Like It Or Not - Bat-Or Kalo

Bator Kalo was born in Haifa, Israel where she was surrounded by music and art from a young age. Kalo played electric and acoustic guitar in several bands in her hometown, composing and writing lyrics. She furthered her studies of Classical and Jazz Music at the School of Art in Oklahoma City. Based in NYC and traveling back and forth from Israel, Kalo released her first EP, ‘Flesh and Bones,’ recorded in Israel, working alongside Dave Fields at FMI, produced with Yuval Segal and musicians, Eran Mitelman, Bentsi Gafni, Shlomo Deshet and others. The album gained attention throughout Israel, as well as NYC, where the single, ‘Standing,’ was used in the New York play, ‘Miss Kim’ which made its debut at the International Fringe Festival in 2010. Kalo has toured as a trio and with other bands as lead guitarist, performing in NYC, Albany, Boston and Oklahoma. She is currently working on her new album inspired by Country, Blues and Rock and Roll that will be released by Mission 66 Records in the winter of 2012. She holds residence at many bars throughout the Lower East Side, where you can see her performing as an acoustic guitar soloist. Kalo has been compared to the sounds of Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Cash, the White Stripes and Jimi Hendrix.  

If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!

Walkin' Blues - CG and The Hammer

CG & The Hammer has been Israel’s leading Blues-Rock band for more than a decade. In 1999 Dov (“The Hammer”) Hammer and Sagi (CG) Shorer formed the band, influenced by the Blues music and lifestyle that they shared from their years of growing up in the USA. Accompanied by a powerhouse rhythm section, they have created a unique, authentic sound, combining the influences of Mississippi and Chicago Blues. Members of the band are: Dov Hammer – Harmonica and vocals Sagi Shorer – Guitar and vocals Oren Avisar – Drums Nir Elbaz – Bass guitar. Over the years the band has played on countless stages in Israel and in the USA, in clubs, concert halls and festivals, including the ”International Blues Challenge” and the “Kings of Beale street” in Memphis TN, the “River city Blues challenge” in Ohio, and they have shared stages with the best Israeli and American artists – Willie Kent, “King” Earnest Baker”., Zora Young, Arkadi Duchin, Moshe Levi and Yahli Sobol, to name just a few. The band has also released 4 acclaimed albums: Their debut , in 2002 was “Feels like home”, followed by “Blues Heaven” in 2008, which was chosen as one of the top 12 independent Blues albums by the “Blues Foundation” in Memphis TN, and “Live in Tel Aviv” in 2010. Now the band returns with their fourth album, "Something good - the Memphis sessions" , which was recorded at the historic “Sun “ studio in Memphis TN, the birthplace of Rock’n’roll, where artists such as Elvis Presley, BB King, Johnny Cash, Howlin’ Wolf , Roy Orbison and Little Milton recorded. A “CG & The Hammer” show is a live and kicking celebration, sexy and full of soul and fun, with a groove that can’t be ignored, combining original songs by the band with innovative renditions of Blues classics by BB King, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan and more.

  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!

A Whole New Land - Noam Dayan - New release Review

I just received and had the chance to review the newest release, A Whole New Land, from Noam Dayan and it's quite good. Dayan, a multi instrumentalist starts off the set with a Lightnin Hopkins track, I Just Don't Care, featuring his solid vocals and authentic guitar work. On original track and title cut, A Whole New Land, Dayan plays some pretty bluesy riffs on a Rev Gary Davis style track. Very nice. Next up is a quartet of Muddy Waters tracks, Canary Bird where Dayan not only sings great but also demonstrates a real knowledge of authentic style Morganfield riffs, I Can't Be Satisfied keeping the track stripped and actually sounding quite fresh, Long Distance Call where he not only plays and sings great but also adds a nice harp part and Down South Blues again kept acoustic and raw. This is a very nice contained of acoustic Mud. On another original track, Love Fell In Love With You, Dayan sounds a bit more contemporary but still not traveling far from the roots of the blues. Another nice track.Next up is Lucille Bogans Sweet Black Angel. It's difficult for a guy to get the feeling projected by Bogan but it is a great track and Dayan continues with solid guitar work. On Big Joe Williams' Baby Please Don't Go, Dayan keeps it light with melodic guitar leads. On Marion Walter Jacobs', Can't Hold Out Much Longer, Dayan does some of his best singing and adds a very sweet harp part over very crisp guitar work. On another original track, My Little Bird. Dayan shows surprising piano skills on an upbeat piano boogie. On Big Bill Broonzy's Hey Hey Baby, Dayan keeps the Piedmont upbeat style and shows continued guitar proficiency. On Robert Lockwood Jr.s Take A Little Walk With Me, Dayan brings on acoustic Chicago for a very nice rendition of this classic track. One of my favorite covers on the release is Morganfield's Honey Bee, where again, Dayan not only has really good feel for the spirit of the track instrumentally on guitar and harp but also vocally. One of my all time favorite blues tracks, Hooker's Hobo Blues, Dayan captures Hookers inflections and syncopation and spirit but of course can't really get the heart of Hoker at his best. In any case a very nice tribute. Next Up Is Robert Johnson's Steady Rollin' Man, featuring Dayan on guitar, piano and vocal. This isn't keeping with Johnson but surpasses in aesthetics some of the high profile covers of Johnson's work done in recent years...you know who I mean. Willie Johnson's Nobody's Fault But Mine has some real nice slide work complimenting very solid vocals. This is another of the best covers on the release. James Lane's Goin' Away Baby is another particularly strong Chicago cover stripped back to acoustic guitar and vocal. Wrapping the release is a very cool electrified blues original, Some Things Never Change, demonstrating that Dayan is proficient at yet another style, chords and jazz blues. It's almost easier to mention what I don't think is really strong on this release that what is. This is a really cool mostly acoustic release by someone who should be getting a lot of attention. His singing and playing across the board is really 1st class. The writing on his original tracks is really solid and his entire release is very well thought out. I really like it!

 “Like” Bman’s Facebook page. I use Facebook to spread the word about my blog (Now with translation in over 50 languages). I will not hit you with 50 posts a day. I will not relay senseless nonsense. I use it only to draw attention to some of the key posts on my blog each day. In this way I can get out the word on new talent, venues and blues happenings! - click Here Get Facebook support for your favorite band or venue - click HERE

 

Shake Your Hips - CG & The Hammer

CG & The Hammer has been Israel’s leading Blues-Rock band for more than a decade.

In 1999 Dov (“The Hammer”) Hammer and Sagi (CG) Shorer formed the band, influenced by the Blues music and lifestyle that they shared from their years of growing up in the USA. Accompanied by a powerhouse rhythm section, they have created a unique, authentic sound, combining the influences of Texas and Chicago Blues.

Members of the band are:

Dov Hammer – Harmonica and vocals

Sagi Shorer – Guitar and vocals

Oren Avisar – Drums

Nir Elbaz – Bass guitar.

Over the years the band has played on countless stages in Israel and in the USA, in clubs, concert halls and festivals, including the ”International Blues Challenge” and the “Kings of Beale street” in Memphis TN, the “River city Blues challenge” in Ohio, and they have shared stages with the best Israeli and American artists – Willie Kent, “King” Earnest Baker”., Zora Young, Arkadi Duchin, Moshe Levi and Yahli Sobol, to name just a few.

The band has also released 3 acclaimed albums: Their debut , in 2002 was “Feels like home”, followed by “Blues Heaven” in 2008, which was chosen as one of the top 12 independent Blues albums by the “Blues Foundation” in Memphis TN, and “Live in Tel Aviv” in 2010.

The band is currently working on their next album , which was recorded at the historic “Sun “ studio in Memphis TN, the birthplace of Rock’n’roll, where artists such as Elvis Presley, BB King, Johnny Cash, Howlin’ Wolf , Roy Orbison and Little Milton recorded.

A “CG & The Hammer” show is a live and kicking celebration, sexy and full of soul and fun, with a groove that can’t be ignored, combining original songs by the band with innovative renditions of Blues classics by BB King, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan and more.


If you like what I’m doing, Like Bman’s Blues Report Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

I Remember Too - Mississippi Heat

Pierre Lacocque: Bandleader
Pierre was born on October 13, 1952 in Israel of Christian-Belgian parenthood. However, shortly after his birth, Pierre's family moved to Germany and France before going back to Belgium in 1957. On a Saturday night in the early Fall of 1969, Pierre decided to go to a concert being held at the University of Chicago's Ida Noyes. He had no exposure to Chicago Blues before then, and had no expectations as to what he was about to hear. As he listened to the band playing, he became overwhelmed with emotion and excitement at a sound he never heard before: A saxophone-sounding amplified harmonica! In his own words, " I was absolutely stunned and in awe by the sounds I heard coming from that harmonica player and his amplifier ... It sounded like a horn, yet distinct and unique". The harmonica player went by the name of Big Walter Horton, a name he had never heard before but who changed his life forever. What he heard that night, the music, the mood, the style and sounds, moved his soul.

From that moment on, Blues music, and blues harmonica in particular, became an obsession. Two days later, on a Monday morning, Pierre bought himself his first harmonica (or "harp" as it is called in blues circles). Next he was buying records, instruction books, anything to do with the blues harp. He was talking to people, picking up new knowledge wherever he could. Obsession led to passion and intense dedication, and Pierre was practicing the harp six, seven hours a day, notpaying attention to the clock (although he is known to check the clock now to remind him when he needs to get off the stage, because if it was up to him he would keep on playing beyond the scheduled sets! His band members tease him about that).

Pierre eventually finished High School (like Paul Butterfield, Pierre graduated from the University of Chicago's High School, better known as "The Lab School". The two never met, however, as Butterfield had left the school before 1969). Pierre then left Chicago to go to College in Montreal, Canada. He played harp through his College years, making a few dollars here and there. While at Stanislas College and later, at McGill University, both located in Montreal, Pierre got his first live experience with a local blues group named the ALBERT FAILEY BLUES BAND. About a year later, Pierre joined another band: OVEN. That was in the early 1970's when he lived for six years in that French-Canadian city (1970-1976). OVEN gigged regularly, and eventually won the Montreal Battle of The Bands contest in the summer of 1976. Unfortunately, the promoter who promised the winner $1,000 Canadian dollars and a record contract skipped town, and was never seen or heard from again. The news of the winand of the shady promoter did make the Montreal newspapers though...

Not having the ill-fated Canadian blues career anymore, Pierre, 24 at the time, and disillusioned, came back to Chicago. Although playing the blues on the harp could never be more fitting as it was at this point, it couldn't pay the bills. And it was at this point (1976) that Pierre described his life as going "the intellectual route". Pierre decided to further his education in Clinical Psychology. It was during this period that Pierre met his Social Worker wife Vickie, and began working as a clinician at a Mental Health center in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. For the next decade, Pierre was involved with his psychological work and research, finishing a doctorate at Northwestern University and publishing professional articles and a book, until a major insight took place in 1988. Pierre, an accomplished 36 years-old man, who had been studying Existentialism, Theology, History of Religions, etc. began to feel a void in his life. He began to re-evaluate his life and look into his own heart. Eventually he heard the answer loud and clear: He missed playing the blues. The awareness struck him like a beautiful horn, coming from an amp, distinct and unique, and yet a sound he had heard before, hidden all these years, but definitely not lost.

And this is where Pierre's passion revived, his fire and "joie de vivre" rekindled, his ability to take what was lost inside of him all these years and turn it into the raw, powerful heat that it is today.
Like my Facebook Page, Post your video on my Wall or post your Photos of great blues events! Share your favorite posting and get more exposure for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

New Release: A True Friend (Is Hard To Find) - Ori Naftaly - Review

I just received a copy of Ori Naftaly's new release, A True Friend (Is Hard To Find). The release is packed full of blues tracks. The recording consists of 10 tracks, many of which are covers of contemporary songs. The first track, Devil Red Blues, is an acoustic number with Ori, an acoustic guitar and harmonica. It is obviously recorded on modern equipment but captures the spirit of the Delta. Most of the instrumentation is done by Ori but he does have the help of fellow vocalists Sagol 59, Roy Young, Tempa Singer Nave, Dive Hammer, Dor Nagar and Eleanor Tsaig. I'm A Woman has a modern feel and Ori is joined by Nave on vocals giving Ori the chance to show off his electrical guitar talents. Ori covers Sonny Boy (Help Me), Elmore James (Dust My Broom), Muddy (I'm A Man and She's 19 Years Old), Willie Dixon (Don't Go No Further), David Crosby (Almost Cut My Hair), James Brown (It's A Man's World) and finally the title track which I believe to be self penned. The recording is very enjoyable to listen to with Ori and friends swinging between Chicago style blues to blues rock. Ori is a talented player and singer . I particularly like his playing on I'm 19 Years Old, Almost Cut My Hair and It's a Mans World and the vocals by Roy Young on It's a Man's World are strong. Check out this release. I think that you'll find it an interesting listen.

Write on our Facebook Wall or post your Photos of great blues events! - Here

Whole Tone Blues - The Oz Noy Twisted Blues Band

Oz Noy is a guitar player from Israel, who started his professional career at the age of 13 playing jazz, blues, pop and rock music. At age 16 he was already playing with leading Israeli musicians and performers, and at age 24 he was one of the most established studio guitar players in the country, and played on numerous records. He was also a member of the house band of Israel's top rated Television show for more than two years.

Since his arrival to New York in 1996 he has made a big impact on the local music scene with his unique sound, compositions and style, bringing a mixture of pop, rock, blues, funk, and jazz, into a cohesive and intoxicating groove.

Oz has performed, toured and recorded with well established artists such as Richard Bona, Chris Botti, Mike Clark, Jeff 'Tain" Watts, Harry Bellefonte, Toni Braxton, Phoebe Snow, Gavin Degraw,Niel Rogers, Roger Glover, Cyndi Lauper, Clay Aiken, Akiko Yano...
He played on numerous commercials and movie soundtracks and recently wrote the sound track for the highly acclaimed documentary A/K/A Tommy Chong.
Write on our Facebook Wall or post your Photos of great blues events! -  Here

You're Gonna Need Me - The Guy King "Little Big Band"

Vocalist/Guitarist Guy King impressed the 10 times W.C. Handy award winner Willie Kent so much that the great man made him his bandleader and right – hand man.
Guy King is an exciting new artist whose star is rising. While young in age, his unique background and rich, international experiences have helped shape him into a world-traveled, world-wise musician who incorporates those elements into his art form.
Born and raised in a small country town in Israel, Guy first arrived in Memphis Tennessee at the age of 16. After a short stay in Memphis and a stint in New Orleans, Guy headed north to Chicago in pursuit of greater things and a musical career.
During the time with Willie Kent and the Gents Guy had the privilege and honor of touring the world: in a time span of six years, playing about 250-300 shows a year, he played internationally in Japan, France, Belgium, Switzerland, England, as well as nationally in Jackson MS, the “King Biscuit Festival” in Helena Arkansas, the “North Atlantic Festival” in Rockland Main, the “Chicago Blues Festival”, the “W.C. Handy Blues awards” in Memphis Tennessee etc, and made Chicago a home by becoming a regular at such clubs as: “Blue Chicago”, “B.L.U.E.S”, “Buddy guys’ Legends” etc.
Write on our Facebook Wall or post your Photos of great blues events! -  Here

It's a Man's Man's World - Ori Naftaly

Ori Naftaly, a 24 year old Israeli Guitarist, Songwriter, and Producer.

He has Produced and Arranged a Live blues, soul and rock album, with some of the best blues musicians in Israel.

The album reflects the power, soul, feel and energy that are present every time they come together on stage for a Blues & Soul concert.

In the past few years Ori has played and recorded with many musicians from the Blues, Folk and Rock scene in Israel.

The release of this album created a buzz throughout the Blues Israeli scene today, and Ori was soon invited to play and be interviewed about the album in numerous radio shows - 106FM, 106.4FM, 90FM and more.

These days his Blues band and I are performing in different locations in Israel, promoting "A True Friend (Is Hard to Find)"

I will be reviewing this release soon.

Write on our Facebook Wall or post your Photos of great blues events! -  Here