Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Blues Just Makes Me Feel Good , by John Latini and he gives his music his own flavor. Opening with Black-Eyed Blues , Latini, who sings and plays guitar is joined by Nolan Mendenhall on bass, Brian Roscoe White on guitars and Todd Glass on drums as well as Jamie-Sue Seal and Greg C Brown on backing vocal, Ross Huff on trumpet, Tim Haldeman on sax and Bethanni Grecynski on trombone. Lord Made Me A Weak Man has just a touch of R&B with a nice organ solo by Neil Donato and a laid back solo by Latini. Blues shuffle, Three AM , has a real nice feel with rugged vocals and cool slide soloing. Woodchuck Blues has a taste of country with a bit of a CCR sound. Very cool. Funky, Pull Me Up has a really nice groove. Hot country blues flavored guitar soloing and the horn section, coupled with the vocal blends make this one of my release favorites. Title track, The Blues Just Makes Me Feel Good is another of my favorites o...

I just received the newest release, Mr. Rick Sings About God + Booze , from Mr. Rick and it's quite entertaining. Opening with One Kind Of Favor , an adaptation of Blind Lemon Jefferson's See That My Grave Is Kept Clean, has a hillbilly jazz feel with a hot beat. Lead acoustic guitar and vocal by Rick, Alec Fraser on bass, Drew Jurecka on fiddle and Ted Hawkins on drums show this track with a real spark. On It's The Bottle Talking , Ricks solid vocals lead the way with cool fiddle riffs by Jurecka and light percussion by Hawkins. Blind Willie Johnson's You'll Need Someone on Your Bond gets a real cool boogie take with slick guitar riffs from Steve Briggs, Tyler "Uncle Junior" Thompson on bass and cool backing vocals by the Ted Hawkins singers. Traditional hymn, I'll Fly Away , gets a Piedmont style and Mr. Rick keeps it simple and clean, joined by "Blues Doctor" Julie Hill. Very nice! Sister Rosetta Thorpe's Two Little Fishes retain...

I just received the newest release, Excuses Plenty , from Hank Mowery and it's a cool mix of rural country, R&B/soul and blues. Opening with Anna Lee , a country rocker featuring Mowery on harp ad vocal, Troy Amaro on guitar, Chris Corey on piano, Patrick Recob on bass and Theo Ndawillie II on drums. I Don't Want to Know is a nice R&B ballad with strong radio appeal. Jimmie Stagger and Claude Nine add some real nice guitar work to this track but in a melodic contained envelope. Title track, Excuses Plenty , has a country 2 step feel but a euphoric harp wail that really gives the track a special feel. Troy Amaro adds some nice guitar work on this track as well. Country rocker, Walk With Me has a strong pop influence. Mowery's vocals are really super and Mike Morgan adds some hot guitar riffs to Mowery's own lead harp line. Straight up Chicago blues number, One And Only , has a real nice vocal duet with Recob and Morgan is really fluid on guitar backed by Pet...

I just received the newest release, Stranded, from Greg Nagy of Root Doctor fame, and it's fine and soulful. Opening with title track, Stranded , Nagy shows his ability to not only craft a really super soul tune, but to sing on with the best of them. Joined by Scott Veenstra on drums, Jim Alfredson on keys and Joseph Veloz on bass, Nagy shows the warmth of his own voice and articulate Robert Cray like guitar riffs backed by Marcia Allen and Jen Sygit on backing vocals. Excellent! Simple R&B track Walk Out That Door , has a poppier feel with rich organ lead from Alfredson. Bobby Blue Bland's Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City has a soulful strut emphasized by Veenstra's rhythm. I really like Nagy's vocal work on this track in particular, joined again by Allen and Sygit. Soulful wails on his guitar sets this track off as one fine blues song. I Won't Give Up is a simple soulful ballad backed by Heather Jones and Donny Jones vocally. A very nice compos...

At first glance, it might not seem all that odd that Minard Shattuck is building a growing blues following and carving out a niche for his favorite genre in an historic theater in downtown St. Louis. But Shattuck’s St. Louis isn’t that St. Louis. He’s in the middle of farm country, in St. Louis, Michigan, smack-dab in the center of the mitten. Melding his love of blues music with his entrepreneurial spirit drove Shattuck’s ambitious effort to transform a vacant movie theater into a popular nightspot back in 2007. Inspired by the greats, like B.B. King and Buddy Guy (the latter of whom just performed an excellent set for DirecTV’s Guitar Center Sessions ; more details are on his homepage ) Shattuck is perhaps not wildly unique, but he’s an inspiration to similar spirits across the country who love blues music but live far-removed from the hotbeds like Chicago and Detroit and that other St. Louis that have traditionally driven the genre. The fact that Shattuck...

I just received the new release, Reality , from John Enghauser and it's a literal hit package. Opening with Black Dress , an amazing pop track with a rocking rhythm and a serious hook, I'll be shocked if it doesn't get picked up by a TV show as a theme song. Keep Your Jacket On is a loping track with sweet harmonies and nice slide work under the vocals. Very nice. Reality is a heads up pop track with a twist of Philly sounding a bit like early Todd Rundgren...not a bad thing. Kyle Newmaska adds Trumpet, Scott Hughes trombone and Jerry Moore sax making this track a bit more fleshy. Tears Of Yesterday has a really smart vocal melody backed primarily by acoustic guitar and warm backing vocals. This is another really nice track making me think that this could be the most popular album I'll hear this year... at least it should be! Shadowatch , with it's full band sound really demonstrates Enghauser's ability as a songwriter and with some flashy guitar work maki...

Jawbone is a one-man blues/garage/punk band based in Detroit, Michigan. His self-released, basement-recorded 2004 album 'dang blues' was discovered by legendary BBC Radio 1 dj John Peel, who championed the cd on his national UK broadcast over a period of several weeks early in 2004. A visit to London soon followed in April 2004 for a series of club gigs and a live session for Mr. Peel at Maida Vale studios. Jawbone was signed to London-based Loose Music in July 2004. A Jawbone cover version of Johnny Cash's Sun Records classic 'Get Rhythm' was included in the October 2004 Mojo Magazine Johnny Cash tribute cd. The end of 2004 saw Jawbone return to the UK for another small tour, and 2 songs from 'dang blues' ending up in the top 20 of the annual Peel Festive 50 listener’s poll. 2005 included an appearance at SXSW Music Conference in Austin, Texas, gigs in and around Detroit, and another UK tour, which included a set in a special Peel Tribute concert at Que...

I just received the newest release (September 17, 2013), Stepchild Of The Blues , by Howard Glazer and he lives up to his guitar man reputation. Opening with Don't Love You No More , a blues based rocker, Glazer punctuates his vocal phrases with searing riffs. On Shakin' , a R&B style track along the lines of Willie and the Hand Jive. With a lot of Bo Diddly rhythm, Glazer opens a door for open range soloing and he lays it down over a fairly open rhythm pattern. Nice! Gas Pump Blues is a basic acoustic with metal bodied resonator, vocal and featuring Harmonica Shah on harp. Cool change up. Telephone Blues digs down and gets BB King style tension and bend vibratos of Johnny Winter. Larry Marek adds some really nice organ work on this track but its the bend vibrato that is king here. Honey and Spice has the rhythm pattern of Wilson Picket but with a healthy dose of blues rock guitar. Somewhere really has the feel of an early Bob Dylan or Lou Reed track but with a bit o...

Ron Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that instrument. He was elected to the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame in 2012. Carter was born in Ferndale, Michigan. He started to play cello at the age of 10, but when his family moved to Detroit, he ran into difficulties regarding the racial stereotyping of classical musicians and instead moved to bass. He attended the historic Cass Technical High School in Detroit, and, later, the Eastman School of Music, where he played in its Philharmonic Orchestra. He gained his bachelor's degree at Eastman in 1959, and in 1961 a master's degree in double bass performance from the Manhattan School of Music. His first jobs as a jazz musician were with Jaki Byard and Chico Hamilton. His first records were made with Eric Dolphy (another former member of Hamilton...

Big Foot Bob is one of the most respected Rhythm and Blues singers and musicians throughout Michigan. His career began in the Sixties as the organist in the Bob Seger System. When you hear "Ramblin Gamblin Man", or "Heavy Music", that is Big Foot Bob you hear on the organ. Those organ licks are considered to be one of the most recognizable and original in all of Rock and Roll history. Since those early days, Big Foot has performed with most of Michigan's most prolific performers ranging from Wayne Kramer's MC5, to Motown's greatest. His reputation today amongst Michigan's club and festival musicians is as good as it gets. Ask any great blues or club musician throughout the state, "Who would you consider as one of the greatest singers you've ever gigged with?", and the answer might very well be, "Big Foot Bob Schultz"   If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and ...

Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 21, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader. Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, to a musical family of ten (an older brother was pianist Hank Jones and a younger brother was drummer Elvin Jones). Thad Jones was a self-taught musician, performing professionally by the age of sixteen. He served in U.S. Army bands during World War II (1943–46). After Army service including an association with the U.S. Military School of Music and working with area bands in Des Moines and Oklahoma City, Thad became a member of the Count Basie Orchestra in May 1954. He was featured as a soloist on such well-known tunes as "April in Paris", "Shiny Stockings" and "Corner Pocket". However, his main contribution was his nearly two dozen arrangements and compositions for the Basie Orchestra, including "The Deacon", "H.R.H." (Her Royal Highness, in honor of the band’s command performanc...

Sonny Red (December 17, 1932 in Detroit as Sylvester Kyner Jr. – March 20, 1981) was an American alto saxophonist associated with the hard bop idiom among other styles. He had some success in the 1960s, but had fallen into obscurity by the late 1970s   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 favorite band!

For over fifteen years this multi-talented native Detroiter has graced and dominated Michigan's most attended events. She has performed over two hundred shows a year with grace and stamina. Her voice is strong, commanding, melodic and smooth. She tells her stories with incredible delivery and leaves her audiences wanting more. She first gained attention in 1987 when she became back up singer for the Detroit soul band "Lamont Zodiac and The Love Signs". Shortly after, the lead singer left the band and the name changed to "The Chisel Brothers featuring Thornetta Davis". In 1996 Thornetta recorded her first solo album "Sunday Morning Music" on the Seattle based label "Sub Pop" which received a rave revue in the national Entertainment Weekly magazine. The song "Cry" from that album was featured on the HBO hit cable drama "The Sopranos". Thornetta has opened for legendary blues and R&B greats such as Ray Charles, G...

Fiddler Will Batts was the primary instrumentalist in Jack Kelly's South Memphis Jug Band, a popular string band whose music owed a heavy debt to the blues as well as minstrel songs, vaudeville numbers, reels and rags. Born January 24, 1904 in Michigan, Mississippi, Batts was working as a farm hand when he decided to pursue a career in music full-time; he sooned joined Kelly's band, a fixture of the Beale Street area, and in 1933 they made their first recordings, followed in 1939 by a second and final session. Batts also backed a variety of other Memphis performers, including minstrel singer Frank Stokes; a 1952 session with harpist Big Walter Horton was his last known recording date -- he died on April 16, 1954. Jack Kelly & His South Memphis Jug Band (1933-1939, BDCD-6005) Twenty years have passed since Bengt Olsson's monograph, 'The Memphis Blues", was published. To this day our knowledge of the city's musical development is largely based on hi...

Barbara Lewis (born February 9, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter whose smooth style influenced rhythm and blues. Lewis was born in Salem, near Ann Arbor, Michigan. She was writing and recording by her teens with record producer Ollie McLaughlin (a black DJ at Ann Arbor radio station WHRV, now WAAM, who is also credited with discovering Del Shannon). Lewis' first single release in 1962, the uptempo "My Heart Went Do Dat Da," did not chart nationally, but was a local hit in the Detroit, Michigan area. She wrote all of the songs on her debut LP, including the hit "Hello Stranger" which reached #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, and featured extensive use of the Hammond organ. Lewis had moderate follow-up hits with "Straighten Up Your Heart" (#43) and her original "Puppy Love" (#38) before Bert Berns produced her million-seller "Baby I'm Yours" (U.S. #11), written by Van McCoy. Berns also produced the followup ...

I just received the newest release, From Detroit... To The Delta by the James Montgomery Band . James has put together a really entertaining set of tracks here beginning with Intoxicated , a high stepping blues track with strong backing from The Uptown Horns. Montgomery, always a cool singer and fire breathin' harp player screams out some hot riffs on this track and George McCann adding cool some guitar flash. Montgomery gives a whole new look at Dixon's Same Thing and it it ends up sounding more like Foghat than old school Chicago. I think that they do a real nice job on this track with McCann on slide and Montgomery on harp. I also like the vocal effects used on this track. Johnny Winter and Brad Whitford add hot guitar riffs on rockin' track Little Johnny but let's face it...this band is cookin' and that is just gravy on an already hot biscuit! Motor City Is Burning opens with David Hull on a bass riff and Montgomery takes over with that singing harp tone t...

Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier; February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than five decades. With a stage show that features guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood, boa constrictors, and baby dolls, Cooper has drawn equally from horror movies, vaudeville and garage rock to pioneer a grandly theatrical and violent brand of rock designed to shock. Originating in Detroit in the late 1960s, Alice Cooper was originally a band consisting of Furnier on vocals and harmonica, lead guitarist Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce on rhythm guitar, Dennis Dunaway on bass guitar, and drummer Neal Smith. The original Alice Cooper band broke into the international music mainstream with the 1971 hit "I'm Eighteen" from the album Love It to Death, which was followed by the even bigger single "School's Out" in 1972. The band reached their commercial peak with the 1973 album Billion Dollar Babies. Furnier's solo car...