Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The NOLA Sessions from Tom Hambridge and it's got real feel. Opening with Easy flowing, Blues Been Mighty Good To Me , Hambridge has lead vocal and of course drums backed by superstar Allen Toussaint on piano, max Moran on bass and Wendy Molten on backing vocal. Smooth opener. On Bluz Crazy , Hambridge has a distinctive slap on the snare that I really like and the lope of the track is further enhanced by John Fohl on guitar with Tommy MacDonald on bass and Kevin McKendree on piano. Very nice. Sonny Landreth's Slydeco guitar on This End Of The Road gives the track a real nice edge on a John Hiatt style track. Great two stepper. With real New Orleans style, I Love Everything has a great melody and sense of rhythm. With Shance Theriot on guitar, Calvin Turner Jr. on bass, David Torkanowsky on piano, McKendree on B3, SaRachael on backing vocals and The Naughty Horns this track rocks! Landreth is back again on Lit...

On 4 th of July, America’s birthday, we review American Tunes ...  the last, and posthumously released, album by one of the USA’s most influential, diverse, and loved musicians, composers, and musical luminaries, the late. This album finds Toussaint many times alone at his piano. When he is accompanied it is often sparse but with impeccable precision.    As his persona requires, all the accompanists are top notch musicians in their own right. A man well known for his own compositions, American Tunes instead features Toussaint’s unique interpretations of other people’s American music.   Many are well known classics from his hometown, New Orleans.    The album starts off with Delores’ Boyfriend with Toussaint alone at the piano doing what I call a “sportin’ parlor ragtime blues.”   It sounds and smells like pure New Orleans, and is the first of only 2 cuts on the album written by Toussaint himself. The second track, Viper’s Drag...

MADRID (AP) — Legendary New Orleans pianist, songwriter, producer and performer, Allen Toussaint, who penned or produced such classics as "Working in a Coal Mine" and "Lady Marmalade," has died after suffering a heart attack following a concert he performed in Spain. He was 77. Rescue workers were called to Toussaint's hotel early Tuesday morning and managed to revive him after he suffered a heart attack, Madrid emergency services spokesman Javier Ayuso said. But Toussaint stopped breathing during the ambulance ride to a hospital and efforts to revive him again were unsuccessful, Ayuso said. Toussaint performed Monday night at Madrid's Lara Theater. "He was a legend in the music world," said Quint Davis, who produces the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Toussaint performed there so often — frequently as a headliner — that Davis said he referred to it as his "annual concert." Toussaint was born in New Orleans' Gert Town, ...

Your deposit to reserve a stateroom is $500 per person ($1000/single) payable by Visa, MasterCard or Discover. Please email Bluesin@BluesCruise.com for a copy of applicable terms and conditions. Click for detailed pricing & availability! Buddy Guy, one of this year's Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients, is headlining the October cruise, marking his First Appearance Ever on our Blues Cruise Charters! "Whenever I accept an award like this I do it for all the Blues men and women who came before me and never got the recognition they truly deserved." - Buddy Guy For a man who name is nearly synonymous with the Chicago blues sound, Buddy Guy has one of the warmest smiles in the business. Rock titans, including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards and Stevie Ray Vaughan have all cited him as a major influence on their own music. Now 78, the 2005 inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has barely slowed down ...