Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Everybody Let's Roll , from The Texas Horns , and I really like it! Opening with title track, Everybody Let's Roll , The Texas Horns (Kaz Kazanoff on tenor sax, Al Gomez on trumpet, and John Mills on bari sax) come out steaming with Carolyn Wonderland on lead vocal, Mike Keller on rhythm guitar, Sean Giddings on keys, Chris Marsh on bass, and Tom Brechtlein on drums and featuring Anson Funderburgh with some real nice guitar lead. Solid opener. Piano boogie, I Ain't Mad With You , led by Matt Hubbard really rocks with excellent solos from Kaz and Johnny Moeller and a fat fat bottom by Mills. Excellent! A really interesting (bluesy) rework of The Beatles, I Want You (She's So Heavy) , has great horn blending with Gomez taking the lead on trumpet. With it's jazzy drum hitch by Brannen Temple, a cool organ solo by Sean Geddings and a blast of blues by Moeller on guitar, this is a punchy track.  Soulful, Pr...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Here I Come, from Jose Ramirez , and it's a very cool, R&B flavored, contemporary blues release. Opening with title track, Here I Come , Jose Ramirez leads on vocal and guitar, backed by Jim Pugh on piano, Wes Starr on drums and Nate Rowe on bass. Showing his first solo, he's low slung and with plenty of Texas feel...think Jimmie Vaughan or Anson Funderburgh styling. Very nice. Slow blues, I Miss You Baby sounds like it's right out of the T Bone Walker songbook and with solid vocals by Ramirez and the backing of  Texas Horns ( Mark ‘Kaz’ Kazanoff, John Mills and Al Gomez)  this track is rich. Listen to Ramirez make that guitar sing... nice. Anson Funderburgh actually shows up on Gasoline and Matches and lays in some stinging riffs over the Horns, a funk bass line by Rowe. Very nice. Goodbye Letter is a real nice slower blues with some of Ramirez's best vocals on the release and excellent rolling pia...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Get Here Quick , by The Texas Horns and it's smokin'! Opening with Guitar Town , a real Texas style blues, cooked up with  Anson Funderburgh and Johnny Moeller on guitars and Gary Forsyth on lead vocals. Kaz Kazanoff on tenor, John Mills on bari and Al Gomez on trumpet and this track is hot. With a bit of New Orleans flavor, Instrumental, Feelin' No Pain is all horns to the floor with excellent piano work by Red Young, bass by Russell Jackson and Tommy Taylor on drums. Mills lays out and excellent sax solo and Moeller shows why he is regarded as one of the top bluesmen in Texas today. Title track, Better Get Here Quick is another instrumental with rich tandem sax lead and excellent guitar accents by Moeller. Gomez steps up with some crisp lead work of his own and Youngs takes a nice few bars of his own. Very cool. An excellent New Orleans style instrumental, 2018 , has a super march style snare lead by John ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Been Meaning To Tell You , from Ina Forsman and it's really strong. Opening with power ballad Be My Home , Forsman presents her vulnerable sounding vocal style over organ and piano by Red Young and gospel like backing vocals by Mark Kazanoff and Alice Spencer. Very nice. On Get Mine , blending hip hop vocal delivery and funky wah wah guitar by the notorious Laura Chavez, joined by Brannen Temple on guitar and Chris Maresh on bass really kicks this release into gear. Stepping high on Genius , Forsman moves further into a R&B groove with an excellent bass line and the Texas Horns (Mark Kazanoff - sax,  John Mills bari sax, Al Gomez - trumpet, Randy Zimmerman - trombone) with yet more sassy guitar style by Chavez. An interesting track, Why You Gotta be That Way has strong lines in neo soul with flavors of one my favorites, Eryka Badu. The band glistens on piano and tight bass and drum lines makes this fusion track...

I just received the newest release, Tengo Blues , from Jonn Del Toro Richardson and it's great! Opening with Behind The Curtain , a high stepping R&B style track with the Texas Horns blazing you know that you're in for something special. Richardson sings behind the beat which I really like and his sense for blues phrasing is very strong. Like Willie Dixon's Wang Dang Doodle, I'm Her Man has a super groove reinforced by the tight bass lines of Nathan Rowe and drums by Wes Starr. I really like Richardson's guitar expressions with trem bends and frequent short guitar riffs as accents. Excellent! Texas shuffle, Love If You Want It has a real grinding lope, and shows a nice interplay between Nick Connoly on piano and Richardson on guitar. Triple Lindig is an excellent instrumental shuffle with an easy jazz overtone but with great blues lines. Richardson leads the way with solid riffs, followed by Connoly on organ and Kaz on sax. Excellent! The Moment is a terr...

I just received the newest release, Numbers Man , from Andy T - Nick Nixon Band and it's super. Opening with blues driver, Shut The Front Door , Nixon leads the way on solid vocals pushed along nicely by Kaz Kazanov (tenor sax), Al Gomez (trumpet) and John Mills (Bari sax), Larry Van Loon on B3, Jim Klingler on drums and Sam Persons on bass. Anson Funderburgh joins in with a tasty solo trading riffs with Andy for a hot opener. Devil's Wife has a flavor of new Orleans courtesy of piano work by Christian Dozzler and Klingler on drums. van Loons' B3 work complimented by The Horns lays it wide open for a nice solos by Kaz and Nixon. Tall strutting, Deep Blue Sea , is a great track to showcase this bands style with Nixon's vocals and The Horns holding down the bottom. A stylized solo from Andy and B3/piano from van Loon round out the track nicely. Dozzler's lead on accordion gives Tall Drink of Water a real Cajun flavor. Andy stirs the pot with few quick riffs but t...

I just received the newest release (May 19, 2015), Blues Gotta Holda Me , from the Texas Horns and it's a hot one! Mark "Kaz" Kazanoff, John Mills and Al Gomez kick out the windows on opener track Soul Strut , a cool shuffle just pumped with fat sax work and trumpet highlights. An instrumental track, this one has a great groove and despite the press, features really cool guitar work from guitar wizard Anson Funderburgh. Next up is Go On Fool with it's New Orleans strut. Marcia Ball leads the way on piano and vocal. Thirties track, You're Driving Me Crazy , features Kaz on vocals and huge swing style horn solos from Kaz, Al and John. Nick Connolly on piano and Roscoe Beck on bass round out the band. They ain't playing around! Straight up, horns in your face rock on Kick Me Again features a great thick bari solo from Mills as well as Derek O'Brien with a ripping guitar solo and Danny Levin on piano. W.C. Clark takes front and center vocals on shuffle tra...