Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, SoulFunkn' BLUES , by the Blackburn Brothers and it's got a serious groove. Opening with soulful, Bobby's Blues , Duane Blackburn on lead vocal and keys leads the way with Brooke Blackburn on guitar, Cory Blackburn on drums, and Nathan Blackburn on bass. Rich horn support from Neil Brathwaite on sax and Ted Peters on trombone really adds nicely to the mix on this strong opener. Soul Brother really gets into the funky groove with a excellent bass lead from Roger Williams, Cory's tight drumming and excellent horn work by Brathwaite and Peters. Duane leads with solid vocals and adds juts the right amount of organ and Brooke lays in a real nice guitar solo of his own giving the track just the right edge. Sit still...I dare ya! Old school funk on Sister Rosa , is a page right out Sly's book. Mark Ayee on bass sets the groove with Duane on vocal,  Brooke putting in just the right guitar and a soulful sax sol...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Thanks For Tomorrow , by Harrison Kennedy , and it's refreshing. Opening with All I Need Is You , Kennedy shares the mic with Ruthie Foster, backed by Colin Linden on acoustic guitar, John Dymond on bass, Jesse O'Brien on organ and Gary Craig on drums.. With a strong melody and blues overtones, it's a solid opener. With a casual, Taj Mahal feel, Easiest Thing really is nice with Chris Caddell on guitar and slide. Warm organ backing by O'Brien adds depth on this, one of my favorite tracks on the release. Women is my radio selection on the release with a strong melody, excellent vocals by Kennedy and again cool slide work by Caddell. With a remake of Van Morrison's Crazy Love , Harrison's soulful vocals, coupled with Caddell's "Lindley Like" slide work really does the trick. Wrapping the release is Just Wanna Play with a light, springy feel and featuring Kennedy adding harmonica to hi...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Wayback Machine , from Mark Hummel and it old school Chicago style blues. Opening with Flim Flam , a cool blues number with a great bass line courtesy of R.W Grigsby, with Mark Hummel on harmonica and lead vocal, backed by Rusty Zinn on guitar, Aaron Hammerman on piano and some great percussion by Dave Eagle. Super opener. A real nice Chicago flavored shuffle, Cut That out really provides a nice platform for Hummel on harmonica and Billy Flynn shows his chops on guitar, also joined by Kid Andersen. Hummel original, Road Dog is a super harmonica piece with eccentric percussion by Eagle giving it a real primitive feel.  One of my favorites on the release is Breathtaking Blues , a cool, harmonica lead instrumental with a nicely executed piano solo by Hammerman and Eagle's zany percussion. Very cool. Another favorite is Gillum's Crazy About You with a really cool pace, with barrelhouse, rat a tat percussion and H...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Harpbreaker , from Mark Hummel and it's one of the best Chicago style blues records that I've heard in a long time. Opening with terrific harp boogie, Harpoventilatin' , Mark Hummel wastse not a second showing why he's one of the top blues harp players in the world today. With strong pace, and great phrasing, Mark Hummel leads the way joined by Charles Wheal on guitar, Steve Wolf on bass, Marty Dodson on drums and Bob Welsh on keys. Jump track, Rotten Kid really is hot with Wheal laying out some terrific guitar riffs working nicely with Hummel's own featured playing. Excellent. With a super strut, Walkin' With Mr. Lee has just the right snap. Featuring Wes Starr on drums, RW Grigsby on bass, Charlie Baty and Anson Funderburgh on guitars, this track is terrific. Slow blues, Cristo Redentor has such a presence with it's soulful melody and smooth guitar phrasing by Kid Anderson. Excellent! Se...

I just received the newest release from the Golden State Lone Star Blues Review , and it's terrific! This all-star band opens with Gatemouth Brown's loping Texas style blues, Midnight Hour , featuring Mark Hummel on lead vocal, Anson Funderburgh and Little Charlie Baty on guitar, RW Grigsby on bass and Wes Starr on drums. This track is a great opener with reinforcements by Eric Spaulding and Jack Sanford on sax. Billy Boy Arnold's, Here's My Picture , is up next and Hummel takes a super sweet harp break during a break in the primarily Latin rhythm track. Prove It To You is a cool swing blues track with Hummel driving the train on vocal, a nice walking bass line by RW Grigsby and tight drums by Wes Starr. Little Charlie hits the strings with a slick guitar solo and Hummel's phrasing is top notch. Slow NO style blues, Cool To Be Your Fool , features beautiful piano interplay by Jim Pugh and a solid bass line by Grigsby. Very nice! Lowell Fulsom's, Check Yourse...

I just received the newest release, Fatter Than Ever , from Fathead and it is a full spectrum of blues influenced tracks. Opening with I Don't Want To Leave The Party , a rolling boogie, featuring John Mays on lead vocal and Al Lerman on harp. Johnny Says has a rootsy '50's kind of sound with Bucky Berger pushing things along on drums and cool guitar from Papa John King and Lerman on harp. Take A Little Time For Yourself has a little twist of country swing with a cool resonator solo from Lerman. One of my favorite tracks on the release, Evil Eye has a jagged rhythm pattern accentuated by Berger. With laid back vocals and harp and guitar adornment, I just like this track. Twenty Second Chances has a R&B ballad feel with some of the best vocals on the release. Lerman adds a warm to the track with some smooth sax work. When Did You Ever has a country two step feel. Vocal harmonizing between May and the band gives this track a feel of it's own. Lerman plays a coo...