Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Live , from Towner Galaher Organ Trio and I really like it. Opening with bluesy shuffle, One For McGriff has a great groove. Lonnie Gasperini lays down the bass line on organ with Galaher on drums and Marvin Horne leads the melody on guitar. Breaking loose is Gasperini on B3 and Galaher makes a real nice splash on drums for a solid opener. McDuff's Hot Barbecue with it's JB rhythm really is hot with a terrific exchange between Gasperini  and Horne. Excellent! Galaher opens Alligator Boogaloo with the funkiest of James Brown rhythms a drummer beats. With a solid bass line by Gasperini, Horne takes the first lead with smooth articulate guitar runs, leading to more warm B3 from Gasperini. Great groove. North Beach Blues has a terrific walking bass line driving Gasperini's B3 with a healthy solo. Quieting it down a bit, Horne takes a fleet fingered solo of his own making this one of my favorite tracks on the re...

 I just had the opportunity to review the newly released, Soul Man Explosion by Sam and Dave and it's a great set of rocking soul music. Opening with classic, Soul Man , Sam Moore and Dave Prater of course are front and center on rich vocals. With great horn backing and Steve Cropper on guitar, this is a great opener. I Thank You was another big one and the groove sounds as fresh as it did decades ago. A cover of Sam Cooke's Wonderful World is smooth as silk with nice backing vocals and of course excellent lead vocals by Sam and Dave. C an't You Find Another Way has a great R&B rhythm and great trumpet highlights make this a hidden gem. Wrapping the release is an instrumental cover of Soul Man . This is classic R&B and a lot of fun.   If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Guitar Kingdom , from Dudley Taft and he picks up where he left off with his blues metal feel and solid construction. Opening with Black and Blues , Taft on vocal and guitar has his own style. His vocals are all rock and his guitar riffs, rooted in the blues have a serious springiness along the path paved by Frank Marino. With Kasey Williams on bass and Alex Dungan on drums this is a solid opener. I like the open rock feel of Oil And Water with a driving bottom and fluid lead guitar by Taft and the support of Andy Smith on keys. Very nice. Get Stoned is a sure fire track with a metal riff and solid melody. Blending the intensity of the likes of Ozzy, lush vocal blending and blues undertones really makes this an interesting track. Wrapping the release is A Quitter Never Wins with it's bluesy ballad structure and metal like vocal styling. This is my favorite track on the release with sophisticated blues guitar phrasing...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, A Day By The Bay , by Backtrack Blues Band , and its a solid live performance recorded at the Tampa Bay Blues Festival in 2022. Opening with Best Friend's Grave , Sonny Charles on lead vocal and harmonica is in the groove with excellent guitar work by Kid Royal, and supported by Little Johnny Walter on rhythm guitar, Joe Bencomo on drums, Stick Davis on bass, Wayne Sharp on B3 and strong backing vocals by LaTonya Oliver and Dana Merriwether. Solid opener. Dixie Grill is a cool boogie with a great rhythm. Charles, on lead vocal ramps up his harmonica with strong phrasing over the rhythm of Sharp on B3. Times Is Hard is my favorite track on the release featuring Royal on lead vocal. With it's slow, deep blues feel, both Charles and Royal get plenty of time to stretch. Sharp lays in a real nice B3 solo building more tension before Royal comes back with excellent guitar phrasing to sew things up. Wrapping the release ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Call It Confusion , from Johnny King & Friends and it's a great mix of rock, blues and soul. Opening with title track, Call It Confusion , Johnny King on lead vocal and with his BB King style phrasing gets this show on the road. Joined by Tony Coleman on drums, Billy Berberette on bass, Bobby Rush on harmonica and Shannon Wickline on keys, this is a strong opener. One of my favorite tracks on the release is slower blues, Lyric Fountain Station with it's heavy soulful opening and funky R&B rhythm. With it's B3 bottom and Latin percussion this track is a mover. With Rush, King, Coleman and Roanoke Voices Praise Team on vocals, Oh' My Captain has a terrific early gospel infused blues style with only a foot drum, Rush on harmonica and King on slide. Very cool. Strong lead guitar work on Recognition Blues , paired with horn backing by Rick Leatherman on sax, Steve Metzler on trombone, Dr Brennan Wood ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Gypsy Soul , from Jennifer Lyn & The Gypsy Soul and it's a cool blues rocker. Opening with title track, Gypsy Soul , Jennifer Lyn on lead vocal and guitar sets of with a rocking shuffle. With Richard Torrance and a cool guitar solo and backing vocal, Barb Jiskra adding some heat on keys, Chris Addison on bass and Jim Anderson on drums, this is a solid opener. Slower blues, Going Round In Circles , is really a terrific showcase for Lyn's soulful vocals. Torrance gets loose on lead guitar adding just the right amount of tension making this my favorite track on the release. Wrapping the release is You Can Take It All with it's Curtis Mayfield like sound. Twin lead guitar solo brings to mind Betts and Allman but the track is all Lyn and Torrance. Very nice closer for a cool release.    If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of t...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Trio - Vol. 3 from Dave Bass and it's it's an aggressive piano jazz release. Opening with classic Sinatra tune, As Long As There's Music , Dave Bass on piano leads the way on melody with Kerry Kashiwagi with active double bass support and Scott Gordon on drums. The timing is changes giving the track new life with great interpretation. Solid opener. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Agenbite of Inwit with it's driving bass line by Kashiwagi and Bass' bopping piano lead. Barry Finnerty is featured on guitar and literally explodes with a blistering solo. Smoking. Armando Manzero's El Ciego (The Blind) is a terrific track with a terrific melody. Both Bass and Kashiwagi lay down beautiful lines making this track very special. John Carisi's jazz standard, Israel is really nicely covered, with articulate piano work by Bass with a nod to Paul Bley on interpretation. Kashiwagi's int...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Better Days Ahead , from Kate Weekes , and it's really cool ride through folk, pop, and bluegrass music. Opening with Liminal Space, Kate Weekes on lead vocal and banjo really sets a buoyant pace backed by James Stephens on fiddle and bass, and Philip Shaw Bova on shakers. Strong ballad title track, Better Days Ahead has a really nice melody featuring Weekes clear vocals on lead and harmony vocals and Stephens on fiddle, harmonium and bass. Very nice. Empty Bottles is my choice for top radio track on the release with a strong melody and vocals, backed by Brian Sanderson on horns Rob Graves on percussion, Stephens on bass and guitar. Very nice. Wrapping the release is Time By The Moon , a very cool acoustic ballad with Weekes on banjo and vocal, Stephens on fiddle, bass and vocal. This is a very rich track and an excellent closer for an authentic rural American release.    If you support live Blues acts, ...

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Plan R , from R for Romeo and it's a cool set of rock, blues, soul reggae and funk. Opening with reggae track, Checkmate , Stuart Ziff on guitar sets up a basic melody with Daniel Stein on keys and featuring some real nice trumpet improvisation by Chris Tedesco. Cool opener. Funky rocker, Lockdown , really gets that James Brown backbeat working and Ziff throws down some fat guitar sound over the warm key lead work of Stein. Ziff stretches the guitar lead with the prowess of Belew creating a pseudo jazz/pop/prog experiment. Nice. Bluesy ballad, Midtown has clean, melodic guitar lead by Ziff and Stein plays the counter Fagan tone like key work before taking the lead himself with lush organ. Very nice. On You Can't Be Serious , R for Romeo takes a nod from Jeff Beck and his funky fusion undertone and abstracted painter like lead guitar work by Ziff. Strong. Wrapping the release is Barney's Groove , a take on the...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Playin' With My Friends , by Jeff Pitchell and it's a cool blues rocker. Opening with Eye For An Eye , Jeff Pitchell on lead vocal and guitar sets up a real nice shuffle. With smooth, Steve Miller like vocals and cool style Pitchell is joined by Wolf Ginandes on bass, Floyd Murphy Jr. on drums and Jeff Levine on keys. Solid opener. Your Magic Eyes , has a definite SRV/Johnny Lang feel with lush guitar rhythm and stinging riffs. One of my favorites on the release is  Magic Sam's  Out In The Cold with it's Rhumba rhythm, soulful vocals and solid guitar, paired up with Jimmie Vaughan's son Tyrone with a comparable sound to Wait's, Down In The Hole, used as the theme track for TV's The Wire. Very nice. Rick Derringer joins Pitchell on vocal and guitar on Unsung Hero of the Blues . Derringer was an early influence of mine from his early work with Johnny Winter And (blistering blues). A real nice tra...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Roots , by Joyann Parker , and it's a cool mix or country, blues, rock and ballads. Opening with 2 stepping title track, Roots , Parker on lead vocal, piano and guitar shows she knows her way around a song. Joined by Mark Lamoine on guitar and vocal, Tim Wick on keys, Chris Bates on bass and Patricia Lacey and Nesret Theba on backing vocals, a solid radio style opener. Ballad, Wash It Away , has a solid melody and warm backing vocals by Lamoine, Lacey and Theba. Latin influenced, Ain't Got Time To Cry , explores another vein of music that showcases Parkers sassy vocal style. With a strong bass line by Bates, counter melody by Lamoine on guitar and  a real nice trumpet solo by Paul Odegaard, this is a great addition. Forsaken is one of my favorites on the release with Parker mostly just belting out the bluesy lyrics and Lamoine on slide guitar carrying the counter melody. Very nice. Shuffle, Stay Home Mama , is ri...

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Boo Boo Boogaloo , from Boo Boo Davis and it's a cool mix of blues and boogie. Opening with Chicago blues, Little House By Myself , Boo Boo Davis on harmonica and vocal leads the way with LA Jones on guitar, Adrianna Marie on bass, Chris Millar on drums. Davis really does a nice job and complimented by a solid solo by Jones, this is a great opener. Blues On My Mind is one of my favorites on the release with soulful vocals by Davis. Marie has a dominant bass line keeping the pace and Davis' harmonica solo works really nicely with Jones' own guitar phrasing. Very nice. Title track, Boo Boo Boogaloo is a terrific authentic JLH style boogie. Kick back and enjoy. Slow blues, I Got The Crying Blues is another of my favorites with soulful vocals by Davis and really nice guitar phrasing by Jones. Wrapping the release is Latin flavored, J ungle Bump with a cool bass line by Marie, Cool percussion by Millar, Paul Nie...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Hot N' Fresh , from Pardon The Interruption and it's cool and funky. Opening with Opa! , Pardon The Interruption (PTI) lays down a funky horn saturated track with Rob Hooper on drums, Rob Fordcye on bass and backing vocal, Jamison Smeltz on horns and backing vocal, David Noble on guitar and backing vocal Luis Carbo on percussion, and Benjamin Williams on djembe. Solid opener. We Can Figure It Out is a pretty cool track as well with a Parliment feel. I mean, how can you not like this with it's intense percussion thing and the heavy bass line. Higher has a reggae flavor with a more modern feel like a blend of R&B and the Police. With a stiff rhythm line by Noble on guitar and solid lead vocal this track has a good feel. Wrapping the release is Life Is Fantastic , with it's pure radio appeal. Lead vocals by Smeltz, and a lightly funky rhythm, complimented by Smeltz's sassy sax solo makes this the def...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Women In Blues Showcase by Bob Corritor e and there are some real gems here. Opening with You're Gonna Be Sorry , Barbara Lynn on vocal and guitar is joined by Corritore on harmonica, Maxine Johnson and Laydee Jai on backing vocal, and Bill Tarsha on drums. A cool, early blues rock sound makes this an excellent opener. One of my favorite tracks on the release is soulful, I Just Need A Friend, by Carol Fran . Johnny Rapp on guitar, Paul Thomas on bass, and Chico Chism on drums really support this excellent vocal track perfectly. Koko Taylor is front and center on What Kind of Man Is This with great Chicago swagger. Joined by Bob Margolin on guitar, Frank Krakowski on guitar, Bob Stroger on bass, Adriana Marie on bass and Willie Big Eyes Smith on drums, a real cool track. Shy Perry does a great job  belting out Dixon's Wang Dang Doodle with Corritore on harmonica and Brian Fahey on drums. Diunna Greenleaf ...