Bman's Blues Report

John fell in love with the blues as a child when his father and an older cousin played guitar and sang at night after a hard day in the fields. His mother moved to Chicago to secure a job and support her family. She promised to bring John and his sister to the big city when they reached age 18, leaving them with family. Depressed and lonely, young Primer frequently went into the neighboring woods, where he cried his troubles away and began singing the blues in solitude. He eventually built himself a diddley bow on the side of his grandmother's house out of broom wire, two nails and a brick and began accompanying himself as he sang, eventually playing for dimes and quarters in his schoolyard. After listening to Jimmy Reed , Little Milton, B.B. King , Albert King and Muddy Waters on his grandmother's record player, his biggest dream was to play alongside Muddy Waters one day. 🎵 LISTEN & SUPPORT THE ALBUM ▶ Listen to Album Samples (Clic...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, OH Yeah! , from Willie Buck & Bob Corritore and it's rich Chicago infused blues. Opening with title track, Oh Yeah , Bob Corritore and Willie Buck have a hot one here. Buck on lead vocal really has the stuff on vocal and Corritore really knows how to conjure the Chicago mojo on harmonica. Featuring Jimi Primetime Smith on guitar, Billy Flynn on guitar, Ben Levin on piano, Bob Stroger on bass and Wes Starr on drums, this is a super opener. On William Crawford's That Ain't Enough , Buck's vocals are particularly gritty and Bob Margolin really digs in with Muddy Waters style slide. Playing with Waters for 7 years, Margolin plays this like it's second nature. Corritore's style on harmonica is perfect on this traffic. Corritore has the mic on Went Home This Morning and he wails. Mojo Mark Cihlar and Jon Atkinson join on guitar lays out some terrific riffs and Troy Sandow on bass and Brian Fahey on d...

I just received the newest release, House Party at Big Jon's , from Big Jon Atkinson & Bob Corritore and it's a huge side of Chicago blues. Opening with Goin' Back To Tennessee , Big Jon Atkinson is on lead vocal and guitar with Bob Corritore accenting his vocal. Nicely stylized, almost John Mayall/British Blues feel, these guys have a great opener joined by Danny Michael on guitar, Troy Sandow on bass and Brian Fahey on drums. On shuffle track, Here Comes My Baby , Big Jon and Corritore step up the instrumental a bit with a real nice line of instrumental soloing and Malachi Johnson on drums adds a fine snap to the track. Taking the tempo down a bit, It Wasn't Easy , gives Corritore a bit more breathing space and his warm chops fill nicely. Jon has a great singing style which resonates "old style blues" throughout the release and his guitar work on this track is understated but effective. Stepping up with She's My Crazy Little Baby , Jon really del...

I just received the newest release, Cell Phone Man , by Willie Buck . This release sounds really fresh but it fits like an old glove. This new release is a mixture of new tracks written by Buck and some old classics written by Muddy Waters among others. The release opens with Doin' Good And Bad At The Same Time , a contemporary Chicago style blues track. Buck is backed by Rockin' Johnny Burgin (lead guitar), Rick Kreher (rhythm guitar), John Sefner (bass), Steve Bass (drums), Barrelhouse Chuck (piano) and harp men Bharath Rajakumar and Martin Lang. Darling I Miss You So , the classic Ted Taylor track is right on the spot with crisp riffs by Burgin. Muddy Waters' Strange Woman has a beautifully slow pace which provides plenty of space for Bucks' gritty blues voice, Rajakumar's soulful harp work and tasty guitar tweaks from Burgin. Each featured artist takes a turn showing their stuff, you find yourself just closing your eyes and letting it in. Excellent! Cell Pho...

Willie Buck was born in 1937 in the small town of Houston, Mississippi. When he was a boy, Willie spent most of his tme working at a local paper mill making $5 during the day and honing his voice by evening. He began his craft singing in the most popular form of the day, "Rock & Roll." Inspite his vigor for the newly developing artform, his passions began to lean more to the more traditional sound of the delta... Blues and it didn't take him long to develop his sound. While still in "Da South," Willie performed on what became known as the "Chittlin Circuit" bouncin' between Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, North & South Carolina, Tennesee and Texas. Shortly after developing his reputation, Willie did like a lot of Southerners during that time by migrating to Chicago in 1954. Once here, he truly immersed himself in the Chicago Blues scene. He became a real force in the "Maxwell Street" blues scene which boasts od the raw blues t...