Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Answers , from L. Shankar and it's a cool fusion of jazz, rock, pop and prog. Opening with title track, Answers , L. Shankar on vocal and double violin leads the way with Tony Levin on bass, Scott Seiver on drums and Dave Palmer on keys. On Innocent , Juliette Rose joins on vocals creating a nice pop rocker balance with Shankar vocally with Palmer creating a sea of keys. Keeping it light, Shankar mixes melody with guitar texture and solid drumming from Seiver for a definite radio standout. My favorite track on the release is To Live featuring Levin on bass, Stephen Perkins on drums, and Zac Baird on keys. Wrapping the release is pop rocker, Thinking with blended vocals by Shankar and tight drum rhythms by Perkins, Levin on bass and Palmer on keys. This release is quite pop oriented with strong instrumental backing.    If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Jacksongs , by Jeff Berlin and it's a really nice tribute to Jack Bruce's music. Opening with Creamed , Berlin on bass and keys is joined by Ron Hembly on lead vocal, John Cowan on vocal, Gabriela Sinagra on backing vocals, Bruce Guttridge on drums and John McCracken on guitars with Alex Lifeson on solo guitar. The track begins with Politician and flows through White Room and Tales of Brave Ulysses  among others with strong guitar work and of course prominent bass work. Very nice opener. One of my favorite Mountain tracks, and another Bruce penned track,  Theme From and Imaginary Western is up next and features Hemby on lead vocal who really does a strong job of covering Bruce's beautiful vocal melody with Pat Coil on Hammond and Berlin on keys and bass (including a real nice solo) with guest Eric Johnson on guitar solo and Gregg Bissonette on drums. Excellent. Another of Bruce's beautiful melodies, One Wi...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Mr. Senator , by Murali Coryell and it's quite good. Opening with title track, Mr. Senator , Murali Coryell, son of guitar legend Larry Coryell, leads on vocals and guitar, with Ernie Durawa on drums and Chris Alcaraz on bass. A light radio style track, it has a memorable melody and clean articulate lead guitar riffs and nicely blended guitar additions by Louie Ortega. Dysfunctional Child is an autobiographical modern blues track with a R&B sound. An almost Dickey Betts influence shows through on the guitar riffs, with cool vocal blending and a solid bottom. Tuff Love , has rock feel and strong radio potential. Bill Evans contributes a real healthy sax solo giving the track more bite. One of genius, Leon Russell's best known tracks, also covered very successfully by George Benson, This Masquerade , is covered here nicely by Coryell with his best vocal effort on the release. I really like Levin's bass wor...