Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Live At The Toronto Blues Festival , from Downchild (The Downchild Blues Band) and it's packed full of blues and stars. Opening with piano boogie, Can You Hear The Music , with Mike Fonfara on keys,  Chuck Jackson on lead vocal and Donnie Walsh on harmonica, Chuck Jackson and Pat Carey on sax, Gary Kendall on bass and Mike Fitzpatrick on drums, this is a lively opener. David Wilcox joins on shuffle, It's A Matter Of Time adding slide and vocal. With great feel and energy, this is an all out party. I'm Gonna Tell Your Mama is packed with energy featuring Gene Taylor  piano and giving Walsh a great opportunity to really hang out there on harmonica. Very cool. Finland's favorite slide player, Erja Lyytinen joins on harmony vocal and slide guitar on Mississippi Woman, Mississauga Man , a cool blues rocker with Cajun kind of rhythm. Shotgun Blues is one of my favorite tracks on the release with Kenny Neal on ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Starlight and Tall Tales , from Bart Ryan and it's a cool rocker with nice edge. Opening with Wanna Be, a smooth, R&B track featuring Ryan on lead vocal and guitar, Jim Evans on drums, Ted Russell Kamp on bass, Mark Kovaly on keys, and Jeff Byrd and Steve Smartt on horns. Solid opener. Half Way is a really nice ballad with a bluesy edge. With it's strong melody, Ryan's fine vocal work, clean lead guitar soloing and strong arrangement, this is a certain radio track. Nicely blended vocals with Aubrey Richmond and another memorable melody gives Walk Away my vote for one of my favorites on the release. With it's almost Bowie like presentation, Lennon like chord progressions and strong but brief guitar solo, it stands tall. Another bluesy ballad, Bring Out Your Joy , uses the space around the vocal lead nicely with bold, powerful lines, a terrific tune and melodic guitar lead over a well formed bass/drum co...

    Al Basile Brings His New Album to Life with Last Hand 2.0 Audio Play Version, Available on All Streaming and Downloading Platforms   RUMFORD, RI - Eight-time Blues Music Award-nominated singer/songwriter/cornetist Al Basile announces an audio play version of his new album, Last Hand , is being released to all streaming and downloading platforms via The Orchard. Dubbed Last Hand 2.0 , Basile (vocals and cornet) and his sparse trio of Bruce Bears on keyboards, Brad Hallen on bass and Mark Teixeira on drums, are joined by an audio cast of Sharon Coleman as “The Young Woman,” Chuck Goldberg as “The Friend” and John Mailloux as “The Bartender.” Al Basile, himself, plays “The Trumpet Player.”   The combination of the late-night, after-hours musical groove (that falls comfortably between blues and jazz), and the added dialogue creates a film noir-ish feel to the audio play. Listen to the complete Last Hand 2.0 audio play with all the music here: https://www...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (9/18/20), Below Sea Level , from Eric Johanson and I really like it! Johanson, who grew in Louisiana has blues rock in his blood. Opening with Buried Above Ground you hear distinct influences of Free/Humble Pie and the best of the blues rock generation mixed with Luther Dickinson and the best of the southern blues rockers in this totally fresh sound. This may be the best blues rock release of it's kind since Humble Pie's Smokin'! Cody Dickinson on drums lays down a great tom tom beat and with Johanson on gritty guitar and excellent lead vocal and Terrence Grayson on bass, this release is off to a great start. On Down To The Bottom , Johanson slips on his slide and cranks up the heat. This is a modern boogie in the vein of Hooker but with fat fat slide tones and strong vocals. Really excellent! Blues ballad, Changes The Universe , has the potential to rival Gary Moore with better vocals, a sweet melody line and ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Last Hand , from Al Basile , and it's a solid performance showcasing Basile's vocals with only 2 tracks where he contributes cornets work. Opening with It Ain't Broke , a cool, low slung club style blues with Basile on vocal, Bruce Bears on piano, Brad Hallen on bass and Mark Teixeira on drums. With a solid piano line, strong bass work and tight rhythm, a super opener. Smooth shuffle, Don't, has a strong melody and Basile's cornet work paired with bear's cool piano lines is strong. Bears and Basile lay nicely in the groove on After I'm Gone with it's excellent bottom and tight skins. The Problem is Me is one of my favorites on the release with strong piano work from Bears and Basile working the track like a pro. My favorite track on the release and release closer is Time Heals Nothing with it's somber overtone, and minimal backing support. Simple bass line, light brushes, straightforwar...

Singer Nora Jean Wallace Deals Straight Chicago Blues on New Blueswoman CD Coming October 30 from Severn Records ANNAPOLIS, MD – Severn Records announces an October 30 release date for Blueswoman , the new CD from Blues Music Award-nominated singer Nora Jean Wallace. The new album was produced by Severn label head David Earl (who also plays guitar on four tracks) and recorded at Severn Studios in Annapolis. Backing Wallace’s powerhouse vocals are Severn’s A-list team of musicians, including Johnny Moeller – guitars; Steve Gomes – bass; Kevin Anker – organ; Steve Guyger – harmonica; Stanley Banks – keyboards; and Robb Stupka – drums. Multi-Blues Music Award-winner Kim Wilson is a special guest on harmonica on one track. Nora Jean Wallace (formally Bruso) returns after 16 years since her 2004 BMA-nominated and critically-acclaimed release, Going Back to Mississippi . Blueswoman shows why Nora was born to sing the blues. A staple of the Chicago Blues scene, Nora Jean...

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Ain't Done Yet , from Savoy Brown and they are definitely on a solid path again. Opening with blues rocker, All Gone Wrong , Kim Simmonds is up front on lead vocal and guitar and Simmonds is developing into a very solid lead vocalist. His guitar  playing and blues chops are as good as any, possibly one of the best electric/contemporary lead blues rockers ever. Joined by Pat DeSalvo on bass and Garnet Grimm on drums, the band sounds tight. With it's droning bass line and steady drums beat, Borrowed Time has a classic feel. Simmonds uses a Multivox FullRotor for shimmery guitar effects and keeps the underpinnings of the track spartan. Boogie rocker and title track, Ain't Done Yet has classic Savoy Brown styling with crisp lead work by Simmonds and a solid base. Latin flavored, Feel Like A Gypsy , is a cool radio style track with a smooth, "Santana" like feel. Simmonds is a talented player and improvi...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Best for Last , by Pete Thelen and it's a blend of tasty music. Opening with slow blues, You Make It Easy, Bennie Hughes sets the pace with his silky smooth voice, backed by Charlie Prazma and Mark Raddatz on guitar who lay down some really nice riffs, Mike Shellans on piano, Jim Massoth and Bennie Hughes on sax, Chico Chism on drums  and Mike King on bass. Strong opener. Annie Dekom takes the mic on Some Kind of Sign, a cool boogie woogie track. A solid piano groove by Shellans and a strong bass line by Paul Sowinski make the stage and John Reuter rips it up on slide guitar. Rena Haus gets her time at the mic and her vocals are strong. With it's open club feel, this track has a great groove. Thelen's vocals on Lost And Found , played nicely against Massoth on sax and Shellans on piano gives this track a smooth relaxing feel. M ove On is a cool track with droning like guitar work by Pat Macdonald under chant...

BLACK BLUES LEGEND BLIND WILLIE JOHNSON BLASTS INTO OUTER SPACE IN NEW PICTURE BOOK ABOUT HIS SOUL-STIRRING SONG Ask Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Lucinda Williams and Jack White to name the slide-guitar player they most admire, and they'll all say Blind Willie Johnson. What those musicians may not know is that one of his songs found its way to the depths of outer space. In Dark Was the Night – Blind Willie Johnson's Journey to the Stars , NY Times -bestselling author Gary Golio and Caldecott Honoree E. B. Lewis weave a magical tale of how the healing power of music can turn darkness into light. Born in 1897, young Willie shone as he sang and played a cigar box guitar made by his father. But his bright childhood fell dark when he lost both his mother and his sight. Fortunately, his love of music led him back into the light. He began singing in churches and later brought his unique blend of gospel-blues to street corners all over Texas. Willie's powerful voice, ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (September 4), Wings and Blue Cheese , by Davis Chris and Mr Foster and it's a very contemporary look at blues today. Opening with Marinate , a bluesy track with a strong modern R&B feel, it features superstar recording artist Chel and Davis Chris on vocal, Platinum Producer Caleb Bingham on lead guitar and Mr Foster on drums. Catchy opener.  A bit of a high stepper, Watch Yo Mouth has a strong rhythm and with vocal by Chris this track will have you dancing in your seat. Chris and Foster team up  on vocal on title track, Wings and Blue Cheese , a soulful track with a cool melody and solid beat. My favorite track and my choice for radio track on the release is soul ballad, What Would It Take featuring Chel on lead vocal with a minimalist bottom of light drum, bass and keys. Very nice. Wrapping the release is Hold It Over My Head , with the most contemporary look on the release. Super vocal blending, low ke...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Cry Out, by Kat Riggins and it's a cool mix of blues, R&B, pop and soul. Opening with funky, Son of a Gun , Riggins leads the band with attitude. With Doug Byrkit on bass, Brian Zielie on drums, Louis Stevens on keys and Mike Zito on guitar, this is a solid opener. R&B track Meet Your Maker , has a great bass line by Byrkit and a great overall flow with the addition of cool sax work  by Eric Demmer and Fernando Castillo on trumpet, making it one of my favorites on the release. Soul tune, Heavy , has a really nice feel with strong vocals, a warm undercarriage of keys by Stevens and slide guitar by Zito making this an easy selection for radio track on the release. Wicked Tongue is a great showcase for Albert Castiglia who throws down a great flurry of hot riffs in support of Riggins' sassy lead vocals. I love the crunch on Zito's guitar on Burn It All Down , a solid shuffle. Riggins's vocals are ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Welcome To The Party , from Big Pacific and it's a pretty cool rocker. Opening with title track, Welcome To The Party , Roly Sandoval on guitar and vocal, Nick Dokter on drums and vocals, Wayne Veillet on bass and vocals and John Hannah on keys set a solid groove. Sandoval's slide work gives the track a fun feel and Dokter's drumming keeps it tight. Slip Away is a strong pop rocker that reminds me of early Kinks or Who. With it's strong melody, blended male vocals, primarily piano accompaniment and slide guitar, it's a cool radio track. Hard Road is another radio track but with a smoother "Eagles" type approach. With it's "sweet" melody, clean guitar solo and warm vocal harmonies, the track is on good footings. Run To The Night is another firm track with influences of Tom Petty or Don Henley with isolated lead vocal and well placed keyboards and guitar lead. My favorite trac...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Southern Son , from Jeff Fetterman , and it's a cool blues rocker with some really hot guitar. Opening with I Don't Want To , Fetterman on lead guitar and vocal, backed by Kid Andersen on guitar, Ralph Retinger III on bass, John McGuire on drums, Kid Andersen on B3 and keys, John Halbleib on trumpet, Ric Feliciano on trombone and Doug Rowan on sax, this is a solid opener with a number of time changes. Living With the Blues is a strong, slow blues number with super vocals and explosive guitar soloing by Fetterman. Feels Like Rain is a straight up rocker with a southern flair almost like Outlaws or Skynyrd but without the tell tale signature riffs. Pretty cool actually. Blues For Charlie is my favorite track on the release with it's melancholy melody, easy pace, glistening chords and clean lead guitar not unlike the approach that SRV took with Riviera Paradise. Very nice! Another interesting track on the r...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Deep Dark Demon , by Mark May Band and it's solid. Opening with Harvey's Dirty Side , a dark blues rocker with a bumping bass (Darrell Lacy), steady drum (Brandon Jackson) and wide open guitar by May and Billy Wells and Barry Seelan on B3. Cool opener. Back has a strong Latin influence with Al Pagliuso on percussion and Jackson on drums and excellent stylized guitar lead by May under nicely blended vocal by May and Wells. Excellent! With a New Orleans beat and paired lead slide, this is a real cool track. Solo slide work by May is strong and warm leading nicely into a nice piano roll by Seelan. Certain radio track, Something Good, has a strong melody and warm vocals over a simple R&B style ballad format. A nicely crafted slide solo by May anchors this track like Bishop's trademark slide solo in Fooled Around and Fell In Love giving it staying power. Wrapping the release is Invisible Man , another R...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Make It Right! , from Shawn Pittman and it's terrific! Opening with a great blues track, Done Tole You So! and it's raunchy, grinding guitar tone sets the groundwork for this, one of the best blues cds I've heard this year. A droning, Mississippi Hill country style saturates this track with Pittman on lead guitar and vocal, Erkan Ozdemir on bass and Levent Ozdemir on drums. Really hot! Lumbering, Finger On The Trigger blends Albert King style guitar riffs with a heavy foot and plenty of grit. Super! Slow blues, How Long has great bones with strong vocals, over driven chords and saturated lead guitar showing excellent phrasing and poise. James Brown's Cold Sweat get's an Albert King style rework showing that Pittman isn't all grime and grit but fleet fingered finesse. Excellent instrumental! Settling back into a more traditional Chicago shuffle on Bobby Bland's Woke Up Screaming , Pittman r...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Simmer Me Down , by Scott Weis Band and it's a great blues rocker. Opening with Pride And Soul , a strong foot stomper with country and gospel influences, SWB sounds great. With Weis on lead vocal and guitar and Cindy Mizelle on backing vocals this track is smoking. Backed by Robert Kopee on bass, Roger Voss on drums and John Ginty on keys this track is tight. All Over Again is a great blues track with a bouncy beat but lots of grit. Weis' guitar playing isn't highly technical but it is high octane and emotional. Excellent track. Issac Hayes' soul track, When Something Is Wrong With My Baby gets just a little more blues heat giving Weis a great venue to solo on guitar  and his style and emotion is terrific. Saved is a super blues rocker with loose guitar work that works really nicely over a complex drum and percussion (Bashiri Johnson) work. Very cool. Wrapping the release is Transcendence has more of ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Sonic Departures, from JW-Jones and it hits solid on the radio track styling with great guitar soloing. Opening with Blue Jean Jacket , a pop rocker with a shuffle beat, JW-Jones is up front with solid vocals and joined by Jesse Whiteley on keys, Will Lauin on drums, Jacob Clarke on bass Brendan Cassidy, Jim John, Daniel Koelsch and Rolf Rogde on sax, Scott McGonigal, Rob Williams, Rob Mee and Rob Scott on trombone, and Bob Clegg, Noel Methven, Jim Shea and Brad Harrison on trumpet. Jones does a funky overlay on classic blues number, Drowning on Dry Land and I like it. Whiteley's organ work, along with the tight rhythm work of Laurin really make this track move. Jones stabs in some real nice guitar riffs, working really well with sax and trumpet accents. Very cool! Big swing track, It's Obdacious has great feel and dynamics with harmonies by Brit Wynne-Jones. Jeff Pighin really wails on sax on this one giving...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Hot Coffee and Pain , from Crooked Eye Tommy and I think it's a kicker. Opening with Son House's Death Letter Blues Crooked Eye Tommy opens this release with all of the attitude of Ronnie Van Zant in 1973 (think... I Ain't The One). With Tommy Marsh on lead vocal and guitar and paired with Paddy Marsh on guitar, Samuel Corea on bass, Charlie McClure on drums and Jimmy Calire on keys, this track has real swagger! Paddy takes the mic on Sittin in a Driveway, and it's a scorcher. Nicely paced with a great blues feel, one of my favorites on the release. Another standout track is Baby Where You Been pairing Tommy with Teresa James on lead vocal. This is a great R&B flavored track with strong sax work by Craig Williams. Contemporary blues rocker, Time It Takes To Live has a real strong melody and pairs Tommy and Paddy on guitar and vocal for an appealing radio track. Moving even further into the southern ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Live at Caffe Lena , from Mark (Tolstrup) and Jill (Burnham) and it's a solid dose of old school blues. Opening with Come Here Baby , Mark on vocal and guitar, Jill on vocal and complimented nicely by Frank Orsini on fiddle and backing vocal, you feel the ambiance of a small club in America nearly a century ago. Mark's slide and acoustic guitar playing is cool and Frank's fiddle playing tight. One of my favorites on the release is Elmore James track, Held My Baby . Lead vocal and nicely articulated slide guitar work by Mark, with Orsini taking a nice fiddle solo and lead vocals by Jill really gives this track a great feel. One of the tracks that really stands out for me is What You Gonna Do? with it's gospel roots. The vocal blending of Mark and Jill is solid and with Orsini on fiddle and nice guitar work by Mark, just really works. Wrapping the release is Blind Willie Johnson's Keep Your Lamp Trimm...