Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Fight On! True Blues Vol 2 , by Corey Harris , Alvin Youngblood Hart , and Guy Davis and it's pure roots blues. Opening with We Are Almost Down To The Shore (Fight On) is written by Jimmy Strother and originally on banjo but adapted by Cory Harris to guitar, presented in a Piedmont finger style accompanying Harris on vocals. Solid opener. See Me When You Can is performed in Delta style by Guy Davis on vocal and acoustic guitar. His finger work is strong and confident and his vocals rich and sincere. Very nice. Harris wrote clever rag, What's That I Smell , with cool, laid back finger work on acoustic guitar and great vocal delivery by Harris. Alvin Youngblood Hart takes over on original composition, If The Blues Was Money . The track has just the right texture with authentic delta style guitar work and Hart's own vocals. Very cool. On Rev Gary Davis ', I Belong To The Band , Harris' very strong voc...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Legend of Sugarbelly , by Guy Davis and I think it's his best. Opening with Sugarbelly , a solid country blues Guy Davis rolls his trademark fingerpicking, with Mark Murphy on bass, and Christopher James on mandolin and spins his tale. Very nice. Sam Chatmon's Who's Gonna Love You Tonight (That's Alright) in traditional blues style and adding harmonica accompaniment as well as guitar. Little David Play On Your Harp is a cool, Gary Davis style track with simplified guitar rhythm and single line melody. Blind Lemon Jefferson's Black Snake Moan is up next with Lead Belly's arrangement. A great traditional style blues track featuring Davis on vocal and guitar, this is my favorite on the release. Another traditional blues track, 12 Gates To The City features Davis on rhythm guitar, solid harmonica soloing and super gritty vocal. This guy can really represent when he digs in. Excellent! Wrapping th...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Prospect Hill: The American Songster Omnibus , from Dom Flemons and it's a cool retro mix of country, folk, blues and rag  with great vocal and instrumental tracks. This release is a compilation of the original 2014 release, Prospect Hill along with a never before release on cd, What Got Over which had been released on vinyl and an additional 12 never released instrumental tracks. Disc one, Prospect Hill, opens with springy rag Til' the Seas Run Dry , featuring Flemons on acoustic guitar and lead vocal, Ron Brendle on bass, Kobe Watkins on drums, and Brian Horton on clarinet. Excellent opener. One of my favorite tracks on the release is But They Got it Fixed Right On , with Pura Fe Cresioni on harmony vocals, Guy Davis on Mike Seeger's six sting band, and Horton again on clarinet. Super track. Harmonica track, Martching Up to Prospect Hill features Flemons on rhythm bones with Davis on harmonica. Excellent!...

 Guy Davis Scores Americana Fest Showcase The 2018 Grammy Nominated Artist To Make His Debut at the Fest ​ Northport NY - M.C. Records is proud to announce that our artist Guy Davis will be performing at the world famous Americana Fest in Nashville this September. The Fest takes place from September 11-16 at various venues throughout Nashville. Other great artists appearing include John Prime, Candi Staton, Shemeika Copeland, The Milk Carton Kids and so many more. You can view all the confirmed artists by clicking the photo. The invitation to Americana Fest is another milestone for the NYC Bluesman. Earlier this year, his recording with Fabrizio Poggi, "Sonny & Brownie's Last Train" was nominated for Grammy in the Traditional Blues category. It marked Guy's 1st Grammy nomination in his 30+ year career. In May, Guy was also nominated for two Blues Music Awards in Memphis.  Sonny & Brownie'...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Sonny & Brownie's Last Train , by Guy Davis &  Fabrizio Poggi . This is a full helping of traditional style acoustic blues featuring Guy Davis on vocal and guitar and Fabrizio Poggi on harmonica. Opening with the Davis penned title track, Sonny & Brownie's Last Train , Davis sets a snappy guitar rhythm, singing and accompanying himself on guitar. On Robert Pete Williams' Louise Louise , Guy slips into Williams' shoes and sings one of my favorite tracks on the release, with underlying harp and guitar. Very nice. On Sonny Terry classic, Hooray Hooray These Women Is Killing Me , Davis really captures the spirit of Sonny with his enthusiasm and Poggi's soulful harp.  On Big Joe Williams' Baby Please Don't Go Back To New Orleans , Davis really digs in for a super guitar intro and Davis and Poggi's work are tops.  On Elizabeth Cotten's Freight Train , Davis and Poggi stay with th...

Guy Davis & Fabrizio Poggi's   Sonny & Brownie's Last Train No. 1 On Roots Music Report! ​ Right On Reviews Coming In Northport NY - Media and radio have taken quite a shine to Sonny & Brownie's Last Train by the Ambassador of the Blues, Guy Davis and international harmonica sensation Fabrizio Poggi. The homage to Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee,  released on March 24,  is becoming one of the most celebrated acoustic releases of 2017. Sonny & Brownie's Last Train is currently no. 1 for the second week in a row on The Roots Music Reports Top 50 Acoustic Blues Albums.  Click the logo to see the entire chart. Also, very proud that  Sonny & Brownie's Last Train  was the no. 23 album for the month of March on the 900 station Folk DJ list, even though most stations had not received it until the second week of March. You can see the entire list here,   http://folkra...

On March 24, M.C. Records To Release Sonny & Brownie's Last Train By Guy Davis & Fabrizio Poggi Northport NY – On March 24, M.C. Records will proudly release Sonny & Brownie’s Last Train by the Ambassador of the Blues, Guy Davis and international harmonica sensation Fabrizio Poggi. The deep, acoustic blues sessions took place in Milan Italy and were recorded live in the studio. The result captured the special musical connection that Guy and Fabrizio possess from the years of playing and recording together. The release will be available digitally, on CD and vinyl! The first time Guy has a released a recording on vinyl! Sonny & Brownie’s Last Train marks the 14 th recording by Guy Davis in his storied career and his third with M.C. Records. His first “Juba Dance” was produced by Fabrizio Poggi and also recorded in Italy. Guy Davis explains the concept of the recording, Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry we...

I just received the newest release, Blues People , from Eric Bibb and I think it's his best in quite some time! Opening with Silver Spoon , a primarily acoustic track rooted deeply in the delta but with hot contrasting electric blues riffs from Popa Chubby in the distance and bass and drums by Glen Scott. Excellent! Driftin' Door To Door has a bit more of the walking blues sound with nice picked and slide work from Bibb and Michael Jerome Browne. Very nice. God's Mojo is a quiet jazz framed blues track with nicely figured key work and light drums by Glen Scott. Bibbs vocals are particularly focused on this track. Turner Station has a more modern acoustic blues sound with Bibb and Browne on guitar. As the track builds more fullness appears with Scott on Hammond, backing vocals and electric keys as well as Neville Malcolm on bass. On Pink Dream Cadillac , Bibb paints a vivid story as Staffan Astner adds some tasty slide work. Guy Davis' Chocolate Man features Davis...

Award-Winning Roots Music Artist Eric Bibb Sings About Blues People on New Stony Plain Records CD, Coming November 4 Special Guests Include Taj Mahal, Guy Davis, The Blind Boys of Alabama & Ruthie Foster EDMONTON, AB – Stony Plain Records, one of the world’s foremost roots music labels, announces a November 4 release date for Blues People , the new CD from award-winning singer, songwriter and musician Eric Bibb. Produced by Glen Scott, who also plays several instruments throughout, Blues People includes special guest performances by Taj Mahal, Guy Davis, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Ruthie Foster (who Eric has been touring with), Popa Chubby and a number of other musicians from around the world. The 15 tracks on Blues People include a number of Eric Bibb originals, as well as collaborations with other songwriters, plus songs written by Guy Davis (“Chocolate Man”), Rev. Gary Davis (“I Heard the Angels Singin’”) and the traditional, “Needed Time,” a...

Yesterday the Common Ground On The Hill Music Festival began wrapping up two weeks of workshops, lessons, and jams. The prime purposes of Common Ground are cultural diversity, musical education, and promotion of the American roots art forms, particularly music and dance. Of course, at the heart of all this is blues music. Whether sawing out a hoedown on a fiddle, a zydeco two-step on accordion or ripping up a mean blues break solo on a National Steel guitar, the blues is always present while not always front and center. My day started out with a set by Scott Ainslie . He played a National Steel throughout his whole set, once using a paper napkin to use as a damper to get the sound he wanted when blending sad blues lyrics with an upbeat guitar line straight out of Nigerian Juju music! In addition to some original tunes his set was accented by Robert Johnson tunes and stories. He did Come On In My Kitchen in the David Bromberg style. And after telling the story of the "Sun...

Guy Davis Is Back In North America After Successful European Tour Northport NY - M.C. Records artist Guy Davis is back in North America after a long tour of Europe. Folks in North America will be able to enjoy and deep blues and folk influenced song-writing all summer long!   We're very proud that Guy Davis was nominated for two Blues Music Awards. The award ceremony took place earlier this month in Memphis. Click the logo to check out the full list of nominees. Juba Dance  released on September 10, 2013  is Guy's 1st full-length recording in four years. It features Fabrizzio Poggi on harmonica and The Blind Boys of Alabama as special guests. If you would like to listen or download Juba Dance via Airplay Direct just click the album cover! Guy has also added a bunch of tour dates, scroll down to find out more. Please get in touch if you have a...