Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Blues Just Makes Me Feel Good , by John Latini and he gives his music his own flavor. Opening with Black-Eyed Blues , Latini, who sings and plays guitar is joined by Nolan Mendenhall on bass, Brian Roscoe White on guitars and Todd Glass on drums as well as Jamie-Sue Seal and Greg C Brown on backing vocal, Ross Huff on trumpet, Tim Haldeman on sax and Bethanni Grecynski on trombone. Lord Made Me A Weak Man has just a touch of R&B with a nice organ solo by Neil Donato and a laid back solo by Latini. Blues shuffle, Three AM , has a real nice feel with rugged vocals and cool slide soloing. Woodchuck Blues has a taste of country with a bit of a CCR sound. Very cool. Funky, Pull Me Up has a really nice groove. Hot country blues flavored guitar soloing and the horn section, coupled with the vocal blends make this one of my release favorites. Title track, The Blues Just Makes Me Feel Good is another of my favorites o...

I just received the newest release, Mr. Rick Sings About God + Booze , from Mr. Rick and it's quite entertaining. Opening with One Kind Of Favor , an adaptation of Blind Lemon Jefferson's See That My Grave Is Kept Clean, has a hillbilly jazz feel with a hot beat. Lead acoustic guitar and vocal by Rick, Alec Fraser on bass, Drew Jurecka on fiddle and Ted Hawkins on drums show this track with a real spark. On It's The Bottle Talking , Ricks solid vocals lead the way with cool fiddle riffs by Jurecka and light percussion by Hawkins. Blind Willie Johnson's You'll Need Someone on Your Bond gets a real cool boogie take with slick guitar riffs from Steve Briggs, Tyler "Uncle Junior" Thompson on bass and cool backing vocals by the Ted Hawkins singers. Traditional hymn, I'll Fly Away , gets a Piedmont style and Mr. Rick keeps it simple and clean, joined by "Blues Doctor" Julie Hill. Very nice! Sister Rosetta Thorpe's Two Little Fishes retain...

Jawbone is a one-man blues/garage/punk band based in Detroit, Michigan. His self-released, basement-recorded 2004 album 'dang blues' was discovered by legendary BBC Radio 1 dj John Peel, who championed the cd on his national UK broadcast over a period of several weeks early in 2004. A visit to London soon followed in April 2004 for a series of club gigs and a live session for Mr. Peel at Maida Vale studios. Jawbone was signed to London-based Loose Music in July 2004. A Jawbone cover version of Johnny Cash's Sun Records classic 'Get Rhythm' was included in the October 2004 Mojo Magazine Johnny Cash tribute cd. The end of 2004 saw Jawbone return to the UK for another small tour, and 2 songs from 'dang blues' ending up in the top 20 of the annual Peel Festive 50 listener’s poll. 2005 included an appearance at SXSW Music Conference in Austin, Texas, gigs in and around Detroit, and another UK tour, which included a set in a special Peel Tribute concert at Que...

I just received the newest release (September 17, 2013), Stepchild Of The Blues , by Howard Glazer and he lives up to his guitar man reputation. Opening with Don't Love You No More , a blues based rocker, Glazer punctuates his vocal phrases with searing riffs. On Shakin' , a R&B style track along the lines of Willie and the Hand Jive. With a lot of Bo Diddly rhythm, Glazer opens a door for open range soloing and he lays it down over a fairly open rhythm pattern. Nice! Gas Pump Blues is a basic acoustic with metal bodied resonator, vocal and featuring Harmonica Shah on harp. Cool change up. Telephone Blues digs down and gets BB King style tension and bend vibratos of Johnny Winter. Larry Marek adds some really nice organ work on this track but its the bend vibrato that is king here. Honey and Spice has the rhythm pattern of Wilson Picket but with a healthy dose of blues rock guitar. Somewhere really has the feel of an early Bob Dylan or Lou Reed track but with a bit o...

Sonny Red (December 17, 1932 in Detroit as Sylvester Kyner Jr. – March 20, 1981) was an American alto saxophonist associated with the hard bop idiom among other styles. He had some success in the 1960s, but had fallen into obscurity by the late 1970s   If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!

For over fifteen years this multi-talented native Detroiter has graced and dominated Michigan's most attended events. She has performed over two hundred shows a year with grace and stamina. Her voice is strong, commanding, melodic and smooth. She tells her stories with incredible delivery and leaves her audiences wanting more. She first gained attention in 1987 when she became back up singer for the Detroit soul band "Lamont Zodiac and The Love Signs". Shortly after, the lead singer left the band and the name changed to "The Chisel Brothers featuring Thornetta Davis". In 1996 Thornetta recorded her first solo album "Sunday Morning Music" on the Seattle based label "Sub Pop" which received a rave revue in the national Entertainment Weekly magazine. The song "Cry" from that album was featured on the HBO hit cable drama "The Sopranos". Thornetta has opened for legendary blues and R&B greats such as Ray Charles, G...

I just received the newest release, From Detroit... To The Delta by the James Montgomery Band . James has put together a really entertaining set of tracks here beginning with Intoxicated , a high stepping blues track with strong backing from The Uptown Horns. Montgomery, always a cool singer and fire breathin' harp player screams out some hot riffs on this track and George McCann adding cool some guitar flash. Montgomery gives a whole new look at Dixon's Same Thing and it it ends up sounding more like Foghat than old school Chicago. I think that they do a real nice job on this track with McCann on slide and Montgomery on harp. I also like the vocal effects used on this track. Johnny Winter and Brad Whitford add hot guitar riffs on rockin' track Little Johnny but let's face it...this band is cookin' and that is just gravy on an already hot biscuit! Motor City Is Burning opens with David Hull on a bass riff and Montgomery takes over with that singing harp tone t...

Kim Wilson (born January 6, 1951) is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for The Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s; "Tuff Enuff", and "Wrap It Up." In this KPLU/Jazz24 studio session, singer and harmonica player Kim Wilson goes three rounds with blues, accompanied by two of his All-Stars: guitarist, Kirk Fletcher and pianist, Barrelhouse Chuck. The set includes two old blues tunes - "Bad Boy" by Eddie Taylor, and "That's Alright" by Jimmy Rogers. They cap it off with one of those spontaneous jams that just seem to happen when three talented friends are having a ball playing the blues together. Wilson was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1951, but he grew up in Goleta, California, where he sometimes went by the stage name of "Goleta Slim." He started with the blues in the late 1960s and was tutored by people like Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor, A...

2120 South Michigan Avenue, home of Chicago’s Chess Records, may be the most important address in the bloodline of the blues and rock ‘n’ roll. That address – immortalized in the Rolling Stones’ like-named instrumental, recorded at an epochal session at Chess in June 1964 and included on the band’s album 12 X 5 – serves as the title to George Thorogood’s electrifying Capitol/EMI salute to the Chess label and its immortal artists. Thorogood has been essaying the Chess repertoire since his 1977 debut album, which included songs by Elmore James and Bo Diddley that originated on the label. He has cut 18 Chess covers over the years; three appeared on his last studio release, 2009’s The Dirty Dozen. On 2120 South Michigan Avenue, he offers a full-length homage to the label that bred his style with interpretations of 10 Chess classics. The album also includes original tributes to the Windy City and Chess’ crucial songwriter-producer-bassist Willie Dixon, penned by Thorogood, produ...

Kim Weston (born December 20, 1939) is an American soul singer, and Motown alumna. In the 1960s, Weston scored hits with the songs "Love Me All the Way" and "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)". Born Agatha Nathalia Weston in Detroit, Michigan, she was signed to Motown Records in 1961, scoring a minor hit with "Love Me All the Way" (R&B #24, Pop #88). Weston's biggest solo hits with Motown were "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" (R&B #4, Pop #50, 1965, later covered by The Isley Brothers, Blood, Sweat & Tears and The Doobie Brothers, and "Helpless" (R&B #13, Pop #56, 1966, previously recorded by The Four Tops on their Second Album LP). Her biggest claim to fame was singing the classic hit "It Takes Two" with Marvin Gaye in 1966 and her later recording of the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing". It was the success of "It Takes Two" that caused Mot...

J. J. Barnes (born James Jay Barnes, November 30, 1943, Detroit, Michigan) is an American R&B singer. He first recorded in 1960. His early releases including "Just One More Time" and "Please Let Me In", on the record labels Mickay and Ric-Tic, had relatively little success, but were subsequently picked up as Northern soul favorites. He also covered The Beatles' "Day Tripper"”, before moving for a short period to Motown. His biggest hit single came in 1967 with "Baby Please Come Back Home", which, like many of his records, he co-wrote. The song reached #9 on the US Billboard R&B chart. However, subsequent singles on a variety of labels, including covers of "Black Ivory" at Today/Perception Records, failed to repeat the success. On the recommendation of his friend, Edwin Starr moved to England in the 1970s becoming very popular. Starr had arranged for Barnes to appear on a series of shows which led to him signing a deal ...

                                                                                                                                                                         THIS MONDAY, NOV 19, 2012                 PRE-THANKSGIVING          BLUES  GUITAR  FEAST 2012!                        STARRING                        KIRK FLETCHER       ...

Hank Ballard (November 18, 1927 – March 2, 2003), born John Henry Kendricks, was a rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, the lead vocalist of Hank Ballard and The Midnighters and one of the first proto-rock 'n' roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s. He played an integral part in the development of rock music, releasing the hit singles "Work With Me, Annie" and answer songs "Annie Had a Baby" and "Annie's Aunt Fannie" with his Midnighters. He later wrote and recorded "The Twist" and invented the dance, which was notably covered by Chubby Checker. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Born John Henry Kendricks in Detroit, Michigan, Ballard along with his brother, Dove Ballard, grew up and attended school in Bessemer, Alabama after the death of their father. He lived with his paternal aunt and her husband, and began singing in church. His major vocal inspiration during his formative years was the "Sin...

Edward Holland, Jr. (born October 30, 1939, Detroit, Michigan, known during his recording career as Eddie Holland) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Although Holland was an early Motown artist who recorded minor hit singles such as "Jamie", he started working behind the scenes due to stage fright. He was a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team responsible for much of the Motown Sound and hit records by Martha and the Vandellas, The Supremes, the Four Tops, and The Isley Brothers, among others. Holland served as the team's lyricist, and also worked with producer Norman Whitfield on lyrics for the songs he produced for The Marvelettes and The Temptations, like "Too Many Fish in the Sea" and "Beauty's Only Skin Deep". If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m ...

Blues guitarist Johnnie Bassett, a much-loved statesman of the Detroit scene, died late Saturday. He was 76. Bassett had been in declining health – recently diagnosed with cancer — and was moved last month to hospice care at St. John Hospital in Detroit. In a long and storied career, the musically versatile Bassett had been a go-to player on the city’s bustling club scene of the ’50s and ’60s, and was a member of the Fortune Records house band the Blue Notes. He accompanied a litany of brand-name artists, including fellow Detroiters John Lee Hooker, Little Willie John, Smokey Robinson and Nolan Strong, and was friendly with a young Jimi Hendrix during the latter’s early, blues-oriented Seattle years. “This is one those artists where everything just came together — jazz, soul, blues, R&B,” said publicist Matt Lee. “We’ll never see his like again.” The past two decades saw the laconic Bassett emerge as a singer and front man at the encouragement of musician R.J. Spangler, who spotted...

James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of Motown Records' hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases until 1971), and he is now regarded as one of the most influential bass players in modern music history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. A native of Edisto Island (near Charleston), South Carolina, Jamerson moved with his mother to Detroit, Michigan in 1954. He learned to play the double bass at Northwestern High School, and he soon began playing in Detroit area blues and jazz clubs. Jamerson continued performing in Detroit clubs after graduating high school, and his increasingly solid reputation started providing him opportunities for sessions at various local recording studios. Starting in 1959 he found steady work at Berry Gordy's Hitsville U.S.A. studio, home of the Motown record label. There he became a member...

Mary Esther Wells (May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992) was an American singer who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s. Along with The Miracles, The Temptations, The Supremes, and the Four Tops, Wells was said to have been part of the charge in black music onto radio stations and record shelves of mainstream America, "bridging the color lines in music at the time." With a string of hit singles composed mainly by Smokey Robinson, including "Two Lovers" (1962), the Grammy-nominated "You Beat Me to the Punch" (1962) and her signature hit, "My Guy" (1964), she became recognized as "The Queen of Motown" until her departure from the company in 1964, at the height of her popularity. She was one of Motown's first singing superstars. If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

Lena Hall:Vocals Washboard Willie and his Super Suds of Rhythm: Washboard Willie Hensley:Washboard Calvin Frazier:Guitar Recorded in Detroit, MI. 1956 Washboard Willie (July 24, 1909 – August 24, 1991) was an American Detroit blues musician, who specialised in playing the washboard. He recorded tracks including "A Fool On a Mule in the Middle of The Road" plus "Cherry Red Blues", and worked variously with Eddie "Guitar" Burns, Baby Boy Warren, and Boogie Woogie Red Born William Paden Hensley in Columbus, Georgia, Washboard Willie, as he became known, did not take up music until his thirties. By 1948 he had relocated to Detroit, and in 1952, he watched Eddie "Guitar" Burns performing and played along with Burns' backing group. He impressed the proprietor and ended up with a three year residency with the band. Working full-time washing cars for a living, he decided to name his own musical ensemble, Washboard Willie and the Super Suds of Rhythm,...

I just received a new release by Eliza Neals , messin with a fool , and it has a definite, contemporary sound. The first thing that I like about it is that i can't really categorize it. It's a good sign that it doesn't sound like everything else (or a certain body of works). The recording opens with Misery , a R&B style track with with a 50's vibe. Tino Gross throws out a cool guitar riff on this track too! Neals has a voice comparable in quality with Bonnie Raitt but with stylistic approaches that are more power pop or punk. It sounds fresh and not overused. Man's Man is a simple stripped down rock song with bluesy singing but keeping it's edge. Lets say the Yeah Yeah Yeah's sing Stax. ESP is a cool track and the vocals are smoother and really lean toward soul and Bonnie Bramlett. The arrangement of the music remains uneven and interesting as opposed to predictable. Rather Go To Jail has a cool Latin feel but is more stylistic than bluesy. Rainin in...

The Temptations are an American vocal group known for their success in the 60s and 70s at Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music. Known for their recognizable choreography, distinct harmonies, and flashy onstage suits, the Temptations have been said to be as influential to soul as The Beatles are to pop and rock. Formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1960 as The Elgins (not to be confused with another Motown group with the same name), the Temptations have always featured at least five male vocalists/dancers. Having sold tens of millions of albums, the Temptations are one of the most successful groups in music history. As of 2010, the Temptations continue to perform and record for Universal Records with its one living original member, Otis Williams, still in its lineup. The original lineup included members of two local Detroit vocal groups: from The Distants, second tenor Otis Wi...