Bman's Blues Report

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Let's Straighten It Out! , from  The Sully Band , and it's solid R&B/soul. Opening with Dr John's When The Battle Is Over , this band is firing on all cylinders with Robert "Sully" Sullivan and Rebecca Jade on lead vocals. With an aggressive chugging rhythm and soulful vocals, backed by Jon Harford on guitar, James East on bass and backing vocal, Mark charles Hattersley on keys, Tres Hodgens on drums and backing vocals,  and Nacho Sobers on percussion, this is a great opener. I really like the band's take on Shuggie Otis' funky Ice Cold Daydream with some screaming guitar work by Harford and great horns by Tripp Sprague on sax, April Leslie on Bari sax, Tomoka Nomura on alto sax and Steve Dillard on trumpet. Excellent! Billy Preston's smash hit, Nothing From Nothing , maintains it's original arrangement but with the addition of some screaming guitar by Harford, Grant Benginger on ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Heard The Lie , from Gina Sicilia and it's a solid R&B release. Opening with title track, Heard the Lie , Sicilia blends pop, country and blues to come up with a solid radio track featuring backing by Herman Matthews on drums, Davey Faragher on bass, Arlan Oscar on keys and Josh Smith and Dave Darling on guitars. How Many Times is a strong soul track showcasing Sicilia's vocals as well as the top notch writing of Darling and smooth backing vocals of Bernie Barlow, Brie Darling, D'Andree Galipeau, Conner Pasich, Connie Cham and Kirk Pasich. Bad Company's Ready For Love is next with a bit more polish than the original with deep rich vocals by Sicilia, a light Latin beat and a nice key solo by Oscar. Janey Street's Angels Watching , is a really nice track with a perfect balance of melody and vocals. Another track with a dash of country is Sugar with just another example of Sicilia's flexibili...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (February 23, 2018), Love Is An Army , by Janiva Magness and it's earthy. Opening with R&B track, Back To Blue, Janiva Magness shows authority in the shadows of Mayfield and Green with Stephen Hodges on drums, Davey Faragher on bass, Arlan Schierbaum on keys, Doug Livingston on pedal steel, Dave Darling on guitar, Phil Parlapiano on piano and Darrell Leonard, Joe Sublet and Alfredo Ballesteros on horns. Also contributing backing vocals are Kudisan Kai, Sugaray Rayford, Gary Pinto, Natasha Pinto, Thrones, Aurelia, Dave Darling and Brie Darling. Excellent opener. Another nice entry is Tell Me with strong vocals and real nice guitar work by Darling. Ballad and title track, Love Is An Army , has a strong melody with warm pedal work by Livingston and really nice vocal duet between Magness and Bryan Stephens. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Down Below with a really earthy feel and featuring Courtney Hart...

GRAMMY-NOMINATED SINGER-SONGWRITER JANIVA MAGNESS REACHES A NEW CREATIVE APEX  WITH THE POWERFUL, GENRE-SPANNING  LOVE IS AN ARMY She’s reunited with producer Dave Darling for her   14th album, which fuses the classic sounds of Memphis and Nashville with a modern focus on songs that balance love, hope and protest.  Street date: February 23rd. Guests on this Americana-Soul album are Americana pillars Delbert McClinton,  Poco’s Rusty Young and Della Mae’s Courtney Hartman, as well as prolific blues artists Charlie Musselwhite and Cedric Burnside LOS ANGELES, Calif. — After  Janiva Magness  added a 2016 Grammy nomination to her 26 Blues Music Award nominations — with seven wins, incl...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blue Again , from Janiva Magness and she taps a number of blues classics. Opening with I Can Tell , Magness has the place rockin' and Kid Ramos shows some trademark riffs backed by Matt Tecu on drums, Gary "Scruff" Davenport on bass, Zach Zunis and Garrett Deloian on guitar and Arlan Schierbaum om keys. On Al Kooper's, I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know , Magness digs deep for some of her most soulful vocals on record. Kooper being an organ player, this track leaves plenty of space for Schierbaum and he uses it nicely complimented by tasty guitar soloing. Magness teams up with Sugaray Rayford for an vibrant R&B duet on If I Can't Have You . Joe Hinton's I'm Tired Of Walking with crisp, Freddie King/Eric Clapton like guitar work. Very nice. Nina Simone's slinky,    Buck is a cool track with snappy, SRV like guitar riffs and TJ Norton on harp. Wrapping the release is funky blu...

I just received the newest release, Love Wins Again , from Janiva Magness and it has a strong soulful base. Her first release on Blue Elan Records opens with title track, Love Wins Again , a uptempo R&B style track showcasing the tight phrasing of Magness with nicely blended backing vocals and a radio hook. Real Slow has an infectious funky groove with slick guitar riffs and a solid bottom. Ballad, When You Hold Me has the pure sound of 60's R&B with nicely blended vocals. I really like the feel of this track and Magness parlays her soulful vocals into a super radio track with warm key backing by Arlan Schierbaum and stinging guitar riffs by Garret Deloian, Zach Zunis and Dave Darling. Say You Will is a prime radio track with an easy beat and a solid melody. Backing vocals by Brie Darling, Bernie Barlow, Gary Pinto and TJ Norton add considerable warmth and Phil Parlipiano on piano balances the solid bass lines of Gary Davenport and tight drum work of Matt Laug. Doorw...

INCENDIARY SINGER-SONGWRITER ...