Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Pease , from Frank Bey and it's a solid  compilation of Bey's music. Opening with That's What Love Will Make You Do , Little Milton's funky blues, Bey on lead vocal is joined by Anthony Paule who really lays out some real nice riffs on guitar, Loralee Christensen on backing vocals, Tony Lufrano on keys, Nancy Wright on sax, Tom Poole on trumpet, Mike Rinta on trombone, Endre Tarczy on bass and Paul Revelli on drums, this is a great opener. R&B track, Midnight and Day has a really nice feel with Doug Travis on keys and Kevin Frieson on bass and Thomas Jefferson on drums creating a great bottom and Bey's rich vocals sharing the spotlight with  Jeff Monjack on guitar. Rolling blues, Blues Comes Knockin' is bound to get you moving, with a great bottom by Jefferson and Frieson and with with Beys dynamic vocals, hot harmonica work by Sark Damirjian and smoking guitar lead by Monjack, this is my fav...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Volume 3  from Blind Racoon Nola Blue Collection and it's chocked full of tasty tracks. Opening with Time To Forget You , from Willie Bo Walker and Danny Flam , a slow paced blues track with screaming slide and fat horns is always a great start. John Nemeth 's contribution, I Can See Your Love Shine , has a cool modified reggae beat with some tasty guitar and harp work with a poppy feel. Clarence Spady 's, Surrender is a warm, slow blues with cool, soulful vocals, tight, nicely phrased guitar riffs and crystal clear piano. Laura Tate 's I Need A Man , features solid vocals and with punchy horns and snappy drums, and really nice piano work, commands attention. CD Woodbury performs classic, Can't Eat That Stuff No More , with plenty of humor and spunk. Dudley Taft blends blues and rock for The End Of The Blues , with his own stylistic boogie rock and rock guitar styling. Rocker, Memphis Hotline , is Bri...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, All My Dues Are Paid , by Frank Bey and it's a solid mix of R&B, soul, funk and blues. Opening with Eddie Palmieri's Idle Hands with it's excellent NO funk. Bey really works this one Jim Pugh on organ, Eric Spaulding on sax solo, Jack Sanford on bari sax, Nancy Wright on tenor sax, John Helbleib on trumpet, Alex Petersen on drums, Jerry Jemmott on bass, Martin Winstad on percussion, Kid Andersen on guitar and Lisa Leuschner Andersen on backing vocals. Excellent opener! Rick Estrin's, Calling All Fools is a great shuffle with some really cool work by Nancy Wright and showcasing Bey's silky smooth vocals. Very nice. One of my favorites on the release is another Rick Estrin track, I Bet I Never Cross Your Mind , with it's slow, bluesy approach, and terrific guitar work by Kid Andersen. Nancy Wright's sax is thick and juicy and Pugh's organ solo is prime. Percy Mayfield's Ha Ha in th...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Back In Business , from Frank Bey and it's quite good. Opening with title track, Back In Business , Bey establishes firm footing with a confident shuffle. Backed by Tom Hambridge on drums, Rob McNelly on guitars, Marty Sammon on piano and Tommy MacDonald on bass this is a strong opener. Moving to a funky James brown feel, Gun Toting Preacher has a great bottom with Adam Nitti on bass and features great trumpet punctuation by Julio and sax by Max Abrams. Nitti's bass lines on Cookie Jar really sets the mood and Bey knows how to work it. The horns really kick it into high gear on this one and McNelly's guitar solo is tops. R&B track, Where You Been So Long has a real nice strut and Bey's vocals shine like on no other track on the release. With solid piano and super horns, this may be my favorite. Another track that had super radio appeal is Give It To Get It with it's high strut. Wendy Molten...

I just had the opportunity to review the newest release, Playdate! , from Nancy Wright and it's smokin! Opening with funky, Why You Wanna Do It , Wee Willie Walker takes the lead on vocal and Nancy Wright really sails on sax. Joe Kyle Jr. sets the pace on bass with some heavy lines and J. Hansen's drum work is tight. Excellent opener! On Willie Dixon's I Got What It Takes , Kyle again sets a strong bass line and Tommy Castro brings a real nice guitar solo. This track is in the groove and Wright delivers a great sound on sax backed by Tom Poole on trumpet and Faris Jarrah on trombone. Yes He Do is a great swinger with Victor Wainwright really taking control on piano. Wright takes it higher and the two hit it out of the park. Super. Eddie Shaw's Blues For The Westside is an absolute screamer with Wright really digging in. Chris Burns' piano work on this track really stands out and Joe Louis Walker stands tall with soulful guitar riffs fluidly added throughout as ...

I just received the newest release, Soul For Your Blues , by Frank Bey & Anthony Paule Band and a not only clever but appropriate name. Opening with I Don't Know Why , a smokin' soul track featuring great heartfelt vocals from Bey and great horn backing from Mike Rinta (trombone and tuba), Nancy Wright (sax) and Steffen Kuehn on trumpet. I'm Leavin' You maintains the sould feel but crosses over closer to the blues with a solid bottom by Paul Olguin (bass) and Paul Revelli (drums). Anthony Paule lays out some really hot guitar riffs on this track again with backing from the dynamo horn section. I Just Can't Go On , written by Christine Vitale, has a really solid soul feel and conjures images of Bey's earlier employer, Otis Redding, who died 45 years to the day of the completion of these recordings. Paule steps up with a nice guitar guitar solo on this track which isn't overpowering but pinpoint on. Super job by all. Don't Mess With The Monkey is ...

I just received a copy of the newest release, You Don't Know Nothing , by Frank Bey with the Anthony Paule Band . This release was recorded live in San Francisco and I have to say the people who saw this show got an ear full! Bey has a very solid soul style to his blues and this band is absolute killer! The recording opens with the title track, You Don't Know Nothing About Love which is a smokin' soul track. Bey is a great showman and Anthony Paule wastes no time in showing that he can really make his guitar sweat. Not only beautifully bluesy riffs but great filler riffs giving nice texture...and with great tone. Backed by a stellar band including Tony Lufrano on Keys, Paul Olguin on bass, Mike Rinta on Trombone, Paul Revelli on drums, Nancy Wright on Sax and Steffen Kuehn on trumpet. Yes, Bey is the star of this show and a mighty strong singer he is but take nothing at all from the great horn backing on this set. On Ain't That Lovin' You , Paule shows his jazz ch...

Frank Bey is a blues singer who grew up in Millen, Georgia, son of gospel singer Maggie Jordan. Frank toured with the Otis Redding Review in the 60's and later with Archie Jenkins & The Incredible Saxons. He rejoined the music business in 1996. He has been performing in the Philadelphia and New Jersey area ever since. His performances include yearly appearances at the Cape May Jazz Festival. His debut CD, which premiered in 1998 was entitled "Steppin' Out". In 2000, he released a single "I Wanna See You Soon." Frank Bey's latest CD released September 2007 is 'Blues in the Pocket." The CD was produced by Kevin Frieson and Jeff Monjack who also provided the original compositions. It was released by jeffhouse records. Frank's current band includes Joe Blong on bass, Joe Novak on guitar, Thomas Jefferson (TJ) on drums, Sam Reed of tenor sax, Kenny Taylor on trumpet, and Bill Levinson on keyboards. If you support live Blues acts, up an...