Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Early Blues Sessions by Bob Corritore & Friends and it's solid Chicago style blues . Opening with I Want To Be The One features Little Milton on vocal and guitar, Chico Chism on drums, Bob Corritore on harmonica, Henry Gray on piano, and Johnny Rapp on guitar. A solid shuffle, shows Corritore, Rapp and Gray with some real nice riffs for a strong opener. Jimmy Rogers has the mic and some swinging riffs on She Loves Another Man with S.E. Willis on piano, Chism on drums, Bruce Lopez on bass. Chism has the mic on Five Long Years joined by Pinetop Perkins on piano and shows Rapp throwing down some excellent guitar lead. Lil Ed cranks up the slide on Hip Shakin' and his vocals really rock. Backed by Chism, Rapp, and Corritore, I really like this track. Tomcat Courtney has the mic on I Wonder really getting in the Chicago groove. Corritore's harp work is particularly cool on this track backed by Brian F...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Phoenix Blues Rumble , from Bob Corritore and Friends and it's a great blues rumble. Opening with Big Fat Woman 489 LBS. a blues rocker featuring Chico Chism on vocal and drums, Henry Gray on piano, Paul Thomas on bass and Bob Corritore on harmonica. This is a solid opener with plenty of harmonica by Corritore. With a deep, New Orleans, R&B feel King Karl has the microphone on Mathilda , wailing some really soulful lines. With Johnny Rapp on guitar, S.E. Willis on piano Thomas on bass and Doug James on horns, this is a real standout. George Bowman has the mic for slow blues, I Was A Fool and it's one of my favorites on the release with Jon Atkinson on guitar, Danny Michel on rhythm guitar, Troy Sandow on bass and Brian Fahey on drums. Corritore is a standout on this track with thick, heavily hooded harmonica and Atkinson lays in a tasty guitar of his own to tie down the track. Shuffle, Nine Times Out Of Ten ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Stuff I've Been Through , by Alabama Mike and I really like it's funky blues sound. Opening with title track, Stuff I've Been Through , Alabama Mike's lush vocals lead the way, joined by Kid Andersen and Rusty Zinn on guitars, Jim Pugh on keys, Jerry Jemmott on bass, D'Mar on drums and with great horn work by Bernard Anderson on sax, Mike Rinta on trombone, Doug Rowan on sax and Jeff Lewis on trumpet. Great opener. Another track with a great groove is King Cock , with a great back beat by D'Mar, and Jemmott on bass and featuring Anson Funderburgh on guitar with some real tasty riffs. Mike not only has lead vocals but adds harmonica and the horn section is back with a lot of heat. Excellent. A cool, R&B style track, Damage Control, features a different rhythm section of Bobby Young on guitar, Lorenzo Hawkins on Keys, AJ Joyce on bass and Ronnie Smith on drums. This is a cool track and it really d...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Let's Have A Party , from Gerald McClendon , and it's a cool R&B/Blues release. Opening with Keep On Keepin' On , Gerald McClendon sets the bar high with a strong soul track, backed by Joe Burba on guitar, Tony Llorens on Fender Rhodes,  Jim Pugh on B3, Skinny Williams on sax, Johnny B. Grayden on bass,  and Twist Turner on drums. Very nice. On blues track, If That Ain't The Blues , McClendon's lead vocal balances perfectly with Rico McFarland's response on guitar. Harlan Terson's bass line sets a perfect bottom for the fluid soloing of McFarland. Pack Your Bags and Go has classic soul styling with real nice sax work by Williams. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Throw This Dog A Bone with its bluesy vocals and gripping, "BB King" like guitar phrasing by Joe Burba and McFarland. Another of my favorites on the release is I Just Can't Take Anymore , with McClendon in t...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Battle of the Blues, Chicago vs Oakland id it's drips soul. Opening with Broke Ass Man , a sweaty, R&B track by Mz. Sumac, you got honest to goodness soul and hot vocals over warm organ and piano  by Chris Burns, and deep bass by Aldwin London. Willie Nelson's, Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away has a great soulful take by Aldwin London, a super singer and bass player with soulful sax by John Brumbach singing to the music. Very nice. Take It Easy features the lap steel soloing of Freddie Roulette over a cool Twist Turner melody.  Rusty Zinn's slashing guitar style steps forward on Good Morning Mr. Blues and the vocal prowess of Nat Bolden. Pure blues all the way with Leo Q. Allen on trumpet, a great track. "Mr Excitement", Del Brown belts out a soulful, Now That I've Gone . Showing incredible soul prowess, Brown has a powerful voice that carries the understated instrumentation. Brum...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Harpbreaker , from Mark Hummel and it's one of the best Chicago style blues records that I've heard in a long time. Opening with terrific harp boogie, Harpoventilatin' , Mark Hummel wastse not a second showing why he's one of the top blues harp players in the world today. With strong pace, and great phrasing, Mark Hummel leads the way joined by Charles Wheal on guitar, Steve Wolf on bass, Marty Dodson on drums and Bob Welsh on keys. Jump track, Rotten Kid really is hot with Wheal laying out some terrific guitar riffs working nicely with Hummel's own featured playing. Excellent. With a super strut, Walkin' With Mr. Lee has just the right snap. Featuring Wes Starr on drums, RW Grigsby on bass, Charlie Baty and Anson Funderburgh on guitars, this track is terrific. Slow blues, Cristo Redentor has such a presence with it's soulful melody and smooth guitar phrasing by Kid Anderson. Excellent! Se...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Reckoning, from Billy Price and it's quite good. Opening with soul fused blues number, 39 Steps , Billy Price has surrounded himself with a who's who of musicians including Kid Andersen on guitar, Alex Pettersen on drums, Jerry Jemmott on bass, and Jim Pugh on keys for a solid radio style start. Dreamer is a strong track with a really nice bass line by Jemmott, nice pinched soloing by Andersen, and excellent backing vocals by Lisa Leuschner Andersen and Rusty Zinn. Very cool. Title track, Reckoning , has a real nice feel and an almost Al Green vibe. Price's vocals are smooth and warm keyboard work by Pugh, clean trumpet lines by Konstantins Jemeljanovs, lead bass lines by Jemmott and slick riffs by Andersen make this one of my favorite tracks on the release.  Another of my picks for the release is One and One , with its super melody, some of Price's best vocals on the release and cool sax work by Johnny...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Travelin' With The Blues , by Harpdog Brown and I really like it. Opening with Better Days , a rolling blues number, Harpdog is upfront on vocal and his signature harp work with Jordie Edmonds on guitar, Pat Darcus on bass, Carl Sonny Leyland on piano, Jimmy Morello on drums and featuring Kid Andersen with some hot guitar riffs. On Otis Spann's Must Have Been The Devil , Brown settles down nicely into the Chicago style on vocal and strong harp with Edmonds and Little Victor laying down some real tasty guitar. On Latin flavored, Moose On The Loose , Brown and Charlie Musselwhite play off of each other on harp. With Mike Thorne on cowbell, and solid guitar riffs by Edmonds, this track rocks. Boogie Woogie track, For Better or Worse , features Andersen laying out some really nice rocking riffs with a nice twang. Excellent! Slowing it down a bit on What's Your Real Name , Brown tells it Bishop style, but subbing...

I just received the newest release, Watch Your Step , from Andy Santana & the West Coast Playboys and it's a mover! Opening with Fran and West 50's R&B track, Knock Knock ,Santana delivers with a full New Orleans swing. Bob Welsh handles piano in fine form, joined by Anthony Paule on guitar, Kid Andersen bass, Robi Bean takes on the drums and Frankie Ramos hits a hot sax solo. Very nice! Bobby Parker's Watch Your Step has a cool Latin rhythm and Santana carries lead vocal and some really tasty lead guitar. Kid Andersen kits the sax on this track adding some key lines and Nate Ginsberg handles the keys. Dave Bartholomew's swing boogie, Playgirl is a really nice track to feature the fine harp work of Santana. He also takes a great lead guitar solo on this track backed by Kid Andersen as well as Mike McCurdy on bass and Robi Bean on drums. Hot track! ZZ Hills R&B track, One Way Love Affair had some real nice dynamics compliments of Eric Spaulding on sax, J...

I just received the newest release from Aki Kumar and it's a solid dose of Chicago blues. Opening with Snooky Pryor's Judgement Day , a smooth slinging number, has Kumar on vocal and harp and Little Jonny with crisp guitar work. On Hank Ballard's Hoochie Coochie Coo , Kumar really gets the band in the groove with his focused vocals. Frankie Ramos adds a real nice sax soloing to the mix and Bob Welsh lays down some real nice piano lead. I particularly like Rusty Zinn's guitar soloing on this track. On title track, Don't Hold Back , Ramos again adds the heat on sax and June Core on drums as well as Vance Ehlers on bass really hold the line. On James Moore's Buzzin' , Core sets a snappy snare rhythm and Kumar sets up a nice harp melody. Johnny Cat Soubrand and Little Jonny lay down some nice guitar on this track as well. On original track, Let Me Get Closer , Kumar really sets a nice table both vocally and on harp. On Jimmy Reed's She Don't Want Me ...