Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Everybody Let's Roll , from The Texas Horns , and I really like it! Opening with title track, Everybody Let's Roll , The Texas Horns (Kaz Kazanoff on tenor sax, Al Gomez on trumpet, and John Mills on bari sax) come out steaming with Carolyn Wonderland on lead vocal, Mike Keller on rhythm guitar, Sean Giddings on keys, Chris Marsh on bass, and Tom Brechtlein on drums and featuring Anson Funderburgh with some real nice guitar lead. Solid opener. Piano boogie, I Ain't Mad With You , led by Matt Hubbard really rocks with excellent solos from Kaz and Johnny Moeller and a fat fat bottom by Mills. Excellent! A really interesting (bluesy) rework of The Beatles, I Want You (She's So Heavy) , has great horn blending with Gomez taking the lead on trumpet. With it's jazzy drum hitch by Brannen Temple, a cool organ solo by Sean Geddings and a blast of blues by Moeller on guitar, this is a punchy track.  Soulful, Pr...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Sun Is Shining Down , from one of the fathers of modern blues, John Mayall and it's quite good. Opening with Hungry and Ready , Mayall on harmonica and lead vocals, Melvin Taylor on lead guitar, Greg Rzab on bass, Jay Davenport on drums and Carolyn Wonderland on rhythm and with Ron Dziubla on sax, Mark Pender on trumpet, Richard Rosenberg on trombone providing a power horn sound. Dynamic opener. Markus King really hits hard on Can't Take No More with slashing guitar riffs over the tight rhythm by Davenport. With it's driving bass line by Rzab, Chills and Thrills , Mayall plays a nicely phrase piano solo and adds B3 warmth and Mike Campbell lays down a strong guitar lead. Very nice. Slower blues, A Quitter Never Wins showcases Mayall on lead vocal nicely, floating on his own key backing and intuitive harmonica punctuation. One of my favorites on the release is Driving Wheel again featuring Melvin Taylor o...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Get Here Quick , by The Texas Horns and it's smokin'! Opening with Guitar Town , a real Texas style blues, cooked up with  Anson Funderburgh and Johnny Moeller on guitars and Gary Forsyth on lead vocals. Kaz Kazanoff on tenor, John Mills on bari and Al Gomez on trumpet and this track is hot. With a bit of New Orleans flavor, Instrumental, Feelin' No Pain is all horns to the floor with excellent piano work by Red Young, bass by Russell Jackson and Tommy Taylor on drums. Mills lays out and excellent sax solo and Moeller shows why he is regarded as one of the top bluesmen in Texas today. Title track, Better Get Here Quick is another instrumental with rich tandem sax lead and excellent guitar accents by Moeller. Gomez steps up with some crisp lead work of his own and Youngs takes a nice few bars of his own. Very cool. An excellent New Orleans style instrumental, 2018 , has a super march style snare lead by John ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blues Keep Knockin' , from Trudy Lynn and it's solid blues. Opening with two stepping, Blues Ain't Nothin' featuring Bob Lanza on guitar, Steve Krase on harp, Terry Dry on bass, and Matt Johnson on drums. With powerful vocals and a driving bottom, a solid opener. On Jimmy Rogers track, That's Alright , Lynn gets into a solid groove and Randy Wall on piano and Krase on harp lay down nice solos. One of my favorite tracks on the release is One Monkey Don't Stop No Show with clever lyrics, and hot horn work by Dan Carpenter on sax and Jim brady on trumpet. Another powerful track, I Sing The Blues finds Lynn really digging in vocally, with clean guitar work by David Carter. Again Bob Lanza's tasty guitar work comes into play on Pitiful , a super slow blues number. Lynn milks every drop of juice out of this track, working Lanza into a nice guitar frenzy. Very nice.  Hot sax work by Carpenter and...

Singer Trudy Lynn Declares Blues Keep Knockin’ on Her New Connor Ray Music CD, Coming July 27 New Album Features Special Guests Steve Krase, Bob Lanza and Carolyn Wonderland HOUSTON, TX – Six-time Blues Music Award nominee Trudy Lynn will release her new CD, Blues Keep Knockin’ from Connor Ray Music on July 27.  Backing Trudy’s vocals on the new disc are m usicians Steve Krase – harmonica; David Carter – guitar; Terry Dry – bass; Matt Johnson – drums; Jim Brady – trumpet; and Dan Carpenter – sax; with special guests Bob Lanza and Carolyn Wonderland on guitar. Trudy was recently honored with three nominations for the Living Blues Magazine Awards, with voting currently underway at the magazine’s website: www.livingblues.com . “I want to thank all my blues fans new and old, or should I say ‘mature,’ for being with me through my journey with the blues, both near and far,” Trudy says in the album liner notes. “My name is Trudy Lynn and I sing t...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, My Brother's Blues , from Benny Turner and it's great! Benny pay homage to his big brother and best friend, Freddie King and does it with style. Opening with Big Legged Woman , Benny is on lead vocal and bass, showing excellent vocal style and tone. A punchy horn section featuring Barney Floyd on trumpet and Jason Mingledorff on sax really sets the track off and the solid foot pedal of Jeffrey "Jellybean" Alexander and the riding organ work of Keiko Komaki plays nicely with rhythm guitar fills by Derwin "Big D" Perkins and lead guitar runs by June Yamagagishi. Excellent! Have You Ever Loved A Woman is a definite highlight on this release with soulful vocals by Turner, backed by Earl Smith and suppressed but critical horn work and organ by Davell Crawford, and Jack Miele plays some real tasty guitar lead to ice the cake.  Swinging I'm Tore Down features Otis Clay, Turner and Marva Wright ...

    ANNOUNCING THE 15TH ANNUAL BLUES FROM THE TOP FESTIVAL:     TWO BIG DAYS OF BLUES ROYALTY IN BEAUTIFUL WINTER PARK, CO Enjoy Fabulous Thunderbirds, Anders Osborne, C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band, Carolyn Wonderland, Alvin Youngblood Hart, And More, All In A Beautiful Mountain Setting! ~ Presented With Pride By The Grand County Blues Society, In Memory of Blues From The Top Founder, John Catt ~ Saturday, June 24 (11am to 6pm); Sunday, June 25 (10:30am to 6pm)   ...

The Bender is Sept 7.8.9.10, 2017 Big Blues Bender Announces Fabulous Lineup for Sept! LAS VEGAS, NV. – The Big Blues Bender, one of the most talked about Blues events in the country, has announced an impressive 2017 lineup. The Big Blues Bender offers what could be their best artist lineup to date, offering a wide variety of first-class music and entertainment including, Mavis Staples, Dr. John, Tab Benoit, Walter Trout, and many more. This four-night all-inclusive music experience delivers eighteen hours of live music, daily, on three indoor stages and a fabulous pool stage all under one roof, featuring the most talented and sought after Blues artists to...