Bman's Blues Report

ELVIN BISHOP'S BIG FUN TRIO SET FOR FEBRUARY 10 RELEASE Deceptively loose but always tight…the raspy chuckle in Bishop’s singing and the sharp sting of his guitar are forceful and fresh, enduring and fun.     --Fresh Air, NPR I love these guys; Bob and Willy are great musicians. With a trio there’s no place to hide – you’ve got to be pourin’ everything you got right out front, totally goin’ for it all the time. If you’ve got some real good musicians who are willing and able to do that, you’ve got something that will move people. And it’s fun!     --Elvin Bishop Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer and blues master Elvin Bishop – along with his friends, guitarist/pianist Bob Welsh and percussionist/vocalist Willy Jordan – unleashes his latest musical mixture,  Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio (AL 4973) on Friday, February 10, 2017. Bishop told The San Jose Mercury News , “Every time I pick up the guitar, something ne...

I just received the newest release, This River (June 24, 2013), by JJ Grey & Mofro and I really like it. Opening with Your Lady, She's Shady , Grey lays down a hip hop style rhythmic attack with ultra cool horn, harp and guitar solos. On Somebody Else , one of my favorite tracks on the release, Grey sounds a lot like Al Green in arrangement and style with it's prancing strut. With reverb on the guitar, Stax style drumming and horns on the bottom, his song is really sweet. 99 Shades of Crazy is a straight up rocker with a blues twist. Grey knows how to use rhythm and the vocal blending and horn support makes this a strong radio candidate. The Ballad Of Larry Webb is an extremely tasty track. Strong melody and vocal execution with only minimal instrumentation for atmosphere, this is another of the best tracks on the release. Florabama is a funky pop like track and actually reminds me a lot of Kiss (Prince). Addition of sax and trumpet work on this track gives it a lot of...