues to enjoy the work of these musicians to this day. Because of a civil war, which made Nuno lose everything he had, he had to run out of his country at the age of seventeen. He joined an older cousin in Canada. He remained there for about a year, jamming where possible and increasing his guitar knowledge. In 1976, following a year of separation from his family, he decided to rejoin them in their newfound home of Brazil. Nothing eventful happened until 1990, when an independent recording he had made there began to receive airplay on local radio stations. In 1991 he was invited to record his debut...

Scottyboy Daniel has a new recording available and it is really a cooker! Mercy! is a tribute to the late William Clarke. Daniel recruited Clarke's guitar player (a great choice) and together they have crafted and released an exceptional grouping of 13 of Clarke's tracks. The recording opens with Blowin' Like Hell , a real crap kicker! (Stilladog... if you don't have this...get it! This is right up your alley man!) This instrumental track gives Daniel a chance to open with a bang and he doesn't let up much from here. Next up is Lonesome Bedroom Blues , a slower paced harp driven blues track. Daniel sings the lead and plays harp. The balance of the band is Matt Browning (bass), Jerry Riccardi (drums), Joe Mika (guitar), Mike Sedovic (keys) and of course Markowski on guitar. Lookin' To The Future is a cool shuffle tune again featuring Daniel on harp. Daniel has exceptional harp tone and chops. Sedovic takes the opportunity to play a key solo on this track but ...

Todd Rhodes (August 31, 1900 – June 4, 1965) was an American pianist and arranger and was an early influence in jazz and later on in R&B. He was born Todd Washington Rhodes, in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Rhodes attended both the Springfield School of Music and the Erie Conservatory, studying as pianist and songwriter. In the early 1920s he played with Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins, Fats Waller, Rex Stewart, Doc Cheatham, and Don Redman in McKinney's Cotton Pickers, a jazz group. Rhodes lived and played in Detroit in the 1930s. In the late 1940s he started his own group, Todd Rhodes and His Toddlers, and started doing more R&B arrangements. With his Toddlers, he recorded "Your Daddy's Doggin' Around" and "Your Mouth Got a Hole In It." Rhodes also worked with Hank Ballard, The Chocolate Dandies and Wynonie Harris. He featured African American female lead singers, such as Connie Allen, who recorded "Rocket 69" in 1951. After she left the band...

Reissuers have unearthed little information about Dan Pickett: He may have come from Alabama, he played a nice slide guitar in a Southeastern blues style, and he did one recording session for the Philadelphia-based Gotham label in 1949. That session produced five singles, all of which have now been compiled along with four previously unreleased sides on a reissue album that purports to contain Pickett's entire recorded output -- unless, of course, as some reviewers have speculated, Dan Pickett happens also to be Charlie Pickett, the Tennessee guitarist who recorded for Decca in 1937. As Tony Russell observed in Juke Blues, both Picketts recorded blues about lemon-squeezing, and Dan uses the name Charlie twice in the lyrics to "Decoration Day." 'Tis from such mystery and speculation that the minds of blues collectors do dissolve. If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for y...

Bobby Parker (born August 31, 1937, Lafayette, Louisiana) is an American blues-rock guitarist. He is best known for his 1961 song, "Watch Your Step", a single for the V-Tone Records label that became a hit on the US R&B chart. Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, but raised in Los Angeles, California, Parker first aspired to a career in entertainment at a young age. By the 1950s, Parker had started working on electric guitar with several blues and R&B bands of the time, with his first stint being with Otis Williams and the Charms. Over the next few years, he also played lead guitar with Bo Diddley (including an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show), toured with Paul Williams, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, LaVern Baker, Clyde McPhatter, and the Everly Brothers. In the waning years of the decade, he also toured with Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Little Richard. His first single was recorded in 1958, while he was working primarily with Williams' band, and was titled "Blues Ge...

For 50 years, John Koerner has explored the ranges of traditional American song, as a solo artist and with a variety of partners. All of his 1960’s recordings are reissued on CD: Blues, Rags and Hollers; Lots More Blues Rags and Hollers; and The Return of Koerner, Ray & Glover, (cornerstones of the blues revivalist era, recorded with Dave Ray and Tony Glover), and Running, Jumping, Standing Still, (a blend of jug band, psychedelic R&B and folk-blues, with (Willie Murphy). Two 1970s albums recorded on Dave Ray's Sweet Jane label, Music Is Just A Bunch Of Notes and Some American Folk Songs Like They Used To are now collector's items. His 1986 recording Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Been and the 1992 raised by humans, both with Boston's "Mr. Bones" John Burrill, and others, reflect Koerner’s deep appreciation of the traditional song. StarGeezer, recorded in New Orleans, adds the Louisiana sounds of Reggie Houston, Amasa Miller and Johnny Vidacovich with ...

- Red Nelson (Nelson Wilborn, 31 August 1907, Sumner, Mississippi, USA) was a Chicago-based vocalist, and possibly a guitarist, but not a pianist, despite frequent reports to that effect. He was given interesting and varied accompanists during his recording career, which began in 1935, and was a fine singer with a telling falsetto, although he often held himself emotionally in check, possibly to accommodate the 30s fashion for the laconic. His 1935/6 Decca recordings with Cripple Clarence Lofton, though less considered, are outstanding, with ‘Crying Mother Blues’ an unquestionable masterpiece, while his 1947 titles for Aladdin, with James Clark on piano, are almost as good. Last seen working with Muddy Waters in the 60s, Nelson was an amiable alcoholic with a penchant for double entendres, as might be inferred from the ebullient ‘Dirty Mother Fuyer’, which he recorded in 1947 under the pseudonym ‘Dirty Red’. If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m...

The Joanna Connor Band is a frequent attraction not only at leading blues nightspots but also as a featured act at major festivals in the USA and Canada. Joanna has also developed a strong following in Europe, South America and Japan. As a result of many overseas appearances, in Germany she became very popular after being featured several times on national television. Joanna Connor is a complete electric guitar package and vocalist extraordinaire. She covers the range of modern blues, slide guitar and blues rock with her own compositions very much influenced by funk, rock, jazz and world music as well as delta blues. Her sense of melody, phrasing and dynamics along with a very modern technique make her a very funky, soulful and compelling guitarist. As for vocal abilities, if Joanna wasn't a guitarist, she could easily be a lead singer in any band. Joanna Connor Band has many CD's released during the years. They can be found in major bookstores and top music stores. If...

For over 16 years now TRICK BAG has amazed audiences all over Scandinavia, Europe & the US with their Energetic, Explosive Live-shows and 3 full length CDs all containing original songs... Nowadays Trickbag is regarded a top act on the Swedish Blues scene and is well known for being one of the best back-up bands in the business. The band has become the number 1 choice for numerous Bluesartists when touring in Europe, such as: KID RAMOS (US), JOHN NÉMETH (US), BARRELHOUSE CHUCK (US), GENE TAYLOR (US), WEST WESTON (UK), "LITTLE GEORGE" SUEREF (UK), EGIDIO "JUKE" INGALA (ITA), KURT CRANDALL (US), MIKE BOURNE (US) etc. Trickbag has also shared stages with stars like: Kim Wilson, Jackie Payne, Kirk Fletcher, Earl Thomas, Sven Zetterberg etc etc... Their latest record "Tailor-Made" was voted "SWEDENS BEST BLUESALBUM 2007" featuring GENE TAYLOR (T-Birds,Canned Heat,The Blasters etc) on Piano & Organ! In 2007 frontman TOMMY MOBERG & Bassplaye...

To describe a band such as Howlin' Bill in a few words isn't easy. Since more than ten years this quartet is working hard to achieve their musical goals. They mainly play original songs, but every now and than you can hear them play a well chosen cover. The Howlin' Bill style is a mixture of Blues, Rock 'n' Roll, Boogie, Swing, Rock, Rockabilly etc.... There is only one must: every song has to contain a very high hipshaking level. The band recorded in 2003 its first album “Cool it!” and it was very well received by the press. Everybody was asking for more and so, the second album “Strike” was released in 2006. In 2009 the band recorded a live album at the well known Ancienne Belgique Club in Brussels. This record contains exactly what Howlin' Bill stands for: an exciting night of action on stage, pumping roots music with lyrics about good and bad women, booze, old shoes, mice with an attitude and romantic love stories. The band stands for a journey through all t...

Smokin’ guitarist and singer Guitar Ray went home to Italy to record his latest dvd, “As The Years Go Passing By”, and the result is an eclectic mix of styles that recalls the great masters of blues guitar, his biggest inspirations: T-Bone Walker, the great B.B. King, Johnny Guitar Watson and the Chicago guitarist Otis Rush. Born and raised in Chiavari, Italy, in 1963, Guitar Ray started to play music at the age of thirteen. He soon got his first real guitar, a Fender Strat, bought with his own pocket money and still with him after 30 years of career. Felt in love with the Blues after listening to the classic records of Jimmy Reed, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, T-Bone Walker, he never stopped to keep the Blues alive. Soon after coming off the road, he got a call to do a tour with California Blues guitarist Otis Grand and everything changed: Otis wanted to produce “New Sensation” Ray’s first record, and the second, “Poorman Blues”, came naturally. Immediately top 5 on “Pool 2008...

I just received a copy of the new release (UK date August 27, 2012), Nothin' But Love by Robert Cray . It's unbelievable that this is actually Cray's 16th album and it's as fresh as his first. The recording opens with (Won't Be) Coming Home with Cray's signature soulful smooth vocals and gripping guitar work. Cray has carved a niche for himself to where his music is totally distinguishable from everyone else with only a few notes yet preserves it's freshness and unique character. Robert crafts stories of torn love affairs set to R&B based blues track. Worry has a little quicker pace and Cray weaves his story punctuated with clean knife like guitar riffs. On I'll Always Remember You You Cray slows it down and presents his beautiful guitar work behind a full brass section. Using a smooth jazzy swing Cray directs a very seductive musical track that is evenly balanced between instrumental and vocal components. The guitar soloing on this track is par...

Ironing Board Sam at Blues To Bop in Switzerland Just after the release of his album Ninth Wonder , Ironing Board Sam has hopped on a plane to Europe in order to play the Blues To Bop festival in Lugano, Switzerland. Blues To Bop, Sam's first European gig as a Music Maker Partner Artist, hosts a variety of free concerts in the Lugano town square. Sam is part of a diverse lineup of musicians, and he's looking forward to playing for new audiences! He'll play three shows, today, tomorrow and Friday. We'll make sure to let you know how Sam's trip to Switzerland was when he gets back - we know the residents of Lugano are in for a treat! More info on Blues To Bop here . Diggin': "Girl" I've seen Leyla McCalla , a Music Maker Next Generation Artist, play live several times, and this is one of my favorites to hear. The song itself is not a happy one, necessarily, but Leyla's mournful cello and plaint...

Mercy Dee Walton (August 3, 1915 – December 2, 1962) was an American jump blues pianist, singer and songwriter, whose compositions ran the gamut from lowdown blues to jumping R&B numbers. According to journalist Tony Russell in his book The Blues - From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray, "Walton created a series of memorable blues about the unattractiveness of rural life, sardonically aimed at the black migrant workers in southern California who constituted his typical audience" Born in Waco, Texas, United States, he moved to California just before World War II.He started playing piano at age 13 and learned his style from many of the ten-cent party house pianists that played out in the country on weekends, but had to earn his living in the fields chopping cotton, picking grapes or cutting spinach to make ends meet. During this time, the man who impressed him the most with his playing was Delois Maxey, who never had an opportunity to record. In 1949, Walton made his first reco...

Luther 'Snake Boy ' Johnson (aka Luther 'Georgia Boy' Johnson) was born in Davisborough/ Georgia, in 1934. He began to play guitar behind Gospel groups in churchs on Sundays, and blues in clubs on Fridays & Saturdays nights. After moving to Chicago, and at the recommandation of Otis Spann, he joined in 1967 the Muddy Waters Blues Band for two years. After that, he moved to Boston where he formed in own band. He died of cancer at the early age of 42, laying behind him some really good studio or live performances as Get down to the Nitty Gritty, Lonesome in my bedroom or this special album: They call me the Snake (sessions from 1970 to 72) If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

JAMES YANCY JONES, known as THE TAIL DRAGGER, is a long-time disciple of Howlin' Wolf; in fact, the Wolf gave James the moniker "Tail Dragger" emanating from one of the Wolf's now-classic songs. The Tail Dragger followed Wolf from club- to-club, watching and getting pointers from the larger-then-life Howlin' Wolf for more than 20 years. The Wolf allowed "The Dragger" to perform his blues while Wolf took a break on weekend shows. Soon "The Dragger" was playing his own numerous club dates on the West and South Sides of Chicago. TAIL DRAGGER is from Altheimer, Arkansas and during his formative years he saw Sonny Boy Williamson and Boyd Gilmore perform at house parties and country suppers. Dragger soon heard the records of Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters and Elmore James and his musical tastes were set in stone. Tail Dragger remains intensely loyal to his early influences. The Tail Dragger, by his own admission, sings only lowdown blues. "Lowdown blu...

THE BRAND NEW STUDIO ALBUM AFTERGLOW UK RELEASE: MONDAY 29th OCTOBER 2012 Black Country Communion the Anglo-American rock group comprising vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Trapeze), drummer Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin, Foreigner), Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Alice Cooper, Billy Idol) and blues-rock guitarist/vocalist Joe Bonamassa , release their third album, ‘Afterglow’ , via Mascot Records on Monday October 29th. Just like its two predecessors, ‘Afterglow’ was overseen by Kevin Shirley , whose catalogue of hit records for Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, Journey, The Black Crowes and many more has made him the hottest producer that rock music has to offer. Shirley – who had the idea of putting Hughes and Bonamassa together in a band together after seeing them jamming onstage in Los Angeles back in November 2009 – is the group’s unofficial ‘fifth member’. The additions of Jason Bonham, esteemed son of Led Zeppelin’s John, who took his...