Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Muddy Gurdy , by a French trio of musicians, Tia Gouttebel (guitar and vocal), Gilles Chabenat (Hurdy Gurdy) and Marc Glomeau (percussion). Joining up with Cedric Burnside (acoustic guitar and vocal), Sharde Thomas (fife and vocal), Cameron Kimbrough (guitar and vocal) and Pat Thomas (guitar and vocal), they made terrific North Mississippi Hill Country Blues. Opening with RL Burnside's, Goin' Down South the group conjurs the feeling of Mali and Ali Farke Tour. Very nice. Another Burnside track, See My Jumper Hanging On The Line maintains a really rural feel with gritty guitar work and earthy vocals.  Muddy Water's Rollin' and Tumblin' is tom tom heavy with acoustic slide and authentic vocals. Otha Turner's Station Blues really keeps in line with Turner's roots with ancient slide sounds and snare drum accompaniment behind Tia's vocals and Sharde's fife. Very nice. With a more modern...

Pat Thomas from Leland, Missisippi. That's on Highway 61 south of Clarksdale between Greenville and Indianola. His dad was the late artist/musician James "Son" Thomas. Pat, an artist/musician like his father, has a soulful high lonesome voice that sails somewhere near Skip James at times and falls to John Lee Hooker's earth at others. Mr. Thomas has a fine, thoughtful, economic, and powerful acoustic guitar sound (though he plays electric on two tracks on His Father's Son). Although most of Pat's repertoire comes from songs he heard his father play, he makes each song his own. Songs on this new set range from the haunting Cairo Blues to the joyous instrumental romp of Leland's Burning Down to the moving Rainbow At Midnight. Recorded by Bill Abel whose recordings somehow bring you right in to the room this is a Must Own recording by Broke and Hungry Records. Get Facebook support for your favorite band or venue - click HERE

This timely road movie will explore the thriving underbelly of a dying American art form in the land where it began – Mississippi. Planned as a weeklong journey through the birthplace of the blues, M for Mississippi seeks to capture the proverbial “real deal” in its home where it is most comfortable and authentic – the jukes, the front yards, the cotton fields. More than just a collection of concert performances, the film will collect the sounds, the images and the feel of both the performers and their native landscape – an environment essential to their livelihoods and inseparable from their art. Cultivating the fertile ground between such landmark theatrical travelogues as Buena Vista Social Club and Deep Blues, M for Mississippi aims to appeal to more than just the average blues fan. By showcasing such a fascinating foreign land so close to home, the filmmakers hope to inspire countless others to make their own road trips down Mississippi’s blue highways. Get Facebook support ...