Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Pocket the Black, by Lazyeye and it's cool. Opening with Keepin' From Lovin', a Latin influenced blues rocker, Evan Whetter on vocal and organ lead the way with smart guitar riffs by Erica Graf and snappy drumming by Mario Marino. Title track, Pocket The Black, has a smooth shuffle pace with a cool blues riffs by Graf. It's cool to hear beefy organ work by Whetter which gives the band it's own signature. On Texas style shuffle, Back The Way They Came, Graf really digs in on the strings blowing your hair back and Whetter's vocals are smooth and well balanced with his organ work. Sassy, Mucho Jalaoeno, has a cool 60's retro Latina beat. With Whetter and Graf playing together on the melody,and Marino creating the back beat this track is hot. Whetter takes the first run with a flowing derivative of the melody on keys. Graf gets the second shot and parlays it into a really nice showcase for her sty...

Gospel Blues Phenom LEO BUD WELCH Leads An Old Fashioned Blues Revival  On His New Concert CD/DVD LIVE AT THE IRIDIUM ! Los Angeles, CA - He’s 85 years young and just getting started! Mississippi bluesman Leo Bud Welch has been playing and preaching real deal gospel blues music since he first picked up a guitar in 1945, but he remained on the outskirts of the profession music industry known only to friends, family, and a handful of elder blues statesmen. That is, until Welch signed his very first recording contract at the ripe old age of 81! It’s a remarkable story that is now the subject of a full-length documentary film called Late Blossom Blues currently screening at film festivals around the world. Since the release of his debut album Saboulga Voices in 2014 and the follow-up I Don’t Prefer No Blues in 2015, Welch has completely taken the blues world by storm, and now he offers his very first live concert album recorded at NY’s prestigious club The Irid...

Blues Harmonica Ace Steve Krase Sets April 21 Release Date for New CD, Should’ve Seen It Coming , on Connor Ray Music HOUSTON, TEXAS – Blues harmonica ace Steve Krase announces an April 21 release date for his latest album on Connor Ray Music, Should’ve Seen It Coming , which includes special guest appearances from label mates Trudy Lynn, Mark May and Bob Lanza. Krase will celebrate with several Houston CD release shows, including Friday, March 24 at The Big Easy Social & Pleasure Club ( www.thebigeasyblues.com ) and Saturday, March 25 at Martini’s Blu Café ( www.martiniblu1.com ). Steve will also perform at the “Houston Has Hart” show on Sunday, March 26 (4-8 PM), at Rockefeller’s, a benefit for the Blues Foundation’s Hart Fund that provides health services and more for blues musicians nationwide. Several other Houston area blues artists will perform as well, along with special guests and a silent auction. Steve Krase is well-known as the harmonica player behin...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — James Cotton, a Grammy Award-winning blues harmonica master whose full-throated sound backed such blues legends as Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson II and Howlin' Wolf, has died at age 81. A statement from Alligator Records, Cotton's label, says he died Thursday of pneumonia at St. David's Medical Center in Austin. The Mississippi Delta native performed professionally since age 9. Cotton backed Muddy Waters in his landmark album "At Newport" on Chess Records. After going solo in the 1960s, Cotton released almost 30 albums, including his 1996 Grammy Award-winning Verve album, "Deep In The Blues." His most recent album, "Cotton Mouth Man" for Alligator Records in 2013, was nominated for a Grammy. James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time and with his own band. ...

I just had the opportunity to review the newest release, Coryell , from Larry Coryell . This of course is a new release of a 1969 Vanguard release of the same name. The name Larry Coryell has always been synonymous with jazz rock and this release shows exactly why. Being released just before Coryell's unexpected and untimely passing in late February while on tour, this release shows just how long Coryell has been making crate sized impacts on the music scene. With Coryell, an absolute maestro on guitar and with first class associates Bernard Purdie on drums, Albert Stinson, Chuck Rainey and Ron Carter on bass, Mike Mandel on keys and Jim Pepper on flute, this release is heavily weighted by heavy weights!  Opening with Sex , Coryell shows raw adventurous fusion rock and takes the lead on vocal as well as guitar. With his phaser flaring, Coryell blasts off. Sensitive vocals and a quite melody on Beautiful Woman opens wide for Ron carter to lay out some really nice bass lead and ...

"Neoprene Fedora" Rockin' Johnny Burgin CD release and tour!    Rockin' Johnny's new CD is OUT and available at all shows and at CD Baby .  "Neoprene Fedora" documents Johnny's move to California after a long and illustrious career in Chicago.  Like his previous effort, "Greetings from Greaseland", this CD shows a true Chi-Cali blues summit going on!  This time around, he's written 11 originals ranging from surf to zydeco to gut-bucket blues.  There's a great mix of talent on this disc: BMA nominees and winners like Kid Andersen on guitar, piano and the recording console, drummers Stephen Dougherty and June Core (Charlie Musselwhite, Little Charley and the Nightcats), guest vocalist Alabama Mike, and ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Fantasizing About Being Black , by Otis Taylor and it is his most interesting, innovative and creative release to date. Opening with Twelve String Mile , Taylor is joined by Jerry Douglas on lap guitar, Larry Thompson on drums, Todd Edmunds and Ron Miles on cornet to create a fusion of Mali blues and jazz. This is a really cool woven tapestry of sounds and colors that has a familiarity yet a uniqueness. Another track with free fusion feel, Walk On Water has a driving folk groove but a loose jazziness creating mystery. Very cool. With a mystical overtone, Hands On Your Stomach is a driving rocker with vocal phrasing like John Lee Hooker. Brandon Niederauer creates a terrific electric wall in balance with Taylor's unsettling vocals. With a really cool groove, Jump Jelly Belly tells the tale of General Jack Watson and his cargo load. Just wild. Flat out in your face blues, Tripping On This , features Taylor on elect...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Real Sharp - A Thrilling 2 CD Anthology , from Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers and it's a cool blend of country, rock, folk and blues. If you haven't heard of Chili Willi, you may be in for a real treat. The band was at the forefront of bridging all of these genres of music with sounds of Eagles, Dead, New Grass Revival, Gram Parsons, Flying Burritos, Asleep At The Wheel, Old And In The Way and many others, this band really has it. This release contains all of the music from King of the Robot Rhythm , Bongos Over Balham , I'll Be Home plus previously unreleased recording of Papa and Mama Had Love . Also included are 24 pages of liner notes, photos and unique artwork. The Ballad Of Chilli Willi is a super bluegrass track showcasing the instrumental talents of Phillip Snake Finger Lithman on guitar, fiddle, mandolin and vocal and Martin Stone on guitar and vocal this track is perfect new bluegrass. Dru...

BANDITOS ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM VISIONLAND + PREMIERE NEW SONG “FINE FINE DAY” + ALBUM AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER + PLUS, BAND ANNOUNCES SXSW SHOWS For much of the last two years, the Banditos have been on the road, relentlessly showcasing their critically acclaimed 2015 self-titled debut album. In late 2016, the six bandmates hunkered down at Plum Creek Sound Studios and democratically poured out sonic influences and emotionally charged personal experiences for their new album Visionland . The pre-order link is here: https://www.bloodshotrecords.com/album/visionland In celebration of the announcement, Banditos have launched the album...

BRODY BUSTER WINS "BEST HARMONICA PLAYER" AT 2017 IBC, FINISHES SECOND IN "BEST SOLO/DUO" CATEGORY      (FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE) - Brody Buster took home "Best Harmonica Player" at the 2017 IBC (International Blues Challenge) on February 4 at the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, TN, beating out a very competitive field of talented music acts. The Lawrence, KS resident, who fronts Brody Buster's One Man Band as well as the Brody Buster Trio, also won second place in the "Best Solo/Duo" category at the IBC, where he was representing the Kansas City Blues Society .     "Winning best harmonica player is great, but winning second place in the solo/duo category is also important to me," states Buster. "I have been playing harmonica my whole life but for to place second in solo act category is huge for me because I have only been doing this One Man Band thing for about three ye...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Snake Farm , from Beth Garner and it's a cool blues rocker. Opening with cool, funk laden blues track, Alright By Me (Mr. Fisher) , Beth Garner shows influences of gospel, rock, funk, blues and soul at least with a terrific track. Playing lush lead and slide as well as lead vocals, Garner is a talented young lady. With Wes Little on snappy drums, Rory Hoffman on bari sax, Steve Forrest on bass and Angela Primm and Gale Mayes on backing vocals, this is a tight unit. Very nice! Backroads Freddie has a gravely throaty ZZ Top like droning guitar rhythm growl. With a lively drum part and solid bass work, Garner riffs away with some nice Texas style guitar blues lead.   Drop Down has deep roots in delta blues with lead vocal/guitar duet and rich backing vocals. Elmore James influenced track, Used To Be is the hot blues rocker on the track with some of Garner's best vocals and hot slide work. With a tight bottom thi...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Bloodstains On The Wall from Big Bill Morganfield and it's outstanding! Opening with a solid Muddy like track, Lost Without Love , shows deep soul and excellent vocals with nice guitar riffs by Morganfield, Colin Linden, Chuck Cotton, Eddie Taylor Jr,  bass by Bill "Mookie" Brill, and drums by Grant Clifton. On Willie Dixon track, I Don't Know Why , Steve Guyger adds real nice harp work and Bob Margolin tips in on guitar. Barton Szopinski really dazzles the keyboards on When You Lose Someone You Love , and Big Bill's slide work is raw and rowdy. Excellent! Boogie track, Help Someone really rolls again with the piano strength of Szopinski and the Mofo Party Band on backing especially John Clifton on harp and Grant Clifton on bass. Nice! Another slow and rudimentary blues right out of the Mud catalog is title track, Blood Stains On The Wall . Augie Meyers sits in on piano with Taylor, Linden and...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Honest Woman , from Thornetta Davis , and it is a fine mix of blues, R&B, soul, gospel, country and rock. Opening with I Gotta Sang The Blues , Thornetta Davis shows strong blues influences in this R&B rolling number with Kim Wilson on harp, Brett Lucas on guitar, James Simonson on bass, Phillip J Hale on keys and Todd Glass on drums. With a cool uptown blues feel, That Don't Appease Me has super guitar vamps and backing vocals under Davis' solid lead. With a funky feel, Set Me Free has a super bass line by Kerry Clark and stinging guitar soloing by Larry McCray over drumming by Steve McCray. One of my favorite tracks on the release this track not only features some of my favorite lead vocals but also rich backing vocals by Alvin Waddles, Lori Waddles, Kiara Thomas, Kevin Stewart, Chandra Lewis, Amani Henry and Diana L Davis. With a cool New Orleans swing, I Need A Whole Lotta Lovin To Satisfy Me , has ...

DURAND JONES & THE INDICATIONS' MAKE A CHANGE TOUR  ARRIVES IN AUSTIN NEXT WEEK FOR 6 SXSW SHOWS AND MAKES AN EARLY APPEARANCE IN TOWN THIS SAT. FOR AN ANTONE'S SHOW WITH ALOE BLACC & WHITNEY! CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT DURAND JONES & THE INDICATIONS' "MAKE A CHANGE" VIDEO "Back in July when Durand Jones & The Indications debut album was released, we had no idea what the world would think,” explains Terry Cole from Colemine Records. "After all, the record, albeit finely crafted, was conceived in a dingy Indiana basement on a shoestring budget of 452 dollars and 11 cents (we kept receipts). They didn't have ‘buzz.' They didn't have a following. They didn't have the measured flash of more polished operations. But as the final mixes spun off of the master reel, we knew what they did have was one remarkable soul record. To our delight, the record was a smash and their no-frills LP continues to fly off the s...