Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Standing Eight , by Jeremy Green and it's a cool jazz rock instrumental release with plenty of juice. Opening with No Jacket Required , Jeremy Green and Mike Stern on guitars lay in some great dialog over excellent drum work of Keith Carlock and featuring the excellent bass lines of Jimmy Haslip. Very cool. Will Lee lays down a funky bass line and fine soloing on Ain't No Chevy and Carlock is incredibly tight with Green and Robben Ford really working it on guitar and including the fine trumpet work of Mark Levron. Green and Michel Cusson really put on a great show on Close with a Jab and the solid bass work of Moto Fukushima sets a super framework for the highly articulate drumming of Carlock. Excellent. Wrapping the release is Car Rock with Oz Noy paired with Green on guitar and an aggressive bass line by Ian Da Souza. With bluesy yet adventurously jazzy guitar riffs, and the phenomonal drum work of Carlock, th...

I just received the newest release, Jericho Road , from Eric Bibb and it's masterful. Opening with Drinkin' Gourd , a quiet but powerful track Bibb crafts a beautiful track complimented by African drums and woodwind. Freedom Train has a broad expression of openness and unconstrained feelings. Let The Mothers Step Up steps up the jazz feel with feelings of the best of Joni Mitchell jazz rock or Steely Dan. Have A Heart is a terrific song with the strong jazz fusion sound crafted by Meshell Ndegeocello. Vocals floating lightly on a bed of musicianship makes this a delightful track. Guest vocals by Ruthie Foster add a a textural warmth as well. The Right Thing is more of a musical chant featuring Victor Wooten on bass and lush vocal backing by Paris Renita and Glen Scott. Can't Please Everybody is a really cool track with an irregular beat kind of a mix of blues, funk and jazz rhythms. I really like this track, crafted like a 3 dimensional song. A sonic sculpture. Ther...

Raymond Matthews Brown (October 13, 1926 – July 2, 2002) was an influential American jazz double bassist, known for extensive work with Oscar Peterson among many others. Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and had piano lessons from the age of eight. After noticing how many pianists attended his high school, he thought of taking up the trombone, but was unable to afford one. With a vacancy in the high school jazz orchestra, he took up the upright bass A major early influence on Brown's bass playing was the bassist in the Duke Ellington band, Jimmy Blanton. As a young man Ray Brown became steadily more well known in the Pittsburgh jazz scene, with his first experiences playing in bands with the Jimmy Hinsley Sextet and the Snookum Russell band. After graduating from high school, hearing stories about the burgeoning jazz scene on 52nd Street, in New York City, he bought a one way ticket to New York. Arriving in New York at the age of twenty, he met up with Hank Jones, ...