Bman's Blues Report

I just received the newest release, If It Ain't This It's That , from Jeff Powers and it's a sliding extravaganza. Opening with a euphoric slide soundscape, Dirt Road Blues/ Beer And Whiskey Coffee and Cigarettes opens up to a ragged blues on a cigar box guitar, not unlike other very successful contemporary raw blues players like Dan Auerbach and Jack White. Very cool. Miss My Ball and Chain has a lot of the characteristics of Son House but with a contemporary spin and a lot of frenzy. Another cool track! Bad Bad Luck (Bad Luck Boogie) really gets the meat grinding. This is one of the few all cb one man band releases that I've reviewed and I really lke it. Of course I've seen Moreland and Arbuckle as well as Super Chikan but this is a different game. Cold Wind In Cleveland has a real basic blues blues structure but with more modern vocal phrasing. Careful What You Wish For continues along the same lines but with more contemporary guitar styling again on the...

                Storytellin': Singer-Songwriter   Jeff Powers      Makes Chicago Debut At The Elbo Room - Saturday, October 20      "(Powers is a) poet, troubadour, emigre' returning home with tall tales and hard-lived insights... from his Hendrix-like blues-based guitar riffs and sixties references in "13 Seconds 67 Shots (Kent State Massacre)" to the Buffalo Springfield-like "Gypsy Girl (Ode To Ani DeFranco)" to the folk simplicity of "Standing In The Rain," the journey is well worth taking."                                                                 ...

I have been listening to a new self titled release by Jeff Powers . Powers is a classically trained guitar player who has spent more than 7 years out of the country teaching classical guitar and refining his blues guitar styling. Now back in Cleveland for the past 15+ years Powers has been playing with his Blues bands, Dead Guy Blues and Clarksdale. He also performs other sets with more of a folk/rock/blues styling. This recording, is made up of 13 original tracks strongly influenced by singer song writers like Jeff Buckley, Neil Young and Bob Dylan. One track, Wild Child really hops off of the recording as a butt kicker. Ragged singing and rag tag style guitar playing it has a unique charm. Just Because He's Wrong poses an interesting question in life and allows Powers and his band, Steven T. Winston on bass, Mark Tiffault on Drums, Mark Nanni on keys, and Powers vocals and guitars to shine. Ray Of Hope has a haunting quality and is strongly constructed. Hitchhike In The Rain ...