Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Good Man Gone Bad , by Tom Craig and it's solid blues rock. Opening with I'm Working Too Hard , Tom Craig on lead vocal and guitar sets a firm pace with Dave Gross on bass and Vin Mott on drums. With it's melodic guitar lead and bluesy edge, a solid opener. What's A Man Gotta Do has great drive along the lines of Willie Cobb's dynamic, You Don't Love Me. With tight drum patterns, strong guitar lead and with the addition of Mikey Junior on harmonica, a super track. On Chicago style blues track, Treat Your Daddy Nice , Craig really gets the band revved up. With a great guitar vamp and Big Daddy Lamberson on harmonica, this is a strong track. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Change My Way Of Living with it's easy sway and soulful vocals by Craig. Of particular interest is Craig's smoking guitar blues and addition of Doug James on bari sax, Hailey Brinnel on trombone and Mike Scott ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Six String Soul , a double cd release by Dave Specter and it's great. Celebrating 30 years on Delmark, with remastered recordings from throughout his career and celebrating many guests. Opening with Buzz Me Specter on guitar, is joined by Barkin Bill Smith on vocal and Ronnie Earl on guitar as well as Ken Saydak on organ, Dez Desormeaux on sax, Red Groetzinger on sax, Mike McCurdy on bass and John Hiller on drums. Very cool. Specter really stretches out nicely on solo guitar on slow blues, Railroad Station . Smith, on lead vocal does a real nice job and Bob Stroger on bass anchors the track. Saydak's piano is a nice accent and sax soloing by Groetzinger is really nice. I really like instrumental, Specter's Walk, with it's deep jazz groove. Specter cruses on guitar, Desormeaux's sax solo is rich, and Saydak's organ work is strong. Tad Robinson has lead vocal on Sweet Serenity . I've always been ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Bill Breen & Friends from Bill Breen and it's a cool mix of blues, jazz and fusion. Opening with Bohemian Grove Jam , a funky fusion track, Breen on guitar is joined by Joe Martone on keys, Mike Pryor on bass, Sean Peck on percussion and Charles Wright on sax guitar with a special appearance by Oz Noy (second solo). Very cool. On classic, Thrill Is Gone , Mark Wilson joins on vocal with a powerful delivery and Breen's guitar phrasing is sweet and his tone is crisp and clear and Martone's organ adds nice warmth. On AWB's Pick Up The Pieces , Breen takes the horn part on lead guitar with Martone on organ, Gus Velasquez on bass and Sean Peck on drums. Velasquez picks up a heavy thump on the turn around and Breen cuts loose with a real nice guitar solo for a strong cover. On T-Bone Walker's classic, Stormy Monday , Gary Lee Jones is upfront on lead vocal and is a "Allman like" arrangement, Mart...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, All In The Blues , from Willie Jackson and it's a full house of pop, rock rhythm and blues. Opening with easy shuffle, I'm Your Landlord , Willie Jackson shows pure style on vocal, backed by Lomax Spaulding on guitar, Trosky Lane on bass, Jimmy Brown on horn, and organ and drums by Eric L Winbush and with backing vocals by Suzanne El-Habre. One of my favorite tracks on the release is funk fused boogie, Stranger In My Hole . Twin Jackson's drum work really anchors this track with cool flute work, some smoky riffs on guitar by Lane and some of Jackson's best vocals on the release. Chicago style blues, She Needs Satisfied , has a solid groove set by Lane on bass and the addition of Ace Anderson on harmonica really sets this track off nicely. Another Chicago style shuffle, Coon Hound Nose , has a great groove with solid vocals by Jackson and real nice harmonica by Anderson.  Wrapping the release is R&B trac...

        ON DELUXE REISSUE OF  NINA SIMONE AND HER FRIENDS, A BRAND-NEW STEREO RE-MASTER SHOWCASES A LEGEND ON HER ASCENSION TO STARDOM   Set includes four tracks from the  Little Girl Blue  recording session in 1957 along with songs by jazz-vocal greats Chris Connor and Carmen McRae   Available from Bethlehem Records/BMG December 3 on vinyl, CD and digital platforms  Stream the “African Mailman” re-mastered track here  (hyperlin...

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Christmas Is Here , from Carolyn Lee Jones , and it's a jazzy approach at contemporary seasons greetings. Opening with one of the season's top songs, The Christmas Song , Jones is bright and tight on her vocal lead with crisp piano soloing by Brad Williams, Jonathan Fisher on bass, and Tom Burchill who lays in some tasty lead guitar. Strong opener. Charlie Brown's favorite, Christmas Time Is Here is given a straight ballad cover with crystal clear vocals, piano and warm cello backing by Jonathan Fisher. Very nice. I particularly like Tony Baker's trombone solo on Warm December , a bouncy pop track. Johnny Moore's Merry Christmas Baby has a solid boogie woogie beat with Keith Jordan on trumpet, Tony Baker on trombone, Dave Monsch on bari, Lynn Seaton on bass, Dennis Durick on drums and Todd Parsnow on guitar and a fat sax solo by Mario Cruz. Santa Baby has gotten so much airplay over the past few yea...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Dumpster Fire, from Mean Old Fireman and the Cruel Engineers , and it's a solid block of traditional blues. Opening with Tour 3 funky blues rocker with a heavy bottom, Ned Bolle is upfront on lead vocal and slide guitar  with Joey Pafumi on drums, Rick Plourde on bass and some nice harmonica by Dana Andrews. Cool opener. McArthur's Cunning Ruger is a cool. extended Southern style blues rocker with some really sweet slide guitar work by Bolle. His vocals blend nicely with this styling, joined by Christina Lacoste, Shockwell Morency and Chat De Rouelle on backing vocals. On traditional blues track, Stack O Lee , Bolle's vocals have just the right amount of grit and with a New Orleans drums style by Pafumi and John Wadkins on keys, Bolle's slide work makes this my favorite track on the release. Toby Soriero opens up on electric guitar a bit on Got No Spoons and Bolle is right there with him on slide. This i...

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Americana , from Lilli Lewis and it's versatile and enriching. Opening with My American Heart (Prelude) , this release immediately comes alive with the rich sounds of acapella voices. Lilli is joined on this intro by Kyshona Armstrong and Mikayla Braun. Very nice. Copper John is an country rocker with a soft easy rhythm, wailing pedal steel by Richard Comeaux, guitars by Wade Hymel, bass by Bryan Webre and strong vocal lead and harmonies by Lewis (Think Marshall Tucker Band). Very nice. Piece of Mine is a beautiful folk tune in the vein of Wayfaring Stranger but with the richness of a gospel tune. With Josh Paxton on keys, Hymel on guitar, and Gina Forsyth on acoustic guitar, backing vocal and fiddle, this is a very strong track. Everyday has a bright jazzy feel with a snappy rhythm by Doug Balote on drums and Webre on bass and Sam Kuslan's key work is really solid with Lewis' lead vocal style, backed by Br...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Open Road , from Colin James and I really like it. On James' landmark 20th release, James covers some classic blues tracks and adds some of his own. Opening with Tony Joe White's As the Crow Flies , James cranks out a real driving boogie with stinging lead guitar, backed by Geoff Hicks on drums, Norm Fisher on bass and Simon Kendall on keys. Strong.  Albert King's Can't You See What You're Doing To Me , is up next and with Chris Caddell on rhythm, Steve Hilliam on sax, this is another potent track with excellent phrasing by James. Magic Sam's That's Why I'm Crying fits in perfectly with it's slower pace, giving James a chance to stretch a bit with soulful vocals and nicely crafted solo lead. Excellent! James original, When I Leave This House , has a country rocking honky tonkin feel that will get you moving. James really plays guitar to this one with a nice flair and the addition of Jes...