Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Sanctuary , from Bryan Lee and it's smokin' good. Opening with New Orleans funky, Fight For The Light , with a super strutting rhythm. Lee on guitar and vocal sets the pace backed by Deirdre Fellner on backing vocal, Marc Spagone on guitar, Jack Berry with particularly hot bass, Matt Liban on drums, lush keystrokes by Jimmy Voegeli, and Greg Koch on dobro. Very nice. Rolling shuffle, The Gift has great stride and a warm BB King kind of feel. Voegeli sets a great path on electric piano and Lee's guitar soloing is tops. One of my favorite tracks on the release, Mr Big , has a perfect blend of soulful vocals and guitar floating in a blues cloud. Very cool. another outstanding track is Don't Take My Blindness for a Weakness with extended melodic guitar soloing and soulful vocals. Excellent! Wrapping the release is swinging shuffle, Lord And Savior with direct, committed vocals and concise guitar riffs. Le...

I just received the newest release (September 17, 2013), Play One For Me , from Bryan Lee and it's a soul stirred blues stew. Opening with Aretha (Play One For Me) has a real nice R&B flow featuring Kevin Anker on keys and Lee on vocals. Freddie King's It's Too Bad (Things Are Going So Tough) has a real nice blues sway and features some real sweet guitar riffs from Lee. A strong soul track written by Bobby Womack, When Love Begins (Friendship Ends) has a great lyrical line and melody. With just the right touch of blues guitar, Lee leads Steve Gomes on bass and Robb Stupka on drums into the mist surrounded by a solid string and horn section. Tasty guitar riffs really highlight what is likely my favorite track on the release. Chester Burnett's Evil Is Going On produces a nice treat with Kim Wilson joining on harp. Anker plays really nice key work underneath the melody providing a nice balance and Lee on vocal and guitar punctuation makes this another hot track....

Bryan Lee Says Play One for Me on Severn Records Label Debut CD, Due September 17 New Album from New Orleans-Based Bluesman Features Special Guests Kim Wilson and Johnny Moeller of The Fabulous Thunderbirds ANNAPOLIS, MD – Severn Records announces a September 17 release date for Play One for Me , the label debut CD from New Orleans-based blues guitarist/singer Bryan Lee, recorded at Severn’s new state-of-the-art studios in Annapolis. Severn Records is distributed in the U.S. by City Hall Records. Play One for Me was produced by Kevin Anker, David Earl and Steve Gomes and features Bryan Lee’s powerfully soulful vocals and stinging guitar backed by the label’s studio house band of Anker on keyboards, Gomes on bass, and Robb Stupka on drums, augmented by special guests Kim Wilson (harmonica) and Johnny Moeller (rhythm guitar) of The Fabulous Thunderbirds. Horns and strings on the new album were arranged and conducted by Willie Henderson. The n...

Bryan Lee (born March 16, 1943, Two Rivers, Wisconsin) is an American blues guitarist and singer based in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is also known by the nickname braille blues daddy and has been a fixture on Bourbon Street scene since the 1980s. Lee completely lost his eyesight by the age of eight. His avid interest in early rock and blues was fostered through the 1950s by late night listening sessions via the Nashville-based radio station WLAC AM, where he first encountered the sounds of Elmore James, Albert King and Albert Collins. By his late teens, Lee was playing rhythm guitar in a regional band called The Glaciers that covered Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Chuck Berry material. Through the 1960s, Lee's interest turned to Chicago blues and he soon found himself immersed on that scene, opening for some of his boyhood heroes. In 1979 he released his first album named Beauty Isn't Always Visual. In January 1982, Lee moved to New Orleans, eventually landing a stead...