Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, God Bless the USA , from Aki Kumar and it's cool. Opening with a Chicago style take on Joe Strummer's Should I Stay made popular by the British punk band, The Clash. With a low slung guitar rhythm by Bob Welsh, June Core on drums, and Kedar Roy on bass this track takes form. Aki Kumar on vocal and harmonica really fleshes out the track with Welsh on piano and Julia JD on backing vocals. Very cool. Willie Dixon's I Just Want To Make Love gets an incredibly out of the box rework with Jim Santi Owen on tabla, Welsh on guitar, Will Marsh on sitar, and Kumar on vocal, harmonica and vocal. Really interesting barely touches it. A reggae/funk workover on Neville Brothers' Sissy Strut now remade as  Desi Strut is great with Kumar taking the lead on harmonica and Owens and Marsh providing the basics of the backing with Welsh on guitar and Core on drums. Oh Yeah...it's cool! One of my favorite tracks on the rele...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Serve It to Me Hot, from Chickenbone Slim and I really like it. Opening with title track, Serve It to Me Hot , Slim and the crew are hitting it hard. This band sound like they're ready for a rumble with the low slung power attack of slinger Laura Chavez on lead guitar and Slim on guitar and lead vocal. Marty Dodson on drums and Andrew Crane round out the band making this crew ready for just about anything. Great opener. On up tempo boogie, Wild Eyed Woman , the band cranks like they're backing HD Taylor or Slim Harpo. This may be my favorite track on the release with a great driving beat and Chavez's relentless guitar attack. Excellent! Harp wizard, Aki Kumar joins the crew on Top of the Clouds , with a solid Texas style. Chavez steps out nicely on guitar and Slim's vocals are nicely complimented by Kid Andersen and Lisa Andersen. Funky, Laying In The Weeds , is a real cool track with a solid exchange betw...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Live from Johnny Burgin and it's really good. Opening with brisk shuffle, You Got to Make A Change , Johnny is upfront on vocal and guitar, backed by Aki Kumar on harp, Kid Andersen on guitar, Chris Matheos on bass and Steve Dougherty on drums. Excellent, slow blues, Can't Make It Blues , Johnny really shines with his soulful vocal and blistering guitar riffs. Most people don't think of Chicago bluesmen as hot, slingers with real pyrotechnics but Burgin is here to show you that Buddy Guy is no longer the only game in town. Excellent! There are only a few contemporary players that can really pull off the funky blues like Albert King could and Burgin is one of them. She Gave Me The Slip is a great example with solid blues riffs over a great funky beat. Time for a great Chicago blues instrumental and Kumar is up and ready on harp. Burgin, Andersen and Kumar really kick it on this one with smoke flying. Rae Gor...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, A Woman Rules The World , from Whitney Shay and it's lively. Opening with pop track, Ain't No Weak Woman , lead vocalist Whitney Shay is joined by Jim Pugh on piano, Kedar Roy on bass, Sax Gorgon Beadle on sax, and Alexander Pettersen on drums. Slinky Blues Down Home settles down into a nice groove with full sax and trumpet punctuation by Beadle and John Halbleib respectively. A solid sax solo by Beadle, harp work by Aki Kumar and piano and organ work by Pugh gives this track real oomph. With a rolling R&B feel, Love's Creeping Up On Me has great feel, with super vocals, stinging guitar riffs by Igor Prado and nicely blended vocals. One of my favorite tracks on the release is title track, A Woman Rules The World with super vocals by Shay and Lisa Leuschner Andersen, nice guitar phrasing by Andersen and an overall great soul feel. Freedom has a soulful strut with a great bass line, tight drums and pow...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Howlin' At Greaseland , from Kid Andersen's Greaseland Studios and it's strong. This all-star tribute release to Howlin' Wolf features many of today's greatest blues players. Opening with Meet Me In The Bottom , Alabama Mike is upfront on lead vocal backed by Rick Estrin on harp, Alex Pettersen on drums, Bobby Yamalov on bass, Kid Andersen on guitar and slide and Lorenzo Farrell on piano paving a wide path. On Smokestack Ligntnin' , John Blues Boyd has the mic, joined by Rockin' Johnny Burgin and Kid Andersen, Joe Kyle Jr. on bass, Estrin on harp, D'Mar on drums and Jim Pugh on piano. Very nice. Howlin' For My Darling features Terry Hanck on sax and vocals, backed by Johnny Cat Soubrand on guitar, Andersen on bass, Pettersen on drums and Pugh on piano. Both Hanck and Soubrand stretch a bit instrumentally adding nicely to the tight groove.  Tail Dragger is upfront on I'm Leaving Yo...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Neoprene Fedora , from Rockin' Johnny Burgin and it's spectacular! I've had the pleasure to review a few Rockin' Johnny releases and also to see him in person and I gotta say, there aren't too many players out there right now that I'd rather see. (Check here to see my recent interview with RJB) . He is inventive, his guitar work is clean and distinctive, his vocals are cool and he's music is a lot of fun. Opening with the title track, Neoprene Fedora , Burgin hits the strip running with a 50's style blues surfer with great great vibrato, and cool phrasing. The Latin beat and the shimmery guitar soloing is out of sight and Nancy Wright 's sax work is hot and heavy. Excellent! Joining Burgin are Kid Andersen on guitar, Bob Welsh on guitar, June Core on drums and Chris Matheos on bass. On Guitar King Burgin swings back into his Chicago roots and I really like his vocals. Aki Kumar...

Bman: Hi Johnny, Haven’t seen you in a while. I'm really sorry that I missed your show in Phoenix. I was in Europe and just got back. One show I really wanted to see. How did it go? RJB: I had a great show in Phoenix. " Bob Corritore and " Dave Riley sat in.  I had a great bassist from Alburquerque, J.D. Sipe , and Brian Fahey from The Paladains on drums.  I hadn't played with him since a tour in Europe three or so years ago with Mud Morganfield and Taildragger . Bman: Wow. That must have been a great show! Damn. I really wanted to see you. Are you coming back again this year? RJB: I hope to be back in October. Bman: Great! I should be  good then. I don't think I have anything planned for October. Last I heard you were in Europe with Aki Kumar . I love Europe. How did the tour go? Where were you? RJB: I left for Europe on Halloween, and got back at Christmas.  The first two weeks of the tour were with Aki Kumar and o...

I just received the newest release, Upset The Status Quo , from Alabama Mike , and it's a cool groove. Blending R&B, Blues and funk, Mike has put together a fine set here. Opening with title track, Upset The Statue Quo , a bluesy shuffle, Mike leads the way on vocal joined by Aki Kumar on harp, Bernard Anderson on sax, Kid Andersen and Bob Welsh on guitar, Kedar Roy on bass and D'Mar Martin on drums, this track is a great start. Identity Theft opens with a a cool bass line from Jerry Jemmott this track and an overall R&B feel which is quite cool. B3 punctuation, backing vocals by Loralee Christansen and Lisa Leuschner and a hot sax solo by Anderson tops the track off nicely. Low slung blues number, MISSISSIPPI is a great track with a serious lope and Kumar doing some fine work on harp and a nice piano solo from Bob Welsh. Funky number, Think, also shows the strong bass work of Jemmott and features nice B3, Anderson on sax as well as a hot guitar solo from Kid Ande...

I just received the newest release, Take It Like That , from D'Mar & Gill and it has a fresh, cool sound. Opening with I Fell In Love With The Blues , a catchy number with a cool walking bass line by Kid Andersen, Chris Gill leads on vocals and guitar and Aki Kumar adds in just the right amount of harp. Derrick D'Mar is tight on drums with cool piano work from Bob Welsh and nice backing vocals from Lisa Andersen. Back To Paradise has a real cool funky beat and an overdriven guitar feel putting me in mind of rhythm work by Mr Cooder himself. Very cool! Song For Honeyboy has a loose slide guitar rider following Gill's vocals and D'Mar creates a loose train feel on drums. A real nice guitar "duet" on slide with Kid Andersen sets this track off along the lines of a JJ Cale's Call Me The Breeze. Souvenir Of The Blues has a classic soulful blues feel. Gills vocals on this track are particularly expressive as are his guitar riffs. Jemmot's bass r...

I just received the newest release, Trouble Don't Last , from Chris James and Patrick Rynn and it's a fresh look at Chicago style blues with a stripped down approach. Opening with Shameless , James leads off on guitar and lead vocal, Rynn on bass, Rob Stone on harp and June Core on drums. With it's quick steady pace, Stone and James each take real nice solos making this a great opener. Next up is Calvin Frazier's classic, Lilly Mae . James' vocals on this track are super and Aki Kumar shows why he is so requested as a guest harp player. Rynn drives this track on bass as Kumar and James solo. Excellent! Freddie King track, Lonesome Whistle Blues , (written by Toombs, Teat, Moore) is in full swing with Kumar and Stone trading riffs with James on vocal and guitar. Walking bass by Rynn and tight drumming by Core makes this one of my favorite tracks on the release. Digging down in the groove, Going Down To The Ocean , is another real smart track. James has both the vo...

I just received the newest release, Greetings from Greaseland , California by Rockin' Johnny Burgin and it's spectacular! I received a lot of new releases each month with a lot of blues tracks but these are so fine! Rockin' Johnny, along with Aki Kumar (harp), Kid Andersen, Vance Ehlers (bass) and June Core (drums) have really hit it here. Opening with Love Me Like I Want it features Johnny on lead vocals and guitar with Kumar on harp is an excellent shuffle with Johnny's trademark guitar style out in the front. Did I say this track was super? Hip Linkchain's Cold Chills has that funky blues beat and Ehlers and Core set up the essential groove. Johnny has that raw looseness on guitar that is so lost from blues records today that he owns it. Excellent! She's A Hit , a conventional sauntering 12 bar track, shows Johnny's sure feel for vocal delivery in Chicago style. Sit back and listen to his expressive riffs. This man is flying! Robert Jr Lockwood'...

I just received the newest release, Greetings from Greaseland , California by Rockin' Johnny Burgin and it's spectacular! I received a lot of new releases each month with a lot of blues tracks but these are so fine! Rockin' Johnny, along with Aki Kumar (harp), Kid Andersen, Vance Ehlers (bass) and June Core (drums) have really hit it here. Opening with Love Me Like I Want it features Johnny on lead vocals and guitar with Kumar on harp is an excellent shuffle with Johnny's trademark guitar style out in the front. Did I say this track was super? Hip Linkchain's Cold Chills has that funky blues beat and Ehlers and Core set up the essential groove. Johnny has that raw looseness on guitar that is so lost from blues records today that he owns it. Excellent! She's A Hit , a conventional sauntering 12 bar track, shows Johnny's sure feel for vocal delivery in Chicago style. Sit back and listen to his expressive riffs. This man is flying! Robert Jr Lockwood'...

I just received the newest release, Make It Easy , from Toots Lorraine & The Traffic and it is some red hot smoking blues. Opening with title track, Make It Easy , Lorraine opens on vocal supported by Aki Kumar on fat harp and Chad Mo on swinging guitar riffs. Lorenzo Farrell adds a cool organ ride along with Mike Phillips on bass and June Core on drums. Farrell leads the way on piano on When Did you Stop Tryin' , a smooth slow blues track. Lorraine and Kumar share the spotlight with Kumar really laying down some nice phrases. Mo steps up and establishes his own line with nicely articulated guitar solos and Farrell also takes a cool piano solo. Very nice! Let Your Tears Fall Baby , a fast shuffle track, has a T-Bone Walker feel with Mo and Lorraine playing call and response. Mo and Farrell each take a sweet solo on this track as well. One of my favorite tracks on the release, Get Back To Lovin' shows Mo in exceptional form with excellent guitar runs and tone. Lorraine ha...

I just received the newest release from Aki Kumar and it's a solid dose of Chicago blues. Opening with Snooky Pryor's Judgement Day , a smooth slinging number, has Kumar on vocal and harp and Little Jonny with crisp guitar work. On Hank Ballard's Hoochie Coochie Coo , Kumar really gets the band in the groove with his focused vocals. Frankie Ramos adds a real nice sax soloing to the mix and Bob Welsh lays down some real nice piano lead. I particularly like Rusty Zinn's guitar soloing on this track. On title track, Don't Hold Back , Ramos again adds the heat on sax and June Core on drums as well as Vance Ehlers on bass really hold the line. On James Moore's Buzzin' , Core sets a snappy snare rhythm and Kumar sets up a nice harp melody. Johnny Cat Soubrand and Little Jonny lay down some nice guitar on this track as well. On original track, Let Me Get Closer , Kumar really sets a nice table both vocally and on harp. On Jimmy Reed's She Don't Want Me ...

Front man and harp player for the San Francisco Bay Area band Tip of the Top, Akarsha Aki Kumar is an ardent student of the blues and a master of the amplified Chicago blues sound. Kumar derives his style mainly from American harp masters Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Walter Horton and George Smith, among others. His own playing reflects elements of these players, blended in with a signature sound of his own. Gary Smith has been a huge influence on numerous harmonica players in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has largely influenced harmonica players Mark Hummel, David Barrett, Byrde Hale, Andy Just, and untold others. He currently has two CD's and a new instruction video just released by Mountain Top Video. Being in the San Jose and San Francisco Area in the sixties he was present when Paul Butterfield made his imprint on the harmonica world. David Barrett is the world's most published author of blues harmonica lesson material (over 60 book/CD sets and videos publ...