Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review a Terrific release by John Lee Hooker , Boom Boom recorded in 1989. John Lee Hooker has been on of my favorite blues guys since I was a kid so to have the good fortunate to review this release on vinyl is really special. The release explodes with Boom Boom right out of the gate featuring Hooker on guitar a vocal, Jimmie Vaughn on guitar, Richard Cousins on bass, Kevin Hayes on drums and Jim Pugh on keys. Unlike some of the more contemporary releases by Hooker, this band stays out of Hookers way with his eccentric timing and vocal style, Jimmie Vaughn fitting right in the slot under Hookers trademark vocals, Pugh adds just the right amount of organ and Hayes kicking the drums tight to make this track an exceptional opener.  Hooker also plays a solo take on his classic I’m Bad Like Jesse James . This recording is not just clean but alive with plenty of air around Hooker with his vocals sounding immediate and present and his guitar seemi...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Friends Along The Way , from Mitch Woods and it features a who's who in the blues business. Opening with Ma Rainey's C.C. Rider , Van Morrison on vocal and Taj Mahal on vocal and guitar, join Mitch Woods on piano for a early blues style rendition of this classic. Very nice. Oliver Perry's Keep A Dollar In Your Pocket is a great boogie with Elvin Bishop on lead guitar and vocal, joined by Woods on piano and Larry Vann on drums. Woods really lays in his notorious piano boogie style and Bishop's guitar signature is prime. John Hammond steps up on Don Roby's Mother In Law Blues , adding not only super National steel riffs but solid lead vocals. Rolling piano riffs by Woods makes this one of my favorites on the release. Springing to life is Nasty Boogie with Joe Louis Walker on lead vocal and guitar and excellent piano by Woods. Very nice. Jimmy Liggins' Saturday Night Boogie Woogie Man is a ripping ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, They Called It Rhythm & Blues , by The Duke Robillard Band ,  and it's another stellar performance by the Duke and his crew. Opening with swing blues, Here I'm Is , Chris Cote on lead vocal really does a nice job with excellent fluid guitar lead by Robillard, and solid backing by Bruce Bears on keys, Marty Ballou on bass, Mark Teixeira on drums and Doug James on sax. Fools Are Getting Scarcer , James really does a great job stepping out on bari and tenor sax solos over a hot R&B feel. Excellent! Kim Wilson takes the lead on Tell Me Why with his trademark vocals and solid harmonica work. Robillard's guitar lead is impeccable and the band is solid. John Hammond is up front on Homeless Blues with his delta based vocal and playing style. I really like Hammond and am glad to see him on this release. With distinctive drum work by Teixeira and piano by Bears, this track is one of my favorites. Freddy King...

I just received the newest release, St Louis Times , from Jim Byrnes and I really like it! Opening with Albert King track with that Latin twist, Don't You Lie To Me is a cool number with cool vocals and guitar work from Byrnes and John Hammond on harp. Somebody Lied has an easy flowing pace and Darryl Havers holds the body together with cool organ work but it's the hot work of Hammon on harp and some slick slide work from Steve Dawson that cooks this track. Chuck Berry's Nadine has a cool New Orleans style blues going and Dawson takes a sweet steel guitar solo on this track. Old Dog / New Tricks takes the New Orleans style even a step deeper with the addition of clarinet by Tom Colclough who while blended with the gutsy vocals of Byrnes makes this one of my favorite tracks on the release. Very cool! You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone has a R&B / spiritual flavor which really highlights Colleen Rennison as a second lead vocalist. Havers takes a lead organ solo...

This was my fifth Blues Cruise and this marks the third review of the LRBC I’ve done for Bman’s Blues Report .   I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve become a well-seasoned cruiser by now, or if it’s because I had some close friends join me on this cruise, or if the music was any better, or if the islands were more friendly, but this was the best Blues Cruise yet for me! If you haven’t heard me say it before, I’ll start off with these words of wisdom.   A Blues Cruise vacation is exactly what you make it. You don’t even have to be a fan of blues music to have the time of your life, but it helps!   You can listen to as much music as you want starting as early as 10:30AM and going non-stop somewhere on the ship until 6:00AM.   One night I wandered into the Crows Nest at 5:00AM and listened to JP Soars jam until 5:30AM when they finally called it a night… except for one thing, it was already 6:30AM because we had crossed from the Eastern time zone to the Atlanti...

John Paul Hammond (born November 13, 1942, New York City, United States) is an American blues singer and guitarist. The son of record producer John H. Hammond, he is sometimes referred to as "John Hammond, Jr." He is a son of the famed record producer and talent scout John Henry Hammond, Jr. and his first wife, Jemison McBride, an actress. He is a descendant of Cornelius Vanderbilt, founder of the prominent Vanderbilt family. He has a brother, Jason, and by his father's second marriage to Esme O'Brien Sarnoff, he has a stepsister, (Esme) Rosita Sarnoff. Hammond's middle name, Paul, is in honor of a friend of his father, the actor Paul Robeson. However, the younger Hammond was raised by his mother and only saw his father a few times a year while growing up. He began playing guitar in high school, partially inspired by the album Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall. He attended Antioch College for one year, but dropped out to pursue a music career. By the mid-1960s he wa...

The hot band on tour right now is Hot Tuna ! Yep, Jorma and Jack are back on the road and to kick off their road trip Fur Peace Ranch has release live footage extracted from 2 nights of concerts at the Beacon Theater in NYC on December 3&4, 2010. I don't know how many of you have seen Jorma and Hot Tuna live but I have had the pleasure many times over a number of years. The recording begins with I See The Light featuring Jorma on his J190 and Jack joined by Barry Mitterhoff on an 8 string Danelectro guitar with lipstick pickups and Skoota Warner on drums. The band is joined on stage by John Hammond for a cool version of I Can Tell with Hammond on 335 and Jorma pushing his trademark solos through a goldtop. Then the tension starts to build with Warren Haynes on 335, Bill Kirchen on Tele, Larry Campbell on fiddle and Mitterhoff changes over to an electric mandolin. Kirchen has been separated from his old tele (probably retired) but the new one can talk just fine. If you've ...