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I started a quest to find terrific blues music and incredible musicianship when I was just a little kid. I also have a tremendous appreciation of fine musical instruments and equipment. One of my greatest joys all of my life was sharing my finds with my friends. I'm now publishing my journey. I hope that you come along!
I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Traces & Scars, from Guy Belanger, showcasing his talents as a composer, band leader and harmonica player. Opening with My Dearest Friend, a crisp instrumental, Belanger shows why he is so highly regarded as a serious harmonica player, joined by Rob McDonald on guitar. Picking up the pace on Better Days and with a bluesier sound, Belanger maintains tight technique over nice guitar and lap steel work by Andre Lachance by and percussion by Michel Roy. Little Heart is a real nice ballad featuring particularly sensitive vocal and harmonica by Belanger making it my radio pick for the release. Rocker, See The Light, featured some really tasty electric guitar soloing by Kaven Girouard with bass by Marc-Andre Drouin and drums by Michel Roy. Funky jazz tune, Common Ground, showcases Rob McDonald on guitar with Lachance and Belanger giving it a real springy feel. Luce Dufault takes the mic for solid ballad, Who's Left Standing, with smooth lap steel playing by Lachance and harmonica voicing by Belanger. With a western flavor, Nitassinan features nice interplay between Lachance on acoustic guitar, Belanger on harmonica and Paul Picard on percussion. Wrapping the release is Hot Time, a reggae form rhythmed track with snappy percussion and interesting guitar work by Lachance supporting the lead harmonica of Belanger. Very nice.
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
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coming to Blu-ray, DVD,
and digital formats on August 4th
"Brilliantly captures one of the great saxophonists in
jazz - and probably its most revered living improviser - during one of his
most intensely creative periods. Startling performances.
His music is always revealing; so is this loving
tribute."
- Washington
Post
"Revelatory and engrossing. A superb
musical profile."
- Boston
Globe
"Widely hailed upon its release as
essential viewing, not just for fans of jazz but for anyone even remotely
interested in the creative process. [A] remarkable film."
- Jazz
Times
"An electrifying record of an artist at
work."
- Variety
After
completing his 1985 film THE RETURN OF RUBÉN BLADES for Britain's Channel
4 Television, Philadelphia-based filmmaker Robert Mugge began searching
for another music-related project he could undertake in 1986. In seeming
answer to that question, Mugge's good friend Francis Davis, a prominent
jazz critic also based in Philadelphia, informed him that he had just
done a long interview with jazz saxophone great Sonny Rollins, and
mentioned how warm and welcoming both Rollins and his wife and manager
Lucille Rollins had been.
Davis
went on to reveal that the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra had
commissioned Rollins to write an orchestral piece, and that, together, he
and the orchestra would soon be premiering it in Tokyo, Japan. Rollins
had composed long form pieces before, including his Civil Rights-related
Freedom Suite in 1958 and his musical score for the 1966 British film
ALFIE, but this would be his first work incorporating a symphony
orchestra, which is why he brought in his friend Heikki Sarmanto, a
composer from Finland, to provide arrangements and conduct the premiere
performances.
For
Mugge, this seemed an incredible opportunity to make the sort of film he
had long wished someone had made when John Coltrane premiered "A
Love Supreme" or Duke Ellington premiered "Black, Brown and
Beige" - two ambitious works of the past which had pushed the
boundaries of jazz composition and performance. So, with Davis's help,
Mugge, too, reached out to Sonny and Lucille Rollins and found them
surprisingly amenable to a collaboration.
The
concerto was scheduled for two premiere performances at Tokyo Koseinenkin
Hall on Sunday, May 18, 1986, and Mugge was anxious to secure permission
to film one of those two performances. He soon learned from Lucille
Rollins that both the orchestra and the concert hall were owned by
Yomiuri Shimbun, the world's largest newspaper, as were the Japanese
television network that would broadcast the first of the two performances
and the Japanese radio station that would broadcast the second.
Fortunately, this vertical integration of both cultural and corporate
participants meant that Mugge was able to win full cooperation from
everyone involved.
The
plan they worked out was that, while the television crew covered the
first performance, Mugge and his crew would prepare their own approaches
for shooting the second one. And since the radio crew intended a live
broadcast of the second performance, Mugge's sound man could take a live
audio feed from their recording and mixing truck while Mugge and his
cameramen were shooting. Everything was falling into place.
Funding,
however, took a bit longer. But it, too, came together well enough for
Mugge and three of his longtime collaborators - cameramen Larry McConkey
and Erich Roland and sound man Bill Barth - to fly to Japan in time for
the big event. Britain's Channel 4 Television agreed to cover more than a
third of the film's costs, and a small U.S. theatrical distributor
contributed almost as much. That still left some project costs unfunded.
But Mugge decided to move ahead with what he had and to worry about the
rest once the Japanese footage was safely in the can.
Because
Mugge could only afford two cameramen for shooting an entire orchestra
performance, he knew they also would need to capture assorted scenes for
use in establishing a different visual theme for each movement. Such
scenes would include audience members arriving at the concert hall,
Japanese television and radio technicians recording the first
performance, a wide array of Japanese citizens racing around the streets
of Tokyo, religious parades and rituals, the dazzling Vegas-like signs of
the Ginza district at night, and more. He also knew that, prior to the
concert, he would want to shoot individual interviews with Rollins and
Sarmanto, as well as their personal rehearsals for the coming concerts.
In the end, everything went exactly as intended.
Back
in the states, as Mugge began editing his footage, he decided that future
shooting should build upon the idea of islands. With songs like "St.
Thomas" and "Don't Stop the Carnival," Rollins had long
celebrated the fact that his family had come to America from the
Caribbean. Also, in his Tokyo interview, Rollins proposed that perhaps
the reason the Japanese people loved him so much was because Japan, too,
is an island; and he went so far as to point out that New York City,
where he had been born and always since maintained a residence, is also
an island. Finally, factoring in Rollins's wellknown commitment to
solitary practice on his instrument (including more than a year and a
half of round-the-clock playing on New York's Williamsburg Bridge),
coupled with his commitment to a demanding physical and spiritual
regimen, it was difficult not to see the so-called "saxophone
colossus" as a kind of island himself.
Although
the orchestral footage had turned out wonderfully, Mugge also wanted to
film Rollins performing with a more traditional jazz ensemble. Lucille
Rollins pointed out that Sonny was set to do a summer concert on a small
ship sailing around Manhattan, and that sounded like the perfect way to
establish the notion of New York being an island as well. Unfortunately,
when Mugge checked with the promoters, he learned that the concert would
take place at night, and there would be no place for his crew to plug in
sufficient lighting.
Mugge
then returned to Lucille Rollins, asking where else Sonny would be
performing that summer, and she mentioned Opus 40, a sculpted rock quarry
in upstate New York. Mugge therefore contacted Tad Richards, the longtime
manager of Opus 40 and a stepson of the late sculptor Harvey Fite, who
proved to be far more welcoming. With this new location in mind, Mugge
then traded the "island theme" he had been imagining for a
"colossus theme" which would be beautifully illustrated by
Fite's monument-like rock structures.
For
the August 24 concert, Mugge was able to afford four 16mm cameras, one of
which would be attached to Larry McConkey's Steadicam, plus a 24-track
recording truck. As for Rollins, he and his topnotch ensemble (Bob
Cranshaw on bass, Clifton Anderson on saxophone, Mark Soskin on piano,
and Marvin "Smitty" Smith on drums) started off strong with a
fierce new Rollins composition called "G-Man." The quality
continued through a diverse set of additional songs, but came to an
abrupt halt when, in the midst of some solo improvising, Rollins suddenly
jumped from the sculpted rock stage to another level six feet below. As
his feet hit the new rock surface, he fell onto his back, and simply lay
there for a moment with his eyes closed. Then, just as suddenly, Rollins
shifted his saxophone to his lips again and, without leaving his position
on the ground, began to play the opening to the song "Autumn
Nocturne." Eventually, his very relieved musicians on the level
above him started playing along, and concerned audience members returned
to their seats on blankets and lawn chairs.
Rollins
later stood up and played a couple more songs from that lower level
before ending the show so his wife Lucille could drive him to a nearby
hospital for testing. As is now well known, it turned out that he had
broken his heel but had not wanted to disappoint the audience by halting
the show prematurely. Several days after that, in a park in New York
City, Mugge interviewed jazz critics Ira Gitler, Gary Giddins, and
Francis Davis about Rollins's career. Critic Stanley Crouch had also
agreed to participate but failed to show.
Afterwards,
Mugge interviewed Sonny and Lucille Rollins on the same park bench,
discussing everything from Sonny's development as an artist to Lucille's
roll as his wife, manager, and record producer. On this occasion, Sonny
explained his Opus 40 jump from the stage as simply an attempt to
approach the audience and play for them more directly. However, Lucille
later told Mugge what Sonny had revealed to her, which is that a recent
lacquering of his saxophone had caused it to make unexpected sounds that
day, leading him to have almost a kind of nervous breakdown during his
solo improvisations, which he finally decided to end by taking the
ill-fated jump over the side of the stage. Of course, to fans of Sonny's
career, his unfortunate breaking of his heel simply underlined his
legendary commitment to his art.
Lucille
Rollins passed away in 2004, after suffering a stroke in 2003. That
robbed Sonny of his greatest supporter, but not of his determination to
continue developing his art. Unfortunately, a health issue forced him to
retire from recording and public performance after a final concert in
2012, and he is now enjoying a quiet retirement at his home in Woodstock,
New York. But Rollins's decades of extraordinary record and CD releases,
as well as this 1986 film, give eternal testament to his greatness.
In
addition, Sonny Rollins has received countless honorary doctorates, been
elected to the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame (1973), received a Grammy
Award for Lifetime Achievement (2004), received America's National Medal
of Arts (2010), been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
(2010), and received a Kennedy Center Honors Award (on his 81st birthday,
September 7, 2011). Just recently, it was announced that the Schomburg
Center for Research in Black Culture, part of the the New York Public
Library, has acquired Rollins's personal archive containing collections
of his papers and recordings. As Rollins pointed out in a related
statement, he was born on 137th Street, just two blocks from the
Schomburg Center.
Finally,
an effort is under way to have New York's Williamsburg Bridge renamed for
the world-famous jazz musician who once spent both day and night
rehearsing on it. On July 7, Robert Mugge's 101-minute portrait titled
SAXOPHONE COLOSSUS (after Rollins's classic 1956 album of that name) will
be newly released on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital formats. Mugge himself
supervised the film's 4K remastering and created a new bonus feature
titled LEAPS AND BOUNDS: Robert Mugge on the Making of SAXOPHONE COLOSSUS
for inclusion with the new Blu-ray and DVD. Additional bonus features are
audio-only performances of the Rollins compositions "G-Man" and
"Don't Stop the Carnival," as recorded for the film.
TITLED WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER FEATURING 14 FRIENDS
North
American Release Date Set For August 25 With Europe To Follow On September 1
Album
Trailer:
Special Guests include John
Mayall, Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Sonny
Landreth, Joe Louis Walker,
Warren Haynes, Randy Bachman, Charlie Musselwhite, Edgar
Winter, Eric Gales, Mike Zito,
Robben Ford, John Nemeth, And His Son Jon Trout
Los Angeles, CA --- Walter Trout is the beating heart of
the modern blues rock scene, respected by the old guard, revered by the young
guns, and adored by the fans who shake his hand after the show each night.
After five decades in the game, Trout is a talismanic figure and part of the
glue that bonds the blues community together, at a time when the wider world
has never been so divided. He’s also the only artist with the vision, talent
and star-studded address book to pull off a project on the scale of We’re
All In This Together. “It was quite a piece of work to get this record
together,” he admits. “But I guess I have a lot of friends, y’know…?”
Before you even hear a note, We’re All In This
Together has your attention. Drafting fourteen A-list stars – including Joe
Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, John Mayall and Randy Bachman – and writing an
original song for each, Trout has made the most tantalizing album of the year,
and found solace after a run of solo albums that chronicled his near-fatal
liver disease of 2014. “Now was the right time for this record,” he says. “Battle
Scars [2015] was such an intense piece of work, written with tears coming
down my face. I needed a break from that, to do something fun and
light-hearted. This album was joyous for me.”
Scan the credits of We’re All In This Together and
you’ll find nods to every twist and turn of Trout’s electrifying backstory.
There’s keys man and long-time friend Skip Edwards, who came up on the same
early-’70s New Jersey circuit where Trout cut his teeth as the precocious lead
guitarist for Wilmont Mews. There’s organ wizard Deacon Jones, the West Coast
bandleader who brought a twenty-something Trout into the orbit of blues titans
like John Lee Hooker and Big Mama Thornton. “Deacon sorta discovered me when I
moved to LA in the ’70s,” reflects Trout. “So I owe him.”
Trout also welcomes a fistful of compadres from recent
all-star project Supersonic Blues Machine, in the form of Warren Haynes, Robben
Ford and Eric Gales. Then there’s John Mayall: the ageless British blues-boom
godfather who hired a troubled Trout for the Bluesbreakers in 1985 and now
blows harp on “Blues For Jimmy T.” “Am I proud to call myself a
former Bluesbreaker?” Trout reflects. “Yeah, of course. What a credential. That
is a very exclusive club, and I know that when I’m gone, that’s gonna be one of
the big things that they’ll remember me for: that I was a Bluesbreaker for five
years.”
Since he struck out alone in 1989, Trout’s solo career
has been every bit as celebrated. Touring tirelessly and spitting out classic
albums that include 1990’s flag-planting Life In The Jungle, 1998’s
breakthrough Walter Trout and 2012’s politically barbed Blues For The
Modern Daze, he’s won international acclaim and enjoyed ever-growing sales
in a notoriously fickle industry. Years on the road have also brought him tight
friendships, as evidenced by 2006’s cameo-fuelled Full Circle album and
this year’s unofficial sequel, We’re All In This Together. “The new
album was originally gonna be called Full Circle Volume 2,” notes Trout,
“but I wanted to make the title a positive statement in this time of
madness.”
In another departure, whereas Full Circle saw each
guest visit the studio to track their part, the advance of recording technology
in the intervening decade meant Trout’s collaborators on We’re All In This
Together were able to supply their contributions from afar. “In the studio,
it was the core band of me, Sammy Avila [keys], Mike Leasure [drums] and Johnny
Griparic [bass] on every cut, with Eric Corne producing,” he explains, “and
then, for most of the tracks, people sent us their parts. But it’s very hard to
tell we’re not in the studio together. If you listen to the Warren Haynes
track, when we get into that guitar conversation on the end – it sounds like
we’re looking each other right in the face, y’know?”
They say you can judge a man by the company he keeps. If
that’s the case, then We’re All In This Together is further proof of
Walter Trout’s position at the hub of the blues scene. This is the sound of an
artist not just getting by with a little help from his friends, but positively
thriving, on an album that is sure to light another rocket under his blooming
late career. “I’m 66 years old,” considers Trout, “but I feel like I’m in the
best years of my life right now. I feel better than I have in years physically.
I have more energy. I have a whole different appreciation of being alive, of
the world, of my family, of my career. I want life to be exciting and
celebratory. I want to dig in. I want to grab life by the balls and not let go,
y’know…?”
Track
Listing:
“Gonna Hurt Like
Hell” featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd
“Ain’t Gpin’ Back”
featuring Sonny Landreth
“The Other
Side of The Pillow” featuring Charlie Musselwhite
“She Listens
To The Blackbird Song” featuring Mike Zito
“Mr. Davis” featuring
Robben Ford
“The Sky Is
Crying” featuring Warren Haynes
“Somebody
Goin’ Down” featuring Eric Gales
“She Steals My
Heart Away” featuring Edgar Winter
“Crash And
Burn” featuring Joe Louis Walker
“Too Much To
Carry” featuring John Nemeth
“Do You Still
See Me At All” featuring Jon Trout
“Got Nothin’ Left”
featuring Randy Bachman
“Blues For
Jimmy T.” Featuring John Mayall
“We’re All In
This Together” featuring Joe Bonamassa
Planned
appearances include:
6/30
Wichita,
KS
The Cotillion
7/01
Kansas City,
MO
Knucklehead’s
7/02
St. Louis,
MO
Old Rock House
7/05
Syracuse,
NY
Hotel Syracuse
7/06
Sellersville,
PA
Sellersville Theatre
7/07
Old Saybrook,
CT
The Kate
7/08
Fall River,
MA
Narrows Center for the Arts
7/09
Pawling,
NY
Daryl’s House
7/10
Hoboken,
NJ
Maxwell’s
7/12
New York,
NY
B.B. King’s
7/13
Shirley,
MA
Bull Run
7/14
Norwalk,
CT
Infinity Music Hall
7/15
Derry,
NH
Tupelo Music Hall
7/16
Rockland,
ME
North Atlantic Blues Festival
7/19
Grand Rapids,
MI
Blues On The Mall
7/20
Toledo,
OH
Club Soda
7/21
Chicago,
IL
Legends
7/22
Chicago,
IL
Legends
7/23
Milwaukee,
WI
Shank Hall
7/26
Omaha,
NE
Chrome Lounge
7/27
Minneapolis,
MN
Famous Dave’s
7/28
Fargo,
ND
Fargo Blues Fesival
7/29
Arnolds Park,
IA
Arnolds Park Amusement Park
7/30
Des Moines,
IA
Lefty’s Live Music
8/05
Mammoth Lakes,
CA
Bluespalooza
8/06
Deming,
WA
Mt Baker R&B Festival
8/16
Annapolis,
MD
Ram’s Head
8/17
Washington
D.C.
The Hamilton
8/18
Somers Point,
NJ
Somers Point Concert Series
8/19
Morristown,
NJ
Morristown Jazz & Blues Festival
8/20
Lancaster,
PA
Long’s Park Concert Series
8/22
Gravenhurst,
ON
Peter’s Players
8/23
Gravenhurst,
ON
Peter’s Players
8/25
Trois Rivieres, QC
Trois Rivieres En Blues
8/26
Marshfield,
MA
North River Blues Festival
8/27
Simsbury,
CT
2 Left Feet Blues Festival
8/30
Auburn Hills,
MI
Callahan’s
8/31
Cleveland,
OH
Beachland Ballroom
9/02
Peoria,
IL
Peoria Blues & Heritage Festival
9/07
Las Vegas,
NV
Big Blues Bender
9/08
Las Vegas,
NV
Big Blues Bender
October
through November – European Dates – Detail posted on www.waltertrout.com
I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Approved By Snakes, by Jason Ricci & The Bad Kind and it's quite good. Opening with My True Love Is A Dope Whore, a salty, stinky, slinky, funky track with tight instrumentals and intelligent, sassy vocals (think Jim Morrison meets Frank Zappa or Klaus Doldinger's Passport meets Peter Wolf). Andy Kurz lays down a sweaty bass line and Ricci blows great harp over frantic guitars by John Lisi and Sam Hotchkiss and solid drums by Adam Baumol....what an opener! With a more "contemporary", maybe Chili Peppers influenced, Something Just Arrived, the band is a bit more contained but by no means tame. This band is rocking but and taking names. Bluesy and theatrical, Broken Toy, follows a more conventional road but Ricci's vocals warp the senses and his harp playing is sensational, paired squarely with wild guitar. Very cool. Kurz sets up a really nice bass line to open Eddie Harris' Listen Here. This track exceeds 10 minutes and is an exceptional jam featuring a really nice solos by the band members. Excellent! Terrors Of Nightlife features almost country like vocals and cool electric slide work over a quiet bottom and finely crafted harp soloing. With a loosely funky attack, I'm Too Strong For You, bounces in and the music rolls out...big time. A great funky guitar solo backing Ricci's crafty vocals and solid harp work makes this track one of my favorites on the release. A funky jazz number, Disconnect, showcases harp and guitar runs further "jacking you up" in a good way. Wrapping the release is 515, which hovers like a cloud, just waiting for the lightning to strike. With it's funky bass line and rhythm guitar, Hotchkiss lays out frantic guitar solos and Ricci pulls him back with his harp, only to reel him out again with Jim Morrison like vocals. This band is in your face good. It may not be what you are expecting...but you need to open your ears. This shit is hot!
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
For added exposure - Blues World Wide Group "LIKE"
“Like” Bman’s Facebook page and get support for your favorite band or venue - click HERE
I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Two Cats, from Linsey Alexanderand it's smooth with that sassy R&B overtone. With Alexander's strong vocals and soulful guitar work, strongly supported by Kenny Anderson on trumpet, Hank Ford on sax and Norman Palm on trombone, I'm Not Your Problem is a nice opener. A blues with saunter, Where Did You Take Your Clothes Off Last Night? has a cool bass line by E.G. McDaniel and stinging guitar work by Alexander with nice harp work by Paul Hanover. Funky, That Ain't Right highlights the horn section and a high stepping rhythm by Bryant Parker is spot on. Ford lays in a real nice sax solo, followed by Anderson on trumpet and Palm on trombone giving the track punch. Another hi stepping blues number, title track, Two Cats, have a real nice balance with horn accent and guitar soloing. Very nice. Gospel flavored blues, Facebook Woman features some of Alexander's finest vocals with Roosevelt Purifoy doing an excellent job on keys coaxing some of my favorite guitar work on the release. Another particularly cool track, How Could You Do Me Like You Done Me, has gripping guitar riffs pushing Alexander's vocal work, topped by the tight harp work of Hanover. Slow burner, Starting Monday shows really nice balance between Alexander's vocal and screaming guitar. Very nice. Wrapping the release is a funky, Kiss Revisited. This song features some base rap vocals by J. Parker and subdued vocals by Alexander. With a cool bopping vibe, the release is gone.
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
For added exposure - Blues World Wide Group "LIKE"
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I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Slowdown, from Alex Lopez and it's tasty. Opening with funky rocker, Dangerous, Alex Lopez wields a powerful ax joined by Gary Dowell on keys, Steve Pagano on bass and Michael Maxim on drums. I Don't Know is a cool rocker with an unusual Rock n' Roll rhythm. With slashing guitar riffs, and jagged bottom, this track rocks. Exodus is a really nice guitar interlude with Lopez accompanying his electric guitar solo with acoustic guitar, leading directly into ballad Long Long Time with Pink Floyd like sensibility. Guitar driven blues ballad, Stolen, is my favorite on the release with fluid runs, nice vocals and cool keys. Redeem Me starts a string of quiet vocal ballads, this one with a nice piano solo. Wrapping the release is War Without a Face, with military style drumming and a nice melody.
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
For added exposure - Blues World Wide Group "LIKE"
“Like” Bman’s Facebook page and get support for your favorite band or venue - click HERE
I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (July 21, 2017), Act Like You Know, from King James & The Special Men and it's quite good. Opening with Special Man Boogie, band leader, lead vocalist and guitar player Jimmy Horn shows what he has up his sleeve and it won't be a secret for long. He has a great band. On this New Orleans/Latin flavored track Horn, joined by Ben Polcer on piano, Rob Snow on bass, John Rodli on guitar, Chris Davis on drums, Scott Frock on trumpet, Jason Mingledorff on tenor sax, Travis Blotzky on tenor sax and Dominick Grillo on bari sax these guys are tight. With Guitar Slim style, New Orleans R&B track, Baby Girl really sits in the groove with fat horns and super lead vocals, highlighted by classic guitar riffs. Eat That Chicken has a cool strut and really nice guitar soloing, capped by a super tenor sax solo. Very nice. In the style of Ray Charles, Tell Me (What You Want Me To Do) has great soulful vocals. The strong piano lead, paired with Frock's trumpet work set the stage for excellent sax lead making this one of my favorites on the release. Another classic NO style track, The End Is Near, has powerful sax, gritty guitar work and strong piano reinforcement, but it's a terrific vocal on this track that gives it real teeth. Excellent! Wrapping the release is 9th Ward Blues with it's Bo Diddley beat and and NO party atmosphere. This track is a full out instrumental blast and clocking in at nearly 14 minutes, is a super closer.
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
For added exposure - Blues World Wide Group "LIKE"
“Like” Bman’s Facebook page and get support for your favorite band or venue - click HERE
Blues Music Award-Winning Band, The Nighthawks, Display
Their Versatility on New CD, All You Gotta Do, Coming July 21 on
EllerSoul Records
WASHINGTON, DC – Legendary blues and roots band (and Blues
Music Award winners) The Nighthawks, announce a July 21 release date for their
new CD,
All You Gotta Do.
The band is also enjoying critical acclaim for Michael
Streissguth’s award-winning documentary film about their history, The
Nighthawks – On the Blue Highway, which is now available on DVD from
the group’s website, as well as Amazon.com. The film will also be screened
prior to the ‘Hawks’ June 30 performance at the Creative Alliance at the
Patterson in Baltimore.
Eclectic? All over the map? The material on All You
Gotta Do, The Nighthawks’ latest release, can certainly be described in
these terms. Yet, throughout the nearly five decades of its career, the band
has sourced songs from everywhere and anywhere. The prototype recording, Rock
and Roll, although it had no originals, established this template in
1974. Three years later, Sidepocket Shot, showed the band capable
of nearly all original material and spanning an even wider range of genres, this
time in an array of production styles a la the
Beatles' Revolver. All You Gotta Do does not have
any outside players, only the band itself, with a minimum of overdubs. Yet
the band still sounds like a hard Chicago Blues band from the mid-1950s, adding the vocal harmonies that Miss Honey Piazza once
dubbed “the Doo Wop Blues.”
The new disc opens with Mark Wenner's rocking version of
Brenda Lee's title track, the kind of pop rockabilly that was in full swing at
the end of the ‘50s. Mark Stutso proceeds to give a moving interpretation
of Levon Helm's personal farewell, “When I Go Away.” Wenner follows with the
always mandatory Muddy Waters song, with no attempt to be anything other than
the Chicago Blues.
Randy Newman's “Burn Down the Cornfield” was learned by the
band for aD.C.
multi-band performance of his songs for band house gigs. Johnny Castle steps
into the fray with “Another Day” that can only be described as a modern day
protest piece from his own pen, and Stutso follows with his own tale of thetortures of love with “Voo
Doo Doll.” Wenner gives a thumping take on the Sonny Boy Williamson rocker,
“Ninety Nine,” using the big C 12 hole Marine Band harmonica honking in the
lower register. The heart-wrenching ballad, “Three Times Your Fool,” gleaned
from his solo CD and written with his Pittsburgh collaborator, Norman Nardini,
is sung as only Mark Stutso can.
Mark Wenner got a chance to sit in on Jesse Winchester's
"Isn't That So" at a casual jam. Remembering almost all the lyrics,
he tried singing it. At the next Hawks' sound check, the
harmonies fell right into place and it became a part of the repertoire. The band takes a fun romp of R.L. Burnside's “Snake Drive,” changing the groove from Hill Country
Mississippi to D.C. Go Go, followed by a funny take on “Frere Jacques,” titled
“Blues for Brother John.” This melody is one that Wenner uses to teach
precise note bending in cross harp position. The final track shows off
Johnny Castle, for all the styles he has played, to be the true King of Garage
Rock in his salute to Washington D.C. on “Dirty Water.”
Although he sings no lead, Paul Bell is a major voice in
the harmonies and shows off his ability to function freely in any of style of
picking, from the snazzy jazzy licks on “Brother John” to the screaming slide
on “Cornfield.”
But before we take any of this too seriously, in the famous
words of Hound Dog Taylor, “Let's have some fun!”
Nighthawks
Tour Itinerary
6/23
Tally Ho
Theater
Leesburg, VA
6/24
Rommel
Harley-Davidson
Annapolis, MD
6/30
Creative Alliance at the Patterson
Baltimore, MD
7/1
Abingdon July Festival (w/Bob
Margolin)
Abingdon, VA
7/7
New York State Blues Festival (w/Bob Margolin)
Syracuse, NY
7/8
Black Rock Performing Arts
Center
Germantown, MD
7/21
Bright Box
Theater
Winchester, VA
7/26
Lee District
Nights
Alexandria, VA
7/28
Jilly’s Music
Room
Akron, OH
7/29
Rip Rap Roadhouse Festival (w/James Solberg)
Dayton, OH
I just had the opportunity to review the newest release, Live at Blues On The Chippewa, by the Mark Cameron Band and it's rough and tumble. Opening with boogie track, Doctor In The House, Mark Cameron has the lead on vocal and guitar with Bill Keyes on harp, Scott Lundberg on bass, Dan Schroeder on drums and Sheri Cameron on flute and percussion. Willie Mabon styling on Dicey makes it a really cool track with mostly spoken lyrics and double stopped guitar and harp work. Borrowed Time is a slower ballad with nice blues bones. Nicely highlighting Mark's vocals and with nice flute work by Sheri, the solemn guitar soloing by Mark is particularly cool... like James Gurley on Summertime. With a slice of two step, Mojo Shuffle cruises nicely with it's tight bass line and harp riff. Willie Dixon's Killin' Floor is up next in the slot between the original and Led Zep's take. With raw vocals and a rock beat, Keyes lays on the harp giving the track a cool blues edge. Rusty Old Model T has a super boogie beat driven by Cameron's slide guitar. Filling out into a country flavored shuffle this track is cool. Wrapping the release is Back Seat Boogie, my favorite track on the release. With clever lyrics and just the right amount of tremelo on his strat, Cameron closes with style.
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