Bman's Blues Report

I just received the newest release (May 19, 2015), Southside , from Sugaray Rayford and it's got a great groove! Opening with Southside Of Town , Ralph Carter develops a great walking bass line stage for Rayfords solid vocals. Backed by Allan Walker on sax and Gary Bivona on trumpet as well as Jade Bennett, Zara Davis and Rachele Quiogue on vocals, Leo Dombecki lays out a nice keyboard solo and Gino Matteo rips on guitar continuing under the vocals throughout the track. Very nice! Slinky funk track, Miss Thang , again is heavily reliant on the bottom provided by Carter as well as Lavell Jones on drums. Rayford adds girth with his beefy vocals and Matteo rides the funky wave with tight guitar riffs. High stepping, Live To Love Again , really gets you moving and with horn and guitar punctuation is a clear radio play hit. Matteo lays out a crisp guitar solo and Walker and Bivona add warmth. Excellent! On shuffle track, Texas Bluesman , Matteo really take a nice guitar solo. Rayford...

I just received a copy of the newest release (September 17, 2013), Dangerous , by Sugaray Rayford and it's quite impressive. Rayford, well know as the featured voice of the Mannish Boys, has cut loose with his own release and he is backed by a huge list of talent. Opening with Country Boy and a strong smell of Chicago, Rayford's robust voice paves the way and Sugar Ray Norcia has the harp screaming. Anthony Geraci adds really nice key work on a solid bass by Willie J Campbell (bass) and Jimi Bott on drums. Stuck For A Buck has a bit of the James Brown shuffle going with Gino Matteo rippin fine guitar lead and Fred Kaplan warms the track with organ play. Rayford of course nicely handles lead vocals and a solid horn section made up of Ron Dziubla and Mark Pender cooks the track. On I'm Dangerous , Rayford and Norcia really grind deep in the blues. Norcia plays outstanding harmonica solos on this track making it one of my favorites on the release. Norcia shares the lead ...

I just received the newest release, Sweet Revival , by Gino Matteo and it's quite interesting. Matteo, a So Cal based singer songwriter has put together 9 new tracks using his own unique style and voice. Opening with Here Comes The Lord , Matteo blends rock ballad with gospel and tops it off with clean guitar riffs and warm backing vocals for a overall cool track. Pulpit In The Graveyard takes clues from southern rock and Matteo really shows that his melody writing is up to his vocal talents. Coming Clean features Jason Ricci on harp and on a country rockin track Trevor Monks really holds down the bottom on drums with James Breker on bass. A nice groove and a great feel in vocal delivery from Matteo with great backing vocals from Jade Bennett, Steve Delgado and Sherri Pruitt. A unique approach to soloing is the key that binds the funk to the bottom on this track actually sounding more like Govt Mule than any other band I can think of. Take A Chance On Me opens with some reall...