Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Rebel Moon Blues , from Sass Jordan and it's got a raw edge. Opening with a funky take on Sleepy John Estes' Leaving Trunk , Sass Jordan shows just how special her vocals can be with Steve Mariner on harp adding great punctuation. Backed by the Champagne Hookers, Chris Caddell on guitars, Jimmy Reid on guitars, Derrick Brady on bass and Cassius Pereira on drums, this is a great opener. Smokin. On Keb Mo's Am I Wrong , Jordan works it hard with Caddell on slide acoustic guitar, kick drums and basic handclaps percussion. Simple and solid. JB Hutto's Too Much Alcohol gets a strong remake with Caddell on slide dobro. Keeping the track in it's raw "acoustic" format and accentuating the raw marriage between Jordan's vocals and the sound of Caddell's resonator guitar makes for great blues. Wrapping the release is Gary Moore's blues ballad, Still Got The Blues . Jordan backs off of the t...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, My Dony , from Grant Dermody, and it's real, old school southern blues. Opening with title track, My Dony , Grant Dermody on lead vocal and harmonica shows real grit with the richness of hill country blues. Dirk Powell, who plays lead guitar and also worked as the engineer on the release, makes ever guitar note count with a solid backing band of Jamie Dick on drums and Jason Sypher on bass. With more of an urban feel, One Step At A Time , still has a raw purity but sounding more Chicago with fat harp work by Dermody and the addition of Corey Ledet on accordion.  Very cool. On slower, Springtime Blues , not only are Dermody's vocals point on but Powell's lead guitar work plays nicely against the strong harmonica lines of Dermody. Very nice. Corner Strut is definitely a contemporary piece with a heavy bass line and bouncy drum rhythm. Dermody's vocals seem to skip across the music like a stone and his har...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Good As Gone , from Casey Hensley and there's some powerful good music on there. Opening with driving blues rocker and title track, Good As Gone and Casey Hensley wastes no time in showing what she's got. A powerful lead singer along the lines of Ann Wilson, Hensley cuts loose over a potent rhythm section of Laura Chavez on guitar, Marcos C. on bass and Evan Caleb Yearsley on drums. On You Should Be Lucky , Chavez steps up in the mix with that rich guitar tone that she's known for playing some blistering riffs balancing Hensley's strong vocals. With a shift to swing style and the beat on 2, Be My Baby (What Do You Say?) is a comfortable style for Hensley with perfect clarity and Chavez of course plays tight and right. Blues ballad, Love Will Break Your Heart is the best showcase for Hensley's vocals on the release with a smooth backing vocals, horn work by Jonny Viau and Steven Ebner and of course ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blue Sky , from The Reverend Shawn Amos and the Brotherhood and it's an airy mix of folk, rock , blues R&B... You name it. Opening with, Stranger Than Today , Amos on lead vocal and harp, backed by Brady Blade on drums, Christopher Thomas on bass, and Chris Roberts on guitar the feel is high plains and relaxed. On Counting Down The Days , the band gets a real interesting groove going with an odd guitar riff, and great backing vocals by Piper Amos, Sharlotte Gibson and Kenya Hathaway and featuring a really expressive harp solo by Amos. Very nice. Hold Back is a driving rocker with cool, Ike and Tina backing vocals. Really cool. Rolling shuffle, 27 Dollars is one of my favorites on the release is wild vocals, a super piano solo by Matt Hubbard and a tight rhythms by Blade. Wrapping the release is a cool New Orleans style track, Keep The Faith, Have Some Fun with Jamelle Adisa on trumpet, Marc Bolin on sousaphone...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Your Baby Has Left , from Backtrack Blues Band and it's a solid, straight up blueser. Opening with Best Friend's Grave (Joy, Joy, Joy) Sonny Charles on lead vocal and harmonica steps off this shuffle, with Kid Royal on lead guitar, Little Johnny Walter on rhythm guitar, Joe Bencomo on drums, Stick Davis on bass, Bruce Katz on organ and piano and with backing vocals by Latonya Oliver and Dana Merriwether. Title track, Your Baby Has Left is a great boogie with super harp work by Charles and stinging guitar accents by Royal. With it's low slung lope, Natural Born Lover features Royal on lead vocal and nicely styled guitar riffs and cool piano work by Katz freeing up Charles to lay a little heavier into the harp. Very nice. One of my favorite tracks on the release is up tempo shuffle, You'll Come Back Someday . I particularly like Charles lead vocal on this track and his harp work, punched up by Vinnie Cies...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, I Wanna Go With You , from Wide Mouth Mason and it's got a cool, stripped down, earthy sound. Opening with Bodies In Motion , Saskatoon born Shaun Verreault on vocal and guitars and Safwan Javed on percussion and vocals establish a high bar with a fat guitar toned, blues rhythmed, track with a solid melody and super vocals. With phrasing that puts me in mind of prime Leon Russell, this is a super track. Quick paced, Some Kind of Requiem , is a snappy, contemporary blues number with fluid slide runs and strong vocals. Very nice. I really love the overdriven electric guitar sound that Verreault gets on Erase Any Trace . These guys have focused in on a really cool blend of blues, rock and gospel styling that really hits square. Very nice. On Only Child , Mason stretches further into the driving rock styling but preserving the raw blues edge grinds out s pure rocker. Excellent! Another style covered is southern blues st...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Salone , from Bai Kamara Jr & The Voodoo Sniffers and it's a cool, mix of blues, folk and African sounds. Kamara, from Brussels originally came from Sierra Leone. Opening with Can't Wait Here Too Long , a cool folk oriented track, showcases Bai Kamara Jr on lead vocal and guitar with a distinct Mali influence and solid blues style vocal. Can't say I've heard anything quite like this before but it is cool. Black Widow Spide r is another cool track with only a sketch of guitar and percussion behind ultra cool blues phrased vocals. With a bit of a more mellow blues format but still with what sounds to me like  Mali influence makes Cold Cold Love one of my favorite tracks on the release. Cry Baby has more of a pure "American" blues feel with bluesy vocal styling but again without abandoning that African purity. Very nice. Don't Worry About Me is another strong track with blending between ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Wild and Free (Live) , from Albert Castiglia and it's a powerful blues rocker. Opening with Big Dog , Castiglia opens the doors and lets the dog off the leash right from the start. This is one guy that I haven't seen in concert that I'd really like to see and he is smoking! Castiglia on lead vocal and lead guitar, is backed by Justine Tompkins on bass, Ephrain Lowell on drums, Lewis Stephens on B3 and piano. One thing that I was really conscious about on Hoodoo on Me is the terrific guitar tome that Castiglia is getting on his rhythm part. Powered by his guitar and Stephens on B3, this track keeps the heavy drive going. With a firm bass line by Tompkins and fluid guitar lead, this track is another killer. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Get Your Ass In the Van and features some terrific slide work from Castiglia. Cool piano work by Stephens and solid vocals make this a hard track not to love. ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Hard Workin' Man , from Andrew Alli and it's a solid slice of blues. Opening with title track, Hard Workin' Man , a great blues number sounds like it's right out of the Elmore James songbook. Andrew Alli, who covers vocals and harmonica shows all of the raw edge of old school blues. Backed by Jon Atkinson on guitar, Carl Sonny Leyland on piano, Danny Michael on guitar and Devin Neal on drums, this is a super opener. AA Boogie is a real foot stomper and gives Alli a great platform to blow his harp. Excellent! With a Latin rhythm, Going Down South is a cool blues number with what sounds like Alli singing through his harp mic, answered with his harp. Cool slide work by Atkinson gives the track a warmup and Alli joins back with raw harp tones. Very nice. Walter Horton's, Walter's Sun is a great instrumental with fleet fingered guitar work and particularly nice harp riffs. 30 Long Years is a really...