Tobias the Owl Safe Harbor for Wayward Echoes Megaforce The band name connotes mystery and intrigue and Elijah Dhavvan’s collective sound, as Tobias The Owl, doesn’t let the listener down. It can be deceptively straightforward, built around an acoustic underpinning, but can also move into engulfing, ethereal realms. A Safe Harbor for Wayward Echoes, while offering some […]
Ernest McCarty Jr. and Theresa Davis I Remember Love BluJazz This is the second album for BluJazz pairing superb vocalist Theresa Davis with composer, guitarist, and keyboardist Ernest McCarty Jr. The first, “A Reunion Tribute to Erroll Garner” was done for McCarty’s mentor, with whom he played as a bassist for five years. Davis sings […]
Joey Morant Forever Sanctified BluJazz Trumpeter, composer, producer, entertainer Joey Morant is a veteran presence in the current NYC jazz scene. Morant works as a soloist, in duet and trio settings, and in larger bands and orchestras. It’s not only his trumpet playing, but scat singing, and his on stage banter that sets him apart. […]
Vinyl Hampdin Red Armored Steve Wiest, the founding member of the jazz-rock collective Vinyl Hampdin, sums it up this way, “What would Chicago, Blood, Sweat & Tears and Tower of Power sound like if they started out today?” That’s a tantalizing question that probably describes the band’s approach better than this writer can. In any […]
Jimmy LaFave Peace Town Music Road Posthumous albums that come barely a year after the artist’s passing can be difficult to listen to. My tears are welling up while writing, knowing how much we’ll miss Jimmy LaFave. He, in the words of Gretchen Peters, possessed not only a “singular voice” but was arguably the best […]
Vince Bell Ojo Mulatta When a Texas singer-songwriter is produced by Bob Neuwirth, one does not likely guess it would be a spoken word jazz album. Bell is a poet and his version of the spoken word resembles the early Beat era in San Francisco with artists like Kenneth Rexroth. Yet, the musical concept of […]
Zak Trojano Self-released Wolf Trees This is as solo as one gets for a solo album – just Zak Trojano singing and accompanying himself on a Martin or Weissenborn lap steel guitar. The Rusty Belle co-founder’s third solo album has low open C modal tuning on any guitar he uses, and foundationally has simple arrangements […]
The Allman Brothers Band Fillmore East February 1970 Bear’s Sonic Journals – Owsley Stanley Foundation It’s nearly impossible to resist one more chance to hear the Allman Brothers with their original lineup, featuring Duane Allman. The question many would have though, given the track selections, is what’s new here? Haven’t we heard most of this […]
Jimmie Smith Live in Music City: Jimmie Smith Plays Jimmy Smith Woodward Avenue The inevitability of this concept will likely bring a “you must be kidding” chuckle at first but it’s a terrific show by Hammond B3 organist Rev. Jimmie Smith honoring his almost namesake, the iconic jazz organist Jimmy Smith. “Tribute to the Hammond […]
Walter Salas-Humara Walterio Rhyme & Reason Walter Salas-Humara is both a musician and visual artist. Hence, his songs are imagery rich and ply some different styles with it all being essentially rooted in rock n’ roll. After all, he is a co-founder of the Silos and has rock, pop, and punk deeply seeded in his […]
Jim Stanard Bucket List Self-released Even relatively late in life, it’s not too late to make a singer-songwriter record, no matter what the walk of life. Take Jim Stanard, for example. He sounds as if he’s a contemporary of this writer and the two Richards you seen so prominently on this site. Stanard grew up […]
Brigitte Purdy Dirtshack Still I Rise Terrific singers are often comfortable in several genres, but most want to be blues singers to showcase their emotive power. That’s why versatile, gifted, and downright sultry vocalist, Brigitte Purdy, is belting blues and seductive R&B on her debut, Still I Rise. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Purdy […]
Eddie Palmieri Full Circle Uprising Music (Ropeadope) Multi-Grammy Award winning pianist and music legend Eddie Palmieri delivers a new album of Salsa classics, expanded and refreshed, at the age of 81. These eight tracks feature many of his long-term band members and some of the best players in New York and beyond. They include trumpeter […]
The Little Red Rooster Blues Band Lock Up the Liquor Self-released The Little Red Rooster Blues Band has been perhaps the Philly area’s most prized blues band for three decades now. This CD, which is their seventh, marks their 30th year as a band. It’s essentially a miracle that band leader Kevin McCann was able […]
Big Harp George Uptown Cool Blues Mountain It’s as if the melody and refrain to Paul Simon’s “Graceland” has taken on this verse for so many blues musicians – “We’re going to Greaseland, Greaseland …we’re going to Greaseland.” Yes, Big Harp George is the latest in a growing number of mostly emerging artists that are […]
McClenty Hunter Jr. The Groove Hunter Strikezone This is drummer McClenty Hunter Jr.’s first album as a leader. For the past decade Hunter has been an integral part of the New York City jazz scene, having logged three years with Kenny Garrett’s Grammy nominated quintet, and performing with Jim Snidero, Lou Donaldson and Dave Stryker, […]
Jared Gold Reemergence Strikezone The title suggests re-entry after a hiatus but that’s not the case with Jared Gold’s ninth album. Yet, there is a method to it, given that Gold’s prior work appears on the Posi-Tone label, better known for radio friendly tracks than fully conceived albums. Perhaps we could also think of the […]
Sugar Brown It’s a Blues World (Calling All Blues!) Self-released As one might expect from a Ph.D. college professor, Toronto-based Sugar Brown’s blues are both deep and eclectic. His journey to this point is rather unusual for a blues artist. He was born Ken Kawashima, to a Japanese father and Korean mother, raised in Bowling […]
Mark Wenner Mark Wenner’s Blues Warriors EllerSoul Harp ace Mark Wenner, founder and band leader for Washington D.C.’s long-running Nighthawks, has put together a pure straight-ahead blues band in his latest side project. As you may know, The Nighthawks began as a solid traditional blues band in the late ‘70s but have grown into a […]
Steve Krase Just Waitin’ Connor Ray Music Houston-based harmonica ace and bandleader Steve Krase moves outside the conventional blues boundaries on this outing, into Americana and Zydeco with guests skilled in those styles. Driving much of these proceedings is noted Houston producer Rock Romano who played bass, background vocals, wrote three of the tunes, and […]
Neko Case Hell On Anti It’s Neko’s voice that draws you in. It is an undeniably ethereally beautiful instrument as it’s been from the very beginning when in the early ‘90s she was being hailed as the second coming of Patsy Cline. Some preferred to think of Wanda Jackson instead. Yet, Case’s lyrics, demeanor and […]
Lurrie Bell & The Bell Dynasty Tribute to Carey Bell with Special Guests Delmark Almost fifty years after iconic harpsman Carey Bell released Carey Bell’s Blues Harp, his debut album for Delmark, his four sons pay a recording tribute to their dad for the first time. Lurrie Bell, on vocals and guitar, the elder statesman […]
Kara Grainger Living With Your Ghost Station House Australian Kara Grainger has graced the international blues and roots circuit for a decade now. Originally hailed as mostly a guitar slinger, for her adept picking and slide skills, Grainger proves to be a formidable singer-songwriter on this, her fourth album. Her sultry vocals combined with her […]
Brother Dege Farmer’s Almanac Psysouthern We often loosely throw around certain terms like “haunting sound” and “eerily dark” to describe music. With Brother Dege’s fourth release, Farmer’s Almanac, the Louisiana native creates such a spooky, dark atmosphere with his southern tales of the unique mysteries of small towns, that terms like “haunting” and “dark” don’t […]
Dustin Douglas & The Electric Gentlemen Break It Down Quad-O Dustin Douglas & The Electric Gentlemen (DDEG) have grown since their debut in 2016, that hailed the arrival of the captivating power trio, a regional favorite, from Wilkes-Barre in northeast PA. Numerous live gigs have paid huge dividends as this trio is so tight. The […]
Robin McKelle Melodic Canvas Doxie Robin McKelle debuted as a big band jazz singer twelve years ago and has since tried blues, pop rock and smatterings of soul and gospel. Melodic Canvas marks her return to jazz, this time in a small ensemble. This is McKelle’s album – she wrote six of the ten tunes, […]
Malo Latin Bugaloo: The Warner Brothers Singles Omnivore When most people think of Latin blues-based Bay Area bands, Santana is almost always the first one mentioned. That Santana is the surname for band leader Carlos Santana but his younger brother, band leader Jorge Santana, led an equally impressive group in the Bay Area, the horn-infused […]
Dany Franchi Problem Child Station House For his third album, Italian singer/guitarist Dany Franchi enlisted high profile support from Anson Funderburgh and Andy T. Anson and Andy recognized the talents of one of today’s emerging bluesmen and surrounded him with top notch players in Austin to record this genuine blues effort. Funderburgh says, “it was […]
Gretchen and the Pickpockets Falling Rising Self-released Yes, the name is a bit odd – but apparently it comes from a hometown road with a history of larceny. The Boston-based Gretchen and the Pickpockets have a horn-infused sound they describe as “Soul/Jazz/Rock.” The six-piece unit sounds somewhere between Lake Street Dive and a swinging horn […]
Kris Lager Band Love Songs & Life Lines Self-released The Kris Lager Band have made their mark in the Midwest by playing searing blues, rock n’ roll and jam band music. However, if that’s what you were expecting from this release, be ready for a big surprise. This is at heart a folksy feel good […]
The Barrett Martin Group Transcendence Sunyata Don’t let the name fool you. The Seattle-based Barrett Martin Group is not a law firm or a real estate office. Of course, it’s not but the staid nature of the name unfortunately conjures up those boring references when the music is anything but. It’s demonstrative, thrilling, exotic, and […]
Marcia Ball Shine Bright Alligator It’s hard to believe that the hard-working, effervescent Marcia Ball is now fifty years into her career. Surely, she’s been honored and recognized. There are not many who can claim this kind of resume: ten Blues Music Awards, ten Living Blues Awards, five Grammy nominations, and induction into the Gulf […]
Teresa James and the Rhythm Tramps Here in Babylon Jesi-Lu Widely acclaimed pianist and vocalist Teresa James is back with her killer band for her tenth album, Here in Babylon, coming about a year a half since her previous release, Bonafide. Teresa will probably remind you of Bonnie Raitt but listen again. James has a rawer, […]
Bill Frisell Music IS Okeh/Sony The highly anticipated solo album from one of the world’s premier guitarists, Bill Frisell, is finally here. This is Frisell at his most distilled and, as you would expect, melodic, ethereal, and imaginative. Recorded in August 2017 at Tucker Martine’s studio in Portland, OR and produced by longtime collaborator Lee […]
Tommy Dardar Big Daddy Gumbo Self-released Houston music legend Tommy Dardar, affectionately dubbed ‘Big Daddy Gumbo’ passed away in July of 2017. Over his storied career Dardar played alongside Lightnin’ Hopkins, Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley, Willie Dixon, The Neville Brothers and more. He was known for his deep, soulful voice, soaring blues […]
Mud Morganfield Mud Morganfield They Call Me Mud Severn It’s not fair to make such a physically imposing man walk a proverbial tightrope. Yet, that will likely always be the case with Muddy Waters’ son, Mud Morganfield. Both his large presence and vocal style inevitably recall his dad. In fact, Mark Wenner of the Nighthawks […]
Laurie Morvan Gravity Screaming Lizard Laurie Morvan’s sixth and most polished release, continues to move away from an angry blues rock attack to a smoother, more strictly blues-based guitar accompanying her songs and lyrics, which now have more of the focus than on her earlier efforts. And yes, she is becoming a stronger songwriter. Don’t […]
Seth Walker Live at Mauch Chunk Opera House Royal Potato Family These words have previously appeared in my reviews of Seth Walker, but they bear repeating. Walker is a bluesman dressed up as an Americana artist. Since I first saw him perform at the Americana Music Conference over ten years ago, suffice it say that […]
Sue Foley The Ice Queen Stony Plain Canadian guitarist/singer Sue Foley returned to Austin, TX where she got her start as blues woman and laid down these sessions with special guests Jimmie Vaughan, Billy F. Gibbons, and Charlie Sexton. This, her 15th album, marks Foley’s debut for Stony Plains and her return as a solo […]
GoGo Penguin A Humdrum Star Blue Note GoGo Penguin is a trio based in Manchester, England with a penchant for atmospheric music that merges acoustic and electronic techniques, touching mostly on jazz while bringing in classical elements and more than a few nods to Brian Eno. While that description may give the notion that their […]
David K. Mathews The Fantasy Vocal Sessions – Vol. 1 Standards Effendi Records If you’re not from the San Francisco Bay Area or an ardent fan of Santana, you’re probably not familiar with keyboardist David K. Mathews. Yet, considering this, his first as a leader in fifteen years, could lead to five or six projects […]
Big Shoes Step On It! Biglittle This is a can’t miss project. We’re seeing a resurgence of the Muscle Shoals sound these days. Even The Swampers just released an album of lost tracks last month. The sound of Big Shoes has plenty of that river city’s sound but stretches beyond into New Orleans, Memphis, and […]
Hypnotic Wheels Trio and Various Artists Muddy Gurdy VizzTone This is one of the most interesting collaborations of blues we have heard in some time. A trio of French musicians – Tia Goutteble (guitar, voice), Gilles Chabenat (Hurdy-Gurdy – a traditional French instrument), and Marc Glomeau (percussion) call themselves the Hypnotic Wheels Trio. Their music […]
Ghalia & Mama’s Boys Let the Demons Out Ruf Ghalia Vauthier, the Belgian singer-songwriter/guitarist, is the newest signing for Ruf. This emerging artist from Brussels splits her time between her native country and New Orleans where she recorded this album with acclaimed harmonica band Johnny Mastro & Mama’s Boys. Ghalia has steadily built a fan […]
Curtis Salgado and Alan Hager Rough Cut Alligator We’ve come to know Curtis Salgado mostly as a blues singer leaning heavily toward soul, with his horn-drenched bands. Now we see another side of Salgado – the deep blues done raw and unadorned with his band’s lead guitarist, Alan Hager, showing impeccable talent here too. Rough […]
Lyn Stanley The Moonlight Sessions, Volumes 1 and 2 A.T. Music Jazz vocalist Lyn Stanley has the kind of self-made story that makes us admire her even before we hear her sultry, refined, signature delivery. Six years ago, she was a retired marketing executive wondering if she had enough musical talent for her church choir. […]
Rockin’ Johnny Burgin Neoprene Fedora West Tone Rockin’ Johnny Burgin graced many of the great Delmark records, especially as the guitarist for Tail Dragger. After a storied stint in the Windy City, his move to California finds him once again working with Kid Andersen in Kid’s San Jose Greaseland Studios, rapidly becoming the place of […]
Corey Dennison Band Night After Night Delmark This band screams SOUL. Delmark is perhaps the most authentic Chicago blues label and has been for fifty years now but this band could just as easily be from Memphis as Chicago. From the opening notes and Dennison’s vocal, you get a huge does of soul. My words […]
Likho Duo Blues and the World Beyond Likho Before we tell you a little about these two guys, we need to provide some explanation about the name, which is a story unto itself. Noé Socha, (guitar and harmonica) is legally blind but has limited vision in one eye. Cliff Schmitt (bassist) has a vision issue in […]
Jane Ira Bloom Wild Lines: Improvising Emily Dickinson Out-Line It seems only appropriate that the artist dubbed “the poet of the soprano saxophone” by acclaimed jazz critic Brian Priestly would honor one of America’s iconic poets. Jane Ira Bloom reimagines the poetry of 19th-century visionary Emily Dickinson in two different settings. Her double CD showcases […]
