Bman's Blues Report

Chris Duarte Group Lucky 13 Blues Bureau International 14 October 2014   Chris Duarte Group emerged on the scene out of Austin, Texas, in the early 90’s and gained notoriety after wowing a packed room of industry insiders at the South X Southwest convention. In the wake of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s passing, Duarte quickly gained a national reputation as a young m...

I just received the newest release, Halo Of Dark Matter , from Stoney Curtis Band is it's a solid rocker. Opening with Pure Greed , Curtis puts out a steady blues rocker with a hard bottom and a grinding guitar tone. Curtis lays down some really nice riffs here and this track definitely has airwaves appeal. Grifter is a super track and one of my favorites on the release. A cool guitar hook and strong drum rhythms by Jeff Tortora create a nice open space for Curtis and his solo chops. I Can't Live My Life This Way is a modern day blues rocker along the lines of Help Me, a classic blues number. A driving beat and super guitar riffs make this another of the more memorable tracks on the release. You Don't Know What You're Talking About is a great 2 stepper along the lines of Hot Legs or Keep Your Hands To Yourself with plenty of enthusiasm and sting. Deja Vu is a really super slow blues track giving Curtis the opportunity to really wail on guitar. Barry Barnes lays d...

I just received the newest release, Live , from the Chris Duarte Band is it's killer. Hot on the heels of My Soul Alone released earlier this year, Duarte has put together a live set and it is terrific! You know how some bands are good on record but then fizzle live. Duarte is great on record and smokin' live. Opening with Freddie King's Hideaway , Duarte puts his own spin on a classic track and plays the crap out of it. Joined by band members Yoshi Ogasahara on bass and vocal as well as Jack Jones on drums this is a tight unit. Another classic, Big Legged Woman , is up next and we're talking funky here! Ogasahara and Jones really whip it up and Duarte plays what I can honestly say is the best guitar work ever done on this track. Frenzied, tight and innovative. Excallent! Ridin' is a fast paced blues rocker with a half tempo bridge showing a more progressive edge. This is hot... I mean hot! Junior Kimbrough's Do The Romp has a bit more meat than the origina...