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I started a quest to find terrific blues music and incredible musicianship when I was just a little kid. I also have a tremendous appreciation of fine musical instruments and equipment. One of my greatest joys all of my life was sharing my finds with my friends. I'm now publishing my journey. I hope that you come along!


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Showing posts with label Jazzhaus Records. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jazzhaus Records. Show all posts

Monday, March 2, 2015

Jazzhaus Records artist: Bernard Allison - In The Mix - New Release review

I just received the newest release (March 17, 2015), In The Mix, from Bernard Allison and it's tight. Opening with Colin James track Five Long Years, Allison kicks out a top notch rocker featuring George Moye on bass, Mario Dawson on drums, Bruce McCabe on keys and a real nice sax solo from Jose Ned James. Allison gnashes his blues guitar teeth on a reprise setting the track on afterburners. Easy blues rocker Call Me Momma has a bit of the New Orleans funky groove and Allison's vocals are smooth. Luther Allison's Move From The Hood has a great blues groove set by Moye and Allison's vocals are perfect. Allison lays into the guitar for some swinging blues solos making this one of my favorite tracks on the release. Tell Me Who, a sweet soul ballad, again shows the strength of Allison's vocals and sets up nicely for smokin solo riffs from James and Allison. Very nice! Something's Wrong has a real hot 12 bar Elmore James feel with hot slide work complimented by McCabe on piano. Excellent! Lust For You has a swampy feel with Mark "Muggie" Leach laying down a really nice B3 solo over Moye's solid bass lead. Allison fuses jazz and blues riffs for a real hot bluesy feel. Very nice! Tyrone Davis' I Had It All The Same has a bluesier feel than the original with a high stepping rhythm and great blues guitar riffs. Freddie King's I'd Rather Be Blind, has a really nice feel with soaring bends and slightly funky phrasing. Leach's B3 work and SRV like riffs contrasted against the groove set by Moye and Dawson makes for a real nice arrangement of this classic. Set Me Free has a real cocky saunter fostered mostly by Allison's vocal delivery. Leach rolls out another classic B3 solo on this track and Allison grinds out another hot solo of his own. Hot! Closing the release is Luther Allison's Moving On Up, a real R&B style blues classic. Moye, Dawson and Leach set a smooth stage for Allison on vocal and guitar to conclude this super new release.

  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 favorites band! ”LIKE”

 

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Jazzhaus Records artist: Eric Sardinas and Big Motor - Boomerang - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Boomerang, from Eric Sardinas and Big Motor and it rocks! Opening with with kick ass Run Devil Run, a blues rocker with a strong back beat and great slide. Great opener featuring Sardinas on vocal and slide, Levell Price on bass and Byran Keeling on drums. Kicking out the stops with a real rocker is title track Boomerang. This is a hard driving rocker with the heart of a freight train. Taking down the tempo a little, Tell Me You're Mine keeps a heavy rock flavor but with slide and blues riffs, it's hard not to hear the blues roots. Sardinas has his own slide style which breaks the Duane Allman/Derek Trucks/Bonnie Raitt mold influenced more by the likes of Steve Marriott or Johnny Winter to my ear. Morning Glory has a much more acoustic blues feel featuring mostly Sardinas on slide and vocal. Very nice. Bad Boy Blues takes the standard 12 bar format and classic guitar riffs complimented by Dave Schulz on keys. This is a straight forward blues track with a load of slide ... what's not to like! Hard pop rocker, If You Don't Love Me, aims square at the radio with a catchy melody and call and response vocals. Leiber and Stoller classic Trouble gets a stiff blues rock slap with a slow bluesy start including raucous slide resonator work but wrapping the track in fine rock fashion. Very cool! Long Gone is another solid rocker with solid blues roots. Although Sardinas doesn't sound at all like Lynyrd Skynyrd (the real Lynyrd Skynyrd) I can help thinking that he captures the spirit of them on a track like this. Rock on! On Howlin' Wolf's How Many More Years, Sardinas sets a really nice shuffle groove with a stiff rhythm. Again his own rowdy slide style adds nicely to the ruggedness of the overall track making it a definite blues track and a definite rocker. Super! Wrapping the release is rock n roller Heavy Loaded with strong shuffle beat. With a fun, raw rhythm and Celine Cavin on Mojo Juice Harp this is a terrific rock, boogie to conclude a very enjoyable release!

  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 favorites band! ”LIKE”

 

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Bluesman Bernard Allison Is "In the Mix" on First New Studio Album in Six Years, Coming March 17 on Jazzhaus Records


Bluesman Bernard Allison Is In the Mix on First New Studio Album in Six Years, Coming March 17 on Jazzhaus Records

FREIBURG, GERMANY – Blues guitarist and singer Bernard Allison will release his first new studio album in six years, In the Mix, on March 17 from the Germany-based label, Jazzhaus Records. Produced and arranged by Bernard Allison, In the Mix features 10 tracks, including five originals, as well as covers of two songs from his legendary father, Luther Allison (“Move from the Hood” and “Moving On Up”), plus tunes from Colin James (“Five Long Years”), Freddie King (“I’d Rather Be Blind”) and Tyrone Davis (“I Had It All the Time”).

Although firmly rooted in the blues, the music on In the Mix shows Bernard’s myriad of influences, including soul, rock and R&B. Allison says about the recording sessions: “I was very excited to record with my reformed group. We went into this recording with the mindset to not make a recording flooded with screaming guitars. I just wanted to share my arrangement and songwriting skills, as well as play some tracks I‘ve been holding onto for years.With the help of my bandmates as well as my mom Fannie Mae Allison, I can say I‘m very proud of the outcome of In the Mix, which  reminds me a bit of the old Memphis soul sound with a touch of Hendrix's Band of Gypsys group."

Born in Chicago as the youngest of nine children of iconic bluesman Luther Allison (who bought his son his first guitar), Bernard got the playing bug at an early age when his father began schooling the youngster in the roots of black music and the art of the electric guitar.

“I didn’t start to play until I was maybe 10 years of age,” Allison remembers. “I started by picking up the guitar and listening to my father’s records.” He also absorbed the music of his dad’s influences, including Magic Sam, Otis Rush, T-Bone Walker, Lightnin’ Hopkins and B.B. King, as well as the next generation of stars: Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Johnny Winter.

Bernard made his first appearance on record at 13 and by age 18 had joined his father onstage for shows such as the Chicago Blues Festival. One week after graduating high school, he got the call from the great Koko Taylor, who asked Bernard to be the lead guitar player in her band. He played with Koko Taylor’s Blues Machine for three years, getting a wonderful education in how to behave both on and off the stage, and also backing the great Willie Dixon.

The 1980s brought contemporary influences and friendships with Johnny Winter and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and in 1990, Bernard Allison recorded his first solo album. Over the next 20 years, he recorded numerous studio and live albums, touring endlessly with his own band. When Luther Allison passed in 1997, son Bernard picked up the blues torch, but carried it with his own light, assuming the challenge of helping to keep the blues alive with his own brand of music that fused blues with rock, soul and other influences to carry it into the next millennium.

“The blues is my roots,” states Allison. “Regardless of how far outside of the blues I reach for tones, I can’t ever leave the blues. Whenever I play, all those guitar parts are Luther Allison coming through me. My dad was the same way; he wasn’t all blues. He loved Otis Redding and Chuck Berry. I’m just showing where my influences come from, and respecting the people who got me to this point.”

For more information, visit www.bernardallison.com and www.jazzhausrecords.com.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Jazzhaus Records artist: Danny Bryant - Hurricane - New Release Review

I've just received the newest release (UK release date may 6, 2013) Hurricane by guitar virtuoso Danny Bryant. Bryant, a protege of guitar slinger Walter trout has assembled a solid package of blues rock tracks heavily laden with confident vocals and edgy guitar. Opening with Prisoner Of The Blues, Bryant shows his take no prisoner attitude with strong vocals, fast finger work and stinging vibrato. Greenwood 31 is a really cool track blending early swampy blues roots with Jimi Hendrix flare and his own powerful style. This is a real strong track. Can't Hold On is a more solemn track opening with piano by Richard Hammerton. Constructed as a ballad, Bryant shows his singing chops before digging in on some hot bluesy guitar. Title track Hurricane is a rocker and really structured in the radio track vein. Actually puts me in mind of some of Bowie's work. Devil's Got A Hold On Me is a hot boogie track building into a rocking guitar fest. I'm Broken is a cool blues ballad with sweet guitar work over a heavy bottom provided by Ken Bryant on bass and Trevor Barr on drums. Possibly my favorite track on the recording. Losing You is a prototypical blues ballad for guitar... think Gary Moore. This is a strong track with hot guitar riffs. Bryant uses the entire fretboard for dynamics and it is very successful. The release is concluded with Painkiller, a ballad opening quietly on acoustic guitar and just Bryants voice... but concluded with raw electric pyrotechnics sure to engage any blues rock guitar enthusiast. Hot! If you don't know Bryant's work, this is your chance to check it out!

  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 favorites band! ”LIKE”