Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Empty Seats , from Richard Wilkins and it's a cool fusion of blues, rock and country. Opening with Duncan McGillvray ,  a traditional Scottish tune and leading directly into Coming In For A Landing , a country two stepper with a rock edge. Richard Wilkins on vocal, sax, bass and guitar is joined by Paul Brainard on guitar and lap steel, Brian Harris on piano, and Jimi Bott on drums. Rocking opener. I particularly like Rainy Sunday Morning with Wilkins and Rhonda Steele on vocals and cool, slide guitar by Wilkins and Ed Neuman on organ. Shuffle, Daylight Train , has a great feel, with Wilkins on vocal and Brainard on lap steel, and Joe McCarthy on brass. Crossroads Of Love is a cool rocker with edge. Wilkins keeps it raw with edgy vocals and stripped down guitar riffs and Bott keeps it tight. Jump track, Rock This House really moves with excellent guitar lead by Brainard and Wilkins and Neuman on piano. Wrapping the r...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Play Space , from Omer Leshem and it's fresh. Opening with world influenced, Twilight Hymn , Latin meets Mediterranean rhythms and Omer Leshem on tenor is blowing some warm melody. Joined by Naday Remez on guitar with a beautiful Spanish flavored solo, Moshe Elmakias on piano, Elam Friedlander on bass and Ben Silashi on drums this track is terrific. Cape Town Swag really moves with a stimulating bass line and tasty sax lead by Leshem. Elmakias evolves the melody nicely with imaginative piano exploration and Remez settles into a cool groove with Friedlander on bass and aggressive drumming by Silashi really cooks, making this one of my favorite tracks on the release. Framing in 3/4, Go You Maniac has a really flowing feel. With Lesham creating the melody and a nicely floating melody, and percussive sub melody, this track is really nicely done. Wrapping the release is Back Home , with a soothing, quiet melody, presented...

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blues Since Birth , by J.P. Reali and it's a stripped down blues rocker. Opening with The Devil's Take , J.P. Reali digs in with a grinding boogie. His own vocal and dirty guitar riffs and slide guitar, Chris reali on bass, Josh Borden on keys and Jim Larson on drums make for a cool opener. A bluesy take on Bob Dylan's It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry , is one of my favorites on the release with some of the best vocals by Reali, hot slide styling and keyboard soloing by Borden. Contemporary blues track, Blues In A Minefield , is soothing and would work nicely into a radio playlist. Santana like phrasing on guitar and low key backing by Borden on keys, Gill Glass on bass and Larson on drums. Another favorite is Eileen Left with it's country rock flavor. Wrapping the release is title track, Blues Since Birth , featuring Reali on vocal and steel hollow body guitar and slide and simple kickdru...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Invisible Man, from Davy Knowles and it's a strong blues rocker. Opening with contemporary rocker, Good To Know Ya , Davy Knowles on lead and rhythm guitar and vocal lays down a solid track with hints of the Dickey Betts and twin guitar leads backed by Tod Bowers on bass and Mike Hansen. Tell Me What You Want Me To Be has a great back beat and a low slung rhythm. Knowles' vocals are tops and his guitar lead had plenty of spunk. Driving rocker, Running Out Of Moonlight , has strong radio appeal with compact guitar riffs and a memorable melody. Hansen and Bowers hold a solid bottom and Knowles cuts loose on lead with broad swath guitar intensity. Very cool. Heavy bottomed, No More To Weep , is my favorite track on the release with soulful vocals and bluesy guitar lead, accented by a solid bass hook and snappy drum work by  Hansen. Wrapping the release is quiet ballad, Wonder You Are , with a strong melody, lig...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, If A White Horse From Jerusalem , by The CNY Jazz Orchestra and it's an interesting mix of Big Band, Coltrane with Jewish and Arabic scalar, rhythmic and  harmonic materials. Opening with Ahava Raba , Eddie Severn, Scott Harrell, Rob Robson and Paul Merrill blazing on trumpets and the smooth sound of David Liebman on soprano sax and Charles Pillow on clarinet. The addition of Seth Carper, Mike Dubaniewicz, John Jeanneret and Frank Grosso  on sax, Rick Montalbanl on piano, Spencer Phillips on bass and Larry Luttinger on drums for the full ensemble. Real Klezmer rhythm on Ki Lo Noeh / Maqam Saba Liebman and Luttinger set the pace with reed backing and trumpet and trombones (Bill Palange, Greg McCrea, Angelo Candela and Mark Anderson) create musical tension, then soloing over the tight rhythm of Phillips and Luttinger. Very cool. Bernstein's classic composition, Somewhere ,  is really lushly orchestrated a...

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, True Believer , from Mark Hummel and it's chocked full of smoking blues. Opening with Chicago style blues track, High Time For The Devil , Oscar Wilson on lead vocals leads the way with solid pace and force, and Mark Hummel on harmonica really shines. Bob Welsh on piano adds a perfect glisten to the track, backed by Randy Bermudes on bass, Billy Flynn on guitar, and Wes Starr on drums. Great opener. Otis Rush's slow blues, Double Trouble , is terrific with Junior Watson getting hot and heavy on guitar, and Hummel shining on lead vocal and harmonica. With Kedar Roy on bass, Brett Brandstadt on piano, Jack Sanford on sax, and Starr on drums, this is my favorite track on the release.  Peter Green's Stop Messin' Round is a great shuffle and Hummel really gets in the slot on vocal. Watson has the lead on guitar again and his phrasing is excellent, backed by Roy, Brandstadt, Sanford and Starr. Little Walter...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Righteous Souls , from Albert Castiglia and it's chocked full of great music and heavy talent. Opening with Centerline , a rocker with a cool backbeat, Albert Castiglia is upfront on lead vocal and guitar, joined by Jerry Jemmott on bass, Jim Pugh on keys, D'man Martin on drums, Kid Andersen on guitars, Lisa Andersen on backing vocals, and features a great twin guitar duel with Popa Chubby. Great opener. Kevin Burt has the mic on R&B track, Mama, I Love You featuring a strong bass line by Jemmott, tight rhythm by D'Mar and really nice guitar work by Castiglia. Rick Estrin is upfront with Castiglia on Jr Wells' Come On In This House . Estrin's contribution is terrific and Castiglia milks all of the juice from his guitar, complimented by Pugh on piano making this one of my favorites on the release. Buddy Guy's funky, The Dollar Done Fell , features Josh Smith and Castiglia working the guitars and...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Nowhere To Hide , from Ollee Owens , and it's cool R&B treasure. Opening with title track, Nowhere To Hide , Ollee Owens gets things rocking with sassy vocals, backed by Will McFarlane on guitar and Bobby Blazier on drums. Cool opener. A solid radio track, Some Days has a strong melody and gritty vocals by Owens, Chris Rodriguez on guitars, Craig Young on bass, Delmarco Johnson on keys, and Blazier on drums. My favorite track on the release is soulful, Still In Pieces , getting the best from Owens' voice and featuring McFarlane on guitar. Rahsaan Barber is featured on sax on The Neighborhood , a driving blues with cool trumpet work by Roland Barber supporting Owens on vocal. Backing vocals by Gene Miller and McFarlane on guitar gives this track that something special. Wrapping the release is soulful, Lord Protect My Child with Cord Martin on sax working nicely with Rodriguez on guitar and Owens on vocal. This ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Take Time To Listen , from Bill Banfield's Jazz Urbane , and it's warm and bluesy. Opening with This Time , a solid track featuring Bill Banfield on a big box guitar, milking all of the rich tone on each chord as he picks himself up and down the fretboard. A nice melody and nice articulation make this a strong opener. Gershwin's Summertime is lushly presented with a slight flavor of Latin with rolled picking and rhythm. Joseph Kosma's classic Autumn Leaves also has a Spanish flavor with strong phrasing and plucked melody followed by rich chords. Very nice. Elton John's Your Song is a cool change up with plenty of finger picked runs and chord reinforced phrasing. Song For Earl is a soulful tribute to Earl Klugh with parallel octave hits and fleet fingering. Wrapping the release is an adventurous romp on Churchill's Someday My Prince Will Come , a certain classic with deep roots. A total rework and ...