Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Down At The Juke Joint from Gerald McClendon  and it's a solid soulful R&B release. Opening with soul track, Back  Where You Belong , drips with soul with Gerald McClendon on lead vocal joined by Tony Llorens on Fender Rhodes, Joe Burba on guitar, Mike Jackson on sax, David Forte on bass, and Twist Turner on drums and Hammond. Title track, Down At The Juke Joint has a real Sam Cooke feel showing McClendon's voice and backed by Mary Lane. Harlan Terson hods it tight on bass and Turner adds melodic faux harmonica. My favorite track on the release is House Ain't A Home featuring Maurice John Vaughn working guitar solo work with McClendon's lead. Forte lays down a firm bass line and The Delta Roots Horns add nice depth. Very cool. I really like Cryin' Time Again with it's  super vocals by McClendon, riding on piano by Llorens, Gurba on guitar, Forte on bass and Turner handling strings and drums. ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blues From All Points , by Vince Salerno and Gerald McClendon and it's a solid R&B/Blues rocker. Opening with funky rocker, Hip City , the band is really rocking, Boogaloo style with Vince Salerno wailing on sax, Thomas Klein on guitar, Thomas Linsk on keys, Michael P. Fiorino on bass, Chuck Schwartz on drums, Ellis Clark on percussion and Ron Haynes on trumpet, all supporting the dynamic vocals of Gerald McClendon on lead vocal. Great opener. Street Walking Woman really has a great Texas style blues lope with heavy bari sax and a hot solo by Salerno and terrific T-Bone Walker style guitar riffs by Klein. Excellent! Big Joe Williams' Highway 49 is next with some real nice harp by Salerno, some of my favorite vocals by McClendon on the release and of course, Elmore James like slide by Klein. Very nice. Bessie's Blues is a hot boogie with a great sax soloing by Salerno,  slick piano work by Linsk and some gr...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Let's Have A Party , from Gerald McClendon , and it's a cool R&B/Blues release. Opening with Keep On Keepin' On , Gerald McClendon sets the bar high with a strong soul track, backed by Joe Burba on guitar, Tony Llorens on Fender Rhodes,  Jim Pugh on B3, Skinny Williams on sax, Johnny B. Grayden on bass,  and Twist Turner on drums. Very nice. On blues track, If That Ain't The Blues , McClendon's lead vocal balances perfectly with Rico McFarland's response on guitar. Harlan Terson's bass line sets a perfect bottom for the fluid soloing of McFarland. Pack Your Bags and Go has classic soul styling with real nice sax work by Williams. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Throw This Dog A Bone with its bluesy vocals and gripping, "BB King" like guitar phrasing by Joe Burba and McFarland. Another of my favorites on the release is I Just Can't Take Anymore , with McClendon in t...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Can't Nobody Stop Me Now , from Gerald McClendon and it's a solid dose of old school soul and R&B. Opening with title track, Can't Nobody Stop Me Now, Gerald McClendon sets a real nice soul groove featuring Herb Walker, Joe Burba and Mark Wydra on guitar, Roosevelt Purifoy on keys, Art Love on bass and Twist Turner on drums. With punchy horns by John Brumbach and Skinny Williams on sax, this is a super opener. Soulful, Where Do We Go From Here , is one of my favorite tracks on the release with strong vocals and wailing sax by Williams. Runnin' Wild has swagger with cool trumpet work and some of McClendon's best vocal work on the release. Another of my favorites is It's Over Now , a bluesy ballad with a great melody and nicely defined guitar work. Slow blues number, You Can't Take My Love , has a really sassy sax solo by Williams further accenting it's overall soulful melody and nice...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Battle of the Blues, Chicago vs Oakland id it's drips soul. Opening with Broke Ass Man , a sweaty, R&B track by Mz. Sumac, you got honest to goodness soul and hot vocals over warm organ and piano  by Chris Burns, and deep bass by Aldwin London. Willie Nelson's, Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away has a great soulful take by Aldwin London, a super singer and bass player with soulful sax by John Brumbach singing to the music. Very nice. Take It Easy features the lap steel soloing of Freddie Roulette over a cool Twist Turner melody.  Rusty Zinn's slashing guitar style steps forward on Good Morning Mr. Blues and the vocal prowess of Nat Bolden. Pure blues all the way with Leo Q. Allen on trumpet, a great track. "Mr Excitement", Del Brown belts out a soulful, Now That I've Gone . Showing incredible soul prowess, Brown has a powerful voice that carries the understated instrumentation. Brum...