CD Reviews on projects by Indie Blues Artists
Davina & the Vagabonds Sunshine Roustabout Records I first heard Davina & The Vagabonds at Boston’s On The Beach in Delray Beach, Florida. Originally from Key West Davina Sowers spent her formidable years in and around Minnesota’s twin cities where she studied to be a classically trained pianist. Sowers is a prolific songwriter and her pop […]
Recently, I had the opportunity to see The Jeff Jensen Band live at Darwin’s in Marietta, GA. I got the opportunity to talk with Jeff briefly before the show and he gave me an autographed copy of his CD, Road Worn and Ragged. This is my review of that CD. Road Worn and Ragged is […]
Janiva Magness Original Fathead Records This is Janiva Magness’s 11th album. Formerly on the Alligator Records label, her 2012 “Stronger for It” album garnered her two Blues Music Awards. Magness won the “Contemporary Female Blues Artist of the Year” for the fourth time having also won that award in 2006, 2007, and 2009. “Stronger for It” included three […]
Andy T-Nick Nixon Band Livin’ It Up Delta Groove Records Last year Andy Talamantez and James T. “Nick” Nixon went into the recording studio with producer Anson Funderburgh. The result was their widely acclaimed debut “Drink, Drank, Drunk”. This is their follow up recording. Producer Funderburgh has once again assembled a stellar backing band. Larry […]
B.B. King “The Life of Riley” DVD www.MVDVisual.com “The Life of Riley” is a very appropriate documentary about the monumental life of B.B. King. Riley B King born on 25th September 1925 will soon be eighty-nine; so it’s about time. This DVD release is approximately two hours in length, produced and directed by Jon Brewer. […]
Ilana Katz Katz Blues & Old Time Fiddle: I’ve Got Something to Tell You Independent This is a modern approach to old time fiddle. Katz incorporates Blues and originals to augment her repertoire of traditional tunes. Her guest musicians include Ronnie Earl; Jesse Williams; Diane Blue; Marylou Ferrante; and Dotty Moore. Earl sits in on […]
Royal Southern Brotherhood Heart Soul Blood Ruf Records Cyril Neville, at 66, is the youngest of the four Neville Brothers. Although the “soul” of the Crescent City, they seldom still perform. Cyril however still has the passion to perform. In 2012 he formed The Royal Southern Brotherhood with Mike Zito, Devon Allman, Charlie Wooten, and […]
Ronnie Earl has been making great blues instrumentals for over 25 years. For the last 11 of those years, he’s been joined by Dave Limina on keys, drummer Lorne Entress and bassist Jim Mouradian, as The Broadcasters. With this newest release, Good News, Earl and his group deliver just that. Earl had some good news […]
I have a special fondness for female musicians, and finding a new one who really soars like Canada’s Colleen Rennison just makes my whole day! Rennison has a pure alto voice that is capable of both vulnerability and edginess. On “See The Sky About to Rain,” she features songs written by other great Canadian songwriters, […]
Deanna Bogart Just a Wish Away Blind Pig Records I first heard Deanna Bogart on her “New Address” album released in 1996. The song that really got to me was “Checks and Love Letters”. Her 2002 “Timing is Everything” album reinforced my interest right from its opening track “Still the Girl in the Band”. In […]
Too Slim (Tim Langford) and The Taildraggers have been around snce 1986 and they have cut 18 albums in that time. This CD collects 31 songs from that body of work, plus three new songs. The first CD is fiercely blues rock, while the second side lightens up considerably with a less fierce, more blues […]
Rod Piazza and The Mighty Flyers Emergency Situation Blind Pig Records The Mighty Flyers are the award winning Chicago styled blues band originally formed in 1980 by Rod and Honey Piazza. In 1998 Rod won the Blues Music Award for Best Instrumentalist – Harmonica. My favorite Mighty Flyer recordings are the three albums they recorded […]
When I discover a new female artist who is bluesy and powerful, that excites me. And Kelley Hunt’s “The Beautiful Bones” definitely has me excited! Hunt explains in the press release that “the beautiful bones” are the songs that inspired her: blues, r ‘n b, and a hefty dose of gospel are the most apparent […]
Classic African American Songsters Smithsonian Folkways Records In 1987 The Smithsonian Institute, our national museum located in Washington D.C., acquired the Folkways Records catalogue from its former owner Moses Asch. This is the 23rd installment in the Smithsonian Folkways “Classic” series. This compilation has been mastered by Pete Reiniger. Barry Lee Pearson, scholar of African […]
Ronnie Earl Good News Blues N’ Soul Stony Plain Records It was sometime around 1987 that I went to The Abilene on 8th Avenue at 13th Street to hear a blues band called “Ronnie Earl and The Broadcasters”. The club was later to become “Chicago B.L.U.E.S.” Ronnie had been the lead guitarist for “Roomful of […]
The Nighthawks 444 EllerSoul Records The Nighthawks, one of my favorite Blues bands, were formed in 1972. In 1986 they released “Hard Living” on the Varrick label and the next year followed with “Backtrack”. Soon after these albums were released Jimmy Thackery left the band. My interest was revived again in 1996 when they recorded […]
Dave Keller Soul Changes Tastee Tone Records I first heard Dave Keller at Michael Cloeren’s Pennsylvania Blues Festival in 2013. Dave opened the Saturday night after party in the Adventure Center. He gave an outstanding soul blues performance and then backed up the great Johnny Rawls. “Soul Changes” received a nomination for Soul Blues Album […]
Eden Brent released her first independently produced cd in 2003. In 2006 she won the International Blues Competition for best solo performer. Since signing with Yellow Dog Records, Brent has been nominated for nine Blues Music Awards and won three times. In 2009 she was the Acoustic Artist of the Year and her recording “Mississippi […]
The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band “Goin’ Home” www.ConcordMusicGroup.com – www.KennyWayneShepherd.com The Kenny Wayne Shepherd band moves to Concord Records using a “Louisiana Entertainment” moniker which is appropriate as Shepherd really does go back to his blues and (at times) Louisiana roots on the appropriately titled “Goin’ Home.” No band member changes, plus there are some […]
Mikey Junior Traveling South Vizztone Records Mikey Junior was born Andrew Michael Hudak in Trenton, N.J. but now resides in Bucks County, Pa. He released his first recording, “The 420 Sessions” in 2003. Whenever I listened to it I felt that the album could be a primer for harmonica students. Even back then he had […]
Nick Moss Band Time Ain’t Free Blue Bella Records I first heard Nick Moss at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis. Moss had collected nominations in every category including Best New Artist (2003), Best Instrumentalist Guitar (2007), Best Contemporary Album (2004), Best Traditional Album (2007’s “Live At Chan’s”), and 5 times as Band of The […]
A Celebration of Blues and Soul – The 1989 Presidential Inaugural Concert” On January 21, 1989, the day after the Presidential Inauguration some of the principal names in classic rhythm and blues, soul and blues performed at the Presidential Inaugural Concert. This celebration features (in order of appearance) Chuck Jackson, Percy Sledge, Dr. John, Joe […]
Jim Byrnes St. Louis Times Black Hen Music Jim Byrnes is an actor (the Wiseguy and Highlander television series) and a musician. Born in St. Louis he developed a strong appreciation for the blues ever since he first picked up a guitar in 1964. Since relocating to Canada, Byrnes has worked numerous times with Steve […]
In a review I wrote for an appearance by JP Blues at Darwin’s in late 2013, I said: “It’s a cliche’ to speak of musicians making a guitar “sing” or “wail”, but JP does that, and he makes it make a lot of other sounds you would not think six strings could make. In fact, […]
Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson (1917-1988) was an alto saxophone player equally comfortable playing jump blues or jazz. He possessed a distinctive vocal style similar to that of Big Joe Turner. This is his classic 1969 recording again re-issued by Delmark Records. A former bandmate of Illinois Jacquet, Big Bill Broonzy and John Coltrane, he brought skills […]
Albert Castiglia “Solid Ground” Ruf Records Junior Wells asked Albert Castiglia to be his lead guitarist, a position once held by Buddy Guy. For several years Castiglia toured the US and Europe with Wells. Wells died in 1998 Years later when he signed with Bluesleaf Records Castiglia’s career began to take off. Castiglia received a […]
I recently saw Luther Dickinson touring with Southern Soul Assembly and found his songs and his sense of humor delightful. So I jumped at the chance to review Rock and Roll Blues. Dickinson, best known as a member of the North Mississippi All Stars, performs 10 songs here with a stripped down but highly effective […]
Robben Ford “A Day in Nashville” Provogue www.MascotLabelGroup.com “A Day in Nashville” is Ford’s second album for the Provogue record label and follows last year’s solid “Bringing It Back Home.” I enjoyed Ford’s previous album; this one’s better with its spontaneous fireworks and seven of the nine tunes are authored or co-authored by Ford. The […]
The Cazanovas are a very popular group in the burgeoning Atlanta blues scene. With their new CD, Just Gettin’ By, blues fans outside of Georgia and the surrounding states have the opportunity to discover just how excellent this group really is. Local fans have a quality recording to enjoy as well. All of the songs […]
Little G Weevil is probably unique among modern blues musicians. There is unlikely to be another one who was born and raised in Hungary and came to America because of his love for the blues. When he first got here he washed dishes on Beale Street for a year and he explains in the liner […]
Timo Arthur and Tamara Nicolai have become The Timo Arthur Trio with the addition of drummer Pete Maier and have released their first CD. The CD was produced by Richard L’Hommedieu at Midnight Circus Productions and he really captured the live sound of the trio. The addition of the drums adds extra depth to Timo’s […]
John Nemeth – “Memphis Grease” – Blue Corn Music John Nemeth is probably one of the fastest rising blues artists in a while. Performing actively since 2002, I won’t be surprised when he’s called an overnight sensation. Nemeth is an amazing harp player but it’s his voice that grabs you. Nemeth is a vocal acrobat. His voice climbs […]
Damon Fowler “Sounds of Home” Blind Pig Records “Sounds of Home” is Damon Fowler’s third cd. A lot has happened since he last released 2011’s “Devil Got His Way” his second on Blind Pig. Fowler joined forces with JP Soars and Rufus Wainwright to form “Southern Hospitality,” a bluesy southern rock band. Their first much acclaimed […]
I developed my appreciation for the wailin’,squakin’ R n’ B type of sax by listening to Roomful of Blues. Their horn section turned me on. My tastes were later re-enforced by Bob Porter’s radio program “Portraits in Blue”. Porter used to highlight this type of sax player. Among them were Greg Piccolo, Doug “Mr. Low” […]
Tommy Castro & The Painkillers “The Devil You Know” Alligator Records Tommy Castro’s last four albums have all been nominated as Blues Album of the Year at the annual Blues Music Awards. Overall he has received twelve Blues Music Award nominations and won six ties; not a bad percentage. Castro’s first Alligator Records release, 2009’s […]
Please note: This reviewer did not received the Blu-ray and therefore cannot review it. I can only give information for it. The Blu-ray, according to the press release, contains “a new 5.1 Surround Sound mix of 461 Ocean Boulevard and original quadrophonic mixes of 461 Ocean Boulevard and There’s One In Every Crowd.” Also, the […]
It’s hard for some of those who remember the ’60s more or less to believe, but John Mayall is 80 years old. Yet he is still touring and recording. So it is appropriate that Eagle Rock Entertainment has released three of his most recent albums in a 3-CD package. These CDs are Stories from 2002, […]
The Bob Lanza Blues Band Til The Pain is Gone Self-produced Bob Lanza learned by apprenticing. Lanza spent four years as bandleader for Floyd Phillips and the Mudflaps where he learned to serve the blues. He has also played with James Cotton and Nashville’s Dave Perkins. The Bob Lanza Blues Band’s […]
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