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Zac Harmon & The Drive - Live - New Release Review

By Bman -
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 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Live , from Zac Harmon & The Drive and it's super! Opening with soulful, NTRO , Nate Robinson on bass and Gino Iglehart on drums set a solid foundation, with Corey Lacy building on keys and lush guitar work by Zac Harmon and Kingston Livingston really setting the bar. Terrific opener. Blue Pill Thrill has super movement and soulful vocals by Harmon. Lacy on keys works the rhythm with Robinson and Iglehart and Livingston and and Harmon play stinging riffs on guitar really giving this track some kick. Deep blues track, Feet Back On The Ground features Albert King like stinging riffs and super soulful vocals by Harmon. Keeping the music floor low allows Harmon plenty of space to go dynamically from soft to wow quickly adding real emotion to the track. Excellent! Boogie Down is a strong jam with a firm piano base by Lacy giving Harmon plenty of headroom for vocal corralling. Lacy lays in some real tasty keyboar...
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CD submissions accepted! Guest writers always welcome!!

I started a quest to find terrific blues music and incredible musicianship when I was just a little kid. I also have a tremendous appreciation of fine musical instruments and equipment. One of my greatest joys all of my life was sharing my finds with my friends. I'm now publishing my journey. I hope that you come along!


Please email me at Info@Bmansbluesreport.com

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Music Maker Relief Foundation partner artist singing weekly outside of nursing home

By Bman -
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Pat "Mother Blues" Cohen, a Music Maker Relief Foundation partner artist sings weekly outside of a nursing home that's had an outbreak of COVID, where her brother lives. Pat's is a powerful story of artist giving back the way they can, even while the artist herself, with cancelled shows, little money, little digital literacy, and underlying health problems, is at a disadvantage. This is true of so most of the MMRF partner artists, primarily older black musicians. Pat had to leave New Orleans after Katrina flooded her house and was set to make a major comeback there with a slot at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest, which is obviously not happening now. She lives outside of Charlotte, NC these days. Following are pieces from PBS NewsHour, CNN, and Rolling Stone.com on Pat, as well as her compatriots Sam Frazier, Jr. of Birmingham, AL, Ironing Board Sam (also formerly from NOLA) of Montgomery, AL, and New Orleans' Alabama Slim, and how Music Maker works clo...
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Music Maker Relief Foundation artist: John Dee Holeman - Last Pair Of Shoes - New Release Review

By Bman -
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I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Last Pair of Shoes , from John Dee Holeman and it's super. Opening with Chapel Hill Boogie , Holeman shows you that age is no obstacle at 90 years. This is a pure boogie with a great attitude. Accompanied by Tad Walters on harmonica this track is gold. Digging in on Muddy Water's She Moves Me , Holeman hunkers down and grinds it out with terrific highlights by Walters on harp. Excellent! On Lightnin' Hopkins' classic, Shotgun Blues , Holeman really has it stripped down to a basic electric guitar, kick drum and harmonica and it's as real as it gets. Holeman's expressive vocals feel like real pain … real blues. Hound Dog Taylor's masterpiece, (Give Me Back My) Wig gets my vote for favorite track with a relaxed (rather than HDT's high energy) attack. This is a great track and with Holeman's vocals and Walter's harp work, with solid supporting electric guitar and light cymbals. Wrapp...
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Music Maker Relief Foundation compilation: Blue Muse - Various Artista - New Release review

By Bman -
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I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blue Muse , from Music Maker Relief Foundation . This cd will accompany a photography book of the same name by Tim Duffy coming out on March 28th. Opening with an acoustic jam, The Grotto Sessions , featuring Simon Arcache on guitar, Dr. Burt, Ironing Board Sam, Etta baker, Captain Luke, Rufus McKenzie, Alabama Slim and Guitar Gabe on vocal, plus a sea of others this is raw and adventurous. Taj Mahal is up next on John Hurt's Spike Drivers Blues with his distinctive vocal and guitar styling. Very nice. Eddie Tigner is up next on vocal and piano with a great boogie, Route 66 with Matt Sickles on bass, Ron Logsdon on drums, Paul Lindon on harp and with really nice guitar runs by Felix Reyes. Excellent! No question that my favorite track on the release is Robert Finley's Age Don't Mean A Thing , the title track from the spectacular release of the same name. Dom Flemons' Polly Put The Kettle On is a great ...
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Robert Finley Partners with the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach for Graphic Novel Soundtrack!

By Bman -
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The Graphic Novel  Murder Ballads to Include Soundtrack from Dan Auerbach (the Black Keys) and Robert Finley Music Maker is thrilled to announce a new project from partner artist Robert Finley. For Free Comic Book Day on May 6th, Z2 comics will release The Ballad of Franklin Bonisteel. The comic will include a free download of the the classic Leadbelly tune  In ...
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Ironing Board Sam Will Prevail!

By Bman -
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Ironing Board Sam Will Prevail! Ironing Board Sam plays Danny Boy at UNC Hospital with Artist Services Coordinator Aaron Greenhood The past few months have been especially challenging for our partner artist, Ironing Board Sam. In October, just days before his album  Super Spirit  was released in on Big Legal Mess Records, Sam suffered a stroke. Music Maker was by his side to help him through ...
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