Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the new release, Peace in Pieces , from the Betty Fox Band and it's hot. Opening with rocker, Green Light , The Betty Fox Band shows soulful radio style. With full organ enrichment by Clayton Ivey and super backing vocals by Cindy Walker, Marie Levy and Fox, a solid opener. Marie is a really strong soul track with a beautiful melody and full horns by Brad Guin on sax, Ken Watters on trumpet over the vocal choir giving the track a rich gospel feel. A real nice guitar solo by Josh Nelms sets off the track but this one is a great showcase for the vocal strength of Fox. Excellent! Let Go Or Be Dragged is another really powerful track with a great rhythm line by Barry Williams on bass and Chris Peet on drums. One of the other promos that I saw compared Fox to Hart or James but I hear the style purity of Winehouse. This girl has real sass in her tone that I rarely hear. Another tight guitar solo by Nelms adds real spice. R&B style track, Sw...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blues From The Inside Out , from Dave Specter , and it's got great style. Opening with title track, Blues From The Inside Out , Dave Spector leads on guitar and vocal with Brother John Kattke on keys, Harlan Lee Terson on bass, and Marty Binder on drums. Adding in the horns on Ponchatoula Way , Specter put up a blues rocker with a splash of New Orleans. Mars Williams on sax, Jon Janowiak on trombone and Ron Haynes on trumpet give the track fullness and Spector's innovative blues riffs and the solid piano work of Kattke are really nice.  Hot Tuna leader, Jorma Kaukonen joins on Sanctifunkious , a real sweaty blues funk right out of the streets of NO. A cool instrumental with essential drums by Binder and percussion by Ruben Alverez, and nice key work by Kattke, a great groove. Latin influenced, Minor Shout has a super beat and with tight percussion, clean lead guitar and fluid organ runs, it could easily be from ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, If It Ain't Broke Don't Fix It , by Breezy Rodio and it's solid fun. Opening with title track, If It Ain't Broke Don't Fix It , Breezy Rodio on lead vocal and guitar first shows a Latin rhythm which moves to a cool shuffle. Backed by Ariyo Ariyoshi on piano, Dan tabion on organ, Light Palone on bass and Lorenzo Francocci on drums and nicely complimented by Constantine Alexander on trumpet, Ian Letts on tenor sax, Ian "The Chief" McGarrie on bari sax and Simone Nobile on harmonica. On A Woman Don't Care , Rodio digs in nicely with excellent blues vocals, punctuated by McGarrie and Alexander. His guitar phrasing, supported nicely by the piano of Ariyo gives the track a real cool feel. A real nice slower blues, Los Christianos , showcases Rodio's soulful vocal styling and solid blues guitar chops. Very nice. With it's 60's rock feel, instrumental, The Breeze has Rodio on solo g...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Rock 'N' Roll - A Tribute to Chuck Berry , by Mike Zito and this disc is loaded. Opening with St. Louis Blues and Charlie Berry II, Mike Zito handles guitar and lead vocals, backed by Matthew Johnson on drums, Terry Dry bass and Lewis Stephens on keys. Joanna Conner joins on Rock and Roll Music and there is just no match for that dynamo on slide guitar. Powerhouse player, Walter Trout steps in on Johnny B Goode , a long time favorite of blues and rock players alike. Trout's fluid, high intensity attack is well suited for this classic. Very nice. On Wee Wee Hours , master showman, Joe Bonamassa is featured and he lays out a full tour of the fretboard hitting about every fret on every string, making it seem totally effortless and with great feel. Clocking in at almost 5 and a half minutes, Bonamassa gives you the grand tour. Smoking. Robben Ford takes more of a country flavored approach to You Never Can Tell...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, It Ain't Safe , by Will Jacobs & Marcos Coll and it's genuinely funky blues. Opening with It Ain't Safe , Will Jacobs gets things spinning with excellent vocal and guitar styling. Laying low but making every note count is Marcos Coll on harmonica. Jacobs sings with a mid register solidity with nice falsettos and sprints guitar riffs that nicely punctuate his vocals. Excellent opener. On Chicago style shuffle, Going To Berlin , Coll steps up in traditional Chicago fashion and lays his chops flat out. Jacobs shows he can cross over to straight blues with strong lead lines all supporting his super lead vocals. Very cool. C.J.' Bounce is a really fine boogaloo based blues instrumental with Jacobs and Coll sharing the melody respectively. With alternating lead lines, Jacobs and Marcos use this conventional R&B format to create my favorite track on the release. Another terrific track is Blues Cazorla ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Live from Johnny Burgin and it's really good. Opening with brisk shuffle, You Got to Make A Change , Johnny is upfront on vocal and guitar, backed by Aki Kumar on harp, Kid Andersen on guitar, Chris Matheos on bass and Steve Dougherty on drums. Excellent, slow blues, Can't Make It Blues , Johnny really shines with his soulful vocal and blistering guitar riffs. Most people don't think of Chicago bluesmen as hot, slingers with real pyrotechnics but Burgin is here to show you that Buddy Guy is no longer the only game in town. Excellent! There are only a few contemporary players that can really pull off the funky blues like Albert King could and Burgin is one of them. She Gave Me The Slip is a great example with solid blues riffs over a great funky beat. Time for a great Chicago blues instrumental and Kumar is up and ready on harp. Burgin, Andersen and Kumar really kick it on this one with smoke flying. Rae Gor...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Sentence, from Brad Heller and it's honest, straight forward, radio style folk rock. Opening with Eternal Season , with it's jangly amplified acoustic guitar strum and single stroke snare simplicity, singer /songwriter Brad Heller newest release could be filling the void left by the departure of Tom Petty. His lyrics are strong and his vocals solid. Title track, The Sentence , is subtle in acoustic instrumentation with only the hint of guitar and drums by Ronn Pifer accompanying Heller's vocal, storytelling melody and with harmony by Ted Crenshaw. The Greatest Crime is a strong alt country track, again with very simple drum rhythm, featuring some of Heller's best vocals, paired with Adrian Varnam and clean electric guitar work by Crenshaw and Zeke Roland. Folk track, Chasing Wolves is another favorite with a strong vocal line and warm vocal harmonies by Varnam, smooth lead guitar soloing and rich...