Bman's Blues Report

I just received the newest release (1/27/15), Wish For What You Want , from the Billy Walton Band and it's a rocker. Opening with the title track, Wish For What You Want , lead vocalist and guitar player, Billy Walton sets a nice pace driven by William Paris with a great bass line. Walton and Paris sing nicely in tandum and Walton gets the guitar screaming over the top. A bit more rock than blues but strong bones. True Lovin Man has a bit more of a R&B flavored rock feel again with Walton leading the way on vocal. Mike Finnegan adds some solid key work and Paris blends nicely on backing vocal. With Eric Clapton like accuracy and backed by John D'Angelo on drums, Ian Gray on trombone, Steve Hyde on trumpet and Sean on Sax this is a solid radio player. Mountain is a solid rocker with a stiff bass drum line. Blistering guitar riffs and a driving bottom carry this track. Felix Cavaliere's Come On Up has a real Mitch Ryder feel but with a bluey guitar riff. Cool! Blues...

I just received the newest release, If You Think It's Hot Here.. ., from The Mike Henderson Band and it's quite good! Opening with I Wanna Know Why , a creeping blues number with some great Fender guitar tones. Michael Rhodes lays down a real serious bass lead and Henderson has a voice that is just right for this type of blues rock music. Kevin McKendree really hammers the piano and Henderson gets down serious with some tasty blues riffs making this a great opener. Send You Back To Georgia is a great rock and roller with a serious rocking beat (Pat O'Connor - drums) and McKendree really takes the opportunity to bring this baby to it's knees. Henderson whips out the slide and rides the lower fretboard with some deep grinding grooves. Excellent! On shuffle track, Houndog Taylor's It's Alright is a great 12 bar number with a serious lope. McKendree takes the first leg and Henderson the second on slide for a super romp in blues land. Title R&B style track, ...

I just received the newest release (February 3, 2015), Fat Man's Shine Parlor by Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King . This reunion release with Blind Pig is long overdue and really grooves. Opening with boogie track, Got My Heart Broken , King and Kubek keep it simple (like Hooker intended) with only Shiela Klinefelter on bass, Eric Smith on drums and Kim La Fleur on guitar taking it above a basic two man boogie. Very cool. On Cornbread , a quick paced boogie, King leads the way on vocal and Kubek rips some really tasty riffs trading with King and LaFleur. Diamond Eyes slows things down a bit to a basic blues rock ballad with a nice guitar bridge. Crash and Burn has a cool early rock beat and structure. Clean simple guitar solos and drum riffs carry this track. River Of Whiskey is built over a "Crossroads" like riff and each man steps up with his own guitar riff. Don't Want To Be Alone has an R&B sway and King always shows his best vocal work on tracks...

Don’t Be A Wallflower! Hit The DANCE! Floor With Sol Driven Train New CD Is Out On March 17 "With the album DANCE! we have put on our boogie shoes.  These songs are intended to lift spirits and spread smiles.  Push back the furniture, crank up the volume, and move your body to the beat!" - SDT Atlanta, GA – On March 17, Sol Driven Train will release their 12th album, DANCE! on their own label, Sol Driven Train Records. This tasty collection of songs was produced by the band and Jeff Hodges at Charleston Sound studios. Hailing from the Southern port town of Charleston, SC, the band prides itself as being charmingly eclectic. As the New Year opens up, the Train keeps rolling with the release of DANCE!, a hectic touring schedule across the US and Caribbean, and a spot on the Atomic Music Group Showcase at The SXSW Festival on March 20th in Austin, TX. The band celebrates a milestone this year for it’s been 15 years since SDT was birt...

I just received the newest release, Journey , from Benny Turner and it has a fine groove. Opening with Breakin' News, a shuffle track with a nice Taj Mahal kind of feel and gospel like backing vocals, it's a great track. Marc Stone on steel guitar, Keiko Komaki on piano and horn work by Jason Mingledorff (sax) and Barney Floyd (trumpet) set this track off. Funky blues Don't You Ride My Mule has a really cool feel with not only nice vocals from Turner but a solid key work from Josh Paxton, super horn work from Mingledorff and Mark Leuron on trumpet and Harp work from Bruce "Sunpie" Barnes. Very nice! R&B ballad How I Wish has a soft sway and cool rhythm from Marc Stone on guitar. Deanna Bernard and Ellen Smith add warm backing vocals and Mingledorff and Floyd cool horn backing. Another R&B style blues track, I Wanna Make It Right, has just a super groove. Bernard and Smith again adding just the right vocal backing and Komaki adding some really tight k...

Photo: John Abbey, Trudy Lynn Connor Ray Music Label Announces New CEO Music industry veteran John Abbey takes the helm January 2015 Houston, Texas based Connor Ray Music announced today that John Abbey will assume control of the day to day operations as General Manager and CEO. Connor Ray Music was originally founded in 1995. Steve Krase, Founder and President of Connor Ray Music, had this to say about the announcement,   “John Abbey is one of the most well-known personalities in this business and brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership to the company. We are excited about the future of Connor Ray Music with John at the helm!” John Abbey commented, "I found everyone within Connor Ray and those around Connor Ray to be on the same page. Everyone wants to accomplish the same goals and the unity is amazing.  We will be keeping our eyes open for artists that are of t...

Bluesman Bernard Allison Is In the Mix on First New Studio Album in Six Years, Coming March 17 on Jazzhaus Records FREIBURG, GERMANY – Blues guitarist and singer Bernard Allison will release his first new studio album in six years, In the Mix , on March 17 from the Germany-based label, Jazzhaus Records. Produced and arranged by Bernard Allison, In the Mix features 10 tracks, including five originals, as well as covers of two songs from his legendary father, Luther Allison (“Move from the Hood” and “Moving On Up”), plus tunes from Colin James (“Five Long Years”), Freddie King (“I’d Rather Be Blind”) and Tyrone Davis (“I Had It All the Time”). Although firmly rooted in the blues, the music on In the Mix shows Bernard’s myriad of influences, including soul, rock and R&B. Allison says about the recording sessions: “ I was very excited to record with my reformed group. We went into this recording with the mindset to not make a recording flooded with screamin...

Igor Prado Band - Way Down South Release Date: February 17, 2015

I just received the newest release (1/27/15), Live and Extended presented by Festival D'ete' De Quebec , by Brandon Santini. Opening with a funky version of Muddy Waters' One More Mile , Santini is cooking right out of the box on lead vocal and hot smokin' harp work. Great opener! Nick Hern on bass and Timo Arthur on guitar set a solid boogie rhythm nailed down by Chad Wirl on drums on This Time Another Year and Santini uses his solid blues voice and great harp phrasing to captivate the crowd. On Sonny Boy Williamson track, Elevate Me Mama , Santini really gets in the slow groove. This track is in excess of 6 minutes and Santini doesn't waste a note. Hot! On groove blues, Evil Woman , it's Hern and Arthur that set the pace and Arthur takes it for a nice ride with some flashy riffs of his own. The band drops back to nothing but drum and Santini takes a rid of his own. Very cool! Have A Good Time has a sassy 60's surf kind of sound rolled into a blues tr...

QUEBEC BLUES ARTISTS SWEEP MAPLE BLUES AWARDS Montreal's Steve Hill Tops Tally With Four Wins January 19, 2015 (Toronto) - Blue Monday, thought to be the most depressing day of the year, was anything but last night Toronto’s Koerner Hall, as internationally renowned Canadian Blues Artists from coast-to-coast were honoured by their peers at the 18 th Annual Maple Blues Awards gala. Montreal’s one-man band, Steve Hill took home all of the awards he was nominated for including Entertainer of the Year, Electric Act of the Year, Recording of the Year for Solo Recordings Vol. 2, and Guitar Player of the Year. Angel Forrest won two awards including Female Vocalist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. Also representing the thriving Quebec blues scene were Nanette Workman who won the Blues with a Feeling Lifetime Achievement Award and Greg Morency of the Paul DesLauriers Band who won Bassist of the Year. From Montreal, Guy Belanger won Harmonica Play...

I just received the newest release (February 3, 2015), Big Dark Love , by Murder By Death . This is not a blues release but adventurous and well written. Opening with I Shot An Arrow , Adam Turla on lead vocal, Matt Armstrong on bass, Sarah Balliet on cello, Dagan Thogerson on drums and David Fountain on piano set quite a stage. A cool but odd melody with Frank Black like characteristics features a solid anchor in Balliet and Fountain that is quite appealing. Strange Eyes has a driving pop beat and atmospheric backing. Title track, Big Dark Love is a really nice ballad with a haunting guitar riffs over a really solid melody and warm cello bottom. Very cool! Dream In Red has more of a club feel but with dark classical overtones. Solitary One has some of the nicest vocal harmonies with Fountain. The most air friendly track on the release, this is a track that is certain to collect followers. Send Me Home is a solid rocker with cool guitar reverb. A pinch of country gives the track a...

BLIND PIG SIGNS VICTOR WAINWRIGHT! New WildRoots Release Due Out In May Blind Pig Records has announced the signing of Victor Wainwright , recognized as one of the most dynamic and exciting keyboard performers on the roots music scene. Following the signing, Victor said, "After putting a tremendous amount of time, effort and passion into this project, we’re extremely proud of the final recording. I’m excited that we are teaming up with renowned Roots and Blues label Blind Pig Records, to deliver what we feel is our best album yet!”    Victor Wainwright & Stephen Dees at the big signing The first release under the pact from Victor Wainwright and the WildRoots , entitled Boom Town , is scheduled to be released in late May. The CD was recorded in Edgewater, Florida and produced by Stephen Dees, who wrote much of the material on the album and is also the WildRoots bassist.  Dees is a highly respected session player whose credits include pla...

Chicago’s Southern Blues and R&B singer, Theo Huff was raised by his Mississippi mother and grandmother. Both women gave him high principles and values that he holds today. At an early age his mother encourage him to sing at church. Theo Huff at an early age had the pleasure to perform on the same stage with the likes of Koko Taylor, Bobby Rush, Harold Melvin,s Blue notes, Gene Chandler, Willie Clayton, Denise Lasalle, Albertina Walker, Garland Green, Darius Brook, and Ms. Millie Jackson. When he became a member of the Black Ensemble Theater, musical director, Jimmy Tillman took Huff under his wing. This experience enhanced his energetic personality in showing strong emotions that captivate his audience. He only recently begun to hone a proper nightclub act. He received nominations for most promising Actor, and best featured Actor for “That Sensuous Seductive. His blend of traditional and the contemporary is the cause of his success performance at The Liri Blues Festival in Ita...

I just received the newest release, A Portrait of Jimi Hendrix , from David Pannozzo and it's really hot! Pannozzo, a superb guitar player guitar player from Italy has come up with a new set of material, Jimi played David style and it cooks. Opening with You Got Me Floating , Pannozzo's guitar has a lot of the snarl of Jimi as he captures the spirit of the man himself with Lello Somma on bass and younger brother, Simone Pannozzo on drums. During his guitar bridge he shows his European influence with more of a jazz fusion solo. Very Nice! Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland) even finds Pannozzo with a falsetto voice and light airy guitar riffs. On the bridge on this track, Pannozzo keeps it a bit more straight up but adds in a bit of chorded funk. I really like Simone's Billy Cobham like drum work on this track. Really sweet! If 6 was 9 keeps a lot of the esoteric feel that Hendrix started but with a newer updated more bluesy twist. Some of the guitar sounds actual...

I just received the most recent release (March 31, 2015), Fall Your Way , from Frank Viele and it's nicely done. Opening with Broken Love Song , a poppy rocker with a nice melody and featuring some thick guitar work from Joe Bonamassa Viele is on his way. Next up is funky, Kalifornia , featuring with a light John Mayer feel but with cool horn punctuation. Viele has a direct voice which gives these tracks a nice edge to start with, blended with raspy sax and pointed drums this is hot stuff. How Dare You Say You're Sorry is a classic ballad with a hot guitar riff and a cool melody. Alexa has a nice bass box rhythm and crisp backing vocals. A sweet track with a light feel, this is another in a full release of well written tracks. Easy Money actually has a mild Michael Jackson feel with a straight rhythm and nicely blended vocals. Light jazzy (Steeley Dan like) guitar work and a nice sax solo sets this track apart. When You Gonna Come Home is a really clean acoustic track wit...

“One of rock’s best-kept secrets.” London Daily Star, UK Tuesday, January 6, 2015 – For immediate release Warner Music Canada is thrilled to announce the signing of guitarist Philip Sayce.  Warner will be releasing Philip’s critically acclaimed album  Influence  on March 10, 2015. Originally released in Europe in late August 2014 to critical acclaim, the Canadian version of  Influence  will include two new songs led by the first single, Philip’s incendiary version of the Ten Years After classic “I’d Love To Change The World.” “Clapton, Page, Hendrix…Philip Sayce.  The young guitarist reviving blues-rock.” – London Metro, UK On making the announcement, Warner Music Canada President Steve Kane stated, “Philip is a unique and exciting talent.  He reminds us that playing the blues isn’t something that happens in museums, he brings a vitality and originality to the songs on  Influence . We all look forward to bringing Philip ...

Legendary Blues Guitarist Harvey “The Snake” Mandel   Releases Early Solo Albums In 6CD Box Set! Los Angeles, CA - Innovative blues guitarist Harvey Mandel, has had the kind of career that musicians dream about. Most known for his pivotal work with blues rock institution Canned Heat in 1969 & 70 including their legendary performance at Woodstock, Mandel has over the course of his 6 decade career collaborated with music luminaries such as John Mayall, The Rolling Stones, Love, The Ventures and many more! But Mandel’s genius playing truly shines on his solo efforts, which he began releasing in 1968, and continues to release to this day. Now, some of these early solo albums are being made available in a deluxe 6CD box set from Purple Pyramid Records on January 20. The limited edition Snake Box includes 5 classic solo albums each packaged in its own sleeve with original artwork plus a bonus 1968 concert recording and a full-color booklet with in-de...