Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Come To My World , by Luca Burgalassi , and it's a laid back Eric Clapton/JJ Cale style look at the blues. Opening with My Loving Babe, Burgalassi sings and accompanies himself on guitar and dobro, drums and harmonica. A cool, modern stroke at the blues with a dash of country gives this track a familiar feel. Solid opener. A lightly salted jazz track, All My Blues , has a snappy rhythm section of bass and drums under Luca's flight fretwork and lush vocals. Haunting, Notte is one of my favorite tracks on the release featuring Valentina Sorbera on piano and Holly Kirsten on strings. Ballad, Song In The Distance is a solid radio track with a rich melody and Luca accompanying himself primarily on guitar. Very nice. With a Muddy Waters like dobro slide riffs, and Rob Oliver on harmonica, The Real Me is a cool, updated blues track. Country swinger/gypsy swinger, Tidewater Attitude has traces of Dan Hicks and the Hot ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, On The Other Side Of The Water , from Luca Burgalassi and it's a cool, laid back fusion of blues, country, folk and jazz. Opening with title track On The Other Side Of The Water , Luca Burgalassi presents a soft, rich melodies and harmonies accompanying himself on guitar and harmonica, with Dave Hufstedler on bass, Gianni Apicella on drums and Valentina Sorberra on backing vocals. Soothing. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Blues In My Mind with a James Taylor like style. Trading electric guitar riffs with Franco Ceccanti gives the track an extra kick. Very nice. On Broken Heart Blues , a solid shuffle track, Burgalassi shares the mic with Resa Gibbs who adds real spice. Backing by Jackie Merritt on harmonica and Dave Hufstedler on bass gives the track texture. Easy flowing electric jazz number, Minor and Major Change has a real nice sway and understated but charged electric guitar soloing by Burgalassi a...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Roughmax and the Steamrollers from Max Pieri and it's different. Opening with Candy Ass Blues (what a great name for a song) is a pop rocker with overdriven vocals and bass by Max, Luciano Lucky Pesce on piano, and Corrado D' Amato on drums. I Am Too Loose (I Want To Stand) is an interesting rocker with over the top drums and aggressive organ work by Pesce giving Max a strong top for his bass and vocals. Sebastiano Lillo adds an additional dimension on jazz rocker, Junk with his cool slide work. One of my favorite tracks on the release is somber ballad, Guilty with a subtle bass line, piano and lead vocal. This track is simple, yet strong. Very nice. High stepping instrumental, The Second Bite is lead by Pesce's electric keys and features strong bass lines by Max and drums by Amato. Very cool. Wrapping the release is Little Stone In My Pocket , a pop rocker with a driving beat. This release has characte...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, W indward , from Luca Burgalassi and it's soothing and nicely styled. Opening with title track, Windward , Burgalassi leads the way on vocal and acoustic guitar with a smooth blend of backing vocals and instrumentation sounding a bit like James Taylor or an early Crosby /Nash composition. Nice start. With it's calypso rhythm, The Turn is next with a cool bass rhythm by Giacomo Bertaccini and solid percussion by Gianni Apicella. Next up with a smooth boss nova pace on Fields of Innocence , Matteo Fusaro adds clean piano as the track just glides on a cloud. The Sweetest Blues is one of my favorites with nice melodic turns and slick, blues fused guitar riffs and nicely melded vocal harmonies.   Don't Waste Your Time has the strongest radio style melody, complimented by additional harp work and nicely articulated acoustic guitar riffs by Burgalassi. On Down On Me , the band gets a really nice jazzy feel with ...

I just had the chance to review the newest release, Shadows and Fragments by Luca Burgalassi and it's actually quite beautiful. Opening with Shadows , a softly sung ballad over acoustic guitar and electric guitars by Luca Burgalassi, strongly precise bass by Giacomo Bertaccini and light percussion by Ettore Fancelli this is a super melodic opener. Dust and Rust has an open country sound with nicely blended vocal harmonies with Burgalassi on dobro, banjo, guitar, mandolin and harmonica as well as lead vocals, Fancelli on drums, Mimo Pellegrini on bass, Stefano Lunardi on violin and Luca Bellofiore on accordion. An excellent track with nice harmonies, this is great stuff. Nicely arpegiated acoustic guitar and solid vocals are the secret to Dark Cherries and Wine with Franco Ceccanti on cello. With an intricate rhythm and tight electric guitar soloing, this is a cool track. Orange Rooms has a warm, adult vocal, jazzy sound with French cafe accordion and violin ambiance and sli...

I just received the newest release, Ergo Sum , from Mike Sponza and I really like it. Opening with a R&B flavored Modus In Rebus , Sponza and Ian Siegal share the guitar and vocal spots with a cool texture of swamp and soul. Stinging guitar riffs, nice organ work by Dean Ross and tight rhythm by Mauro Tolot on bass and Moreno Buttinar on drums make this melodic opener a great start. Country blues rocker, Carpe Diem , pushes hard with solid structure and a real nice sax solo by Matej Kuzel. With a good dose of country and simple slices of slide guitar, Penelope has the flavor of Hey Jude, and sweet sax work by Kuzel. A definite radio track with a solid melody, this track is super. One of my favorite tracks on the release, The Thin Line , is a dark, jazzy track with Kuzel on sax, Chris Storr on trumpet and Ross on Hammond, features Dana Gillespie on lead vocal and has nicely interleaved slide work and jazz guitar chords giving it just the right amount of suspense. Very cool! Fun...

I just received the newest release, A Portrait of Jimi Hendrix , from David Pannozzo and it's really hot! Pannozzo, a superb guitar player guitar player from Italy has come up with a new set of material, Jimi played David style and it cooks. Opening with You Got Me Floating , Pannozzo's guitar has a lot of the snarl of Jimi as he captures the spirit of the man himself with Lello Somma on bass and younger brother, Simone Pannozzo on drums. During his guitar bridge he shows his European influence with more of a jazz fusion solo. Very Nice! Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland) even finds Pannozzo with a falsetto voice and light airy guitar riffs. On the bridge on this track, Pannozzo keeps it a bit more straight up but adds in a bit of chorded funk. I really like Simone's Billy Cobham like drum work on this track. Really sweet! If 6 was 9 keeps a lot of the esoteric feel that Hendrix started but with a newer updated more bluesy twist. Some of the guitar sounds actual...

I just received the newest release, Spaghetti Juke Joint from Fabrizio Poggi & Chicken Mambo and it's a blast! Opening with Sonny Boy Williamson's Bye Bye Bird , Poggi on harp and lead vocals has the joint hopping already. Guitar riff master Enrico Polverari really drives the boogie and with reckless abandon... Boogie! Up next is Slim Harpo's King Bee with a New Orleans feel set up by the drum march styling of Gino Carravieri. Claudio Noseda lays down a really nice piano base and guitar slide king Sonny Landreth trades terrific riffs with Poggi. Excellent! Another boogie track, Little Milton's The Blues Is Alright is a special track being one of the best versions of this track that I have heard. Featuring the smooth guitar flair of Ronnie Earl, driving bass lines of Tino Cappelletti and strong back beat of Caravieri this track is cool! Original track, Devil At The Cross Road , has a real nice gait and stinging guitar riffs from Polverari. Excellent! On Junior ...

I just received the newest release, Brainstorm , from Blue Cacao with special guest Vissia Trovato . Opening with That Train Don't Stop Here Anymore , an uptempo light swinger, Vissia Trovato takes the lead on vocals and the setting is mostly Daniele Longo on Keys, Enzo Cafanga on bass and Dario Rezzola on drums. Dario Guidotti keeps a counter coming to the vocal and also takes a sweet sax solo. Another solo on guitar from Silvano Paulli isn't long but to the point. A light Latin influenced cover of McCartney/Lennon Can't Buy Me Love , is up next with Trovato and Guidotti sharing vocal leads. A strong pop jazz sound and electric key work from Longo are complimented by Guidotti on sax. A more explosive "electric" guitar solo by Paulli shows real contrast. All I Got Is You has a real moving R&B style with driving cowbell and rumbling bass. Again Longo plays really tasty piano lead solo and Guidotti shows real flare on sax behind Trovato's vocals. Care Fo...

It is hardly a surprise that his two latest albums, "Freewheelin" and "Mojo Zone", are often found in music stores next to Chet Atkins and Eric Clapton on the "guitar hero" shelf. Showcasing a mighty sounding guitar that manages to be at the same time refined and explosive, the two Electro-Fi releases have propelled Enrico Crivellaro into the upper echelons of blues-and-beyond guitar royalty. The definition of Guitar Hero might not be in harmony with Enrico's unassuming nature and with his genuine and humble devotion to music, but it serves to thoroughly depict the status of a guitarist who has earned international fame, and who is now considered to be one of the most influential of his generation, thanks to a style that bridges Blues with Jazz and American Roots Music. Among dozens of rave reviews of "Freewheelin" and "Mojo Zone", it might as well be Downbeat's 4-star lead review--which is in itself every musician's asp...

I just received the newest release, Days Like This , by Linda Valori . This is a 12 track set of strong mature R&B /Soul style music. Blending in Reggae and Ska beats Valori put out a real nice set of contemporary radio tracks demonstrating her solid voice and super tight backing band. Mike Wheeler plays some particularly hot riffs on I Idolize You . On The Way You Love Me ,Valori gets a bit of the New Orleans sound swing going with cool adds by Vincent Bucher on harp and Tim Gant on keys. My favorite track on the release is a very deep reaching version of Jealous Kind . Another cool cover is Move Over , which was one of Janis Joplin's trademark songs. Getting more of a radio horn treatment, it lacks the edge that Joplin brought, but still has a magic of it's own. Mike Wheeler steps up again with stinging guitar work on the really nice I Smell Trouble ... the bluesiest track on the release Very nice! This is a very nice showcase of a solid singer who should find a solid a...

Marco Maenza was born in Livorno (Italy) in 1976. His music taste ranges from rock blues to classic rock. Italian blues virtuoso, started playing guitar at the age of 14. His music is an amalgam of all the various rock and blues he heard as a child, in his studio production he care above all the melody of his songs, the guitar sound is very emotive with his own style. Marco keeps busy in his home studio composing and arranging music and making recordings. On these home recordings Marco sings and plays all of the instruments while also sequencing the drum parts. In January 2009 Marco released his first solo album "A Whisper of Joy". Since the release of A Whisper of Joy Marco continues to record a constant flow of new music enabling him to Climb the ReverbNation Blues Charts and finding himself at the number 1 spot in Italy and as high as 4th on the global charts. On December 12 2007 Marco was featured artist of the day for Myspace. A blog was created to support Marco's mu...

Chicago is the blues capital of the world, and if recent popularity is any kind of benchmark, Linsey Alexander just might be the hottest sound in town right now. Born in Mississippi and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Linsey Alexander discovered on Chicago's south side a down to earth city that truly understands and appreciates music. In much the same way as many great blues artists before him, he grew up in a poor but honest and hard working family, learning early on that music has the power to lift the spirit and comfort the soul. In Linsey's own words, "Blues music is not hard- it's just a documentary about life." His first guitar - a gift from a family friend who played on the front stoop of Linsey's home in Memphis - was never retrieved from the pawn shop where he left it almost 50 years ago. Using the money to help pay his way to Chicago, he now plays a variety of Gibson and Fender guitars, and since 1959, Linsey Alexander has been perfecting the art o...

It is hardly a surprise that his two latest albums, "Freewheelin" and "Mojo Zone", are often found in music stores next to Chet Atkins and Eric Clapton on the "guitar hero" shelf. Showcasing a mighty sounding guitar that manages to be at the same time refined and explosive, the two Electro-Fi releases have propelled Enrico Crivellaro into the upper echelons of blues-and-beyond guitar royalty. The definition of Guitar Hero might not be in harmony with Enrico's unassuming nature and with his genuine and humble devotion to music, but it serves to thoroughly depict the status of a guitarist who has earned international fame, and who is now considered to be one of the most influential of his generation, thanks to a style that bridges Blues with Jazz and American Roots Music. Among dozens of rave reviews of "Freewheelin" and "Mojo Zone", it might as well be Downbeat's 4-star lead review--which is in itself every musician's a...

It is hardly a surprise that his two latest albums, "Freewheelin" and "Mojo Zone", are often found in music stores next to Chet Atkins and Eric Clapton on the "guitar hero" shelf. Showcasing a mighty sounding guitar that manages to be at the same time refined and explosive, the two Electro-Fi releases have propelled Enrico Crivellaro into the upper echelons of blues-and-beyond guitar royalty. The definition of Guitar Hero might not be in harmony with Enrico's unassuming nature and with his genuine and humble devotion to music, but it serves to thoroughly depict the status of a guitarist who has earned international fame, and who is now considered to be one of the most influential of his generation, thanks to a style that bridges Blues with Jazz and American Roots Music. Among dozens of rave reviews of "Freewheelin" and "Mojo Zone", it might as well be Downbeat's 4-star lead review--which is in itself every musician's a...

Gianfranco "French" Scala con la sua chitarra trova nella sezione ritmica formata nel 1993 da Roberto Re (basso) e Stefano Bertolotti (batteria) un terreno fertile su cui coltivare il suo accattivante ed espressivo stile chitarristico. Ne risulta un sound puro ed essenziale, senza fronzoli ma con una grande forza coinvolgente. Chemako non è un semplice insieme di tre musicisti quanto piuttosto u n unico organismo musicale in continua evoluzione che ha accompagnato con grande soddisfazione alcuni giganti della musica americana tra cui Guy Davis, Flaco Jimenez, Eric Bibb e che vanta collaborazioni discografiche con i Blind Boys of Alabama e Charlie Musselwhite. Nell'ottobre 2011, quando la nebbia inizia ad impregnare la pianura padana, i Chemako ritrovano una vecchia conoscenza, Marcello Milanese, un vero bluesman di provata esperienza nonché disegnatore ed incisore. Insomma un artista poliedrico, "nato sulla riva destra del Tanaro probabilmente solo perché negli ...

Carlos Café is playing since the seventies. Despite played different styles he always searched for true music, no matter the style he played. He started playing Blues, then Rock and Fusion. In the early nineties he listened to Clapton´s record “From the Cradle”. After that experience he realized that he had to get back to his roots. Since that moment he dedicated almost all his time to play the blues, but now, with all his knowledge, acquired in his many musical experiences. Shortly the first ideas were emerging. That´s the origin of the CD “Carlos Café & os Mestres do Blues” (Carlos Café & Blues Masters). The project is a tribute to the musicians that more influenced him in his musical life. He wrote original arrangements to standards like Sweet home Chicago and Summertime and wrote original songs in tribute to Robert Johnson, BB King, Johnny Winter and Albert Collins. All of the songs have their own identity. The arrangements were written based on the emotion that the song tr...

Smokin’ guitarist and singer Guitar Ray went home to Italy to record his latest dvd, “As The Years Go Passing By”, and the result is an eclectic mix of styles that recalls the great masters of blues guitar, his biggest inspirations: T-Bone Walker, the great B.B. King, Johnny Guitar Watson and the Chicago guitarist Otis Rush. Born and raised in Chiavari, Italy, in 1963, Guitar Ray started to play music at the age of thirteen. He soon got his first real guitar, a Fender Strat, bought with his own pocket money and still with him after 30 years of career. Felt in love with the Blues after listening to the classic records of Jimmy Reed, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, T-Bone Walker, he never stopped to keep the Blues alive. Soon after coming off the road, he got a call to do a tour with California Blues guitarist Otis Grand and everything changed: Otis wanted to produce “New Sensation” Ray’s first record, and the second, “Poorman Blues”, came naturally. Immediately top 5 on “Pool 2008...

When you think about Italy, it's fair to assume that one thing you probably wouldn't associate it with is blues music. Soccer, yes. Pasta, yes. Spaghetti Western, yes. But, the blues, no. Well, PREPARE TO THINK AGAIN! Family Style is coming and you'd better be prepared to have a cracking good time! A real family band coming from a small town near Milano (Italy) called Arluno, Family Style were formed in 1994 by guitarist MARCO LIMIDO, to play the best Chicago Blues, steamy shuffles, topped by awesome harp and dynamic licks, & lots of swing (Blues Review)! Together with younger brother FRANCO LIMIDO (Recorded with Robert Palmer) on vocals and harmonica, firts cousin DAVIDE BIANCHI on bass and the fascinating STEFANIA "Funky Mama" AVENALI on drums, Family Style launched themselves to the world's blues circuit, and have never looked back, they are simply the best! Family Style have made many friends during their European tours in recent years. They are great ...

Alex Caporuscio continues the way that was planned by teachers as Albert Collins, Johnny Winter and Stevie Ray Vaughan, for naming some. The group was founded by Alex Caporuscio in Italy in the year ' 91, and in ' 95 Mr. Caporuscio decides to move to Spain, prompt where it starts moving for the circuit of Madrid. Alex, singer and guitarist, is born in London in ' 73, of Spanish mother and Italian father. At the age of six it begins his journey in the world of six ropes with the help of his grandfather, guitarist and singer of the "Celtys" and accompanist of big artists of the folk Spanish music. At the age of fifteen Alex discovers a new world on having heard for the first time John Lee Hooker. Rapidly he feels the call, and gets soaked in the blues of B.B. King and Albert King between others. It does with an electrical guitar and starts touching in groups of Blues. On having done with something of stage, it mounts " Alex and the Boll-Weevils " and acts ...