Steve Howell, Dan Sumner & Jason Weinheimer Long Ago Out Of The Past Music Texas born Steve Howell lives near Shreveport, La. He has immersed himself in the rural blues of the south and is normally content to re-create obscure country blues with his warm vocals and finger picking. He recorded his debut album “Out […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Jay Willie Throughout the course of their musical union, the members of Jay Willie Blues Band have won over the hearts of music lovers from all walks of life. Performing at a variety of venues and making countless public appearances all the while recording new song […]
Dylan Hayes Electric Band Songs for Rooms and People Blujazz There is no photo of Dylan Hayes on the CD jacket, but a quick search reveals a 20-something. Indeed, this is his debut album and it has tons of youthful energy flowing through the keyboards, whether acoustic or electric, that Dylan Hayes plays on Songs […]
The Nighthawks Tryin’ To Get To You Eller Soul Records The R n’ B and roots music legends, The Nighthawks, were first formed in 1971. They recorded their debut album in 1974. My favorite recordings of theirs include 1986’s “Hard Living” with Jimmy Thackery; 1996’s “Pain and Paradise”; and 2009’s “American Landscape”. In 2014 they […]
Dana Sandler I Never Saw Another Butterfly Self-released I Never Saw Another Butterfly is jazz vocalist Dana Sandler’s debut, based on a book of the same name, setting poems from children of the Holocaust to music. The album is being released today, April 21, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Originally published in 1959, the book is a […]
Tom Gilberts Old School Polymerase You know this will be a different kind of blues record as it opens with the slow blues “Lady Luck,’ suggesting a confidence that few blues guitarists have as not many would dare to open with a simmering slow one. Tom Gilberts is a master of tone and nuance and […]
Sarah Siskind Modern Appalachia Red Request Sarah Siskind’s Modern Appalachia is long overdue as it’s her first album in nine years. This is an important project as evidenced by the gleaming list of guests including Bill Frisell, Justin Vernon, Jeff Sipe, Mike Seal, Daniel Kimbro, Rose Cousins, Julie Lee, and Elizabeth Foster. Don’t let the […]
Andrew Alli Hard Workin’ Man EllerSoul Emerging harmonica sensation Andrew Alli hails from Richmond, VA, the same area of his mentor, the Piedmont harp master, Phil Wiggins. Alli not only blows his blues harp in an intense, county rooted style, he can sing with passion too. He’s a young cat with an old soul. Allie […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Webb Wilder! On Night Without Love, Mississippi Musician Hall of Fame icon Webb Wilder pleases and shocks, soothes and rocks, and meets every un-expectation. Equally versed in two glorious worlds, Rock and Roll – with a strong side of Outlaw Country (Webb prefers the term “PROGRESSIVE Country”). […]
makAndy Milne and Unison The reMISSION Sunnyside Pianist, bandleader and educator Andy Milne brings us The reMISSION, with his new trio UNISON. Stepping into piano trio performance for the first time, the album is a stunning shift in direction for the artist. In late 2017, a life-changing cancer diagnosis forced Milne into a period of reflection over his fruitful career, a […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Reverend Freakchild In the tradition of such Holy Blues Reverends as Reverend Gary Davis – such is the irreverent Reverend Freakchild. The Rev. primarily performs solo acoustic these days but has also recently recorded with some amazing musicians including Melvin Seals, Mark Karan, Chris Parker, Hugh […]
Bobby Selvaggio Live from the Bop Stop Dot Time We didn’t want to leave this one behind. This is alto saxophonist Bobby Selvaggio’s eleventh album and first live recording, Live from the Bop Stop. Specifically the site is the Bop Stop at the Music Settlement in Cleveland, OH, a place where the bandleader has performed […]
Be Sharp Band Ashes The Blues may well have originated in the southern states of the USA, but today we all live in the modern world and the same issues effect our lives, day in day out. Because right now the Blues is global, it doesn’t matter whether the music is created in Louisiana, London, […]
Crystal Shawanda Church House Blues True North Records/New Sun Records Crystal Shawanda is an indigenous Canadian born in the Wiikwemkoong First Nation, an unceded territory, on Manitoulin Island in northern Ontario. She moved to Nashville and signed with RCA Records in 2007. Her debut album “Dawn of a New Day” reached the top 20 on […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Johnny Iguana of The Claudettes The Claudettes fuse Chicago piano blues with the full-throttle energy of rockabilly and punk and the sultriness of ’60s soul to write a thrilling new chapter in American roots music. Johnny Iguana pounds the piano alongside seductive singer Berit Ulseth, bassist/guitarist/singer […]
Ali Holder Uncomfortable Truths Self-released The title alone provides intrigue as Texas singer-songwriter Ali Holder doesn’t just confess but instead urges us to stand tall, defiantly in the face of stereotypes while acknowledging difficult circumstances. Ultimately, rather than dwelling on the negative, she pushes toward the optimistic higher road, chronicling some of the pain on […]
The Proven Ones You Ain’t Done Gulf Coast Records The Proven Ones released their debut recording “Wild Again” in 2018. The all-star ensemble is led by Jimi Bott, drums. Bott has twenty Blues Music Award nominations for Best Instrumentalist – Drums, winning that award in 2015. His longtime partner Willie J. Campbell has four of […]
#Bloomerangs Moments and Fragments Instru Dash Mental It’s unusual to begin your band name with the pound sign but in this age of text messaging and digital communication perhaps, it’s not odd. (and, for those who file CDs alphabetically like this writer, how do you deal with a #? Suggest you just go to ‘b’). […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Jack Licitra! Jack’s Waterfall is the musical adventure of singer/songwriter and musician, Jack Licitra. Pop, blues, jazz, folk, gospel and global music all meet at The Waterfall, a place of healing and learning. Sometimes Jack performs solo and other times with a group, but there is […]
Brian Dunne Selling Things Self-produced Selling Things is a cathartic project for Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Brian Dunne, drawing on a difficult year spent wrestling with mental health and an existential crisis. Yet, you can right away hear the unbridled passion in Dunne’s expressive voice. He’s got plenty to let go of and he’s determined to make […]
Eliza Gilkyson 2020 Red House This is a difficult one to hear in the context of its original inspiration – that being an election year where there is potential of a return to common sense, decency, and forward-looking thinking from the President. This health pandemic leaves us with such an uncertain future that the importance […]
The Claudettes High Times in the Dark Forty Below Records The Claudettes were founded by Brian Berkowitz known professionally as Johnny Iguana. He had previously played organ in the Indie rock band “Oh My God” but is a highly regarded Chicago blues pianist having recorded with Junior Wells, Carey Bell, Lurrie Bell, Matthew Skoller and […]
Enrique Haneine Unlayered Elegant Walk Enrique Haneine is a jazz-world musician, composer, pianist, drummer, improviser, and educator that is currently living in New York City and was born in Mexico City from Lebanese descent. Haneine was raised in Mexico, immersed in Latin music interwoven with classical and jazz studies, and obviously has lineage tracing its way […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Sass Jordan! The roots that grew Canada’s Queen of Rock, Sass Jordan, started in Europe and edged across the pond to the veins of metal pulsing in the musical metallurgy of Montreal in the 70’s. Montreal’s burgeoning ’70’s scene included a ‘no holds barred’ approach to […]
Shunzo Ohno Runner Pulsebeats Renowned trumpeter and composer Shunzo Ohno has released his 18th album as leader. This relatively short, (very short for a jazz) album clocks in at just over 30 minutes but offers a wide span of music within that condensed amount of time. Runner is comprised of three compositions; the first of […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an interview with The Reverend Shawn Amos! 2019 also saw The Rev alighting in Texas, where the South begins, the West ends, and something else is taking shape – a world away, geographically and culturally, from his native LA. It is in the hill country of Texas where the […]
Jay Willie & James Montgomery Cadillac Walk Zoho Music Connecticut based Jay Willie is the frontman for The Jay Willie Blues Band first formed in 2001 with Bob Callahan and Bobby T. Torello. They are a Texas styled blues band playing both traditional and contemporary blues. The JWBB released their debut recording in 2011 with […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Richard Lynch! You’d be hard-pressed to find a musician as authentic as Richard Lynch, whose traditional country music fully embodies his hay-raising, farm-dwelling lifestyle. An all-American, blue collar country man, Lynch has poured his heart and soul into the countless chart-topping hits he and his band have […]
Lou Volpe Before & After Jazz Guitar Let’s acknowledge that moat of the artists you read about on these pages are blues musicians. Even though the record label above and perhaps some of guitarist Lou Volpe’s previous work my steer toward jazz, this writer finds plenty of blues in Volpe’s style. Think back to Larry […]
Americana Highways Americana Highways Facebook LIVE Stream Page Making a Scene Presents an Interview with a pro – Melissa Clarke – Americana Highways Let’s face it 2020 is a wash for the gig economy and this is not good news for the Indie artist or their fans. Many musicians have taken to online live streaming […]
The TNEK Jazz Quintet Plays the Music of Sam Jones TNEK Jazz If you’re familiar with the music of Cannonball and Nat Adderley and their soul-jazz albums from the ‘60s and ‘70s, chances are that you know the bassist/composer Sam Jones. Jazz fans in general are likely familiar with the name as he was a […]
The Reverend Shawn Amos & The Brotherhood Blue Sky Put Together Music Shawn Amos is the son of Wally Amos founder of the Famous Amos chocolate chip cookie brand and singer Shirlee Ellis professionally known as Shirlee May. Born in New York City Amos returned and attended film school at New York University. After reading […]
John Blues Boyd What My Eyes Have Seen… Gulf Coast Records John Blues Boyd was born in Greenwood, Ms. in 1945. He began working in the cotton fields when he was seven years old. He relocated to California in 1980 where his primary occupation was that of a hot tar roofer; singing the blues whenever […]
The Southbound Snake Charmers To The Bone You know in life ,if you get the basics right then I believe everything else falls into place. I believe the same is true for music. So when I listen to the music of “The Southbound Snake Charmers “I get that same feeling, the basics are right here. In musical terms […]
Laila Biali Out of Dust Self-released (in U.S.) labels elsewhere We are reminded constantly that some of the best music comes from across our northern border. Just this week we heard again from Canadian genre-defying Basia Bulat, a three-time Polaris Music Prize finalist and three-time Juno Award nominee, who released Are You in Love? This […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Mike Mattison Mike Mattison is a roots singer and songwriter best-known for his work in the Derek Trucks Band, Scrapomatic, and the Tedeschi Trucks Band. With both DTB and TTB he won a Grammy for Best Blues Album. The TTB has also won five Blues Music […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Stephen Cooper of Stephen Cooper and the Nobody Famous Soul. Rhythm and Blues. The words conjure romantic images of dancers dripping in sweat, swaying slowly to infectious Motown grooves, Staxx and Chess chart toppers oozing from the bandstand with an intensity so real it broke your […]
Schapiro17 New Shoes: Kind of Blue at 60 Summit As you all know, Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue remains the top selling jazz album of all time and people are still buying it more than 60 years later. In that time, we’ve heard tributes, arrangements of many of the tunes, especially “So What” and “All […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Tas Cru Tas Cru is truly a blues eclectic who refuses to let his music be bound to just one blues style. You get it all from Tas. He’ll swing you with a traditional shuffle, swoon you with a sultry ballad, lull you into a trance […]
Beano Mojohand Beano Mojohand How do I find the words to start this review, normally I’m not a person lost for them Ok ok,for those of you who know me,you have had your laugh. Seriously though the quality of this debut album is simply amazing. “Beano”delivers a level of playing ability, talent and heart that […]
J.C. Hopkins Biggish Band New York Moment Twee-Jazz As the name implies, this band is a ‘tweener” somewhere between a large ensemble or a larger band. Additionally, most units of this type would have one main vocalist while this one has five, each with a distinctly different style. The J.C. Hopkins Biggish Band is a […]
Albert Castiglia Wild and Free Gulf Coast Records A young Albert Castiglia served his apprenticeship as guitarist in both the Junior Wells and Sandra Hall bands before embarking on his own solo career. He released his solo debut in 2004. In 2006 he signed with Blues Leaf Records and released four albums the last being […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Juliana MacDowell Juliana MacDowell is a singer-songwriter, living between Loudoun County, Virginia and Key West, Florida, whose earthy vocals and moving originals unite her with listeners in unforced and memorable ways. She fell in love with music as a toddler when her grandfather hoisted her up on the bench of his […]
Jim Gustin & Truth Jones Lessons Learned Self-released Jim Gustin’s force-of-nature voice evokes Long John Baldry and perhaps Canadians Big Doug McLean and Jim Byrnes. There’s some Joe Cocker in there too. He has a natural smoky rasp in his baritone that’s simply perfect for the funky blues he and his band lay down. So, […]
Chicago Yestet Not There Yet Tiddlywinks Music You’ve heard of quartets, quintets, septets and others but this may be the first time you’ve encountered a yestet. This is Chicago’s own acclaimed ensemble, the Chicago Yestet, releasing its third album, Not There Yet. Under the direction of Joel Adams, the 13-piece band presents an engaging, diverse release which addresses […]
Backtrack Blues Band Your Baby Has Left Vizztone Label Group Sonny Charles, founded the Backtrack Blues Band in 1980, while attending the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Among the first to join was his classmate “Little” Johnny Walter. The band is a Chicago styled blues band inspired by and named after the Little […]
Alex Dixon presents The Real McCoy Featuring Lewis “Big Lew” Powell Vintage Dixon Dixon Landing Music Born in 1975, Alex Dixon was raised by his grandparents Willie and Marie Dixon. Willie Dixon, blues musician and songwriter, passed in January of 1992. So Alex spent his formative years living with his grandparents in both Chicago and […]
Mark Telesca Higher Vibrations Independent Originally from New York City Mark Telesca held the “bass chair” in many Broadway productions. He attended Florida Atlantic University and now resides in West Palm Beach. His passion for the blues led him to be a member of the band “Blues Dragon” and they competed in the 2012 International […]
Mark Erelli Blindsided Self-released Singer-songwriter Mark Erelli has done all his solo work in the past two decades in his home state of Massachusetts but has managed to make plenty of friends along the way as a sideman for Nashville-based artists. His last year’s “By Degrees” had Sheryl Crow and Rosanne Cash joining him and […]
Clare Free Where Are You Now As a lover of music there is no greater joy for me,than the discovery of new music. It’s best described for me like uncovering a new treasure unknown to me until now. I love that feeling, it’s something that happens to me on quite a regular basis. Such is the abundance […]