Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, I'm Just Johnnie , by Johnnie Johnson and it's cooking. Opening with title track, I'm Just Johnnie , Johnnie Johnson on piano and vocal leads the way with terrific style. Tony T lays in some blistering slide work on guitar, backed by the heavy horn section of Jm Manley and Ray Vollmar while Kenny Rice on drums and Gus Thornton on bass round out the band. Excellent opener. On I Get Weary , Max Baker plays a heartfelt blues intro and solo on guitar and Charles Glenn sings a silky smooth lead. Johnson plays a hot, well articulated solo on piano and with Paul Willett on organ, Dickie Steltenpohl on bass, and Andy O'Connor on on drums, this is a strong track. Powerhouse horns by  Doc Simpson, Tom O'Brien and Ray McAnallen open Let The Good Times Roll with Kenny Rice on lead vocals. Bonnie Raitt really shines on slide guitar followed by Johnson's signature piano style. Excellent. Three Handed Woman...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Struck Down , by The Fabulous Thunderbirds and it's one of their best. Opening with Struck Down By The Blues , Kim Wilson has the mic singing lead vocals on this BB King style track. Johnny Moeller and Steve Strongman handle the gripping guitar lead with Bob Welsh on piano, Rudy Albin Petschauer on drums and Steven Kirsty on drums. Excellent opener. Classic ZZ Top style, one line bass, drives Payback Time features Wilson and Billy Gibbons on lead vocals with great harmonica overtones by Wilson and featuring Gibbons on guitar. Very cool. Bonnie Raitt, Keb Mo and Taj Mahal share the mic on Nothing But Rambling , an easy shuffle with strong harmonica work by Wilson and Keb Mo on slide. Wilson back up front on romping shuffle, Whatcha Do To Me . Elvin Bishop lends his guitar work on his track giving it a nice kick and Wilson's harmonica work turns up the heat with his own spice. I really like Moeller's guitar work...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blues For Breakfast , by The Phantom Blues Band and it's a solid party. Originally formed as Taj Mahal's backing band, PBB began performing on their own and released their first release back in 2006. With a few changes in the lineup most significantly Les Lovitt replacing Darrell Leonard on trumpet and Jim Pugh replacing the nearly irreplaceable Mike Finnigan after his fight with cancer ending in 2021. This newest rendition of the band opens with a roaring  cover of I Take What I Want with Larry Fulcher on bass and lead vocals paired with Johnny Lee Schell on lead vocal and guitar. Backed by Tony Braunagel on drums, Joe Sublett on sax, Les Lovitt on trumpet and Jim Pugh on piano and organ this track has real juice. New Orleans flavored, She's Into Something has strong percussion by  Braunagel and the horn work of Joe Sublett and Les Lovitt really spices things up. Schell drops into a nice Texas style guita...

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (June 25, 2021), A Sweet Relief Tribute to Joey Spampinato , NRBQ founding member and writer of all of the tracks on thie release. Opening with blues rocker, You Can't Hide , by Al Anderson on lead vocal and guitar, with Carl Minor on acoustic guitar, David Dorn on keys, Steve Mackey on bass, and Evan Hutchings on drums. Energetic opener. Los Lobos contributes Every Boy and Girl , with David Hildago on guitar, accordion and vocal, Steve Berlin on sax, Vince Hidalgo on bass and David Hildago Jr on drums. Pop tune, How Can I Make You Love Me , is performed by She and Him with Zooey Deschanel on vocal and M. Ward on guitar and keys. The Minus 5 brings us Don't She Look Good in a slightly punky rockabilly style. Scott McCaughey on guitar, piano, organ, percussion and vocal with Mike Mills on bass, Peter Buck on guitar, and Joe Adragna on drums and with a really cool guitar solo by Dave Depper. I really like Buddy Mi...

The Last Music Company has released Dr. John's tribute to Louis Armstrong, Ske-Dat-De-Dat , on vinyl on June 5, 2020. I had the opportunity to review this newest release and it's a lot of fun. Opening with What A Wonderful World , Dr John joins up with Nicholas Payton on trumpet and the Blind Boys of Alabama for a Mac stylized version of this Armstrong classic. Payton floats on the melodic rhythm and Mac's vocals are tops. Bonnie Raitt joins on I've Got The World On A String and an easy swing. Both Mac and Raitt seem very comfortable with excellent lead vocals, bluesy guitar riffs, clarinet and full horn backing. Very nice. In traditional Mac/New Orleans Jazz style, Gut Bucket Blues is one of my favorite tracks on the release, again featuring Payton on trumpet and with strong horn backing and some really tasty drumming. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child features Anthony Hamilton on lead vocal with smooth soulful backing and solid horn work. The McCrary Si...

                                                                                                                               ROBERT CRAY BAND AND PROVOGUE / MASCOT LABEL GROUP ANNOUNCE AUGUST 28 RELEASE DATE FOR 4 NIGHTS OF FORTY YEARS LIVE DVD and Blu-ray Accompanying 2-CD Set Features 90 Minutes Of Live Concert Footage Alongside An In-Depth Interview W...

I just received the newest release, Ske-Dat-De-Dat ... Spirit of Satch from Dr John and I quite like it. Oh yeah. With a tribute to an older statesman, there are some old time ballads but with a fresh look which is overall very interesting. On opener, What A Wonderful World , The Blind Boys Of Alabama add a different dimension to what is done sixties pop style with a twist of New Orleans. Terrence Blanchard a really nice melodic trumpet solo over what is otherwise a funky orchestral arrangement. Mack The Knife gets a total revamp with a solid New Orleans strut. With very little except lyrics to the original track, this is an ingenious mix with brilliant work from Blanchard. There is a rap break which I don't care for but overall the track is excellent. Tight Like That has a real Latin feel with vocals by Telmary and sweet Spanish guitar and really smart trumpet work by Arturo Sandoval. I've Got The World On A String stays with very traditional arrangement say, Tony Benne...

ROCK N ROLL HALL OF FAMER, AND SIX-TIME GRAMMY WINNER, DR JOHN GOES BACK TO THE SOURCE WITH SKE-DAT-DE-DAT...SPIRIT OF SATCH New Orleans musical giant pays tribute to fellow Crescent City legend Louis Armstrong with star-studded, divinely-inspired new tribute disc Proper Records / September 1st  Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and six-time GRAMMY®-winner Dr. John is New Orleans' most prominent living musical icon. The embodiment of his hometown's freewheeling creative spirit and multiple musical traditions, he's built a visionary, idiosyncratic body of work that's deeply rooted in the Crescent City's myriad blues, R&B, jazz and rock 'n' roll traditions. So it's fitting that Dr. John's new album on Proper Records, Ske-Dat-De-Dat...Spirit of Satch, pays heartfelt tribute to another larger-than-life New Orleans legend: the seminal trumpeter and vocalist Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, whose musical innovations created the ...

Bonnie Raitt, (born November 8, 1949) is an American blues and R&B singer, songwriter, and guitarist who was born in Burbank, California, the daughter of Broadway musical star John Raitt. Raitt began playing guitar at an early age, something not a lot of her high school girlfriends did. “I had played a little at school and at camp,” she later recalled in a July 2002 interview. “My parents would drag me out to perform for my family, like all parents do, but it was a hobby—nothing more…I think people must wonder how a white girl like me became a blues guitarist. The truth is, I never intended to do this for a living. I grew up…in a Quaker family, and for me being Quaker was a political calling rather than a religious one.” In 1967 Raitt continued her pursuit in that path when she entered Harvard’s Radcliffe College as a freshman, majoring in African Studies. “My plan was to travel to Tanzania, where President Julius Nyerere was creating a government based on democracy and social...

Rick Holmstrom With Mavis Staples & Bonnie Raitt On Austin City Limits This Weekend! Contact: Mark Carpentieri                                           Phone: 631-754-8725                                                E-Mail: mc@mc-records.com                                web: www.mc-records.com Northport NY - M.C. Records is excited to announce that guitarist Rick Holmstrom and his band will be playing with Mavis Staples on PBS' Austin C...

I have just received a copy of Maria Muldaur 's newest release, ... First Came Memphis Minnie (available October 9, 2012). Muldaur has elnisted a virtual who's who of blues royalty including Rory Blck, Ruthie Foster, Bonnie Raitt, Phoebe Snow, Koko Taylor, Del Rey, David Bromberg, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Roy Rogers, Steve James and Steve Freund . First up is Me And My Chauffeur Blues with Muldaur on vocals and Roy Rogers on guitar. This is a really nice cover and one of Minnie's gems. Bonnie Raitt and Freund do a great version of Ain't Nothin' In Ramblin' . On I'm Goin' Back Home , Muldair teams up with Alvin Youngblood Hart for a very classic sounding duet. (Certainly one of my favorites tracks on the release). I'm Sailin' featuring Muldaur on vocals with Del Rey and Steve James on guitars shows Muladur's voice at it's best. Rory Block takes the lead on When You Love Me both on vocals and guitars. Long As I Can See You Smile , agai...