Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The James Montgomery Blues Band , from James Montgomery and it's a cranking homage to Paul Butterfield. Opening with funky rocker, One More Heartache , Montgomery blows the doors open with his always powerful harp, backed by George McCann on guitar, David Hull on bass and Jeff Thompson on drums and punched up by the Uptown Horns including Crispin Cloe on sax, Larry Etkin on trumpet, Arno Hecht on sax and Bob Funk on trombone. Super opener. Nick Gravenites' Born In Chicago gets a bit more bounce that Nick's original and McCann sports a real nice guitar solo opening the way for Montgomery's harp solo. Very cool. Little Walter's Blues With A Feeling is solid and Montgomery's vocals are raw and gritty. I particularly like the tight guitar work by McCann on this track giving it a casual pace along with stinging riffs. Young Woman's Love just has that snap making it sit solid on your foot. McCan...