Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Red Devil Lye , from Walk That Walk and it's a country blues rocker. Opening with The Daydream , Poppa C DeSnyder on dobro and lead vocal in a Waylon kind of style, joined by Jon Reese on bass, Stickman Waldron on harmonica, Pappy Biondo on banjo and AlanWaters on drums. Driving rocker, Heavy Music, has a solid melody with DeSnyder on guitar and lead with Jimmy James Love on backing vocal and guitar, Ray Paczkowski on keys and Richard Cheese Welch on drums. You Don't Love Me has deep blues roots in Morganfield territory, with DeSnyder on vocal and dobro, Biondo on banjo, Waldron on harmonica and Waters on drums. Very cool. Wrapping the release is Jimmy Oden's On The Road Again made popular in the 70's by boogie band, Canned Heat. Love takes the lead on vocal joined by Waldron on harmonica, Reese on bass, DeSnyder on guitar and Waters on drums. This is a cool release with a nice slice of blues.    ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Every Rome Needs A Nero , and it's rich in folk blues artistry. Opening with title track, Every Rome Needs A Nero , a cool folk blues track with a Latin rhythm, Alfie Smith on lead vocal and guitar captures center stage, with only the minimum of percussion by Dave Gould and bass by Justine Fischer. Troy Dowding on trumpet really adds great highlights with super trumpet phrases. Excellent opener. A fluid rag, All The Blues I Need , features Smith on vocal and excellent trumpet lead by Dowding over solid piano structure by Jesse O'Brian. Very nice. Elizabeth Cotten's classic, Shake Sugaree , is really nicely redone with Smith's deep warm vocals and understated guitar accompaniment. A nice acoustic guitar/trumpet duet really is a nice compliment on this track. Wrapping the release is Leonard Cohen's Bird On A Wire , featuring Smith singing this notable ballad accompanied by guitar, and O'Brien on piano ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, A Brand New State , from Alex McLaughlin , and it's rich and full of texture. Opening with Desert Chapel , Alex McLaughlin on upright bass, sets the quiet framework of the track joined by Jeremy Siskind on piano fleshing out the melody. With Tina Raymond adding crisp, articulate snare and cymbal work, Trumpet man Jeremy Pelt creates a sharp contrast with brilliant phrasing and McLaughlin steps back up with a solid bass solo. Siskind adds his own exploration of the melody making for a super opener. Signals is quite melodic with Pelt laying out the format, framed. Siskind and Pelt  each create dynamic solos making this one of my favorite tracks on the release. Lily has a bluesy feel with the sense of longing in lead lines by Pelt on trumpet and lush reinforcement by Siskind on piano. McLaughlin works hand in hand with Siskind on his bass solo with tight snare/cymbal work by Raymond. Bop track, El Polvo really move...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Real You , by Greg Nagy , and it's super with healthy doses of soul, R&B, blues, and rock. Opening with title track, The Real You , lead singer, guitarist, song writer, Greg Nagy on lead vocal shows a real feel for R&B. With Josh Ford on guitar, Dale Grisa on organ, John Baron on bass, Todd Glass on drums, Lynne Calloway on backing vocals, Jim Alfredson on organ, Keith Kaminski on sax, this is a solid opener. CeeLo Green's Crazy is a cool addition giving Nagy a open field to show his soulful vocals and bluesy guitar chops, complimented by Dale Grisa on organ and Richard Curran on strings. Very nice. Thornetta Davis steps up in duet with Nagy on George Harrison's remarkable, Something . I have always loved Davis' voice and with Josh Ford laying down some real nice guitar lead, this is an excellent blues rock addition. R&B track, Baby, What Took Your Love Away From Me has a cool, Robery Cray ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Kamama , from Carly Harvey and it's pure blues. Opening with a blues wail, Native Scat , Carly Harvey on vocal really creates an environment, joined by Walking Eagle on guitar, Coleman Williams on drums and Mark Williams on bass. Powerful opener. Soulful, Misery is an excellent track from the old school format. With Harvey on vocal, backed by Dana Nearing and joined by Mike Tony Echols on bass, Deren Blessman on drums, Jonathan Sloane on guitar (with a wicked solo), Wes Lanich on keys, Danny Davis, Mario D' Ambrosio and Kevin Cerovich on horns, this is an excellent track. Rich blues, Take Your Love , really showcases Harvey's vocal style with full horn backing by Davis, D'Ambrosio and Ben Ford on horns and rich keys by Daniel Clarke on keys. Slone shines on guitar again with a deeply soulful solo and with Sean Hurley on bass and Deren Blessman on drum makes this one of my absolute favorites on the release....

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Playing Out The String , from Arlen Roth and it's great display of Arlen's acoustic guitar talents. I've been listening to Roth since early in his career with tele in hand and this is a cool and interesting departure. Opening with Gus Cannon's Walk Right In , Roth on vocal and guitar sets a more pop pace but the album gets pretty deep in acoustic/blues presentation. Norman Blake's Randall Collins is a terrific track with fleet fingered playing accompanying Roth's vocals. Very cool. Brownie McGhee's Gonna Move Across The River gives Roth a great opportunity to play acoustic slide on a terrific country blues track and Townes Van Zandt's classic, Pancho and Lefty is a strong addition with melody handled purely on guitar. Very nice. Louis Jordan's crowd favorite, You Can't Get That Stuff No More , features Roth on slide acoustic and vocal. Blind Blake's rag track, Diddy Wah Diddy ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Just Deserts , from Jim Eannelli , and it's a real nice helping of rockabilly, rock, folk and blues. Opening with 29 Women , a strong rocker with a definite defiant swagger, leading the way on guitar and vocal, backed by Rob A Bell on bass, and Bill Siebert on drums. A potent track and brilliant opener. On Train From Chicago , Eannelli melds folk and blues for a really nice sound. His vocals are soulful and and guitar work selective but pointed. With Peggy James backing vocals and Tanin on keys, this is another strong track. With a western spin, I Want To Be Your Man is another stand out track with a two step rhythm adding harmonica by Lil' Rev and melodic guitar lead held tight by a simple drum rhythm. Another track with a country influence is Old 97 with it's chord driven melody. This is as radio driven as you'll hear on this release but it is well written and performed with nice over laid guitar lead an...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Four , by Dennis Herrera , and I really like it. Opening with shuffle, Can You Feel It , Dennis Herrera on guitar gets things rolling with Lee campbell on drums, Rich Wenzel on B3, Sid Morris on piano, Frank DeRose on bass and Jack Sanford on sax. Strong opener. Up tempo boogie track, Blues and Roll is strong with raggedy vocal by Herrera who leads on guitar, and Bill Bates. Campbell holds the bottom tight on drums and cool piano by Wenzel adds texture. Great driver. One of my favorites on the release is rag tag, Tenderness I See with it's dark, Hill Country sound. Herrera's vocals are perfect for this kind of track, with added percussion by Gordon Peeke, and with super backing vocals by Tony Jones and Nina Mac and Sanford on sax, this track is off the hook. Preskitt is a super shuffle with excellent bass lines by Bill Stuve and nice sax work by Jorgenson. Fluid guitar lines really lay in the groove, accenting Her...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, New Orleans Sessions , by Blue Moon Marquee and it's New Orleans blues, simplistic and raw. Opening with Memphis Minnie's Black Cat Swing , BMM hits the ground running with Danny Abrams on bari sax and BC Coogan setting the tempo for lead vocal work by Jasmine Colette who also plays bass. AW Cardinal on rhythm guitar and Nicholas Solnick on drums rounds out the troop for this enjoyable track. Charlie Patton's lively Shake It and Break It features Cardinal on lead vocal and guitar. A true party rocker with honking sax work by Abrams and a cool upright solo by Colette, this track jams. Slow blues, What I Wouldn't Do , features Cardinal on electric guitar and belting out the blues. With rolling piano work by Coogan and meaty sax work by Abrams, this track wails. A rowdy take on St James Infirmary hosts Cardinal on lead vocal and guitar and highlights the firm piano work of  Coogan and Abrams deep sax work ma...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Ooh Yeah! , by Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne , and it's a full plate of Boogie Woogie. Opening with title track, Ooh Yeah! , a cool piano boogie, Wayne really rattling the piano and lead vocal joined by Joey DiMarco on drums, Nick Succi on bass, and Jimmy Bowskill on guitars. Solid opener.  With a New Orleans flavor, Baby, I'm Your Man has a shuffle rhythm by DiMarco Succi, and full horn support of Kaven Jalbert on tenor sax, Remi Cormier on trumpet, Mathieu Mousseau on bar sax and of course strong vocal and piano by Wayne. With a potent strut, Wishing Well is a soulful track really showcasing Wayne's vocals as well as some real nice guitar riffs by Bowskill, backed by Ian McKeown on drums. I really like Honey, Honey, Honey with it's rolling feel, piano/vocal lead by Wayne and and potent horn backing by  Jalbert, Cormier and Mousseau. Wrapping the release is That Crazy Monkey , a cool blues rocker wi...

  Chicago Blues Master Linsey Alexander July 23, 1942, Holly Springs, MS.- February 22, 2025, Chicago, IL. Linsey Alexander's family has confirmed that this Chicago blues master passed early this morning. Sad sad news for the blues community and for our Delmark family.  Linsey Alexander: 822 - Linsey Alexander -  Been There Done That 838 - Linsey Alexander -  Come Back Baby 851 - Linsey Alexander -  Two Cats 862 - Linsey Alexander -  Live at Rosa's       LINSEY ALEXANDER is a classic Chicago bluesman, and has been a fixture on the blues scene since he arrived in 1963. He was born on July 23rd, 1942 in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Linsey learned to play the guitar at an ...