Bman's Blues Report

I just received the newest release, Cities In Blue, by Danny Marks and he covers a lot of blues territory from coast to coast. Opening with a super T-Bone Walker style track, Houston to L.A. Danny Marks handles vocals and displays his strong capability to swing that guitar. Very nice! Belt Line Blues has a rural country style with Al Cross on drums, Danny Marks on slide and Johathan Goldsmith on keys. Once I Was Crazy has a great period feel highlighted by strong riffs from Chris Whiteley on trumpet and Ken Whiteley on Banjo. Very cool. Swing track, Kansas City Shout , has a real nice piano line by Julian Fauth and Marks with Alec Fraser on vocal backed by Mike Wark on sax is super. I'm particularly attracted by the guitar intro on Memphis Got Soul which has nice Albert king blues influence and the solid bari sax work by Phil Skladowski gives it that Memphis horn sound. With a light springy rag style, Heading Down To New Orleans , strongly features Marks' vocals and nic...

Danny Marks Releases 'Cities In Blue' Available at dannym.com Cities in Blue is the soundtrack recording to Danny Marks ’ popular television series on HIFI TV. The musician / broadcaster will take you to the land where blues began and beyond. Travel up and down the blues highway on a road-trip over one hundred years in the making, from New Orleans, Mississippi, Memphis and Houston, to Piedmont, Kansas, Chicago, and New York. Cities In Blue explores the evolution of one of America’s most iconic music styles: The Blues. Original songs and soundscapes by Danny Marks. In addition to Marks on vocals and guitar, Cities In Blue features appearances from Canadian blues musicians Julian Fauth, David Rotundo, The Whiteley Brothers: Chris & Ken, Delta Sugar's Sherie Marshall, Fathead's Bucky Berger, film composer Jonathan Goldsmith, jazz guitar great Rob Piltch, session ace Al Cross and bass...

DANNY MARKS TO HOST 18 th ANNUAL MAPLE BLUES AWARDS   Performers include nominees Downchild, Joel Johnson, Steve Hill, Angel Forrest, Brandon Isaak, and Harpdog Brown   Toronto, ON – Celebrated guitarist, Toronto’s own Danny Marks, is set to take the stage for a second turn as host of the 18 th annual Maple Blues Awards on January 19 th , 2015. A renowned musician and broadcaster with a lengthy career on the Toronto music scene, Marks is the long-time producer/host of radio program Bluz FM and the face of the 8-part series Cities in Blue on HIFI TV. The not-to-be-missed gala is Canada’s national blues celebration, recognizing outstanding musical achievement and gathering blues musicians and music fans from across the country each year. A cast of some of Canada’s notable and emerging new blues talent will be performing at the gala concert and are all current or past nominees. This year the performers include O...

I just received a copy of Danny Marks ' newest release, A Friend In The Blues . Marks, a multi instrumentalist, is joines by Alec Fraiser (bass and vocal), Al Cross (drums), Jonathan Goldsmith (piano) and B3), Sherrie Marshall (vocal) and Wayne Mills (sax). Marks penned all 12 tracks on this release opening with Caretaker , a modern R&B based blues with a light jazzy bottom. Marks trades guitar riffs with Mills on Sax. Blues For Lonnie Johnson a shuffle style track has some cool Texas style riffs. Blues Party Tonight is a swing style track with a heavy horn bass and a Latin rhythm. Uncle John is an acoustic based finger picked blues ballad. Back To The Blues , is a ballad style track with the tale of the blues business and an interesting guitar hook. Two Brothers takes a more rural feel with a western flare. A Friend In The Blues has a very light, happy touch, almost a jingle. The Other Side stays in what I'd consider a more traditional western style in a rhythmic ...