Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Zero-2-Sixty from Scott Ellison and it's a cool mix or rock, R&B and blues. Opening with shuffle, She Needs A Whole Lotta Lovin' , Scott Ellison on lead vocal and guitar gets this thing going. Backed by Jon Parris on bass, Robbie Armstrong and David Bernston on harmonica, this is a solid opener. On slow blues, That's How I Love My Woman , Ellison digs deep both vocally and on guitar making this a terrific track. With Parris on bass, Armstrong on drums and Danny Timms on B3 and piano, this is one of my favorites on the release. Another cool shuffle is You Can't Blame A Guy For Tryin' with a cool bass line by Matt Kohl, Matt Teegarden on drums, Hank Charles on piano and organ and great syncopation by Ellison on vocal and lead guitar. Soulful blues, Before The Teardrops Fell is a nice showcase for Ellison on vocals and his lead guitar chops are very nice. Piano soloing by Timms adds another dimensio...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, There's Something About the Night, by Scott Ellison and it's packed full of blues and a lot of fun. Opening with loping boogie, Half A Bottle Down , Ellison shows great guitar swagger and solid vocals. Backed by Rick Robbins on rhythm guitar, Lou Castro on bass, Robbie Armstrong on drums and Jon Greathouse on keys, this is a solid opener. On Bobby Blue Bland's Ain't No Love , Ellison shows great soul on vocal and lays down some stinging guitar riffs, backed by Ginger Blake, Maxine Waters, Julia Waters and Oren Waters on vocals. Very cool. Swinging shuffle, Bury Your Bone At Home is a strong front runner for popular track with it's clever lyrics and excellent overall feel. Another loping Texas style boogie, Meat and Potatoes gives Ellison a nice opportunity to lay down some cool slide work, joined by David Bernston on harmonica. Slow, TBW style, Good Year For the Blues , is my favorite on the release w...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Skyline Drive , by Scott Ellison and I like it. Opening with Latin seasoned, blues rocker, I'm Missing You , Ellison on lead vocal and lead guitar is joined by Chris Campbell on backing vocals, Ron Getman on guitar, Jon Parris on bass, Robbie Armstrong on drums. With a solid melody, tight vocals and cool guitar lead, this is a strong opener. Title track, Skyline Drive is a cool shuffle with warm B3 under the cool vocal melody and with jazz influenced blues guitar. Very nice. Driving blues rocker, I'm All Wound Up is fueled by hot lead slide by Getman, the tight drumming of Chuck Reavis and Hank Charles on piano. It has great swagger making it one of my favorites on the release. These Blues Got A Hold On Me , has a slower more deliberate tempo with understated organ underpinnings and a real nice solo and Ellison takes time for a real nice guitar solo of his own. Very nice. Overwhelmed is a super blues rocker w...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Good Morning Midnight , from Scott Ellison and it's tasty! Opening with New Orleans flavored, Sanctified , Ellison is really hitting the road running. With Chris Campbell on lead vocal and Marcy Levy on backing vocal this band featuring Chuck Blackwell ripping up the drums, Gary Gilmore's funky bass line and hot guitar work by Ellison is smokin'. Soulful number, Gone For Good showcases Ellison on lead vocal and guitar with a strong radio presentation. Very nice. Reggae styling on Hope & Faith really sits down hard on Bob Marley's style. A really nice track with just the right groove features Jon Parris on bass, Danny Timms on B3 and terrific drum work by David Teegarden. One of my favorite tracks on the release is You Made A Mess (Outta Me) along the lines of Nickel and a Nail or Thrill Is Gone. With Jon Glazer on keys, Robbie Armstrong on drums, Jon Parris on bass and real nice lead vocal and gu...

I just had the opportunity to review the newest release, The Stars Motel , from Liz Mandeville and it has a real nice flow. Opening with Too Hot For Love , Liz Mandeville is up front on lead vocals with Scott Ellison on lead guitar, Matt Kohl on bass, Robbie Armstrong on drums and Joan Gand on B3. With a more relaxed BB King kind of feel, Blues Is My Boss features Dario Lombardo on lead guitar with Mandeville handling lead guitar and lead vocal. Matt Cartwright sets a deliberate bass line and Andy Sutton is tight on drums. With a New Orleans feel, Everybody Knew But Me , has a great rhythm with Heather Tackett Faludo on bass, Steve Hart on tuba n Alex Leong on trombone and Jim Godsey on percussion. Very cool! Quiet ballad, One Dance , is soulful and has great horn bass featuring Jeannie Tannec on trumpet, Johnny Cotton on sax Charlie Kimble on sax. Gand's B3 work really beefs up the middle and Minoru Maruyama, guitar work gives the track sting almost sounding like a Muscle Shoa...

I just received the newest release, Elevator Man , from Scott Ellison and it's quite entertaining. Opening with Holler For Help, an upbeat British invasion style track, Ellison leads on vocal and slide guitar joined by Charles Tuberville on bass. Arlene has that great SB Williamson drive reinforced by a solid bass line. Jimmy Markham lays down a real nice harp line followed by Ellison on guitar. Very nice! Slow and gritty, Behind That Smile , features nicely phrased guitar lines and warm backing vocals by Charles Tuberville and Marcy Levy making it one of the sweetest tracks on the release. Fishsticks and Jelly has a cool pace with foot stomp rhythm and real nice acoustic slide work. Title track, Elevator Man , has a bit of contemporary funk with a super slinky guitar solo. This track really moves and I really like Ellison's lead vocals as well as Levy's backing vocals on this track. Shuffle track, Jesus Loves Me (Baby Why Don't You) , shows Ellison's stinging...

I just received tracks from the new recording (February 2014); Hit It, Get It and Go; from Scott Ellison. Ellison, former sideman to Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, and recent inductee to the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame, released the first cut from this recording set on Thanksgiving. Jesus Loves Me (Baby Why Don't You), a smooth, guitar rich, shuffle track is featured in Homefront, a new movie starring Jason Statham, James Franco, Wynona Ryder and Kate Bosworth. Backing Ellison are Charles Tuberville (rhythm guitar), Walt Richmond (B3), Gary Gilmore (Bass) and Jamie Oldaker (drums). The second track, Elevator Man has a strong back beat featuring Matt Kohls (bass) and Robbie Armstrong (drums). These are both strong tracks featuring Ellison on vocal and guitar, promising to be a CD to watch for.   If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m ...

I just received the new release by ex Gatemouth Brown Sideman Scott Ellison. This is a real strong effort written entirely by Ellison and Charles Tuberville or Walt Richmond (Eric claptons keyboard player)with definite clues to Motown and Memphis. Gravelly vocals are dominant throughout and Ellison is a good guitar player although this release is primarily vocal driven with stinging guitar for icing. Shakin' With the Blues definitely shows the strong guitar feel and there is a pretty tasty slide guitar solo on "Trouble Times". As a change up, The Name of Your Game comes straight from Jamaica. There is a nice guitar solo there to give the song just the right balance. All Things, starts off with a nice guitar intro and has the rhythm style that I would typically associate with Johnny Winter although the guitar styling is a lot more "Albert King". There is also a real nice piano interlude in the middle of the song which again provides for a nice balance. The last s...