Bman's Blues Report

John fell in love with the blues as a child when his father and an older cousin played guitar and sang at night after a hard day in the fields. His mother moved to Chicago to secure a job and support her family. She promised to bring John and his sister to the big city when they reached age 18, leaving them with family. Depressed and lonely, young Primer frequently went into the neighboring woods, where he cried his troubles away and began singing the blues in solitude. He eventually built himself a diddley bow on the side of his grandmother's house out of broom wire, two nails and a brick and began accompanying himself as he sang, eventually playing for dimes and quarters in his schoolyard. After listening to Jimmy Reed , Little Milton, B.B. King , Albert King and Muddy Waters on his grandmother's record player, his biggest dream was to play alongside Muddy Waters one day. 🎵 LISTEN & SUPPORT THE ALBUM ▶ Listen to Album Samples (Clic...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Whisper in the Wind , by Michael Bloom and the Blues Prophecy and it's a cool relaxed blues rocker. Opening with Time On My Hands , Bloom is up front on lead vocal and guitar with Minuro Maruyama, also on guitars, Michael Damani on keys, an excellent rolling bass line by Jeffrey Labon, and Andrew Thomas and Faustino Cortez on drums. Just Can't Win is a real nice contemporary blues track with a solid melody and again, a cool bass line by Labon. Bloom and Michael Damani lay out some really cool guitar lines on this one as it floats along nicely. Bloom's take on Brownsville has classic styling with Bloom on slide and lead vocal and cool piano rolls by Damani. One of my release favorites is slower blues, Old Man Blues with Bloom stretching his chops on electric lead guitar and with Brant Leeper on B3. Clocking in at nearly 7 minutes...very nice. No Luck At All is an interesting blues track with a different kind...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Travelin' Woman , from South Side Chicago's Mary Lane and its real nice. Opening with title track, Travelin' Woman, Lane shows why her reputation precedes her large as life. Joined by Travis T. Bernard on drums, Chris Cameron on keys, Jim Trullio on guitar and bass, Terry Ogolini and Gene Barge on sax, Don Tenuto on trumpet and with flaming hot slide work by Louie Zagoras this is a super opener. Up tempo blues track, Leave That Wine Alone , has a great tempo and Lanes vocals are sassy. Johnny Grey on B3, Phil Miller on slide and Paul Mertens bass harmonica work is solid and backing vocals by Simbryt Dortch and Yvonne Gage really add nicely to the bottom. Corky Siegel sits in on harmonica on shuffle track, Some People Say I'm Crazy and with solid piano work by Grey, a very cool track. One of my favorite tracks on the release is soul soaked, Let Me Into Your Heart with it's gripping vocal feel and go...

I just received the newest release, Angels Sing The Blues featuring performances by Liz Mandeville, Mary Lane, Al Short, Shirley Johnson and Johnny Drummer and it's cool! Opening with Al "Guitar" Short on the Johnny Guitar Watson track, A Real Mother For Ya , backed by Johnny Drummer on keys, Walter Scott on rhythm guitar, Anthony Palmer on lead guitar, Kenny Hampton on bass, Tino Cortes on drums this release starts off with a kicking funk. Danny O'Connor takes the mic on Cold Women With Warm Hearts and a rolling James Brown rhythm driven by O'Connor's own bass lead. Very nice! Johnny Drummer is up next and a slick guitar intro by Palmer opens Gonna Sell My Cadillac, Buy Myself A Mule . This track has a great feel with extended guitar work by Palmer and Drummers vocals are tight, complimented by his own harp work. Slowing it down a bit, Drummer leads a low slung groove in easy style. Palmer steps up with some real nice riffs on this track giving it a rea...

A longtime staple of Chicago's West Side blues circuit, singer Mary Lane was born November 23, 1935 in Clarendon, Arkansas. After honing her skills in local juke joints in the company of Howlin' Wolf, Robert Nighthawk, Little Junior Parker and James Cotton, Lane relocated to Chicago in 1957; backed by Morris Pejoe, she soon cut her debut single "You Don't Want My Lovin' No More" for the Friendly Five label. A favorite among peers for her dulcet tones, she nevertheless did not record again for several decades, remaining virtually unknown outside of the Chicago blues faithful; finally, in the early 1990s, Lane recorded a handful of tracks for the Wolf label, leading to 1997's full-length Appointment with the Blues. If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

Arkansas-born Lane began singing blues barely into her teens. Soon she was working with slide guitar master Robert Nighthawk. "I was about 16 or 17 when I did a few shows with him in a place called Marvell, Ark.," she says. "It was fun to me. It was beautiful. I was just out there being wild!" Lane came north in 1957, settling in north suburban Waukegan. There she met guitarist Morris Pejoe, who had recorded for Chess and Vee-Jay. She moved to Chicago in 1961, playing the West Side, and she and Pejoe had three daughters (including singer Lynne Lane, who shares Saturday's bill at the Zodiac). “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has brea...

A longtime staple of Chicago's West Side blues circuit, singer Mary Lane was born November 23, 1935 in Clarendon, Arkansas. After honing her skills in local juke joints in the company of Howlin' Wolf, Robert Nighthawk, Little Junior Parker and James Cotton, Lane relocated to Chicago in 1957; backed by Morris Pejoe, she soon cut her debut single "You Don't Want My Lovin' No More" for the Friendly Five label. A favorite among peers for her dulcet tones, she nevertheless did not record again for several decades, remaining virtually unknown outside of the Chicago blues faithful; finally, in the early 1990s, Lane recorded a handful of tracks for the Wolf label, leading to 1997's full-length Appointment with the Blues. If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”