Bman's Blues Report

  Born in Connecticut but raised on the gritty, sun-drenched sounds of Los Angeles, Hummel has spent the last four decades establishing himself as one of the ultimate torchbearers of West Coast blues —a killer style that seamlessly collapses the distance between traditional raw blues and swinging jazz. Since the late '70s, he has fronted his legendary band, The Blues Survivors , and since 1991, he’s been the mastermind behind the annual Blues Harmonica Blowout tours, sharing stages and trading licks with titans like James Cotton and Charlie Musselwhite . He’s got the institutional respect to match the street cred, too, including a Grammy nomination for his 2014 tribute to Little Walter. But if you think a guy with that kind of resume is ready to sit back and coast on past glories, his newest project drops the hammer and reminds us exactly why he's still the master blaster of the blues harp.     🎵 LISTEN & SUPPORT THE ALBUM   Add this Record to Your ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Not Holding Back! , from Kyle Rowland and it's super. Opening with funky blues, Convict No. 1 , Kyle Roland on lead vocal and harmonica shows real feel, with blues master Johnny Burgin and his trademark style giving the track real spunk. Jim Pugh on clavinet, Ronnie James Weber on bass, June Core on drums round out the band for a solid opener. Rick Estrin 's  I'll Take You Back , is up next and I really like Rowland's vocal style. Burgin is front and center again on guitar and Kid Andersen on guitar adds nicely as well. Pugh on piano, Weber on bass and Core drums set the stage but it's Rowland's harmonica that really tells the story on this one. Excellent! Burgin opens blues rocker, You Got The Nerve Of A Brass Monkey , and Pugh on piano and Mr Anson Funderburgh adds real guitar flair on this track with Weber and Core rounding out the troops. Original track, Gamblin' Blues , is one of my fav...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Four , by Dennis Herrera , and I really like it. Opening with shuffle, Can You Feel It , Dennis Herrera on guitar gets things rolling with Lee campbell on drums, Rich Wenzel on B3, Sid Morris on piano, Frank DeRose on bass and Jack Sanford on sax. Strong opener. Up tempo boogie track, Blues and Roll is strong with raggedy vocal by Herrera who leads on guitar, and Bill Bates. Campbell holds the bottom tight on drums and cool piano by Wenzel adds texture. Great driver. One of my favorites on the release is rag tag, Tenderness I See with it's dark, Hill Country sound. Herrera's vocals are perfect for this kind of track, with added percussion by Gordon Peeke, and with super backing vocals by Tony Jones and Nina Mac and Sanford on sax, this track is off the hook. Preskitt is a super shuffle with excellent bass lines by Bill Stuve and nice sax work by Jorgenson. Fluid guitar lines really lay in the groove, accenting Her...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Common Sense , by Gary Nicholson and it's a mix of pop, rock, country and blues. Opening with What A Little Love Will Do , a country rock flavored pop track, Gary Nicholson on vocal and guitars leads the way with vocal backing by Harry Stinson, joined by Kevin McKendree on guitar, Jim Hoke on guitar, Lynn Williams on drums and Mike Joyce on bass. Laid back country shuffle, Make Good Trouble featured some of Nicholson's best vocals on the release and The McCrary Sisters on backing vocals Mike Finnegan on organ and piano, Hutch Hutchison on bass, Tony Braunegal on drums and John Jorgensen on guitar. We Don't Talk About It is a cool track with Nicholson and The McCrary Sisters ramping the vocals up. McKendree on piano really kicks up the juice and Jim Hoke on harmonica gives the track a real zing. Another favorite is Follow The Money with a funky blues feel. Jim Hoke on steel guitar and sax gives this track some...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Fine By Me, from Curtis Salgado and it's a great mix or rock, pop R&B and blues. Opening with country rocker, My Girl Is A Nut, with Salgado on vocal and harmonica, Alan Hager on guitar, Keith Brush on bass and Jimi Bott on drums. Chugging rhythm on Better Things To Lie About has a great feel, reinforced by Joe McCarthy on trumpet, Lars Campbell on trombone, and Tim Bryson on sax and features super vocal and harmonica by Salgado. One of my favorite tracks on the release is I'm Gonna Forget About You featuring vocal duet with Salgado and Robert Cray. Jim Pugh on piano and B3 gives the track depth and Jerry Jemmott on bass and Kid Andersen joining Cray on guitar really adds the spice. Hear The Lonely Hearts is a terrific soul track featuring Salgado on lead vocal backed by The Sons of Soul Revivers (James Morgan, Walter Morgan and Dwayne Morgan) on harmonizing vocals. With Rome Yamilov on guitar and Kid Andersen o...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Stuff I've Been Through , by Alabama Mike and I really like it's funky blues sound. Opening with title track, Stuff I've Been Through , Alabama Mike's lush vocals lead the way, joined by Kid Andersen and Rusty Zinn on guitars, Jim Pugh on keys, Jerry Jemmott on bass, D'Mar on drums and with great horn work by Bernard Anderson on sax, Mike Rinta on trombone, Doug Rowan on sax and Jeff Lewis on trumpet. Great opener. Another track with a great groove is King Cock , with a great back beat by D'Mar, and Jemmott on bass and featuring Anson Funderburgh on guitar with some real tasty riffs. Mike not only has lead vocals but adds harmonica and the horn section is back with a lot of heat. Excellent. A cool, R&B style track, Damage Control, features a different rhythm section of Bobby Young on guitar, Lorenzo Hawkins on Keys, AJ Joyce on bass and Ronnie Smith on drums. This is a cool track and it really d...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Everybody Let's Roll , from The Texas Horns , and I really like it! Opening with title track, Everybody Let's Roll , The Texas Horns (Kaz Kazanoff on tenor sax, Al Gomez on trumpet, and John Mills on bari sax) come out steaming with Carolyn Wonderland on lead vocal, Mike Keller on rhythm guitar, Sean Giddings on keys, Chris Marsh on bass, and Tom Brechtlein on drums and featuring Anson Funderburgh with some real nice guitar lead. Solid opener. Piano boogie, I Ain't Mad With You , led by Matt Hubbard really rocks with excellent solos from Kaz and Johnny Moeller and a fat fat bottom by Mills. Excellent! A really interesting (bluesy) rework of The Beatles, I Want You (She's So Heavy) , has great horn blending with Gomez taking the lead on trumpet. With it's jazzy drum hitch by Brannen Temple, a cool organ solo by Sean Geddings and a blast of blues by Moeller on guitar, this is a punchy track.  Soulful, Pr...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Underground Blues , from Breezy Rodio and like every previous release, the music sails. Opening with Half Way in the Devil's Gate , Rodio lays down some real tension on lead vocal and sharing the guitar work with ace, Anson Funderburgh. Backed by Johnny Bradley on bass, Daniel C. Tabion on piano and organ, and Lorenzo Francocci on drums, I immediately know this release is going to be hot. Texas style blues, Playing My Game Too , has a really nice drum lead by Francocci and Funderburgh's guitar riffs against Rodio's vocals really set the trigger. Funderburgh always shows impeccable phrasing and Rodio's soulful vocals are spot on. Blues shuffle, The Murder is a real nice showcase for Josh Fulero on harmonica and Tabion's piano work balanced with Rodio on vocal and guitar gives the track real grip. Very nice. Slower blues, Lightning Strikes , is a nice stage for Rodio, on vocal and clean guitar lead. Stro...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Lights Went Out In Dallas, by Mike Morgan and the Crawl and it's super. Opening with Ding Dong Daddy , Mike Morgan is up front on lead vocal and guitar dueling with master Anson Funderburgh and it's an excellent opener with Drew Allain on bass, and Danny Cochran on drums. With a name like Funkafaction , you know it's gonna be funky, with Morgan on guitars, Mike Flanigin on B3, Reo Casey on Rhodes piano, Allain on bass and Kevin Schermerhorn on drums. This is a strong track that really moves. Title track, The Lights Went Out In Dallas , has a catchy melody and firm lead vocals by Morgan and backing vocals by Andrea Wallace plus Matt Farrell on B3 making it my choice for radio track for the release. I like the groove of boogie, Out In The Jungle with it's low slung rhythm and guitar pace. Morgan on vocal and guitar, Casey steps up with a cool solo on guitar himself and the slap rhythm of Schermerhorn on ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Golden Girl , from Trudy Lynn and I really like it. Opening with Tell Me and it's cool rhythm, Trudy Lynn really hits the road running lending no clues that she's reached that golden 75 mile marker. With the tasty guitar soloing of Yates McKendree, backing vocals of Teresa James, Brannen Temple on drums, Kevin McKendree on drums and Terry Wilson on bass this is a solid opener. Heavy footed If Your Phone Don't Ring , will have you slinking around in your seat and Lynn's vocals are really strong. Adding to the mix is Steve Krase on harmonica and real nice slide work by Yates. Boogie track, Trouble With Love is a grate addition featuring Anson Funderburgh on guitar, Krase on harmonica and strong low vocal backing by Wilson. Super. Funky, R&B style blues, Live With Yourself plays really well in Lynn's vocal wheelhouse and she drains every drop of soul out of this track. With horn backing by Darrell Le...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Just Say The Word, from Gabe Stillman and it's a solid blues release. Opening with slide exdplosion, Give Me Some Time , Gabe Stillman on guitar and vocal really gets it rockin. With Elmore James like flair, Stillman really ramps it up, backed by Colin Beatty on bass, Ray Hagen on drums, Taylor Streiff on B3 and the Texas Horns doing the rest. Excellent opener. R&B flavored, Let It Go , gives Stillman a chance to not only show his wares vocally but excellent guitar phrasing. No Time For Me has a lumbering pace and Stillman turns up the gain for a saturated tone on his guitar to grind over the full tone of Streiff's B3. This track has more rock but in the tone of a ZZ Top like jam. Very cool. Ballad, Heartbreak Makes A Sound , is a mellow, radio track, with solid vocals and guitar by Stillman, Streiff on piano and with a nice sax solo by Mark Kazanoff. Anson Funderburgh and Sue Foley take turns on shuffle, No ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (September 17, 2021), Rose-Colored Glasses Vol. 1 , by Teresa James & The Rhythm Tramps and it's a smooth blend of blues, rock and R&B styles. Opening with Show Me How You Do It , Teresa James on keys and lead vocals shows why her newest releases are widely anticipated. With Yates McKendree putting up some real nice lead guitar, and backed by Jay Bellerose on drums, Kevin McKendree on B3, Paulie Cerra on sax,  this is a solid opener. R&B flavored title track, Rose-Colored Glasses , really has a nice feel that I would expect to garner strong airplay with some nice slide guitar work by James Pennebaker. With a cocky strut, Wish It Into The Cornfield features Anson Funderburgh playing up the guitar starch and McKendree's B3 giving flow under the horn work of Cerra. Goes without saying that James has a natural voice for this and she really works it on this track. Really nice. Dean Parks, well known session...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Here I Come, from Jose Ramirez , and it's a very cool, R&B flavored, contemporary blues release. Opening with title track, Here I Come , Jose Ramirez leads on vocal and guitar, backed by Jim Pugh on piano, Wes Starr on drums and Nate Rowe on bass. Showing his first solo, he's low slung and with plenty of Texas feel...think Jimmie Vaughan or Anson Funderburgh styling. Very nice. Slow blues, I Miss You Baby sounds like it's right out of the T Bone Walker songbook and with solid vocals by Ramirez and the backing of  Texas Horns ( Mark ‘Kaz’ Kazanoff, John Mills and Al Gomez)  this track is rich. Listen to Ramirez make that guitar sing... nice. Anson Funderburgh actually shows up on Gasoline and Matches and lays in some stinging riffs over the Horns, a funk bass line by Rowe. Very nice. Goodbye Letter is a real nice slower blues with some of Ramirez's best vocals on the release and excellent rolling pia...