Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Do What Your Heart Says To , from Scott Ramminger and it's a gumbo of great tracks. Opening with mambo, Living Too Fast , George Porter Jr. on bass and Doug Belote on drusm set a great table for Scott Ramminger's vocal and sax work. David Torkanowsky dresses the track nicely with super piano work, joined by Eric Lucero on trumpet, Rick Trolsen and Greg Hicks on trombone and Shane Theriot on guitar. Great opener. Really slamming the New Orleans feel, title track, Do What Your Heart Says To finds local grown(Phoenix) talent Francine Reed joining Ramminger on a great duet. Scott is up front on sax and Torkanowsky's piano work is strong. Funky, Give A Pencil To A Fish , really has a serious groove with excellent key work by Torkanowsky and super punctuation by Theriot and Ramminger on sax. Ramminger's vocals are really nicely complimented by the McCrary Sisters making this one of my favorites on the release...

MAVIS STAPLES, MAGIC SLIM, JOHNNY COPELAND, HENRY GRAY AND LATIMORE ARE AMONG THE NEWEST MEMBERS OF THE BLUES HALL OF FAME  Six performers, one album, five singles, one book and one magazine founder will be inducted at the Blues Foundation’s 38th Annual Induction Ceremony on May 10 MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Blues Foundation welcomes the 38th class of Blues Hall of Fame inductees in a ceremony taking place on May 10, 2017. This year’s 14 richly deserving honorees represent all five of the Hall of Fame’s categories: Performers, Non-Performing Individuals, Classic of Blues Literature, Classic of Blues Recording (Song) and Classic of Blues Recording (Album). The six performers chosen for induction ...

Award-Winning Singer/Songwriter Eric Bibb Shines a Light on Migration Blues with New CD Coming March 31 from Stony Plain Records EDMONTON, AB – Stony Plain Records announces a March 31 release date for Migration Blues , the new album from Blues Music Award-winning singer/songwriter Eric Bibb. The new album showcases Eric Bibb’s talents on vocals, guitars, six-string banjo and contrabass guitar, backed by a group that features Michael Jerome Browne (guitars, vocals, banjos, mandolin and triangle) and JJ Milteau (harmonica). Migration Blues was produced by Bibb, Browne and Milteau. Watch a video of the making of Migration Blues here: Mainly composed of new tunes, the 15 tracks on Migration Blues also include covers of Bob Dylan’s “Masters of War” and Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land.” An arrangement of the traditional “Mornin’ Train,” closes the opus. “Whether you’re looking at a former sharecropper, hitchhiking from Clarksdale to Chicago in 1923...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Cradle To The Grave , by Cary Morin and it's quite good. Opening with blues number and title track, Cradle To The Grave , Cary Morin accompanies himself on acoustic guitar with blues fused passion. Moving more to a country blues styling with tight and distinct finger picking which is used through most of the rest of the release, Morin's vocals are warm and inviting.  Willie Brown's Mississippi Blues nuzzles in a little closer with a nice blues vamp, Phish's Back On The Train  has a little bit of rag feel and Prince's Nothing Compare 2 U is a particularly nice arrangement... hard to say, but I like it better than others I have heard. Wrapping the release is Watch Over Me , a track with more of a Richie Havens feel. This is a happy kind of blues release and one that is interesting to listen to over and over. I really like where Cary is going and wish him the best.   If you support live ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Unleashed , from Dave Fields and it's over the top! I've had the opportunity to review a few of Dave Fields' releases and each one gets progressively more aggressive and wild... and that's good. Opening with Anticipating You , Fields is surrounded with a great crew of musicians including Kenny Soule on drums, Erik Boyd on bass, Vladimir Barsky on keys and Doug Hinrichs on percussion. This is a super rolling jazz number and one that really showcases Boyds' bass style and Fields fluidity on outrageous riffs. Excellent opener. On Don Nix 's Going Down Fields, Sam Bryant on drums and Andy Huenerberg on bass crack open Jeff Beck 's mix on this track and wind it up. Throwing every guitar riff know to man at it, this track kicks ass in contemporary style. My Mama's Got The Blues has a cool swagger and cutting guitar riffs under the lead vocal and melody. Backed by Boyd on bass and JT Lauritse...

THE YARDBIRDS, MITCH RYDER, ROBBY KREIGER, JO-EL SONNIER, BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY, LAZY LESTER, DWAYNE DOPSIE, BIG CHIEF MONK BOUDREAUX & THE GOLDEN EAGLES DOUG KERSHAW AND MICHAEL DOUCET, HEADLINE 28th ANNUAL SIMI VALLEY CAJUN & BLUES MUSIC FESTIVAL , SATURDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 27-28 Los Angeles area’s largest Cajun, Zydeco, Blues and Roots music festival, featuring two stages, a Mardi Gras parade, crafts and dozens of food booths, takes place Memorial Day weekend. The Yardbirds Lazy Lester Miitch Ryd...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Rockers , by John Ginty featuring vocalist Aster Pheonyx and it has a whole different dimension. Opening with powerhouse, The Shark , Ginty melds his notorious Hammond sound with Justine Gardner on outrageous funky bass and Maurice "mOe" Watson on drums for my favorite track on the release right out of the chute. Excellent! Rocker, Lucky 13 is up next and with Paul Kuzik's driving bass and Watson's drum work, lead vocalist, Aster Pheonyx takes command with Grace Slick like style. Ginty's key work, is aggressively complimented by the guitar work of Mike Buckman and Jimmy Bennett. With an easy pace and solid melody, Target On The Ground , is a tidy radio track with bluesy vocals and a light funk in the bottom. Ginty cranks up the heat on Hammond giving the track a bit more heft. Mr. Blues is a lumbering blues rocker with a cool lead riff by Ginty that drives the track, reinforced by Gardner's b...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Talk About That , from John Mayall and it's diverse with a wealth of blues. Opening with title track, Talk About That , John Mayall steps up with a funky blues track, bucked by Rocky Athas on guitar, Greg Rzab on bass and Jay Davenport on drums. Mayall's vocals are solid with super funky organ and cool bass riffs. Blues rocker, It's Hard Going Up has a nice guitar vamp and cool horn work from Ron Dziubla on sax, Mark Pender on trumpet and Nick Lane on trombone. Funky blues number, The Devil Must Be Laughing has a sweet guitar intro and soloing by Joe Walsh and with it's dark overtones, is one of my favorite tracks on the release. New Orleans flavored, Gimme Some Of That Gumbo , highlights the drum work of Davenport and Mayall's piano playing is super of course with terrific horn work. Athas breaks loose with hot riffs of his own on this one adding flame to an already smoking track. Chicago style bl...