Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Heavy On The Blues , from Rory Block and it's a hip, blues rocker. Opening with Tommy Tucker 's High Heel Sneakers , Rory Block sets a great pace on acoustic guitar and excellent slide supporting her own vocals on this rocking track. Buddy Guy 's funky, What Kind Of Woman Is This is very soulful with Block squeezing the vocals and sharing guitar lead/slide with Jimmy Vivino . Right in the slot. Spiritual, Hold To His Hand is one of the strongest tracks on the release with Block overlaying her own voice over her own voice choir style for a very nice outcome. Charley Patton 's Down The Dirt Road Blues has a real earthy feel with Block grinding out the blues vocally and deft finger style accompaniment on acoustic guitar. Memphis Minnie 's Me And My Chauffeur is a great track with Block's notable acoustic guitar accompaniment and warm slide styling. Her vocals on this track are particularly effecti...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Behind The Veil , from Jason Ricci and The Bad Kind , and as always it's a feast for the ears. Opening with Casco Bay with it's waltz tempo has a really cool swagger. Ricci on lead vocal and dynamic harmonica tone sets the pace with Kaitlin Dibble on backing vocal, Brent Johnson on guitar and backing vocal, Jack Joshua on bass and vocal and John Perkins on backing vocal makes this a really interesting opener. Switching to New Orleans R&B sound on 5-10-15 , Dibble has the lead on vocal, a really strong harmonica solo by Ricci and Kid Andersen's guitar work really set this track apart. Very nice. Bobby Rush's Ain't She Fine is a great track with an aggressive, funky rock beat. I love the lead vocal lines and Johnson's guitar work in concert with Joshua on bass and Perkins on drums, all wrapped by Ricci on harp is terrific. Classic, St James Infirmary is a smart pick for this band giving Ricci a ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Best of Me , by Joanna Connor and it's wild. Opening with funky blues number, House Rules , Connor dons her notorious slide guitar, accompanying herself on lead vocal, also featuring Josh Smith on guitar, and backed by a serious horn section of Fernando Castillo on trumpet and flugelhorn, Carlos Sosa on sax and flute, Raul Vallejo on trombone, together the Grooveline horns, Shaun Gotti Calloway on bass, Jason Edwards on drums, and Curtis Moore Jr on organ. Super opener. Title track, Best of Me , is a smooth, soulful, ballad featuring really nice vocal by Conner and nicely articulated lead work making hits an ideal radio track. I Lost You is another slow blues with excellent vocal and guitar lead by Conner, complimented by Dan Souvigny on rhythm and keys. Blues driver, Mercury Blues, really gets rolling with Conner pushing on vocal and letting the slide fly, joined by David Abbruzzese on drums. Very cool. Wrapping the r...

      Joanna Connor To Perform On Fox TV show THE EXORCIST This Friday! More Right On Reviews From Vintage Guitar and More Northport N.Y. - It's great when we get our music on TV shows but it's even better when the artist is on the actual show! The Queen of Blues/Rock Guitar, Joanna Connor will perform a song for the Fox drama "The Exorcist." The date of broadcast is Friday November 18th, 9PM Eastern. Click the photo of Joanna Connor and one of the stars of the show Ben Daniels for more.                                     ...

The Joanna Connor Band is a frequent attraction not only at leading blues nightspots but also as a featured act at major festivals in the USA and Canada. Joanna has also developed a strong following in Europe, South America and Japan. As a result of many overseas appearances, in Germany she became very popular after being featured several times on national television. Joanna Connor is a complete electric guitar package and vocalist extraordinaire. She covers the range of modern blues, slide guitar and blues rock with her own compositions very much influenced by funk, rock, jazz and world music as well as delta blues. Her sense of melody, phrasing and dynamics along with a very modern technique make her a very funky, soulful and compelling guitarist. As for vocal abilities, if Joanna wasn't a guitarist, she could easily be a lead singer in any band. Joanna Connor Band has many CD's released during the years. They can be found in major bookstores and top music stores. If...