Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Betting on a Gambling Man , from Dwane Dixon and it's a cool blues rocker. Opening with rockabilly style title track, Betting on a Gambling Man , Dwane Dixon plays every note on the release with super vocals, solid guitar lead, bass and drums. On A World Of Hurt , Dixon's guitar tone is fat and meaty with cool Frank Marino like phrasing, broad stereophonic wizardry and a tight bottom. laying back in the pocket a bit on I Buried Your Bones , Dixon crafts a cool western style ballad on what may be my favorite track on the release. With it's solid melody, nicely blended vocals and a cool harmonica solo, it's likely the top radio selection on the release. Cool shuffle, Whiskey You Don't Lie , has a strong bass line and power vocals. A swinging country rocker, this track really moves. Wrapping the release is instrumental. The Awakening , with it's heavy bottom and eastern flavor. Dixon uses this "St...

  I just had the opportunity to review the newest release Plug In & Play, from Tommy Z and I really like it. Opening with Pumpin' (Let's Have Some Fun) , a full bodied texas blues shuffle, Tommy lets the riffs roll off of his fingers like molasses.  His riffs are sweet, fat and juicy and his phrasing is solid. With Tom Scime on keys pumping up the fullness, Tommy really lets it fly and  David Hulett on drums and Dave Herr on bass, this is a really solid opener. Slow blues, Please Come Back To Me , is one of my favorites on the release with strong vocals by Tommy and controlled lead work that is really effective at raising the tension, balanced with Scime's organ work. Very nice. Title track, P lug in And Play has Rolling Stones or LS style attack on a driving rocker. Tommy MacDonald's bass playing and Tom Hambridge on drums have this track anchored and Z's vocals work great with his guitar swagger. Scowler has a strong radio melody and solid vocal blending by ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Joy Machine , from Circus Mind and it's a funky music party. Opening with Are You Ready? , lead vocalist and keyboard player, Mark Reehler sets the pace backed by Chris Crosby on bass, Dave Berg on guitar, Dane roth on drums and Steve Finkelstein on percussion and featuring Brandon "Taz" Niederauer with an outrageous guitar solo. Solid opener.  Air Waves is another track with a funk laden backbeat but leaning more to jazz rock. With strong vocal blending and cool percussion by Finkelstein, this track has cool radio appeal. Longing Song is laid back and adventurous featuring rechler backing himself on keys and with a cool guitar solo by Nels Cline. One of my favorite tracks on the release, JazzFest Time has that New Orleans pumped up street jazz sound featuring Pablo Rodriquez on trombone, Michael Amendola on alto sax, Damien Pacheco on trumpet and Richard Bomzer on bari sax. This track really hums with t...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (July 16, 2021), Troublemaker , from Clint Morgan and it's a lot of fun. Opening with Hangman Woman a cool country flavored rocker, Clint Morgan is on lead vocal with a casual Johnny Cash like approach. backed by Wendy Moten and the McCrary Sisters on vocal, Doug Lancio and John Del Toro Richardson on guitar, Kevin McKendree on piano, David Santos on bass, and Kenneth Blevins on drums, this is a hot opener. On traditional track, Go Down, Moses, Morgan's lead vocal, complimented nicely by Ann McCrary and Regina McCrary over a nicely orchestrated backing this track is very strong.  On a cover of Johnny Cash's Big River , Morgan nicely blends Cash's style with Ray Charles and the addition of Lancio's baritone guitar work and Jim Hoke on sax really hits the spot. One track that stands out as totally different is spoken word over a blues rocking rhythm, It's Rough Out Here with jamming guitar riffs, Mc...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Between Midnight and Louise , from Chris Gill and it's a cool folk blues release. Opening with Thank You For Another Day , Chris Gill slips right into the pocket with this nicely finger picked country blues instrumental. With thoughts of Honey Boy Edwards and Hubert Sumlin, delta style blues, Song For Honeyboy has great bones with Gill showing his absolute knowledge of delta style guitar playing. Very cool. Another beefy, delta style track is Fleas and Ticks showing really nice acoustic blues guitar riffs and a solid melody/vocal combo.  With a solid grip on a baritone  guitar, Gill really makes his slide talk. Fat tones and slide belong together. Magic. Wrapping the release is title track, Between Midnight and Louise . This track has a more contemporary ballad feel with a quiet melody played through a 31 National Duolian. It's metal body rings nicely throughout the lush melody. Cool closer.  ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (May 21, 2021), Bang At The Door, from Donna Herula and it's a cool mix of country, blues and pop. Opening with title track, Bang At the Door, Herula shows a real strength at pop music blending a strong melody backing herself on resonator, and with FJ Ventre on bass and Dana Thalheimer on drums. With a Latin beat, Pass The Biscuits is a cool track with a captivating beat. Herula's vocals and resonator work over the  snappy drum work of  Thalheimer, Doug Hammer on piano, Ventre on bass Tony Pons on trumpet and Rebecca Toon on backing vocals is a solid track. Acoustic ballad, Promise Me features Tony Nardiello on acoustic guitar, Jon Shain on mandolin and Ventre on bass under the solid vocal and resonator of Herula. Black Ice is one of my favorite tracks on the release with Herula playing in a pure country blues finger pick/slide technique backed by Ventre on percussion. Very nice. Bukka White's Fixin' To ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Let's Get Happy Together , from Maria Muldaur and Tuba Skinny and it's captures the sound of the 20's and 30's. Opening with I Like You Best of All, Muldaur on vocal and Shaye Cohn on wild cornet, Todd Burdick on the anchor ... tuba, Barnabus Jones on super trombone, Jason Lawrence on 6 string banjo, Craig Flory with a great clarinet solo, Greg Sherman on guitar, Max Bien Kahn on guitar and Rubin Rupuzzi on washboard. I really like the clarinet / cornet play off each other. It sets the stage nicely and Jones is a strong trombone player so his work with Muldaur's vocals are classic. Taking the pace down quite a bit on Delta Bound , Flory and Jones again really work the track and Burdick's tuba work is terrific under Muldaur's vocals. I Go For That has great pace and excellent instrumental weaving that is so important in this period music as well as all Dixieland music. Very nice. One of Muldaur...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Not In My Lifetime , from Wee Willie Walker and the Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra and I really like it! Opening with R&B track, Don't Let Me Get In Your Way Wee Willie Walker is strutting up front with the mic, backed by Anthony Paule on guitar, Tony Lufrano on keys, Endre Tarczy on bass, Kevin Hayes on drums, Bill Ortiz on trumpet, Charles Mcneal on tenor sax, Rob Sudduth on bari sax, Derek James on trombone and terrific backing vocals by Larry Batiste, Sandy Griffith and Omega Rae on backing vocals. Shifting into soul, Over and Over is one of my favorite tracks on the release with excellent vocal phrasing and warm vocal  backing. Another sweet soul tune is Darling Mine with great feeling and strong guitar solo phrasing by Paule. With a high strut, Jon Thomas' Heartbreak really kicks in with the horns and organ blazing. Ortiz lays out a really nice trumpet solo giving this track a real kick but of course i...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (May 21, 2021), Trio In Tokyo from Rob Stone, Elena Kato and Hiroshi Eguchi and it's a solid entry in Chicago blues. Opening with shuffle, No Money , Stone on vocal and harmonica leads the way with Elena Kato on piano and Hiroshi Eguchi on bass. This is a cool acoustic piece with tight rhythm work. With R&B bones, Come Back Baby really showcases the strength of katon on piano under the lead vocal work of Stone. Very nice. Big Jay McNeely's classic R&B track,  There Is Something On Your Mind , gets an even bluesier feel with harmonica and the solid piano work of Kato under the strong vocals on Stone. Jump track, Jack You You're Dead , made popular by Louis Jordan and later by Joe Jackson is punched up with the fleet finger work of Kato, strong the bass line of Eguchi and the punchy harmonica and vocal work of Stone. Blow Fish Blow! is a strong instrumental featuring the lead harmonica soloing by Stone. H...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (May 21, 2021), Trio In Tokyo from Rob Stone, Elena Kato and Hiroshi Eguchi and it's a solid entry in Chicago blues. Opening with shuffle, No Money , Stone on vocal and harmonica leads the way with Elena Kato on piano and Hiroshi Eguchi on bass. This is a cool acoustic piece with tight rhythm work. With R&B bones, Come Back Baby really showcases the strength of katon on piano under the lead vocal work of Stone. Very nice. Big Jay McNeely's classic R&B track,  There Is Something On Your Mind , gets an even bluesier feel with harmonica and the solid piano work of Kato under the strong vocals on Stone. Jump track, Jack You You're Dead , made popular by Louis Jordan and later by Joe Jackson is punched up with the fleet finger work of Kato, strong the bass line of Eguchi and the punchy harmonica and vocal work of Stone. Blow Fish Blow! is a strong instrumental featuring the lead harmonica soloing by Stone. H...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Come Around, from Rob Lutes and I really like it. Opening with Knives , an easy folk rocker, singer/songwriter/guitar player, Rob Lutes sounds a bit like a modern day JJ Cale. With his country rock approach, the addition of dobro by Rob MacDonald, Solon McDade on bass, Bob Stagg on keys, and Mario Telaro on drums this is a cool opener. Lightning is another great track with Dylan like presentation and Band like orchestration. Very nice. Traditional track, In My Time of Dyin' has a cool lumbering blues (Maybe Mark Knopfler) feel and Lutes free flowing vocals really carry the track nicely over minimal guitar, drum and keys and with a chunky guitar lead. Very cool. Well saturated reverb on Amsterdam gives this primarily folk track a special feel. Lutes captures the essence of the moment and places it in time. Very nice. Wrapping the release is Away, a really nice acoustic instrumental between Lutes and MacDonald. The s...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (May 21, 2021), Surrender, from Clarence Spady and it's great! Opening with If My Life Was A Book , Clarence Spady on lead vocal oozes soul. Sharing guitar duties with Adam Schultz, and backed by Jon Ventre on bass Scott Brown on keys and Andy Pace on drums, this is a solid opener. One of my favorite tracks on the release, When My Blood Runs Cold, is a strong, slower number which really gives Spady a terrific backdrop for his powerful vocal effort and his soulful guitar runs which when blended with brown's keyboard work creates the perfect tension. A strong contender for radio track on the release is title track, Surrender with it's great blues bones, has a great melody and again shows off Spady's soulful vocal work. Very cool. Another really hot track is Addiction Game with it's slinky blues feel (think Walter Wolfman Washington or Johnny Guitar Washington). This track is smoky and gritty and really h...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Rising Up , from Alex Lopez and it's a solid blues rocker. Opening with Light It Up, a blues based rocker with a tight bottom Alex Lopez on guitar and vocal leads a tight ship of Kenny Hoye on keys, Steve Roberts on bass, and Kana Leimbach on drums. Title track, Rising Up , is a funky rocker with beefy organ work by Hoye and solid backing vocals by Latonya Oliver and Dana Merriwether giving  Lopez room for a cool solo of his own. Blues ballad, Not This Time is my favorite on the release with a memorable melody, solid instrumentation and inspired guitar work by Lopez. Very nice. Even Up The Score is a cool track built around the basic feel of Albert King's Born Under A Bad Sign... hard to go wrong with that bass figure. Wrapping the release is the radio track from the release, Smile with it's catchy melody and radio ready vocals. melodic guitar soloing and droning bass lines are the key to this solid entry. ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Money Ain't Time Live by The Halley DeVestern Band and it's a bluesy rock live show. Opening with Aretha's Chain Of Fools , Devestern sticks pretty close to Franklin's original arrangement with Thomas Heinig on bass, Steve Jabas on guitar, Dave Patterson on guitar and Rich Kulsar of drums. Shifting from soul to R&B/ blues and Joplin's Try , Devestern shows great attitude and style. Not travelling far from the original arrangement but interjecting a little Ten Years After DeVestern pumps up the track. Very cool. On original and title track, Money Ain't Time , the band gets real traction showing the texture of DeVestern's vocals and some real nice blues guitar riffs. Very nice. Bluesy ballad, American Pain is another strong track and one of my favorites on the release. With it's nice melody and rugged approach, it just hits the slot. Very nice. Everybody's favorite slow blues jam, T ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, You Gotta Have It , from Tia Carroll , and I really like it. Opening with Neo soul track, Ain't Nobody Worryin' Tia Carroll really has this release humming from the start. With guitar phenom, Charlie Hunter handling bass and guitar (at the same time) D'Mar on drums, Jim Pugh on organ and Carroll on lead vocal with James Walter and Dwayne Morgan on backing vocals, this track is hot. Carroll's vocals are so soulful on Even When I'm Not Alone , it makes you sweat. With Pugh's organ work, Kid Andersen on guitars, Steve Ehrmann on bass and Paul Revelli on drums, a strong track. With real blues swagger, Mama Told Me plays into the power of Carroll's voice with Andersen laying in some stinging guitar riffs over the power horns work of Mike Runta on trombone, Rob Sudduth on tenor sax, and Aaron Lington on bari sax. Excellent! Wrapping the release is Why Am I Treated So Bad with it's dark soulful soun...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (May 28, 2021), Whole Nother World , from Patti Parks ,  and it's a mix of blues, soul, funk and gospel. Opening with shuffle, I'm Trouble , Patti Parks sets a swing pace on lead vocal with Kenny Neal on lead guitar, Carlton Ross on rhythm guitar, Arlando O'Connor on bass, Fredrick Neal on keys, Michael Harris on drums Brandon Adams on organ, Guy Nirelli on organ and with some hot sax from Jason Parfait. On slower blues, More Than You'll Ever Know showcases Neal's soulful guitar lead working nicely with warm organ overtones by Adams surrounding some of Parks' best vocals on the release. A softer yet effective take on James Brown's It's A Man's Man's Man's World, Parks delivers on vocals, with strong support from Neal, O'Connor, and Harris. Neal shares the mic on straight up blues track, Baby Bee playing harmonica and guitar with little other backing. Pure blues... very nice. ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Spider In My Stew, from Bob Corritore and Friends and it's terrific. Opening with Tennessee Woman , Corritore on harmonica is joined by Oscar Wilson on vocal, Tony Tomlinson on guitar, Shea Marshall on piano and sax, Patrick Skog on bass and Alan West of drums and percussion. A solid Chicago style track with a Latin beat, this is a solid opener. Moving into a full on romp, Sugaray Rayfield has the lead on vocal on Big Mama's Soul Food , backed by Kid Ramos on guitar, Blake Watson on bass and Marty Dodson on drums. Great vocals by Rayford, Corritore's always always fine harmonica work and saucy guitar work by Ramos give this track real zing. Diunna Greenleaf is upfront on Don't Mess With the Messer and with a snappy drum beat by Andrew Guterman and hot sax work by Doug James, this track is strong. Lurrie Bell delivers really inspired lead vocal and guitar on title track Spider In My Stew with Bob Margolin ...