Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Bad At Being Good , by Teresa James & The Rhythm Tramps and it's solid. Opening with upbeat, Love's A Full Time Job , Teresa James on lead vocal and piano sets the pace with Terry Wilson on bass, Billy Watts on guitar, Tony Braunagel on drums, Darrell Leonard on trumpet and Paulie Cerra on sax, this is a hot opener. With a real sway, I Got This Thing has a nice groove. Wilson sets a super bass line and James really digs in with sassy vocals and Watts guitar work add some real sting. Trouble In Paradise is one of my favorite tracks on the release with a lightly funky beat and excellent vocals by James. Dean Parks sits in on lead guitar and his and Kevin McKendree on Wurlitzer gives the track a real mellow feel. Very nice.  Bluesy, Treat Her Like You Want Her To Treat You is an excellent showcase for James and soulful horn work by Leonard and Cerra adds real nice depth. The addition of McKendree on B...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Dressed , from All Things Swamp and it's a blast. All Things Swamp is like a poker circle of pros from unrelated bands who get together on their days off to play funky jams on their days off. I think you'll be glad they do. Opening with Sidewalk Strut , Luke Kirley on tuba starts funky, Nawlins sound quickly joined by Brian Switser on trumpet, Tim Hockenberry on trombone, Dan Gordon on bass trombone, Dean Parks on tenor sax, Aaron Lington on bari sax, and Gary Novak on drums. Lington rips a great bari solo followed by Kirley on tuba and with a smart melody and a crisp drum snap, this is an excellent opener.  Joe Zawinul's hip track, Mercy Mercy Mercy made popular by Mr Cannonball Adderley on the jazz scene and by the Buckinghams on the hit parade, gets a bigger band redo lead by Hockenberry  with some real flash on trombone and a settled down organ groove by none other than Jim Pugh. The ever present tuba li...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (September 17, 2021), Rose-Colored Glasses Vol. 1 , by Teresa James & The Rhythm Tramps and it's a smooth blend of blues, rock and R&B styles. Opening with Show Me How You Do It , Teresa James on keys and lead vocals shows why her newest releases are widely anticipated. With Yates McKendree putting up some real nice lead guitar, and backed by Jay Bellerose on drums, Kevin McKendree on B3, Paulie Cerra on sax,  this is a solid opener. R&B flavored title track, Rose-Colored Glasses , really has a nice feel that I would expect to garner strong airplay with some nice slide guitar work by James Pennebaker. With a cocky strut, Wish It Into The Cornfield features Anson Funderburgh playing up the guitar starch and McKendree's B3 giving flow under the horn work of Cerra. Goes without saying that James has a natural voice for this and she really works it on this track. Really nice. Dean Parks, well known session...