Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, About Time , from John Clay and it's a cool slice of classic jazz. Opening with Fred Hersch 's A Lark , Shunzo Ohno on trumpet and Matt Garrison on sax set the intro feeding to a playful melody by Enrique Haneine on piano. Sean Conly on bass really delivers on acoustic bass accompanied by Haneine and John Clay on drums. Very cool opener. Ruby Pucillo shows strong vocal work on Bob Hilliard's Alice In Wonderland . Set in 3/4 with Haneine, Conly and Clay anchoring, this really is a great showcase for Pucillo. Haneine takes a super stretch on piano and Conly's bass work is superb. Billy Drummond 's Dubai is my favorite track on the release with dramatic lead work by Ohno and Garrison. Clay has just the right hand on drums giving Garrison a solid platform for his coolest sax solo on the release, Ohno's muted trumpet solo pressed by Haneine and Clay is really strong and Haneine hits gold on his pi...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, About Time , from Celos Salim and Darryl Carriere and it's packed full of lively rock and blues. Opening with BBQ , a hot R&B style track with a funky backbeat. Celso Salim on guitar leads this rocker with a cocky strut and Darryl Carriere on harmonica and vocal  really get this track going, backed by Mike Hightower on bass and vocal and David Kida on drums. Solid opener. Jump track, Sweet Thing really has a great feel with excellent riffs and wicked trem bends by Salim and wailing harmonica by Carrier. Excellent! Slow blues, In Your Arms has it all with a strong melody vocal depth by Salim, sumptuous harmonica solo by Carriere and gripping solo by Salim. Very nice. Lightly funky, Get Along is really a cool track with a potent drums rhythm by Kida. Salim and Carriere play a great call and response vocal jibe and tasty work by both , this is one of my favorites on the release. Shuffle, Love On A Shelf has a...