Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (10.24.25), Two Trains , from Dave Keyes and it's loaded. Opening with shuffle, Blues Ain't Looking for You , Dave Keyes on vocal and piano set the pace, backed by Bernard Purdie on drums, Jeff Anderson on bass, Rob Paparozzi on harmonica and featuring John Putnam with some wicked slide and Alexis P. Sutter and Vicki Bell on backing vocals. Title track, Two Trains has a swampy rhythm with Keyes on piano and lead vocal,  Paparozzi on harmonica, and solid backing vocals by Suter, Bell and Frank Pagano . Slow blues, A Long Way From Right Right Now features some of Keyes best vocals and sweet harmonica work by Paparozzi. Keyes really shines on instrumental, Boogie For Patty , with excellent piano phrasing and rhythm. Another favorite on the release is Worried in Mind Blues featuring Woody Mann on guitar and vocal with Keyes on piano and vocal. A simple, laid back acoustic blues with great feel. Wrapping the r...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Healing , from Dave Keyes , and its a breath of fresh air. Opening with boogie shuffle, Change , David J. Keyes on bass lays down a nice groove, with Dave Keyes on lead vocal and piano, Stephen Rushton on drums and Rob Paparozzi on harp backed by Alexis P. Suter, Vicki Bell and Ray Grappone on vocals. Very cool opener. On Bo Diddley flavored, Not So Nice Anymore has a great tom tom beat and nice piano work by Keyes, topped by fiery slide work by Popa Chubby. R&B track, Ain't Looking For Love has a real nice feel with warm vocals by Keyes and a nice duet with Vanese Thomas. I particularly like Paparozzi's harp work on this track. Very nice. Robert Johnsons's Traveling Riverside Blues is one of my favorites on the release with Chubby smoking the strings and Keyes digging in deep on vocals, laying down some real nice piano riffs and with Frank Pagano on drums. Keyes solos out on Boogie for Stefan, an ...

I just received the newest release (June 17, 2016), All For Loving You , from Alexis P Suter and it's dynamite! Opening with Talk To Myself , Suter kicks it square in the face with a heavy swagger on lead vocal and Jimmy Bennett on guitar. A strong slide undertone throughout gives the track a cool bluesy feel. R&B track, Can't Find A Reason is a grand showcase for how powerful a singer Suter is and Bennett lays in a simple guitar solo backed by John Ginty on organ, Ray Grappone on drums and Peter Bennett on bass. Excellent! Slow blues number, Another Place and Time , is opened by an inviting guitar intro by Jimmy and Suter really grabs it up tight. Given the space, Jimmy takes his guitar for a soulful walk adding to a very strong track. Very nice. Title track, All For Loving You , is a radio track with a smooth melody. A driving drum line by Grappone, slide work from Jimmy and Ginty's organ work make this a magical formula. Shuffle track, Living In The World , op...

I just received the newest release, No Filter , from John Ginty and it's super! I had earlier reviewed John's super debut "Bad News Travels" and I like this one even better! Opening Fredo with a very sumptuous guitar organ duo of Ginty and Lou Pallo, this track kicks into a cool strut driven by Ginty on B3, Paul Kuzik on bass and Dan Fadel and Andrei Koribanics on drums and percussion. Very nice! Ball Of Fire features Cris Jacobs warm vocals on a cool bed of keyboards and Latin rhythms and Spanish guitar riffs by Jacobs and Mike Buckman. An easy jazz break takes the track on a cloud like ride and Ginty heats up the keys nicely. This is an excellent radio track with broad appeal. My favorite track on the release, Old Shoes , features none other than the fabulous Alexis P. Suter. Taking a modern blues stance on an old style rhythm, this track really digs in and Suter has the perfect voice for the job. Ginty on piano, Kuzik on bass, Jimmy Bennett on guitar and onl...

I just received a copy of the newest release, I Got Blues For Ya , from Michael Falzarano and it's a riot. Opening with The Night King Curtis Died , a lumbering 12 bar number, features strong vocals, lead and rhythm guitar from Falzarano, bass by Chris Matheos on bass, Ray Grappone on drums and excellent slide work from Kane Daily who has a lot of the feel of slide master Rod Price. Title track, I Got Blues For Ya , is structured along the Bo Diddley beat with a swampy feel and guitar not unlike Peter Green. Klyph Black joins on bass and Christian Cassan joins on drums. Josh Colow takes the lead guitar on I Never Think About You , a bluesy ballad. Professor Louie adds a cool piano runs and Miss Marie gives the track a warm texture on backing vocals. Colow lays out a few really nice compact solos on this track and the Professor rides the B3 high. A hot riding boogie, Snake Box Boogie , has a super beat and Falzarano really grinds this one out with the Professor and Colow for one...

I just received a cool new 2 CD release, Bad News Travels from John Ginty and it's quite live, tight and entertaining. Opening with Switch , a walking bass line driven B3 extravaganza. Paul Kuzik sets the tempo and Ginty takes over where Booker T left off. With a double drums setup featuring Dan Fadel and Andrei Koribanics this is a tight track. Very nice! Arrivals is a funky jam with cool guitar lines by Mike Buckman and Ginty playing against his retort. Next up is Black Cat featuring Albert Castiglia. A slow blues groove, Ginty sets a really nice stage for Castiglia to take the lead on vocal and guitar. I've only ever seen Castiglia on Youtube (never live) and he is an exceptional player. I am looking forward to seeing him if he ever makes it to Phoenix. He doesn't over sing, his phrasing is inviting and his vocals are really nice. Ginty plays both piano and B3 solos taunting Castiglia into a really sweet and extremely fiery guitar solo. Excellent! On fu...

I just received a cool new DVD from John Ginty , The Showplace Sessions Live . This is a live video session of Bad News Travels and it's quite live, tight and entertaining. Opening with Switch , a walking bass line driven B3 extravaganza. Paul Kuzik sets the tempo and Ginty takes over where Booker T left off. With a double drums setup featuring Dan Fadel and Andrei Koribanics this is a tight track. Very nice! Arrivals is a funky jam with cool guitar lines by Mike Buckman and Ginty playing against his retort. Next up is Black Cat featuring Albert Castiglia. A slow blues groove, Ginty sets a really nice stage for Castiglia to take the lead on vocal and guitar. I've only ever seen Castiglia on Youtube (never live) and he is an exceptional player. I am looking forward to seeing him if he ever makes it to Phoenix. He doesn't over sing, his phrasing is inviting and his vocals are really nice. Ginty plays both piano and B3 solos taunting Castiglia into a really sweet and ext...