Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Hit The Number , by Peter Poirier and it's really good. Opening with jump track, Jukebox , Peter Poirier is kicking it on lead vocal and guitar, backed by Brad Hallen on bass, Mark Teixeira on drums, Brooks Milgate on keys and with Sax Gordon Beadle really blowing strong on tenor sax. On Hit The Numbers , Poirier hits the ground running with strong, fluid guitar intro, with Mark Earley on sax, wailing away. Another cool track is Moanin' and Groanin' with Poirier really walking his guitar down the way. With excellent horn backing by Beadle, Earley and Tom Palance on trumpet, and meaty Hammond work by Brooks Milgate, this track has a great strut. With a Latin rhythm, You Done Lied On Me really gives Poirier a chance to step out a bit on guitar. Tight rhythm by Teixeira, warm Hammond by Milgate and strong horn support by Beadle, Palance and Earley makes this another go to track. Wrapping the release is low slung...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Empty Arms , from Peter Poirier , and it's a solid does of R&B/blues. Opening with BB King's cool shuffle, Bad Luck , vocalist/lead guitar player takes the lead backed by a strong troupe of players including Brad Hallen (bass), Mark Teixeira (drums), Matt McCabe (piano) and Mark Earley (saxes). Sleepy John Estes' Someday Baby maintains much of it's original character  with maybe a little Muddy influence. Playing it fairly straight, Poirier's vocals are clean and his guitar lead tight. BB King's, I Wonder Why , is one of my favorite tracks on the release with a great swing. Earley lays in a real nice sax solo and Poirier's vocals and guitar work are really solid. With a Latin beat, BB Kings' And Like That is compact like BB wrote it with tight, essential guitar soloing and nice sax by Earley. Willie Dixon's I Cry For You has a super Chicago strut and Poirier's vocals are terri...