Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Times Have Changed , by Ronnie Baker Brooks and it's terrific! Opening with Joe Tex number, Show Me , Ronnie Baker Brooks (on vocal and guitar) is kicking ass and taking names right out of the chute featuring Steve Cropper on guitar, Steve Jordan on drums, Willie Weeks on bass, Felix Cavaliere on Hammond, Ben Cauley on trumpet, Lonniie McMillan on tenor sax and Jack Hale Sr on trombone. Big Head Todd sits in on Doing Too Much , a cool blue rocker with Leroy Hodges on bass, Charles Hodges on Hammond and Turner on piano. Recently passed and sorely missed, Lonine Brooks, sits in on Twine Time , a cool, sixties style surf rocker. Rapper, Al Kapone  sits in on traditional blues style track, Times Have Changed , with Weeks setting a great bass line and Brooks' solid vocals and guitar riffs. The addition of Jessie Munson and Wen-Yih Yu on violin, Beth Luscome and Jennifer Puckett on viola, and Mark Wallace and Jonatha...

RONNIE BAKER BROOKS ANNOUNCES CONFIRMED APPEARANCES  PLANNED TO SUPPORT RELEASE OF TIMES HAVE CHANGED,  HIS FIRST ALBUM IN TEN YEARS Produced By Steve Jordan, Featuring Lonnie Brooks, “Big Head” Todd Mohr, Bobby “Blue”  Bland, Steve Cropper, Angie Stone, Eddie Willis, Al Kapone, Felix Cavaliere, Lee Roy Parnell Out On Provogue / Mascot Label Group January 20, 2017 Chicago, IL --- Ronnie Baker Brooks has announced planned initial appearances for 2017.  Following the Legendary R&B Cruise – At Sea in late-January, he will begin the run at SPACE in Evanston, IL on February 3.  Additional shows are confirmed in St. Paul, Des Moines, Milwaukee and Dubuque (detail below).  Today, the second instant gratification track has been provided to purchasers in front of the January 20 th  release.   Brooks, 49, was born in Chicago, and started playing guitar around age six. At 19, he joined his father, Lonnie Brooks...

RONNIE BAKER BROOKS ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF  TIMES HAVE CHANGED, HIS FIRST ALBUM IN TEN YEARS Produced By Steve Jordan, Featuring Lonnie Brooks, “Big Head” Todd Mohr, Bobby “Blue” Bland,  Steve Cropper, Angie Stone, Eddie Willis, Al Kapone, Felix Cavaliere, Lee Roy Parnell Out On Provogue / Mascot Label Group January 20, 2017 Chicago, IL --- Brooks, 49, was born in Chicago, and started playing guitar around age six. At 19, he joined his father, Lonnie Brooks who by then had influenced some of the most well-known bluesman of our history: Jimmy Reed, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Johnny Winter, and Junior Wells. For 12 years, the two would tour together, putting Ronnie out front with Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Koko Taylor.  Times Have Changed , Brooks’ first album in ten years, carries with it the weight of grown perspective and time spent perfecting old material. Brooks worked it with Steve Jordan, whose work runs from Keith Richards ...

** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ** A REUNION PARTY WEEKEND 35 YEARS IN THE MAKING! KANSAS CITY (April 24, 2014) – The hottest ticket in the Blues, The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise , which sails on the high seas twice a year, is hosting their Annual Cruiser Reunion shows for 3 nights this year. Based in Kansas City, the LRBC is the brainchild of Roger Naber , (former co-owner of the Grand Emporium live music venue) who is also celebrating 35 years as a music promoter in tandem with the music on stage. With the next two sold-out upcoming LRBC's, Kansas City music fans will have an opportunity to see six varied internationally famous acts at the well known and respected Knuckleheads honkey-tonk venue. Performing over the 3 day Memorial Day weekend soiree, May 23, 24 & 25, will be Blues Hall of Famer, Otis Clay and his 10 piece band, Royal Southern Brotherhood , an all-star band which includes music royalty names such as Cyril Neville and Devon Allman , Al...

"Being there with my dad, Eddy Clearwater, Jimmy Johnson and Willie Kent, all of whom I admire so much, that was a dream come true. We all played our butts off that day and had a blast." Brooks has earned his spot on the front lines. He spent a dozen years backing his father, watching how the master entertainer drew enthusiastic responses night after night. For years, the younger Brooks put his lessons on stage every night, opening his father's show to great response. With his father's blessing, he left the band to strike out on his own shortly after releasing his own debut album, Golddigger in 1998. Like his father before him, Brooks became a Chicago blues mainstay, playing regularly in Chicago area clubs. After the release of his second album, 2001's Take Me Witcha, he hit the road for what turned out to be a seemingly non-stop three-year tour, picking up devoted new fans all along the way. And while he hadn't planned to take five years between recordings, ...

This is a very enjoyable double cd release of classic blues tunes played by the likes of Billy Boy Arnold, John Primer, Billy Branch, Carlos Johnson and Lurrie Bell with special guests Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Magic Slim and featuring Ronnie Baker Brooks, Zora Young and Mike Avery. They cover all of the bases from Chuck Berry to Lonnie Johnson. This is a cd that should be in everyones collection. Get Facebook support for your favorite band or venue - click HERE Check it out you'll like it!

"I grew up among the best of the best," Brooks says. "Every time I play, I feel like I've got to do it with the authenticity and passion that I saw in guys like Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and my father. But I also have to put my twist on it. None of those guys repeated what came before them." Brooks' twist involves enlivening blues-rock with deep soul and modern hip-hop vocals and funk rhythms. Working with Minneapolis producer Jellybean Johnson, a veteran collaborator of Prince and Janet Jackson, Brooks takes roots sounds and transforms them into something that spans the ages. "I like to think of how Muddy Waters took the Mississippi blues he heard in his youth and modernized it for his times by making it electric and harder," Brooks explains. "That's what I'm trying to do for my generation. I want to take what's authentic and powerful about the music I grew up loving and bring in other influences without losing the heart...

Blues Aficionado Allen "Blues Ace" Anthony was on the scene for the festival as usual and brought us some great photos as well as short commentary. The picture of Motor City Josh is of him (left) and his brother bringing the house down at the end of their set. What a pleasant surprise that band was! I had no idea how good that guy was. Mac Arnold made his guitar out of a gas can. While it’s more of a guitar than many of Super Chikan’s glorified Diddley Bows, it also sounds it’s best when played with a slide rather than any primitive attempts at fretting notes or chords. (More to come on Mac Arnold). He spent a lot of time in the LA music scene for much of his career and has semi-retired back to South Carolina where he bases his band, Plateful of Blues. Another interesting thing about him is that he grew up with James Brown and played in high school bands with “The Godfather of Soul.” John Mayall played a nice set. Did 3 songs off the Bluesbreakers “Beano” albums. Par...