Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Righteous Souls , from Albert Castiglia and it's chocked full of great music and heavy talent. Opening with Centerline , a rocker with a cool backbeat, Albert Castiglia is upfront on lead vocal and guitar, joined by Jerry Jemmott on bass, Jim Pugh on keys, D'man Martin on drums, Kid Andersen on guitars, Lisa Andersen on backing vocals, and features a great twin guitar duel with Popa Chubby. Great opener. Kevin Burt has the mic on R&B track, Mama, I Love You featuring a strong bass line by Jemmott, tight rhythm by D'Mar and really nice guitar work by Castiglia. Rick Estrin is upfront with Castiglia on Jr Wells' Come On In This House . Estrin's contribution is terrific and Castiglia milks all of the juice from his guitar, complimented by Pugh on piano making this one of my favorites on the release. Buddy Guy's funky, The Dollar Done Fell , features Josh Smith and Castiglia working the guitars and...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Dog Eat Dog , from Billy Price and it's old school R&B. Opening with Funky rocker, Working On Your Chain Gang , Price, who has one of the smoothest voices on the circuit leads the way with strong support from Alex Pettersen on drums, Jerry Jemmott on bass, Jim Pugh on keys, John Halblieb on trumpet, Jack Sanford on sax, Kid Andersen on guitar and organ, and Walter, James and Dwayne Morgan on backing vocals. Very cool. Smooth pop jazz track, Lose My Number sounds like it's right off of a Steely Dan record with it's strong melody and supple vocals over a organ lead backing melody. Eric Spaulding adds a real nice sax solo on this one giving it a real kick. With a smooth dance groove, title track, Dog Eat Dog is really in the groove with great lead vocals by Price, tight backing vocals by Lisa Leuschner Andersen and Alabama Mike, cool congas by Vicki Randell, the super sax work of Spaulding and great harmo...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, I Still Get Excited , by Terry Hanck and it's jam packed with sax infused blues. Opening with a rumble, title track, I Still Get Excited has a real nice boogie feel with excellent piano work buy Jim Pugh and cool guitar work by Johnny Cat Soubrand, with backing vocals by Whitney Shea and Lisa Leuschner Andersen, bass by Kid Andersen and drums by Butch Cousins. On Smooth Tyrone , Hanck leads on vocal and soulful sax with really nicely styled guitar work by Soubrand and again really nice piano work by Pugh. On Early In The Morning I particularly like Hanck's vocals and Chris Cain adds really strong lead guitar. I like Andersen's bass attack on this track and the backing vocals by Lisa are really nice. Pugh's B3 work on this track adds that additional dimension and June Core's drumming sets up a solid opening for Hanck to solo. Very nice.  Harmonica great, Rick Estrin joins in on Come On Back playing ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Bad Tattoo , from Mighty Mike Schermer , and I really like it. Opening with She Won't Be Coming Back , a cool Latin rhythm rocker features Mighty Mike on vocal and guitar and in particular Eric Bernhardt on bari sax. Nancy Wright slaps down a really nice tenor sax solo of her own and with Paul Revelli on drums, Steve Ehrmann on bass and Austin Delone, this is an excellent opener. Slipping into a really nice R&B groove on Lover's Hall Of Fame , Schermer shows his outright style on vocal and guitar backed by D'mar on drums, Kid Andersen on bass and organ and Dennis Love on congas and vocal. Shifting gears again on How Much Longer , Schermer gets on a country track with a really nice Cajun spice. With Revelli on drums, Ehrmann on bass, Delone on piano/Farfissa and Lisa Lueschner Andersen on backing vocals this track has great radio flavor and sets up explosive guitar riffs by Schermer. Title track, Bad Tatto...

  16TH ANNUAL BLUES FROM THE TOP FESTIVAL FEATURES STAR-STUDDED LINEUP, 2 DAYS OF BLUES BLISS IN WINTER PARK, COLORADO   Saturday, June 23 & Sunday, June 24 - Music Starts 11am Both Days 2018 Blues Music Awards Winners Southern Avenue (and) Rick Estrin & the Nightcats, Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band, North Mississippi All-Stars, Nick Moss Band w/ Dennis Gruenling, Vintage Trouble, Plus More     (WINTER PARK, CO) - If it’s Summertime in Colorado, that can only mean one thing for blues lovers...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Howlin' At Greaseland , from Kid Andersen's Greaseland Studios and it's strong. This all-star tribute release to Howlin' Wolf features many of today's greatest blues players. Opening with Meet Me In The Bottom , Alabama Mike is upfront on lead vocal backed by Rick Estrin on harp, Alex Pettersen on drums, Bobby Yamalov on bass, Kid Andersen on guitar and slide and Lorenzo Farrell on piano paving a wide path. On Smokestack Ligntnin' , John Blues Boyd has the mic, joined by Rockin' Johnny Burgin and Kid Andersen, Joe Kyle Jr. on bass, Estrin on harp, D'Mar on drums and Jim Pugh on piano. Very nice. Howlin' For My Darling features Terry Hanck on sax and vocals, backed by Johnny Cat Soubrand on guitar, Andersen on bass, Pettersen on drums and Pugh on piano. Both Hanck and Soubrand stretch a bit instrumentally adding nicely to the tight groove.  Tail Dragger is upfront on I'm Leaving Yo...

  Alligator Records has set a June 10, 2016 release date for the Alligator Records 45th Anniversary Collection . The 2CDs-for-the-price-of-one set -- boasting over 148 minutes of music -- features career-defining performances from blues royalty past, present and future. The blues and roots music Alligator Records has been releasing since 1971 -- created by iconic giants of the genre like Hound Dog Taylor, Koko Taylor, Albert Collins, Luther Allison, James Cotton, Elvin Bishop and Mavis Staples, and label-nurtured legends including Son Seals, Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Saffire—The Uppity Blues Women and Michael “Iron Man” Burks -- has more than stood the test of time. With the Alligator Records 45th Anniversary Collection , label founder and president Bruce Iglauer, along with his 15-person staff (many of whom have been on board for well over 20 years) celebrate Alligator’s extraordinary past, history-in-the-making present, and a fut...

Your deposit to reserve a stateroom is $500 per person ($1000/single) payable by Visa, MasterCard or Discover. Please email Bluesin@BluesCruise.com for a copy of applicable terms and conditions. Click for detailed pricing & availability! Buddy Guy, one of this year's Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients, is headlining the October cruise, marking his First Appearance Ever on our Blues Cruise Charters! "Whenever I accept an award like this I do it for all the Blues men and women who came before me and never got the recognition they truly deserved." - Buddy Guy For a man who name is nearly synonymous with the Chicago blues sound, Buddy Guy has one of the warmest smiles in the business. Rock titans, including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards and Stevie Ray Vaughan have all cited him as a major influence on their own music. Now 78, the 2005 inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has barely slowed down ...