Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Playin' With My Friends , by Jeff Pitchell and it's a cool blues rocker. Opening with Eye For An Eye , Jeff Pitchell on lead vocal and guitar sets up a real nice shuffle. With smooth, Steve Miller like vocals and cool style Pitchell is joined by Wolf Ginandes on bass, Floyd Murphy Jr. on drums and Jeff Levine on keys. Solid opener. Your Magic Eyes , has a definite SRV/Johnny Lang feel with lush guitar rhythm and stinging riffs. One of my favorites on the release is  Magic Sam's  Out In The Cold with it's Rhumba rhythm, soulful vocals and solid guitar, paired up with Jimmie Vaughan's son Tyrone with a comparable sound to Wait's, Down In The Hole, used as the theme track for TV's The Wire. Very nice. Rick Derringer joins Pitchell on vocal and guitar on Unsung Hero of the Blues . Derringer was an early influence of mine from his early work with Johnny Winter And (blistering blues). A real nice tra...

A ride on St. Charles Avenue trolley in New Orleans early in the morning may catch Charles Neville in his favorite location practicing T'ai Chi. The Neville Brother most known for his pursuit of Eastern spiritual knowledge is also the family's keeper of the horn. His brothers affectionately refer to him as "The Horn Man." His saxophone won him a Grammy in 1989 for his haunting rendition of "Healing Chant" on the Yellow Moon CD. But the instrument's history goes way back for this artist with five decades of musical experience, long predating the formation of the family band in 1977. Charles Neville formed Turquoise with brother Art and some friends in the early '50s. Life and the Navy led Neville out on the road, gigging with everyone from Jimmy Reed to B.B. King and Bobby "Blue" Bland. A member of the house band at the renowned Dew Drop Inn, Neville played with some of the biggest names in his hometown, including Allen Toussaint, James B...