Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Motormouth , from Seth James and it's terrific! Opening with Why Should I Suffer , vocalist extraordinaire, Seth James, creates a great vibe with his rich, R&B style vocal lead and his own lead guitar work, joined by Kevin McKendree on keys, Rob McNelley on guitar, Steve Mackey on bass, Lynn Williams on drums and super backing vocals by Alice Spencer and Etta Britt and and punchy horn work by Jim Hoke on sax, Steve HHermann on trumpet and John Hinchey on trombone. Excellent!  Soulful, I'm In Trouble has a great, slinky feel with James, Spencer, Britt and Jackie Wilson really working the vocals and featuring McKendree on piano. Hoke, Herrmann and Hinchey keep the back hopping and Mackey and Williams the bottom tight. Super. Country swing track, I'll Be Gone , has a great feel with excellent lead vocals by James and excellent piano work by Jeff Taylor. Eddie Dunlop on steel guitar gives the track real sti...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Need To Know , from Yates McKendree and I really like it. Opening with solid blues number, Burnin' Tears , Yates McKendree on lead guitar and vocal really sets a nice pace. With Steve Mackey on bass, Griffin Photoglou on drums, Robert Frahm on rhythm guitar and Kevin McKendree on piano and Hammond , Yates vocals are strong and his BB King flavored guitar attack really fits this track perfectly. Excellent opener. Run It In The Ground is a super hot runner with Muddy Waters roots. Yates is really riding high on lead vocal and his guitar work sails with Kevin and Frahm kicking it with heavy support by Griffin. James Brown 's, I Don't Care gets a real nice cover by Yates with his soulful voice and solid horn backing by Steve Herrman on trumpet, John Hinchey on trombone and standout sax work by Jim Hoke on tenor and bari sax . Chris Kenner 's Something You Got has a real nice funk underpinning by Kev...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Outdated Emotion , from Delbert McClinton and it's a assemblage of the songs that influenced him the most. Opening with traditional folk track updated and made popular by Lloyd Price, Stagger Lee, McClinton uses mostly Price's arrangement and with a vocal intro by Robert Bailey, the likes of Yates McKendree on drums, Kevin McKendree on piano, Jim  Hoke on sax, and with vocal backing by Wendy Moten and Vicki Hampton this track is a solid opener. Jimmy Reed's The Sun is Shining and it's classic shuffle beat provides a great slot for McClinton vocally joined by Yates, Kevin and includes McClinton on harmonica. Little Richard's Long Tall Sally really gets up and goes with McClinton really feeling the lyrics, Yates on bass and drums, Kevin on piano and featuring Hoke on sax. Great track. One of favorite tracks on the release is Ray Charles' I Want A Little Girl and McClinton singing sweet soul with K...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Tennessee Run , from Lloyd Jones and its a cool blend of blues, R&B, funk and pop giving it a bright, energetic feel. Opening with hard driving R&B track, You Got Me Good , Jones on lead vocal and guitar really has the place hopping. Backed by Kevin McKendree on keys, Steve Mackey on bass, Kenneth Blevins on drums, Jim Hoke on sax, Quentin Ware on trumpet and Roy Agee on trombone this is a strong opener. Rock n roller, I Wish I Could   Remember Loving You , has a great rhythm guitar pace with Jones paired with Teresa James on lead vocal and McKendree's piano work is outstanding. One of my favorite tracks on the release is funky swamp track, Bayou Boys with McKendree on organ and cool horn interplay by Hoke, Ware, Agee and with Richard Metz on percussion. Very cool. Hoke lays in a really nice bari solo on another funky swamp track, That's All I Want which also features LaRhonda Steele on vocal. Dilly Dal...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release. Tall, Dark & Handsome from Delbert McClinton and Self-Made Men + Dana and it's pretty interesting. Opening with foot stompin shuffle, Mr. Smith McClinton really has a groove going. With great sax work by Jim Hoke and trumpet by Dana Robbins, this track is hot. Backing vocals by Vicki Hampton, Wendy Moten and Robert Bailey and a super band including Joe Maher on drums, Glenn Worf on bass, Bob Britt on guitar, Kevin McKendree on piano and B3, Jim Hoke on bari and tenor sax, and Quentin Ware on trumpet, Dana Robbins on tenor sax and Roy Agee on trombone, this band is super. On light swing track, No Chicken On The Bone , McClinton's vocals are well primed and Stuart Duncan shines on violin. Again excellent backing vocals by Hampton, Moten and Bailey enrich the track and Britt on acoustic guitar and mandolin nicely compliment McKendree's piano work. Very nice. With a jazzy undertow, Lulu has a loose, small...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (February 23, 2018), Love Is An Army , by Janiva Magness and it's earthy. Opening with R&B track, Back To Blue, Janiva Magness shows authority in the shadows of Mayfield and Green with Stephen Hodges on drums, Davey Faragher on bass, Arlan Schierbaum on keys, Doug Livingston on pedal steel, Dave Darling on guitar, Phil Parlapiano on piano and Darrell Leonard, Joe Sublet and Alfredo Ballesteros on horns. Also contributing backing vocals are Kudisan Kai, Sugaray Rayford, Gary Pinto, Natasha Pinto, Thrones, Aurelia, Dave Darling and Brie Darling. Excellent opener. Another nice entry is Tell Me with strong vocals and real nice guitar work by Darling. Ballad and title track, Love Is An Army , has a strong melody with warm pedal work by Livingston and really nice vocal duet between Magness and Bryan Stephens. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Down Below with a really earthy feel and featuring Courtney Hart...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Strip It Down , by Casey James and it's quite good. Opening with blues rocker, All I Need , Tommy MacDonald sets a Ray Manzarek style bass groove and Casey James on lead vocal and guitar takes the bait. His vocals are gritty and his guitar tone is warm and rich. Backed by Kevin McKendree on Wurlitzer, Tom Hambridge on drums and Ron McNelley on rhythm guitars, this is a band made in heaven. Two stepper, Bulletproof, has a great feel and Delbert McClinton joins on vocal giving it great style and screaming harp work gives it great edge. Hurt Me More has a real nice Texas lope where McKendree's dancing key work nicely compliments James' vocals and guitar riffs. Very nice. Pat Buchanan's harp work sets the tone for Latin flavored blues number, I Got To Go with a great sound. Hambridge's tight rhythm patterns drive this track, McKendree's B3 solo adds color and James guitar soloing and vocals are to...

I just received the newest release, D.L. Duncan from Dave "D.L." Duncan and it has a good feel. Opening with I Ain't The Sharpest Marble , a rockin boogie track, Duncan lays down a cool groove on vocal and guitar with David Hood on bass and Vince Santoro on drums reinforcing the bottom. Kevin McKendree hammers out a real nice piano line making this a solid opener. Dickerson Road has a super guitar rock sound (think All Along The Watchtower) and Duncan sets his strings searing into the stratosphere. On Walter Vinson style blues track, You Just Don't Never Know , McKendree adds nicely to the texture on the track and the McCrary Sisters provide a warm background as Duncan sings lead, Delbert McClinton plays harp with Duncan's guitar adornment. Very nice! Your Own Best Friend has a distinctively Gregg Allman sound and Sonny Landereth adds a heaping share of his distinctive slide sound. McKendree takes a really nice piano solo over B3 and with the McCrary Sisters...

Dear Friends, Fans and Family – We have a number of enjoyable events planned for the summer,  and we're looking forward to seeing you at one of the fine venues listed below.  We're especially excited to be the opening act for Delbert McClinton this coming Friday July 17, at Charlottesville's venerable Jefferson Theater.  We've followed Delbert for years and we own a small mountain of his CDs – so it's an honor and privilege for us to be on the same billing with a performer of his caliber and reputation.  There are still tickets available so if you want to save a few $$$ by purch...