Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Which Way Do We Go? , from Brandon Santini and it's a solid blues rocker. Opening with laid back, title track, Which Way Do We Go?, Brandon Santini on vocal and harmonica sets a soulful table with just a touch of country with Timo Arthur on electric guitar, Jeff Jensen on guitar, Cliff Moore on bass, Ron James on drums and Jesse James Davis on backing vocals. A well rounded track with a solid melody, this is a cool radio track. Rocker, See That Pony , has a cool, stripped down feel with heavy snare driven drum work by James and cool rhythm guitar by Arthur. Santini alternates vocal and harmonica melody but his solo harmonica solo is serious business. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Do What Comes Naturally with it's driving guitar/bass/drum rhythm and grinding vocals. Arthur's guitar solo is just right for this primitive rocker giving it just the right amount of fuel. High energy rocker, Working On ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Hi-Fi Drive By , by Jeremiah Johnson and it's a cool blues rocker. Opening with rocking boogie, '68 Coupe Deville , with Johnson on lead guitar and vocal, backed by Allie Vogler, Emily Wallas and Mattie Schell on backing vocal and excellent piano by Victor Wainwright. Rounding out the mix is Joe Meyer on drums, Tom Maloney on guitar and piano, Paul Niehaus IV on bass and super sax by Frank Bauer. Excellent opener. With a super lope, Skippin' School , uses a solid mix of Meyer on drums and Niehaus IV on bass to set the pace. Strong vocal and lead guitars by Johnson makes this one of my favorite tracks which also features Kasimi Taylor on trumpet, Bauer on sax, Kevin O'Connor on bari sax and John Covelli and Dave Dickey on trombone. Very cool. Slinky blues, The Squeeze has a super bottom line by Niehaus IV giving Johnson a super bed to rip on guitar and he takes it. With full backing by Taylor, Bauer, O...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Wasted Youth , from Mick Kolassa, and it's chocked full of hot contemporary blues players doing what they do best. Opening with blues rocker, Throwing Away These Blues , Kolassa on vocal and guitar leads the way with James Cunningham on drums, Tullie Brae on backing vocal, Rick Steff on piano, Jeff Jensen on guitar, Bill Ruffino on bass and Marc Franklin on trumpet. Solid opener. Title track, Wasted Youth , has a thunder bass line by Ruffino and with Doug McMinn on drums, Brad Webb lays in some real nice slide work and Eric Hughes adds some real nice harmonica. Funky rocker, I Can't Get Enough gives Anthony Paule a nice chance to show his stuff and Kirk Smothers blows a real nice sax solo topping the track off. Victor Wainwright plays a real clean piano on Feeling Sorry For Myself , a cool blues track with just the right amount of sway. Brandon Santini adds his superlative harmonica tone to My Mind Doesn't Wa...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent self titled release Tennessee Redemption and its strongly written and performed. Opening with Glad To Be , a solid radio track, Brandon Santini is up front on  harmonica, backed by Jeff Jensen on lead vocal and guitar, Timo Arthur on guitar, Bill Ruffino on bass and David Green on drums. With it's rumbling bass line and funky wah wah guitar rhythm, We Got A Thing Going On has a real cool sound. A swampy overall sound and nicely woven instruments, under Santini's super lead vocals makes this one of my favorites on the release. A dark underpinning on Leave My Body and Jensen's nice lead vocals create a lot of tension with an active bass line, particularly nice drum work by Green and nicely crafted guitar lead. This isn't your basic blues track and really has a lot going no. Definite cool track. Gospel flavored Come On Up To The House has a real nice laid back country feel with soothing lead vocal by Jensen and w...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Revelation , from Tullie Brae who mixes power vocals and a heavy rhythm section producing a solid rock sound. Opening with Price of the Blues , Brae belts with a  Grace Slick like swagger laying heavy on the bass line of Bill Ruffino, and adding her own slide work on with David Green on drums. Powerful opener. On ballad Mississippi Rain , we see the other side of Brae's sensitive vocals with excellent guitar phrasing by Jeff Jensen and bright piano highlights by Rick Steff. On blues rocker, Break These Chains , Brae strikes a nice medium with a bluesy vocals, deep raspy guitars by Jensen and nicely highlighted by Brandon Santini on harmonica. My favorite track on the release is soul track, New Shoes with it's straightforward radio melody. Smooth, gospel like piano work over the organ on this track really drives the bottom and Brae's vocals are spot on. My other favorite track on the release is Shine , anoth...

I just had the opportunity to review to most recent release, The Longshot , from Brandon Santini and it's a stripped down blues rocker. Opening with Don't Come Around Here No More , Brandon Santini is upfront on lead vocal and his vocals are particularly strong. Backed by Timo Arthur on guitar, Chuck Combs on bass, Reed Muchow on drums, John Ginty on keys and Moe Watson on backing vocal this is a super opener with hot harp riffs by Santini. With a country two step feel, Drive You Off My Mind has a cool open road feel with snappy drums and added percussion by Michael Bram. Greg Gumpel really adds nice slide guitar riffs under the lead vocal, paired with Santini's own harp work and saturated in Ginty's organ flow making this one of the best tracks on the release.  I really like Arthur's guitar tone on Back To You pushing into a foot stomping, lumbering drive. Santini works back and forth between lead vocal and crisp harp riffs giving the track a fine flow and Ar...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Back In Love, by Ms Zeno the Mojo Queen and it's powerful! Opening with a super, romping, R&B track, Back In Love , Zeno not only shows her powerful voice but her excellent sense of rhythm and phrasing. Backed by Roland Johnson on vocal, Mark Hochberg on viola, Abbie Steiling on violin, Andy Hainz on cello, Dustin Shrum on trumpet, Kevin O'Conner on drums and guitar and Paul Neihaus on bass, keys and horns, this is a super opener. In My Shoes is a terrific soul track which draws comparison to Gladys Knight and Aretha. That is serious treading territory and I think that Zeno deserves the comparison. Excellent! Slowing things down on Willie Brown , with more of a soulful blues feel, Zeno has an earthy delta feel, with harp work by Brandon Santini and guitar by Little G Weevil. Very nice. Mojo Queen has a cool new Orleans funky feel and Zeno really gets in the slot, pumped up by Tom Martin on accordion and ...

I just received the most recent release, Ghosts of the Riverside Hotel , from Mick Kolassa . A cornucopia of blues like last years release by Kolassa, "Michissippi Mick" , the net proceeds will go to The Blues Foundation and Generation Blues. Opening with Hank Williams' Ramblin' Man , Kolassa on lead vocal and guitar, Jeff Jensen on Lead guitar, Bill Ruffino on bass, Robinson Bridgeforth on drums and Chris Stephenson on organ, this is an interesting track with march like rudiments and tasty guitar work. Slow swinging blues track, Grapes & Greens , featured nice electric guitar and slide work from Jensen and Eric Hughes on harp coupled with solid lead vocals by Kolassa. Lou Singer's depression era, One Meatball , gets a light reggae rhythm treatment under the vocal harmonizing by Reba Russell and bright piano passages by Victor Wainwright. I Always Meant To Love You is a swinging 12 bar with some real jazzy riffs from Jensen, complimented nicely by Kirk Smo...

I just received the newest release, 300 Miles To Memphis , from Mississippi Fever and it's entertaining. Opening with funky, Feel Like Superman ; guitarist, lead vocalist, Brent Barker kicks on the wah wah pedal and with supporting organ work from Steve Grimes; solid bass work from Ted May and tight drums from Tom May puts me in mind of a little Mahogany Rush. Very cool. A modern electric interpretation of Robert Johnson's Traveling Riverside Blues is up next and Barker takes a nice stretch on lead guitar actually bringing to mind Clapton's style. A real nice bass line by May is the trick on Steal Away Your Love . Barker's crisp acoustic guitar soloing on this track is a nice juxtaposition to the overall heavy feel of the track. One of my favorite tracks on the release, Downtown Train , has a real nice bass/drum bottom setting a solid platform for minimalistic vocal and guitar work by Barker. With the inclusion of a thin no nonsense guitar solo over absolute basics,...

I just received the newest release, Hard Road To Hoe from Ghost Town Blues Band and I really like it. Opening with title track, Hard Road To Hoe , lead singer and guitar player sets up the track. With a loose slide vamp on cigar box he is backed by Preston Ewing on drums, Jeremy Powell on piano and Alex Piazza. Unexpected texture added by Suavo Jones on trombone and Richie Hale on tenor sax tips a great opener. Up next is boogie track Big Shirley with all of the fire of Jerry Lee Lewis from Powell on piano. A real rowdy rocker, this track cooks with a nice flash of electric guitar from Isbell to boot! Tip Of My Hat has a Rumba rhythm with Isbell, McEwen and Vicki Loveland on vocal. Super showman Brandon Santini steps up his crankin harp adding a nice bite to this track. Very cool! Santini takes the one leads on vocal on My Doggy , an easy walker with a clever story. Marry Dog Isbell adds an authentic howl to the track and Santini is also in on harp but the horns on this track shin...

I just received the newest release (1/27/15), Live and Extended presented by Festival D'ete' De Quebec , by Brandon Santini. Opening with a funky version of Muddy Waters' One More Mile , Santini is cooking right out of the box on lead vocal and hot smokin' harp work. Great opener! Nick Hern on bass and Timo Arthur on guitar set a solid boogie rhythm nailed down by Chad Wirl on drums on This Time Another Year and Santini uses his solid blues voice and great harp phrasing to captivate the crowd. On Sonny Boy Williamson track, Elevate Me Mama , Santini really gets in the slow groove. This track is in excess of 6 minutes and Santini doesn't waste a note. Hot! On groove blues, Evil Woman , it's Hern and Arthur that set the pace and Arthur takes it for a nice ride with some flashy riffs of his own. The band drops back to nothing but drum and Santini takes a rid of his own. Very cool! Have A Good Time has a sassy 60's surf kind of sound rolled into a blues tr...

I just received the newest release, Full Moon Night in Memphis , from JP Soars and it's a blast. Opening with title track, Full Moon Night in Memphis , Soars leads the way with his raspy voice and melodic slide work, accompanied by Chris Peet on drums and Todd Edmunds on drums. Brandon Santini adds significantly with some hot harp riffs as well. Back To Broke is a funky track with rap like vocals. Mark "Muggy Doo" Leach adds a nice B3 edge and Soars clean picks a pretty nice solo. Makes No Sense is a really smooth slower blues with sumptuous chords and clean bluesy riffs. A really nice T-Bone Walker like approach to this track makes it stand tall with any of Soars earlier work. Somethin' Ain't Right has a strong blues rock feel reminding me of Mountain. Raul Hernandez adds some cool percussion to this track giving it a different texture. Soars really attacks the electric guitar on this with some real sting. Where's the cowbell? Very nice! Mean Old World ...

I just received a copy of the newest release, Michissippi Mick , from Mick Kolassa and it's got a lot of personality. Opening with New Beale Street Blues , vocalist/guitarist Mick Kolassa plays it easy but spunky with a nice rolling blues track featuring Eric Hughes on harp. Blues Are All Around You is a blues rocker featuring particularly stiff guitar riffs from Jeff Jensen backed by Chris Stephenson on organ, Bill Ruffino on bass and Doug McMinn on drums. Classic blues track, The Letter , has a slow easy pace and Kolassa and backing vocalist Reba Russell do a really nice job reworking this track. Stephenson really fills out the spiritual nature created by the vocalists. Nice job! One of personal favorites on the release, Reefer Man , has a ramblin' country sound with a light bouncy feel. Kolassa's vocals are perfect for this track complimented by Bill Rufino and Victor Wainwright weighs in with some really nice piano work. Johnny Mercer track, Blues In The Night , has ...

I just received the new release, This Time Another Year , from Brandon Santini and it's a cooker! Opening with Got Good Lovin' , harpist Santini wastes no time taking a shot at contemporary harp champs like Magic Dick. A hot blues rocker, Santini has a cool voice and can really get the harp flaming. Bill Ruffino on bass and James Cunningham on drums hold down the bottom and Jeff Jensen flys through with some slick riffs of his own on guitar. This Time Another Year , along the lines of Help Me, is a great track with roots deep in the blues with really great harp tone. Santini holds the band back to a simmer as he builds the pressure vocally and then drop in on harp for the swat. Really masterful. Jensen coaxes some nice riffs from the strings and Santini has the control of Jim Morrison just waiting to unleash the dogs. What You Doing To Me , is a great New Orleans tempo track on chromatic harp. Santini has a real great sensitivity for when and how to reel in the track. Interesti...