Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, small things , from Jackson Potter and it's a groove. Opening with Trams , Jackson Potter on guitar and Hamish Smith on bass set a great riff, joined by Alex Ridout on trumpet and Troy Roberts on sax forming a solid melody and tightened up by Marcello Cardillo on drums. Roberts broadens the track with some real meat on sax and Potter shows excellent fluidity and purpose laying out a really nice guitar lead. Roberts again steps up with some great riffs of his own and Cardillo shows a snappy bottom Excellent opener.  Title track, small things , has a warm melody and Roberts cruises nicely on tenor sax creating  a lush first solo, followed by Potter who's guitar work is clean and has just a slight Latin seasoning, capped by Ridout on trumpet. Very nice. Background Noise opens with Roberts on sax but joining with Ridout and the addition of Cardillo, really winds it up with a more direct Latin rhythm. Potter's gu...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Tides , from Philip Weberndoerfer and it's mature, lush and pleasing. Opening with Little B's Poem , German native, Philip Weberndoerfer paints a rich melody with his guitar, backed by Richard Mikel on bass and Peter Traunmueller on drums. A jagged time signature strengthened by Mikel and Traunmueller provides Weberndoerfer a clear canvas to illustrate his craft. A tight bass solo by Mikel really adds nicely to the landscape making this a super opener. Peace Of Constance is a understated composition led by Dayna Stephens on sax. Interweaving of Stephens and Weberndoerfer on guitar, supported by Mikel really makes for a satisfying listen. Salted Sweets slowly builds whisper with Stephens taking the melodic lead on sax. Weberndoerfer joins on guitar further embellishing and extending the concept with carefully placed bass and drum rhythm and a really strong drum solo accentuating the playful nature of the track. Ve...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Being , from Chris Rottmayer , and it's a cool set of modern jazz. Opening with On The Street Where Woody Lives , Chris Rottmayer on piano paired with Matt Endres on drums and Rufus Reid really set a nice atmosphere. Russ Johnson on trumpet takes the first leg and really sets a nice stage on trumpet followed by Rottmayer who stretches nicely on piano. Strong opener. Pigalle has a quiet nature with a warm bass line by Reid and ethereal trumpet work by Johnson, floating on the piano weave created by Rottmayer. Reid stretches on bass, really setting down a warm melody with only a light structure of piano and drums. Rottmayer elaborates on the structure set by Reid, creating a very nice overall atmosphere. Song of Modes in 3, has a nice flow and with a tight bottom by Endres and Reid. Johnson on trumpet sets the melodic structure which is really nice and Rottmayer on piano takes it for a really nice run on piano. Very nic...