Bman's Blues Report

I just received the newest release, Genuine Blues Legends from Little Mike (Markowitz) and the Tornadoes featuring Pinetop Perkins and Jimmy Rogers and it's terrific! Recorded live at the Grand Auditorium in Ellsworth Maine on May 21, 1988, this is a real gem! Opening with Cleanhead Vinson's Kidney Stew , Pinetop is rocking the keys and lead vocals and Little Mike is on harp backed by Tony O Melio on guitar, Brad Vickers on bass and Michael Anderson on drums. A cool shuffle track, Mike really takes the harp for a ride and Pinetop is in his prime. Excellent opener! Tommy Tucker's High Heeled Sneakers is up and Chicago style. Melio rips off some real nice blues riffs on guitar on this track and in addition to solid work by Pinetop on vocal and piano, Little Mike rides high on harp. Very nice! St Louis Jimmy Odem's Had My Fun is up next cranking in at over 10 minutes and Pinetop's vocals and piano work on this track are terrific. Melio digs deep on this track p...

I just received the newest release, Friday Night , from Zora Young & Little Mike and the Tornadoes and it's got texture! Opening with the dynamic, I've Been A Fool Too Long , Tony O Melio gets a great guitar groove going. With Jim McKaba on organ and piano, Robert Piazza on drums and Brad Vickers, Zora leads the way on vocals for a real nice shuffle track. Slowing down a bit R&B track, A Fool's Lament is really designed to showcase Young's vocals. With Little Mike Marknwitz adding some key harp work and Rick Johnson on sax and Gary Smith on trumpet, this track drips soul. Howlin' Wolf's 44 Blues is up next with strong piano work from McKaba. With strong a Chicago feel, this track is perfect for Young's voice, complimented nicely by Mike on harp and McKaba on piano. Easy swinging, True Love Is Hard To Find , plays the horns nicely against Young's perfect vocal phrasing. McKaba takes a real nice piano solo on this track as does O Melio. Very ...

I just received the newest release, All The Right Moves , form Little Mike & The Tornadoes and it's great! As you know I'm a real Little Mike fan and this new release is no exception. Opening with Hard Hard Way , a smokin Chicago style blues track features Little Mike on vocal and harp. Tony O. Melio plays a real nice guitar solo leading up to Mike taking over with a super harp blowout. This is a great year for harp lovers with this and Corritore's recent release being two of the best I've heard in some time. So Many Problems is a cool R&B track with a great groove. Brad Vickers (bass) and Robert Piazza (drums) seat Jim McKaba on organ for a cool ride but I really like Melio's loose guitar style and Mike comes up with some really nice harp phrasing making this a real heel bopper. Since My Mother Been Ill is a really nice slow R&B blues track featuring soulful vocals by Mike. His clear interface with Melio's punctuating guitar riffs and super pia...