Bman's Blues Report

I just received the newest release. Heart 'O' Chicago from Liz Mandeville and it's quite cool! Opening with Cloud Of Love , a blend of soul, R&B, funk and gospel; I really like the feel! Featuring sax solo's from Oz Landessberg and Eddie Campbell as well as a cool trombone work from Eric Campbell and hot bass from Darryl Wright, this smokes. On These Blues , the band falls back into a calm swing and Mandeville goes from a hot spiritual vocal style to more of a club jazz style. Minoru Wright on guitar and Joan Gand share the instrumental spotlight backed by Wade baker on trumpet, Eric campbell on trombone and Oz Landessberg on sax and the slick stick work of Jeremiah Thomas on drums. Don't Doubt My Love finds Charlie Love in a vocal duet with Mandeville on an easy R&B track. Maruyama lays down a nicely stylized guitar solo on this track which nicely dresses it. So Called Best Friend has a cool groove set by Wright and Thomas and featuring Mandeville on ...

Adolphe Paul Barbarin (May 5, 1899 – February 17, 1969) was a New Orleans jazz drummer, usually regarded (along with Baby Dodds) as one of the very best of the pre-Big Band era jazz drummers. He studied under the famed drummer, Louis Cottrell, Sr. Paul Barbarin's year of birth is often given as 1901, but his brother Louis Barbarin (born 1902) said he was quite sure that Paul was several years older than he was, and Paul Barbarin simply refused to answer the year of his birth in an interview at Tulane's Jazz Archives. From the late 1910s on, Barbarin divided his time between Chicago, New York City and New Orleans, and touring with such bands as those of Joe "King" Oliver, Luis Russell, Louis Armstrong, and Henry Red Allen. From the 1950s on he usually led his own band. He, along with Louis Cottrell, Jr. founded and led the second incarnation of the Onward Brass Band from 1960 to 1969. Barbarin was an accomplished and knowledgeable musician, a member of ASCAP, and...