Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Boston Bananafish by Bananafish and it's a cool jam rocker. Opening with What's Been Going On? , Bananafish, led by vocalist, guitarist songwriter Fordham Murdy, (also known as Reverend Freakchild) begins this two cd release with a pop rocker with contemporary rock and country roots. Joined by Dan Simone on keys, Ben Chen and Ry Cavanaugh on bas and Joe Bulkin on drums. Casey And Hayes is a cool rocker with a spry beat. With it's story line flowing and it's hi low vocal Murdy and Simone) blending and piano lead, this is one of my favorites. Belpre at Night is a cool, blues based track with a vocal prominent beginning, developing into a solid guitar led guitar jam. Very cool. An interesting, folk like rework of Lennon and McCartney's With A Little Help From My Friends is pretty creative in itself with only traces of the original melody or arrangement. The second cd of this release contains all instru...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Just Gettin' Good , by Mighty Mike Schermer , and I really like it. Opening with title track, Just Gettin' Good , this release is off to a hot start. With Mighty Mike and Ms. Kimmy Pickens on lead vocal and the stinging guitar work of Mike out front, this track struts. With the fat bari sax work of Aaron Lington, and joined by Dmar on drums, Steve Ehrmann on bass, Tony Snead on organ, Eric Spaulding on tenor, Jeff Lewis on trumpet and Mike Rinta on trombone, this track is smokin'. On slow, soulful This Is Where My Love Is , Schermer sings a solid ballad and keeps the instrumentation to a minimum with Paul Revelli on drums, Steve Ehrmann on bass and Austin DeLone on organ.  On island track, The Hungry Dog , Schermer gets a calypso rhythm and the guys really get into the swing. June Core on drums, Kid Andersen on bass and vocal, Chris Burns on piano, Kimmy on percussion and Wally Pickins on vocal, this track is ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Shake The Roots , by Bennett Matteo Band and it's a funky, blues rocker. Opening with Doesn't Really Matter , a funky rocker, Jade Bennett on lead vocal is in charge. With Gino Matteo and Kid Andersen on guitar they are heavily armed and with Michael Burnham on funky bass, Carson Ford on drums, Jim Pugh and Kid Andersen on keys, Nic Clark on harmonica, Dmar on drums and with Lisa Leuschner, The Sons of the Soul Revivers and Kid Andersen on backing vocals, this is a great opener. Up tempo pop rocker, You're Nothing is a great showcase for Bennett,  Burnham really gets the bottom moving and Matteo's guitar solo is a ripper. Soulful, Paid & Broke is one of my favorites on the release with Bennett digging in deep vocally. With Pugh and Andersen on piano and organ, and perfectly placed guitar accents, this track has that warm Muscle Shoals feel. With it's drone bass line by Burnham and response vocals ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Tulsa Tea, from Brad Absher and the Superials and it's a blend of R&B, country, rock, and blues giving it familiar feel. Opening with Be The Love , an R&B flavored rocker, Brad Absher on vocal and guitar leads the way with Matt Martin on drums, Dylan Layton on bass, Jake Hemphill on guitar, EZ Mireless on keys, and Danny Timms on Wurlitzer and Hammond. Goodbye for Now has real radio potential with the warm feeling of Dobie Gray's Slip away. Rocker, As Hard As I Can , has a mix of country and R&B giving it a cool flavor. I particularly like the slide guitar solo on this track giving it just a little taste of country over the organ work of  Timms. Funky, Should Be Prayin' is a cool blues with a great beat. Absher's vocals on this track are my favorite on the release, working nicely with Timms on organ and backing vocals by Charlie Redd & Briana Wright. Wrapping the release is another solid...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Winter Hill Blues , from Ryan Lee Crosby and I like it. Opening with I'm Leaving , Crosby captures the Hill Country sound accompanying himself on guitar and backed by George Sluppick on drums and Mark Edgar Stuart on bass.   Title track, Winter Hill Blues is a really cool track showing Crosby's inclination to sing with a falsetto not unlike Skip James, his own natural voice actually being quite smooth. Crosby accompanies himself on guitar only and his guitar playing shows distinct Mali influence. Very nice. Going To Bentonia is another track that specifically caught my attention with particularly clean guitar playing, harmonic guitar tones and  falsetto vocals over a Hill Country style. Wrapping the release is Rev Robert Wilkins' Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down with Crosby on slide resonator and his natural voice. This is a really clean acoustic blues and a solid closer.    If you...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Deja Hoodoo , by Lew Jetton & 61 South and it's a solid blues rocker. Opening with Two Lane Road , band leader Lew Jetton's vocals have grit and swagger and his guitar lead is notable. With another solid guitar player in Sam Moore, Dan Bell on keys, guitar and bass, Erik Eicholtz on drums and Greg Walker on bass this band has a strong flavor of Skynyrd without any of the stale after taste of 1980. Waffle House Woman is a clever rag style blues with an easy delivery. With country blues style picking and light percussion, and the addition of Bob Lohr on keys this is surely a crowd favorite. JD Wilkes on harmonica opens Betcha , a romping boogie with a great driving beat. I can just see my pal Stilladog whistling this one and increasing the tempo as he goes with blazing slide guitar and Fred Hoover on keys. Really nice. Swampy, I Been Cheated , has the great feel of a CCR track and Jetton's vocals hard work ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Trying To Keep My Head Above Water , from Levee Town and it's a lot of fun. Opening with The Music Martyr , Levee Town, led by Brandon Hudspeth on vocal and guitar shows a bit of country influence but still rooted in the blues and rock. With Jacque Garoutte on bass and vocal and Adam Hagerman on drums, this is a solid, energetic opener. Little Milton's Lookin For My Baby has a traditional blues shuffle feel and Hudspeth's guitar work really rolls in the groove. Outside Child is a great blend of Bob Wills, Dan Hicks and Freddie King. With it's up tempo swing feel, lively vocals and fluid guitar riffs, this is one of my favorites on the release. Tarantino is a surf tune giving Hudspeth a wide range to lay in a lot of really nice stylized riffs. His naming the track Tarantino has to be a nod to QT's use of surf tracks in his movies and Levee Town really does an excellent job of spicing up this release. ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, I'll Worry If I Wanna , from Michael Rubin and I really like it. Opening with Little Rabbit , a cool shuffle. With an intro that parrots the Bunny Hop, Michael Rubin on lead vocal and harmonica sets a cool stage. Rubin has a great combination with his full harmonica voice and his own voice adds to the texture. Mike Keller on slide really does a great job backed by Michael Archer on bass, Mark Hays on drums and Emily Gimble on keys. Great opener. Go Milk Your Own Cow is a clever track with a zydeco feel. Rubin's vocal and harmonica is front and center but super adds by Dr. Sick on fiddle and Keller on guitar really make this track shine. With a rumba beat, Can We Break Up Again , is a really cool track with cool lyrical twists. Hays' drums pave the way but it's Rubin's wacky vocals and harmonica riffs that set this track out. Very cool. Blues jam and title track, I'll Worry If I Wanna really has a ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, At The Station , from Christopher Lockett and it's a cool blend of country, folk, rock and blues. Opening with The Reckoning , Christopher Lockett hits square on with military like precision. His vocals are strong and rugged and his electric guitar playing is crisp and bluesy. Joined by Fernando Perdomo on bass and drums and Kitten Kuroi on backing vocals this is a solid opener. Rocker, Bring Your Love On Home To Me is a solid radio style alt rock track. It really puts me in mind of Frank Black with a strong melody, country sensitivity, with Perdomo on keys and drums and understated guitar lead. Very nice. Kicking the country up another notch Wet A Line with Scarlet Rivera on violin and the addition of Kuroi on vocal harmony is a cool, country 2 stepper. Blues For Deford Bailey is a super track with Lockett on harmonica commemorating Bailey, the Grand Old Opry standout harmonica player. With solid train style harmoni...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (June 17, 2022), Dream Like A Dogwood Wild Boy , from Binker Golding and it's a blend of rural blues and city jazz. Opening with (Take Me To The) Wide Open Lows with it's delta blues national steel guitar sounds by Billy Adamson, moving quickly to contemporary jazz with Sarah Tandy on piano, Sam Jones on drums, Daniel Casimir on bass and featuring Binker Golding on tenor sax. This track has many faces after switching from the purity of the delta to the slickest of the city soft jazz and finally to some really nice improvisational lines by Golding and Tandy. Love Me Like A Woman is a real interesting fusion with blues bones. Although Golding has the framing of contemporary riffs, his sensitivity runs to blues phrasing and terrific sax runs. Adamson steps up with some gritty blues phrasing of his own on guitar and with aggressive drum work by Jones, this is my favorite track on the release.  Some of the titles on t...

<  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Goodnight Euphoria , from Alice Austin and it's quite good. Austin, who fronts Black Sabbitch and has Zola Turn and The Lavas in her history brings a lot of talent to this new release. Opening with No Such Thing , a really solid track with a memorable melody, and classic alt rock rhythm this track gets my attention immediately. Featuring Austin on vocals and a good number of the instruments, and paired with David Drouin on vocal, guitar and bass this is a strong opener featuring catchy guitar riffs, power chords and nicely blended vocal harmonies. On title track, Goodnight Euphoria , Austin blends a driving acoustic guitar rhythm and drums with 60-70's style vocal exploration. Multilayered instrumentation reminds me quite a bit of Beatles sensitivity but adding in a stronger rock rhythm and sympathetic slide guitar. Very nice. Loveless Waste is another really cool track with it's Pixiesque driving rock so...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Mercy Me , from Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters and it's strong. Opening with Muddy Waters' classic shuffle, Blow Wind Blow in Earl style and it's great. With Diane Blue handling the lead vocals nicely, Dave Limina on B3, Paul Kochanski on bass and Forrest Padgett on drums and Peter Ward sharing the guitar work with Earl, this is a solid opener. Slow blues, Blues For Duke Robillard , is prime Earl. I know that this may sound repetitive, but although Earl is an excellent player across the spectrum, his flow and chops on slow blues instrumentals are really tops in todays market. His feel, phrasing and tone is excellent and this track is an excellent example. With a slight uptick, Anthony Geraci's A Prayer For Tomorrow , is another great jam showing Earl not only with strong lead phrasing but gripping trem bends and lush chords under the beautiful key work of Geraci. Very nice. Another great shuffle, Dave...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, What A Difference A Day Made , from Ermelinda Cuellar , and it's a strong mix of jazz standards and Latin flavored music. Opening with Man With A Horn , Texas born vocalist Ermelinda Cuellar sings with confidence over tight instrumentation by Gilbert Sedeno on piano, Greg Petito on guitar, Anthony Caceres on bass, and Marlon Simon on drums and percussion, Arribal Ambert on percussion and featuring really strong trombone work by Andre Hayward. Beautiful Latin ballad, Sabor A Mi is really nicely handled by Cuellar with particularly nice guitar work by Sedeno and clean piano soloing by Sedeno. Very nice. Mercer's Midnight Sun enjoys a light Latin percussion and Cuellar's vocals float on the music with excellent trombone work accent lines by Hayward and with an extended piano lead by Sedeno. Another Latin song, Historia De Un Amor ,  (sung in Spanish) has such a nice presence. Cuellar's phrasing is sensitive, ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Live , from AKKU Quintet and it's an exciting compositional piece. Opening with Waves ,  featuring Manuel Pasquinelli on drums and Moja Nydegger  on keys the track blooms as it progresses. With the addition of Markus Ischer on guitar, this track ebbs and flows from quiet to explosive. Quite a 28 plus minute ride. Polar has a different approach with the tight underwork of Pasquinelli on drum and more predominant contemporary piano by Nydegger and cool, guitar lead exploration by Ischer. Schneemann has a really interesting time signature with Pasquinelli doing both straight time and a strong accent swat on snare. Again, creative lead by Ischer on guitar holds you in constant anticipation and the bass work of Andi Schnellmann gives the track a pronounced abstract quality. I really like this track. Deep Sleep II is the closer and with it's Frippish jagged rhythm and guitar work the terrific tightness of the key work ...

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, DIVA Swings Broadway , from the DIVA Jazz Orchestra and it's power horns to the max. Opening with Heart , there's no question that this band is loaded with brass lead by Liesi Whitaker, Jami Dauber, Rachel Therrien and Barbara Laronga on trumpet/flugelhorn and Jennifer Krupa, Sara Jacovino and Leslie Havens (bass) on trombone. Band leader, Sherrie Maricle on drums, Noriko Ueda on bass, Tomoko Ohno on piano hold down the bottom and Alexa Tarantino (also flute), Mercedes Beckman (also flute), Roxy Coss (also clarinet), Laura Dreyer (also clarinet) and Leigh Pilzer (bari, bass clarinet, flute and clarinet) on sax fill out the woodwinds sections. Coss on tenor sax, Dauber on trumpet and Krupa on trombone lay in nice solos making this opener memorable. Ueda is featured on bass solo on The Man I Love with a really nice intro and substantive soloing throughout over the piano counter of Ohno on piano and punchy horns fil...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, World On Fire , by the Stacy Jones Band , and it's a solid blues rocker. Opening with blues rocker, Jefferson Way , Stacy Jones on lead vocal wails the blues both vocally and on harmonica. With Jeff Menteer on electric slide guitar, Tom Jones on bass and heavy drum work by Rick J Bowen. Juke is a cool shuffle featuring Stacy on harmonica and she does a real nice job holding up a nice Chicago vibe. Tom Jones leads on vocal on Willie Dixon's Insane Asylum , an easy coasting blues along the lines of St James Infirmary. His voice, contrasted with the wild, high intensity vocal of Stacy gives this track real teeth. Very nice. Derek Trucks' Midnight In Harlem is handled nicely with Stacy on vocal and  Menteer on slide. Very solid cover of a cool, contemporary blues track. Another cover track, Aretha's Think , maintains Aretha's arrangement and Jones does a real nice job,  on vocals and adding blues harmonica...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Truth Against The World , from The Andy Rothstein Band and it's quite good. Opening with Perfect Storm , a poppy lighter jazz track, Andy Rothstein leads the way on melody with his agile guitar phrasing, along with Tony Senatore on bass, Tom Cottone on drums, D Pappas on keys, Steve Jankowski on trumpet and trombone and Ken Gioffre on sax. An aggressive drum rhythm by Cottone and soaring keys by Pappas cap off this opener. Blues , is a really cool change up with jazzy underpinnings but square on blues guitar attack. Rothstein has nice blues chops on guitar and Cottone anchors the rhythm on solid rock. Gioffre takes a real nice tenor solo with solid support from Pappas. Cranking up the horns a bit with Jankowski on Trumpet, Mystic Mud has a fusion feel giving Rothstein a chance to let it all hang out. Jankowski slips in the mute and plays sweetly on trumpet in strong contrast to Rothstein's ripping blues rock riffs ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Vienna Sessions , by Markus Burger and it's an interesting exploration in piano. Opening with Daybreak , German born, Markus Burger creates an calm interpretation of early morning emotions. A graduate of Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Germany, Burger exudes the confidence of a man with many years of composition. Along The Creek shows considerable patience and solitude as you may experience in a wooded area with a stream. O Great Love is a really nice, classically based composition with beautiful phrasing and pure execution. Renaissance Romance has a regal sound but I can actually (in my mind) hear a contemporary rhythm and overplay. Very curious indeed. Wrapping the release is Rejoicing ,  a bright piano track with contemporary phrasing and a memorable melody. Burger is obviously very accomplished and well versed with influences from Bach to Jarrett.    If you support live Blues...