Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Roll With Me , from Duke Robillard and it's particularly hot! Opening with Eddie Boyd's Bluecoat Man , Robillard is on vocal and these guys are really rocking. With Doug James really humming on sax and Mark Teixeira on drums and Marty Ballou on bass giving Robillard a great platform to blow the doors off on guitar. Excellent opener. Gatemouth Brown's Boogie Uproar is hot and heavy with Robillard having a excellent solo exchange with James and Rich Lataille punched up by the likes of Pam Murray and Carl Querfurth on trombone, Al Basile on cornet, Matt McCabe on piano, Ballou on bass, and Teixeira on drums. Powerful. Willie Dixon's, Built For Comfort has a real cool feel with Robillard playing the easy shuffle under his vocals and nicely interwoven horn work by James and Murray and the tight drumming of Teixeira and groove bass by Ballou gives this track an electrifying feel. Hot, slow, blues, Give Me Back...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Tears In My Eyes , from Anthony Geraci and it's great mix of rhythm and blues. Opening with slow blues, Broken Mirror, Broken Mirror Anthony Geraci is back with his powerful blues piano style, joined by Sugar Ray Norcia on super lead vocal. With Barrett Anderson on Muddy style slide guitar, Paul Loranger on bass and Marty Richards on drums, this is a strong opener. On jump track, Owl's Nest , Geraci pounds out the melody on piano and Drew Davies steps up with some terrific sax work. Excellent track. On Judge Oh Judge , Norcia really sings the blues with warm sax soloing by Mario Perrett nicely complimenting Geraci's piano structure with Loranger on bass and Kurt Kalker on drums. On piano boogie, Ooeee , Geraci really rolls it, accompanying his lead vocal on piano and with Drew Davies on sax wailing away. Very nice. Norcia is back on lead vocal on bluesy ballad, Now What . With a strong melody, excellent piano ...

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Medication Time , from Todd Sharpville, and it's a solid rocker. Opening with Walk Out In The Rain , Todd Sharpville on vocal and guitar sets a tense stage with his intense vocal and Clapton like guitar riffs. Joined by Bruce Bears on Hammond, Brad Hallen on bass and Mark Texeira on drums, this is an attention grabber of an opener. Driving track, Get Outta My Way features Doug James on Bari sax, Mark Early on tenor sax, Carl Querfurth on trombone and Doc Chanonhouse on trumpet and put to great use with a full horn delivery and a strong sax solo by Early. House Rules is a great track that's likely to get you up on your feet. With it's tight rhythm and slick guitar soloing by Sharpville, this track is super. Larry McCray joins on guitar and vocal on Brothers From Another Mother and the guy's voices actually pair up quite nicely (McCray on the left). McCray and Sharpville jam out pretty nicely for the last...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, They Called It Rhythm & Blues , by The Duke Robillard Band ,  and it's another stellar performance by the Duke and his crew. Opening with swing blues, Here I'm Is , Chris Cote on lead vocal really does a nice job with excellent fluid guitar lead by Robillard, and solid backing by Bruce Bears on keys, Marty Ballou on bass, Mark Teixeira on drums and Doug James on sax. Fools Are Getting Scarcer , James really does a great job stepping out on bari and tenor sax solos over a hot R&B feel. Excellent! Kim Wilson takes the lead on Tell Me Why with his trademark vocals and solid harmonica work. Robillard's guitar lead is impeccable and the band is solid. John Hammond is up front on Homeless Blues with his delta based vocal and playing style. I really like Hammond and am glad to see him on this release. With distinctive drum work by Teixeira and piano by Bears, this track is one of my favorites. Freddy King...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Man of Many Blues , from Paul Gabriel and it's got style. Opening with Latin flavored, I Feel Good , Paul Gabriel is front and center on lead guitar and vocal with Frank Davis on bass, Lonnie Gasperini on Hammond, Mark Earley on tenor and bari sax, Doug James on bari sax and Mark Teixeira on drums. On shuffle, Maybe We Can Talk A While , Duke Robillard lays in some real nice guitar lead giving the track just a little more smooth polish. Blues For Georgia is a real cool track with a jazzy edge. Gabriel's guitar lead is really nice, paired with Gasperini's Hammond organ work and the mighty Bruce Bears on piano. Very nice. My favorite track on the release is Just A Bitterness with it's soulful structure and slow bluesy pace. Gabriel's vocal strengths and really showcased on this one and addition of Robillard on guitar gives stinging guitar results. With rich sax work by Earley, this track just hits the...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Train To Key Biscayne , from Peter Ward and it's energetic. Opening with The Luther Johnson Thing , Luther Guitar Junior Johnson is upfront on lead vocal with Peter Ward on guitar, Mudcat Ward on bass, Neil Gouvin on drums and Anthony Geraci on piano. A cool shuffle with slick guitar lead, nice harp and excellent vocal phrasing, a super opener. Laid back, almost country styled, title track, Train To Key Biscayne features Sugar Ray Norcia on lead vocal and Jiri Nedoma on piano. Ward's warm guitar soloing backed by the sax work of Aaron Gratzmiller gives it a cool retro feel. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Blues Elixir (Ronnie's Here) featuring Ward on lead vocal and really nice trademark guitar lead work by Ronnie Earl. Backed by Nedoma on piano and with solid harp work by Norcia, this is a really cool track. Johnny Nicholas is up front on lead vocal on Change (Ain't Never For The Good) a...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Why Did You Have To Go , from Anthony Geraci , and it's rich. Opening with R&B title track, Why Did You Have To Go , Sugar Ray Norcia is upfront on lead vocal backed by Michael Mudcat Ward on bass, Marty Richards on drums, Sax Gordon on sax, Doug Woolverton on trumpet and with stellar guitar styling by Monster Mike Welch and piano wizardry by Anthony Geraci. Excellent opener. Bluesy ballad, Angelina, Angelina is really strong with really nice piano work by Geraci and lead vocals by Sugaray Rayford. Welch is back again with signature tone, backed by Willie J Campbell on bass and Jimi Bott on drums. Very nice. Soul track, Two Steps Away From The Blues , features Michelle "Evil Gal" Willson on lead vocal with warm piano and B3 work by Geraci. Norcia is back on vocal and harp on Time's Running Out , an easy shuffle, joined by nice pace piano work by Geraci and the strong guitar accents by Ronnie Earl. ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blues On My Shoulders , from Peter Ward and it's quite good. Opening with solid shuffle, She Took It All , Peter Ward on guitar and lead vocal sets a great pace with Mudcat Ward on bass, Neil Gouvin on drums and Sugar Ray Norcia on harp. Excellent opener. Surf rocker, Which Hazel , is a solid rocker along the lines of Chuck Berry with a strong surf twist. Clever lyrics and guitar riffs by Ward give this track a lot of gas. On title track, Blues On My Shoulders , Anthony Geraci adds nice piano and I particularly love the guitar work by Monster Mike Welch. Collaborate is all about lush chords and sassy sax and Ward's guitar work with Sax Gordon Beadle's sax work is just that. Excellent! Shuffle track, It's On Me is another outstanding entry on the release with a hot sax solo from Beadle and hot fingering from Ronnie Earl and Ward. Very nice. Southpaw is a hot number with a smoking B3 solo from Rusty Sco...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (November 17, 2017), The Luckiest Man , from Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters and it's really strong. Opening with Don Robey's Ain't That Loving You , and a great groove featuring Diane Blue on vocals, the band is smoking. Earl's perfect syncopation on his solos backed by Dave Limina on keys, Forrest Padgett on drums and Paul Kochanski on bass...excellent opener. Jim's Song is a quiet, introspective track using primarily guitar chords as the skeleton and guitar lead soloing as a lush environmental flesh. Very nice. With a cool swing, Blue is back up front on Heartbreak (It's Hurtin' Me) . Limina really takes the floor with his B3 solo and Earl tears it up nicely with great balance and style. Soul track, Never Gonna Break My Faith really shows off Blue's vocal style at it's best. Earl and Limina carry the weight, but this track is all about Blue and she kills it. Sugar Ray Norcia...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Subway Stories , by Ilana Katz Katz and it's a big slice of blues, jazz and Americana all rolled into one. Opening with Boogie track, Don't Forget , Ilana Katz Katz, vocals and fiddle, is joined by ex Canned Heat guitar player and producer, Barry Levenson, Mike Sandberg on drums and Hank Van Sickle on bass. On 12 bar blues number, Subway Blues , Sugar ray Norcia adds his special harp work to the tasty riffs of Levenson and Ilana for one of the more solid of the blues tracks on the release. Motherless Child gets a real soft handling and with it's warm guitar chords, intense blues guitar lines somber violin work and child like innocence on vocals shines as one of my favorite tracks on the release. With it's jazzy slant, Roosevelt Sykes' Ice Cream Freezer Blues features Anthony Geraci on piano and has some of the hottest guitar riffs (and bawdy lyrics) on the release. Super groove, Requiem , is a rea...

Boston-Based Guitarist Peter Ward Sets October 20 Release Date for His New CD, Blues on My Shoulders , on Gandy Dancer Records Special Guests Include Ronnie Earl, Sugar Ray & the Bluetones and Sax Gordon Beadle BOSTON, MA – Guitarist Peter Ward announces an October 20 release date for his new CD, Blues on My Shoulders , on Gandy Dancer Records. Besides Ward on guitar and vocals, special guests on the new disc include multiple Blues Music Award-winning guitar legend Ronnie Earl, Sax Gordon Beadle on sax and the members of Sugar Ray and the Bluetones: Sugar Ray Norcia (vocals and harmonica), “Monster” Mike Welch (guitar), Anthony Geraci (piano), Michael “Mudcat” Ward (Peter’s brother – bass) and Neil Gouvin (drums).  “It pleases me to present Blues on My Shoulders , my first solo project,” Peter Ward says about the new album. “I wrote the words and music to 12 of the 13 songs. I grew up wearing out the vinyl records trying to understand how Robert Jr. Lockwo...

THE BLUES FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES 38TH BLUES MUSIC AWARD NOMINEES   Awards ceremony to be held May 11, 2017 in Memphis MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Blues Foundation is pleased to announce the nominations for its annual Blues Music Awards , which the international organization will present on Thursday, May 11, 2017 at the Cook Convention Center in downtown Memphis, Tennessee . Universally recognized as the highest accolade afforded blues musicians, The Blues Music Awards upholds its rich cultural tradition by honoring the past year’s superior achievements in blues performance, songwriting, and recording. This annual ceremony represents the premier event for blues professionals, musicians, and fans around the globe.   Sugar Ray Norcia , individually, ...