Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Live at Space , by Dave Specter and it's terrific! Opening with Rumba & Tonic , a hot, Latin flavored guitar lead instrumental with sassy drumming by Marty Binder , warm bass work by Rodrigo Mantovani and Brother John Kattke on keys. I love it when Dave does this. Very nice. Otis Rush's Homework is up next and Specter vocals are in the slot. With smokey organ work by Kattke, a great bass line by Mantovani and tight snare snaps by Binder as a foundation, Specter uses his natural flair on guitar to play this classic like a real boss. A slow blues take on   Blues From The Inside is really tasty with vocal harmonies by Specter and Kattke. Specter uses nice pinch harmonics and slide phrasing to spell out a memorable guitar solo. Chicago style boogie , Chicago Style features Kattke on vocal and guitar grinding out the blues. With a walking bass line by Mantovani, piano punctuation and a stiff snare slap by Bind...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Soul In Blue , from Tad Robinson and it's terrific! Opening with R&B flavored track, Keep It In The Vault , Tad Robinson on vocal sets up a solid groove with Brian Yarde on drums and Dave Murray on bass and Kevin Anker on keys and Tommy Leino on guitar lays down some real bluesy riffs. Soulful, Out Of Sight and Out Of Mind really illustrated what I really love about Robinson. His vocals are silky smooth and dripping with soul. Clean piano backing by Alberto Marisco and meaty guitar work by Paul Holdman backed by Chris Vitarello on rhythm creates real tension, soothed by the lush vocals of Devin B Thompson and Lorie Smith . Excellent. Another soulful track, Deeper Than You Think really is deep in the soul with a throbbing bass line by Steve Gomes and features Mark Buselli   on trumpet, Rich Cohen on tenor sax, and Anker on organ really pushing Robinson's rich vocals. Forgive and Forget features so...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Six String Soul , a double cd release by Dave Specter and it's great. Celebrating 30 years on Delmark, with remastered recordings from throughout his career and celebrating many guests. Opening with Buzz Me Specter on guitar, is joined by Barkin Bill Smith on vocal and Ronnie Earl on guitar as well as Ken Saydak on organ, Dez Desormeaux on sax, Red Groetzinger on sax, Mike McCurdy on bass and John Hiller on drums. Very cool. Specter really stretches out nicely on solo guitar on slow blues, Railroad Station . Smith, on lead vocal does a real nice job and Bob Stroger on bass anchors the track. Saydak's piano is a nice accent and sax soloing by Groetzinger is really nice. I really like instrumental, Specter's Walk, with it's deep jazz groove. Specter cruses on guitar, Desormeaux's sax solo is rich, and Saydak's organ work is strong. Tad Robinson has lead vocal on Sweet Serenity . I've always been ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blues From The Inside Out , from Dave Specter , and it's got great style. Opening with title track, Blues From The Inside Out , Dave Spector leads on guitar and vocal with Brother John Kattke on keys, Harlan Lee Terson on bass, and Marty Binder on drums. Adding in the horns on Ponchatoula Way , Specter put up a blues rocker with a splash of New Orleans. Mars Williams on sax, Jon Janowiak on trombone and Ron Haynes on trumpet give the track fullness and Spector's innovative blues riffs and the solid piano work of Kattke are really nice.  Hot Tuna leader, Jorma Kaukonen joins on Sanctifunkious , a real sweaty blues funk right out of the streets of NO. A cool instrumental with essential drums by Binder and percussion by Ruben Alverez, and nice key work by Kattke, a great groove. Latin influenced, Minor Shout has a super beat and with tight percussion, clean lead guitar and fluid organ runs, it could easily be from ...

I just had the opportunity to review the newest release, Cab Driving Man , from Mississippi Heat and it's a cornucopia of blues. Opening with R&B track, Cupid Bound , Pierre Lacocque is on the harp with sweet tone. Inetta Visor has the lead vocals. Chris "Hambone" Cameron sets up the keys backed by Brian Quinn on bass, Kenny Smith on drums with excellent guitar riffs by Michael Dotson and Sax Gordon on sax. Nice opener. Title track, Cab Driving Man , has great pace with Terrence Williams on drums and sweltering bari sax by Gordon. Visor's vocals are solid and Ruben Alvarez's percussion is tight. Boogie track, That Late Night Stuff features Dotson on lead vocal and his lead guitar work really hits the spot. On delta style blues, Flowers On My Tombstone , Visor lays in some of the best vocals on the release, backed by Sumito Aruyo on piano, Lacocque on harp and Dotson on guitar. Very nice. Icy Blue has a real nice funky bottom to it thanks to Quinn and...

I just received the newest release, Message in Blue , from Dave Specter and it's hot! Opening with instrumental, New West Side Stroll , Specter comes out with the strings blazing. A cooking jazz influenced swing blues also featuring Brother John Kattke on organ and backed by Harlan Terson on bass and Marty Binder on drums this is smoking! On R&B track, Got To Find A Way , Otis Clay takes the center spot light backed by Theresa Davis and Diane Madison on vocal and Kenny Anderson (trumpet), Bill McFarlland (trombone), Hank Ford (tenor sax)and Willie Henderson (bari sax). This Time I'm Gone For Good has a nice slow tempo and a great lead bass line. Clay again takes the mic but this time with a deeper bluesy approach. Specter lays out some really tasty riffs on this track making it one of the best on the release. Title track, Message In Blue , is a nice blend of blues and soul. Specter maintains the spotlight with clean melodic guitar solos. Very nice! On swinging Chicago S...

I just received and have been listening to the newest release, In Between Time , by Al Miller . Due to some family issues I found my self in sunny Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last week and had the pleasure to listen to this release numerous time while on the road. While driving, I rarely have time to look at the liner notes but now that I am writing my review, some of my passing thoughts actually make sense. I'll begin by saying, I kept thinking that I was listening to a Mike Bloomfield or early Paul Butterfield album. In reading the press release, I note that Miller was a part of the '60's Butterfield scene and played often with Bloomfield. This does not sound at all like a clone. It sounds like the real deal. The release opens with McCracklin/Taub track, Rockin' All Day . A rockin' boogie, this starts the entire release with a great groove with Billy Flynn (guitar), Willie Big Eyes Smith (drums), Barrelhouse Chuck (piano), and of course Miller on vocal and harp. B...

Barkin' Bill Smith (August 18, 1928 – April 24, 2000) was an American Chicago blues and electric blues singer and songwriter. Although he was born in Cleveland, Mississippi, Smith spent his latter years in Chicago Smith was raised in Mississippi, but later relocated to East St. Louis, Detroit and finally Chicago. He obtained his stage name from Homesick James in 1958, after the pair had worked together. Smith sang in front of various blues bands around Chicago for many years, having been initially influenced by Joe Williams, Jimmy Witherspoon and Brook Benton. He finally made his recording debut in 1991, providing the vocals on Dave Specter's first album, Bluebird Blues. His connection with Delmark Records then continued when they issued Smith's own solo debut, Gotcha!, in 1994. Gotcha! featured guitar work by Steve Freund. In his latter years declining health restricted his live appearances. Smith died in April 2000 in Chicago, from pancreatic cancer, at the age of 71. If ...

Dave Specter (born May 21, 1963, Chicago, Illinois, United States)[1] is an American Chicago blues and jazz guitarist.Hailing from Chicago's Northwest side, Specter began to learn to play the guitar at the age of 18. His teacher was Steve Freund, who taught Specter between the latter's duties at Jazz Record Mart, and Delmark Records. Freund ultimately organised a concert tour for Specter alongside Sam Lay and Hubert Sumlin. Contacts made while working at the B.L.U.E.S. nightclub secured gigs as a sideman to Johnny Littlejohn, Son Seals, and The Legendary Blues Band. By 1989 Specter had organized his own backing band, known as the Bluebirds. By 1998 Specter had released five albums on the Delmark label, combining a mixture of blues (Specter listed his influences as T-Bone Walker, Pee Wee Crayton, Magic Sam, and Otis Rush) and jazz (Kenny Burrell is another inspiration). Specter does not sing, and he enlisted Barkin' Bill Smith as his first vocalist, performing on Specter...