Bman's Blues Report

SOULFUL BLUES SINGER/SAXOPHONIST VANESSA COLLIER EMBARKS ON 'HONEY UP' TOUR IN SUPPORT OF NEW ALBUM Performs Locally: SPORTSMEN'S TAVERN - Wednesday, October 11 " If you haven't yet hooked onto the  Vanessa Collier  bandwagon,   do so now because this young woman's a rising star. Ms. Collier is a true triple threat --- an accomplished sax player, a very fine soulful singer with some roots in gospel, and a prolific songwriter. If that's not enough, she also plays a little guitar."         BLUES BYTES “There’s a young lady [Vanessa Collier] came onstage with me, I forget where I was, but she’s playing an alto saxophone, and man, she was amazing.” – Buddy Guy ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Honey Up , by Vanessa Collier and I really like it. Opening with funky, New Orleans soaked, Sweating Like A Pig is a great track with  sassy vocal lines and great sax swing. Collier is really getting it going now. With Nick Stevens  on drums, Nick Trautmann on bass, William Gorman on keys, Laura Chavez on guitars, Quinn Carson on trombone and Doug Woolverton on trumpet, this track is a opener that's hard to beat! Title track Honey Up has a deep funky groove and Trautmann really sets the pace. Collier is booked as a sax player but her vocal style and efforts are top notch giving this track a certain spank. This track has an incredible groove led by Trautmann and Stevens and with this horn section you better step back... it's about to blow. Hot! Percolatin' has an infectious feel and Collier really sails on it showing her excellent feel for the music, shored up by Gorman on organ. Super. The Fault Line giv...