Bman's Blues Report

I just received the newest release, Handle the Curves , by Kaye Bohler and it has has a definite soul attitude. Opening with Diggin on My Man , a horn laden, R&B strut with a cool chicken fried guitar solo from Pete Anderson. The Way I Do Business is a bit smoother but still showing strong hor backing from the likes of Lee Thornburg (trumpet and trombone) and Ron Dzibuka (sax) as well as some nice piano work from Michael Murphy. Bubble Gum has a real Al Green style arrangement and by nature will be one of my favorite tracks. Drums by Jeff Sorenson and John Paul as well as the key work of Murphy strongly support Bohler's powerhouse voice. Title track, Handle The Curves is a slow soulful ballad with strong blues overtones. Solid B3 work on this track along with Bohler's vocals make this a leading contender for airplay choice. Backbone has a lot of attitude with a funky strut and great horns and a cool guitar break. Party Time is a fast paced swing type number with ti...

I just received the newest release, Good Music , by Jeff Dale and the South Woodlawners and it's got the blues. Opening with Town Line Road , is a hard driving blues rocker featuring Tim Austin on drums, Orlando Wright on bass and Jeff Stone on harp with Dale on guitar and vocal. Naked Woman In My Bed has a cool R&B feel with Glen Doll leading the way on harp. Jim Jedeiken adds key sax work with Charlie Love on guitar, Mark Mack on drums, Andre "Big Perm" McCottry on bass and Derek Phillips on keys. On title track, Good Music , Dale lays down a cool shuffle feel. Chef Denis Depoitre adds some real nice harp work and Charlie Love joins again on vocal and guitar. Andre Howard sets a strong bass line and Mark Mack keeps the bottom tight on drums. Letter From The Birmingham Jail is a cool track with a lot of commercial potential. With it's catchy melody and tight rhythm it's certain to garner attention. One of my favorites is Final Destination . A somber bal...

Music Maker Blues Revue's packed show at Lincoln Center Out Of Doors last Sunday as part of Americana Fest NYC. Beverly "Guitar" Watkins, Ironing Board Sam, Dom Flemons, Albert White, and company rocked the joint and earned a standing ovation!

I just received the newest release, Latenighters Under A Full Moon , from Berdon Kirksaether and it's really quite interesting. Opening with Go Cat Go , blues fusion track with a walking bass line and organ bottom setting the stage for cool guitar improvization by Kirksaether. Very Nice! The band is a mix of musicianship from Kirksaether joined by Stein Tumert, Per Eriksen, Olaf Olsen, Finn Tore Tokle and Leo Volskiy. Cool Cats On The Move has a very ethereal feel with a snappy drum rhythm and bass ride overlayed with guitar harmonics, bent arpeggio's and cool effects. Conrad's Bar Bounty is a straight up 12 bar with solid lead guitar soloing over B3, drums and bass. The B3 work on the track is actually quite cool and blends nicely with Kirksaether. Rendezvous has a Latin rhythm and a simple pop melody played on electric guitar. Smooth and cleanly articulated. Jumping The Night Away is another straight 12 bar number finding Kirksaether soloing over a simple rhythm g...

I just received the newest release, Full Moon Night in Memphis , from JP Soars and it's a blast. Opening with title track, Full Moon Night in Memphis , Soars leads the way with his raspy voice and melodic slide work, accompanied by Chris Peet on drums and Todd Edmunds on drums. Brandon Santini adds significantly with some hot harp riffs as well. Back To Broke is a funky track with rap like vocals. Mark "Muggy Doo" Leach adds a nice B3 edge and Soars clean picks a pretty nice solo. Makes No Sense is a really smooth slower blues with sumptuous chords and clean bluesy riffs. A really nice T-Bone Walker like approach to this track makes it stand tall with any of Soars earlier work. Somethin' Ain't Right has a strong blues rock feel reminding me of Mountain. Raul Hernandez adds some cool percussion to this track giving it a different texture. Soars really attacks the electric guitar on this with some real sting. Where's the cowbell? Very nice! Mean Old World ...

MARCIA BALL SET TO RELEASE THE TATTOOED LADY AND THE ALLIGATOR MAN ON SEPTEMBER 23 Award-winning pianist/vocalist/songwriter Marcia Ball will release her new Alligator Records CD, The Tattooed Lady And The Alligator Man , on September 23, 2014. The Texas-born, Louisiana-raised Ball has earned worldwide fame for her ability to ignite a full-scale roadhouse rhythm and blues party every time she strolls onto the stage. Her groove-laden New Orleans boogie, deeply soulful ballads and rollicking Gulf Coast blues have made her a one-of-a-kind favorite with music fans all over the world. On The Tattooed Lady And The Alligator Man , Ball draws listeners deep into her music with instantly memorable melodies and imaginative imagery. Her songs paint vibrant musical pictures, richly detailed with characters, flavors and scenes straight out of Louisiana and Texas. With raucous horns punctuating Ball’s legendary piano pounding and emotional, melodic vocals, the new CD mixes B...

  Welcome to the world of kettles | eno: The Jake Leg Chronicles CD Out on October 21 Songs, tunes, odes and anthems are abound on debut release Atlanta, GA - Welcome to The Jake Leg Chronicles : a mixed-up world of chaos, filled with love, misery, justice and sometimes bad luck; all set to music. The songwriting duo of Steed Kettles and Jeff Eno combine their talents to create a collection of songs that are potent with lyrical imagery and strong in musical hooks. The Jake Leg Chronicles will be released on October 21 st on Indian Proud Entertainment with national distribution through Burnside Distribution. The CD was recorded and mastered at Meaner Studios located in Smyrna, GA with Rick Willaford producing, engineering and mastering, Rick even managed to cut a drum track here and a vocal track there. His hands...

9th Annual T-Bone Walker Blues Fest September 12-13, 2014 * Longview, Texas Legendary guitarist Jimmie Vaughan, along with blues vocalist Lou Ann Barton, will head a power-packed musical lineup for the 9th annual T-Bone Walker Blues Fest. The two day event features the Wells Fargo Advisors indoor stage with reserved seating, plus the Patterson Nissan outdoor general admission stage. Performances begin at 4:00pm on Friday and 12 Noon on Saturday. Tickets are available on the festival website . Jimmie Vaughan & the Tilt-a-Whirl Band with Lou Ann Barton Saturday 10:45pm - 12:00am Wells Fargo Advisors Stage Rick Derringer  Friday 11:00pm - 12:00am Wells Fargo Advisors Stage Saturday 9:15pm - 10:30pm Wells Fargo Advisors Stage Eric Gales Trio Friday 9:45pm - 10:45pm Wells Fargo Advisors Stage Saturday 11:00pm - 12:00am Patter...