Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Green Eyed Blues , from Laura Green and it's a cool mix of rock, blues, country and soul. Opening with country flavored, Bone To Pick , Laura Green is up front on lead vocals, backed by Art Dwyer on bass, Aaron Griffin on slide, Rob Lee on drums and Bob Lohr on piano. Her paired vocal with Rich McDonough who also plays guitar makes this a solid opener. Green really shines on It Ain't Easy , a shuffle track with a gospel structure. With backing vocals by Renee Smith, Chris Shepherd, Ron Roskowske, Michelle Isam and Ellen Kinkle make this one of my favorites on the release. Folk blues, Mama Don't Cry is a real nice track with strong vocal lead by Green over acoustic guitar and mandolin by Charlie Pfeffer. Excellent! Joe Meyer adds a real nice tom tom rhythm to That's Right , a Bo Diddley like track and Griffin's guitar work really shines. Shuffle track, Cry , has a solid blues feel and Green's vocal...

I just received the newest release, Stand Your Ground , by John Long and it has a great authentic feel. Opening with Homesick James' Baby Please Set A Date , Long is stroking the slide, Elmore James style, backed by Fred Kaplan on piano, Bill Stuve on acoustic bass and Washington Rucker on drums. This track could easily have been recorded in the 40's or 50's by Muddy with a rich early feel. In addition to Long's slide work, Kaplan's exceptional piano work is sweet! Great opener. Son House style creeps into Red Hawk and long shows his powerful vocal style as well as his command of House's excellent slide style. Excellent! On country style blues, Things Can't Be Down Always , Long continues to demonstrate his versatility in style and delivery. His vocals are pure and his playing clean. On title track, Stand Your Ground , Long introduces a bit of New Orleans feel with Stuve and Rucker. A cool rhythmic track with a more contemporary feel. Welcome Mat is an...

Ann Peebles (born April 27, 1947) is an African American singer-songwriter who gained celebrity for her Memphis soul albums of the 1970s on the Hi Records label. Two of her most popular songs are "I Can't Stand the Rain" and "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down", which she wrote with her husband, Don Bryant, and radio broadcaster Bernard "Bernie" Miller and were subsequently popularized in cover versions by, among others, Eruption (1978) and Paul Young (1984), respectively. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Ann Peebles was given her first opportunity as a professional performer by Hi Records' Gene "Bowlegs" Miller during a 1968 trip to sit in singing with him at a Memphis nightclub. A popular local bandleader, Miller was known for helping other musicians, such as members of the Hi Rhythm Section, get their start in the Memphis music industry. Peebles soon began penning and singing hits for the label, co-writing with label staff songwrit...

Edith North Johnson (January 2, 1903 – February 28, 1988) was an American classic female blues singer, pianist and songwriter. Her most noted tracks were "Honey Dripper Blues", "Can't Make Another Day" and "Eight Hour Woman". She wrote another of her songs, "Nickel's Worth of Liver Blues". Born Edith North, in 1928 she married a local record producer, Jesse Johnson. She originally worked at her husband's Deluxe Music Store as a sales person. Although not a professional singer, between 1928 and 1929 Johnson recorded eighteen sides. She started on QRS Records in 1928, later switching to Paramount. Her output tally included those from a recording session in Grafton, Wisconsin, for the Paramount label with Charley Patton. Oddly, it is now reckoned that Patton did not play on any of her recordings. During World War II, Johnson managed a taxicab operation in St. Louis, as well as later running Johnson's Deluxe Cafė after her husband...

Dear Friends, Happy Holidays! I just returned from a marathon tour in California -- four fantastic weeks of concerts and festivals.  Highlights included the West Coast Ragtime Festival in Sacramento, the San Diego Thanksgiving Dixieland Jazz Festival, and a fascinating visit to a unique liberal arts college in the high desert of California, just east of the Sierra Nevadas. West Coast Ragtime Festival One of the largest festivals of its kind, the West Coast Ragtime Festival always presents some of the best performers of early piano styles, such as Brian Holland, Carl Sonny Leyland, Frederick Hodges, and others.  All of these pianists and I have much respect and admiration for the musical genius of Dick Hyman; here's a composition of his that I performed that weekend.  I also had the opportunity to play a couple of sets with the fantastic drummer Danny Coots, who brought a lot of grea...

Honeytribe is an American blues rock band formed in Saint Louis, Missouri. The founder and bandleader is Devon Allman, son of Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band, who is the lead guitarist, vocalist, and frontman. The other members are George Potsos on bass, and Justin Hanson on drums. Honeytribe was formed by Devon Allman in 1999. In 2001, the band broke up so Allman could spend time with his newly born son. They reformed in 2005 and started Honeytribe's path as a career: making records and touring. They have toured throughout North America and Europe. “Like” Bman’s Facebook page (available in over 50 languages). I will not relay senseless nonsense. In this way I can get out the word on new talent, venues and blues happenings! - click Here

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry (born October 18, 1926) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957) and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958), Chuck Berry refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive, with lyrics focusing on teen life and consumerism and utilizing guitar solos and showmanship that would be a major influence on subsequent rock music. Born into a middle class family in St. Louis, Missouri, Berry had an interest in music from an early age and gave his first public performance at Sumner High School. While still a high school student he served a prison sentence for armed robbery between 1944 and 1947. On his release, Berry settled into married life and worked at an automobile assembly plant. By early 1953, influenced by the gu...

Williams began performing in the mid-1950s and has sat in with blues greats like Muddy Waters and Elmore James. In the mid-1970s, Williams formed the Bluesmasters band, performing throughout the Midwest. Marquise Knox was born in 1991 in St. Louis while his mother was visiting family. They returned to Granada, Mississippi, but moved to St. Louis for good a couple of years later. Marquise still resides in St. Louis, Missouri, but also spends a lot of time in Grenada, where he loves to fish and visit friends and family. Marquise hails from a musical family deeply entrenched in the Blues. He learned how to play guitar from his grandmother whose family were sharecroppers and whose great, great grandparents were slaves. He also played with his uncle Clifford, who was a major influence in Marquise's life. For Marquise, Blues is his heritage and a way of life. He spent his early teenage years in St. Louis mentoring under the late great Blues legend, N.E.A. Heritage Fellowship rec...

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry (born October 18, 1926) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957) and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958), Chuck Berry refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive, with lyrics focusing on teen life and consumerism and utilizing guitar solos and showmanship that would be a major influence on subsequent rock music. Born into a middle class family in St. Louis, Missouri, Berry had an interest in music from an early age and gave his first public performance at Sumner High School. While still a high school student he served a prison sentence for armed robbery between 1944 and 1947. On his release, Berry settled into married life and worked at an automobile assembly plant. By early 1953, influenced by the g...