Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Do It My Own Way , by Vanessa Collier and it's full of funk, soul and Latin sounds. Opening with Elbow Grease , Collier leads on vocal with a hot, funky, Latin rhythm, fueled by Laura Chavez on guitar, Scot Sutherland on bass, Byron Cage on drums, a hot solo by Doug Woolverton on trumpet and Collier on sax and Maureen Murphy on backing vocals. Powerful opener. Blues rocker, Take Me Back has a strong, memorable melody making it a likely radio track with a warm sax solo by Collier and real nice drum and percussion work by Trey Macias and Cage. Funky, boogaloo rhythm laid down by Chavez and Cage gives Shoulda Known Better a real hot sound. With Collier letting the sax fly on this one and punchy trumpet work by Woolverton, followed by a tight solo by Chavez, this is one of my favorite tracks on the release. Latin flavored balled, Just One More , highlights Collier on lead vocal with shimmery guitar work by Chavez. Sultry...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Heart On The Line , from Vanessa Collier , and it's quite good. Opening with James Brown's, Super Bad Collier is off to a strong start morphing a quick tempo driver into a slow, funky instant hit. This track has it all with movement, great vocal, a great bottom, and saxy solo by Collier. Backed by Nick Stevens on drums, Scott Sutherland on bass, Laura Chavez on guitar, William Gorman on keys, Quinn Carson on Trombone, Doug Woolverton on trumpet, this track is hot! With a delta feel on Bloodhound , Chavez lays down a cool slide riff and Colliers vocals really take over. With CC Ellis on bass and Stevens on drums, this track has oomph. Randy Newman's You Can Leave Your Hat On gets a really nice rework with plenty of spunk. I really like the horn work on this one pushing it along and Chavez's guitar solo just just right in the groove. Excellent! Original track, Weep and Moan has a really great feel with a slo...

SOULFUL BLUES SINGER/SAXOPHONIST VANESSA COLLIER EMBARKS ON 'HONEY UP' TOUR IN SUPPORT OF NEW ALBUM Performs Locally: SPORTSMEN'S TAVERN - Wednesday, October 11 " If you haven't yet hooked onto the  Vanessa Collier  bandwagon,   do so now because this young woman's a rising star. Ms. Collier is a true triple threat --- an accomplished sax player, a very fine soulful singer with some roots in gospel, and a prolific songwriter. If that's not enough, she also plays a little guitar."         BLUES BYTES “There’s a young lady [Vanessa Collier] came onstage with me, I forget where I was, but she’s playing an alto saxophone, and man, she was amazing.” – Buddy Guy ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Honey Up , by Vanessa Collier and I really like it. Opening with funky, New Orleans soaked, Sweating Like A Pig is a great track with  sassy vocal lines and great sax swing. Collier is really getting it going now. With Nick Stevens  on drums, Nick Trautmann on bass, William Gorman on keys, Laura Chavez on guitars, Quinn Carson on trombone and Doug Woolverton on trumpet, this track is a opener that's hard to beat! Title track Honey Up has a deep funky groove and Trautmann really sets the pace. Collier is booked as a sax player but her vocal style and efforts are top notch giving this track a certain spank. This track has an incredible groove led by Trautmann and Stevens and with this horn section you better step back... it's about to blow. Hot! Percolatin' has an infectious feel and Collier really sails on it showing her excellent feel for the music, shored up by Gorman on organ. Super. The Fault Line giv...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Meeting My Shadow by Vanessa Collier and it's quite good! Opening with dark, slinky, Poisoned The Well , Vanessa Collier has a great sound as a lead vocalist and her clavinet work on this track and especially her haunting flute work on track one is intoxicating. I really like the bass line by Lenny Bradford and Nicholas Stevens' drum work. Excellent opener. On R&B track, Dig A Little Deeper , Laura Chavez created a cool traditional guitar rhythm and Collier adds her solo sax work to the horn work of Marc Franklin on trumpet giving the track a bit more punch. When It Don't Come Easy has a smooth southern blues rock featuring Chavez on electric guitar and resonator guitar and getting some of the best vocal warmth from Collier. Rock n roller, Two Parts Sugar, One Part Lime features a bit more of Collier's solo sax work with her vocals and some nice piano work by Charles Hodges.  Soul track, You...