Every week our staff of CD Reviewers bring you the best in Independent CD releases. Making a Scene is considered the number 1 resource for the independent musician and the fans that love them.
Heather Newman Rise From The Flames Vizztone Label Group Omaha’s Heather Newman got her start as second guitarist and vocalist with The Nick Schnebelen Band and she appears on his “Live At Knucklehead’s Vol. 1” released in 2016. When Newman left that band she decided to switch to bass. Six months later she made her […]
Nancy Wright Alive & Blue Vizztone Label Group/Direct Hit Records Nancy Wright is a west coast saxophonist, a highly respected and in-demand session musician, and former member of The Frank Bey Anthony Paule Band. In 2016 she released her third solo album, the critically acclaimed “Playdate!”, also on Vizztone. Since 2017 Wright has received three […]
Bobby Messano Lemonade by Rhetta Akamatsu Guitar ace, songwriter and singer Bobby Messano is about to release a new album, Lemonade, and it lives up to the high standard you would expect for a man who has spent 43 years perfecting his craft. Full disclosure: Bobby and I have been friends for years. I am […]
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Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers No Good Deed Pretty Good For A Girl Records Mindi Abair is a two time Grammy nominated Jazz saxophonist who released her eighth solo album “Wild Heart” in 2014. That year she started to guest on blues releases including Jeff Golub and Brian Auger’s “Train Keeps A Rolling”; and on […]
Mark Morganelli & The Jazz Forum All-Stars Brasil! Jazz Forum When we think of Brazilian music, we probably first envision guitars or maybe those iconic Stan Getz/ Gilberto collaborations. In fact, the music lends itself to all kinds of instrumentation and this 2CD offering from trumpeter and flugelhornist, bandleader Mark Morganelli, is as a good […]
Dawn Tyler Watson Mad Love Independent Canadian Dawn Tyler Watson studied Jazz and Theatre at Concordia University in Montreal. She was featured in several movies but achieved success playing a 1950’s cabaret singer in the 2004 film “Jack Paradise (Les Nuits de Montreal)”. The resulting soundtrack featuring Watson was nominated for a Prix Jutra, the […]
Chuck Mead Close To Home Plowboy Records In 1993 Kansas native Chuck Mead was one of the founding members and front men for the Alternative Country band BR549. Their self-titled 1996 album, the first of seven recordings, produced three charting singles, three Grammy nominations and a Country Music Association Award. The Americana roots music artist […]
By Adam Signore Let’s talk about Tal Wilkenfeld. I had the distinct pleasure of seeing Tal Wilkenfeld at City Winery Boston the other night and you know how you go into a show with expectations? Well I expected quite a lot and yet my mind was still totally blown! Tal never ceases to amaze. Some […]
Hazel Mitchell-Bell Stronger Than Ever Self-Released Based on several recent releases, the Washington D.C. jazz scene if full of talent and thriving. Just last week we reviewed saxophonist Jordon Dixon. Recently this writer also was moved by D.C.’s Coniece Washington’s tribute to her idol, Shirley Horn, on Shades of Shirley Horn. Key to that album […]
Nils Lofgren Blue With Lou Cattle Track Road Records Nils Lofgren was born in Chicago in 1951. As a youngster he studied classical accordion for ten years before focusing on rock and learning to play guitar and piano. Lofgren formed the band “Grin” in 1968. Soon later, at the age of 19, he met Neil […]
Savoy Brown City Night Quarto Valley Records Savoy Brown, the British blues band, was formed by Kim Simmonds in London, in 1965. Their first album, released in the United Kingdom, was 1967’s “Shake Down”. They began to achieve success in the U.S. with the release of their seventh album 1971’s “Street Corner Talking”. The band […]
Terry Robb Confessin’ My Dues NiaSounds Born in Canada, Terry Robb is one of the most heralded acoustic guitarists on the International scene. Moving to the Pacific Northwest, at an early age, his original music draws on Delta blues, ragtime and jazz traditions. His primary influences include Lightning Hopkins, Reverend Gary Davis, and Merle Travis. […]
Dave Wilson Quartet One Night at Chris’ Self-Released This live album from saxophonist Dave Wilson and his quartet at Philly’s Chris’ Jazz Café is a different kind of jazz album due to the choice of rock cover songs, not often heard in a jazz format. They include the Grateful Dead’s “Friend of the Devil,” The […]
Keb’ Mo’ Oklahoma Concord Records Keb’ Mo’ is a blues, Americana and roots music stylist. He released his first album under his birth name Kevin Moore back in 1980 but it wasn’t until he re-surfaced fourteen years later, using his childhood nickname Keb’Mo’, that he received “overnight” success. The self-titled “Keb’ Mo’” album, often referred […]
Griff Hamlin and The Single Barrel Blues Band I’ll Drink To That Independent Griff Hamlin started taking guitar lessons at the age of nine. As a teenager he was inspired by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Freddie King, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, and B.B. King. Hamlin started playing professionally in 1992 when he formed a quartet with […]
Judy Wexler Crowded Heart Jewel City Jazz L.A. vocalist Judy Wexler is releasing her fifth album, Crowded Heart, in which she presents a forward look at the Great American Songbook, jazz standards for the 21st Century. In some ways it’s comparable to Chris Stamey’s forthcoming project, due at the end of the month, New Songs […]
Darrell Nulisch The Bigtone Sessions Vol. 1 Bluebeat Music Darrell Nulisch, vocals and harmonica was the original singer with Anson Funderburgh and The Rockets and first recorded with them on 1979’s “Live At Cactus Jacks”; Nulisch stayed with Funderburgh through 1985. From 1986 until 1989 Nulisch was a member of Mike Morgan and The Crawl. […]
Chanda Rule Sapphire Dreams PAO/Blujazz Amazing, multi-talented Chanda Rule is a singular talent that may escape the attention of many because the Chicago-born, New York-experienced artist is now living in Vienna where this jazz vocal album, Sapphire Dreams, was recorded about 20 months ago and originally released on a European label. Rule recorded with the […]
Michele D’Amour and The Love Dealers Heart of Memphis BluesKitty Records Michele D’Amour hails from the Seattle area. She started by playing piano and singing in church. In her early teens she was a published poet. She soon began writing her own songs, and singing with several bands; and in 2017 won the Grand Prize […]
Jon Gindick Love At The All Night Café Independent Jon Gindick was born in California. In the 1960’s influenced by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, he acquired his first guitar and harmonica. Gindick attended the University of California at Berkley where he began playing music. After graduation Gindick tried […]
Tony Campanella Taking It To The Streets Gulf Coast Records Back in St. Louis in the 1990’s Tony Campanella used to run with a guy by the name of Mike Zito. Campanella was from the northside and Zito from the southside but they were both Italian, Catholic and shared a love for the Blues and […]
Gary Nicholson/Whitey Johnson The Great Divide/More Days Like This Blue Corn Music Gary Nicholson and alter-ego Whitey Johnson share June 7 release date for Blue Corn Music albums ‘The Great Divide’ and ‘More Days Like This’. You know his name and you know his songs. You have milestones intertwined with his songs, he has his […]
Southern Avenue Keep On Concord Music Group The band “Southern Avenue”, named after the street that leads to “Soulville” the original home of Stax Records, combines soul-blues and gospel infused R n’ B. They released their self-titled debut and took home the 2018 Blues Music Award as Best Emerging Artist Album. When Israeli born guitarist […]
Instru Mental Various Artists Bigtone Records “Big” John Atkinson is the owner and President of Bigtone Records. This all instrumental album was one of several albums the label just released. The eleven tracks are either original or re-arranged by the artists listed on the cover. These were recorded at different sessions by Atkinson and Danny […]
“Big” Jon Atkinson Raw Blues Bigtone Records In 2014 “Big” Jon Atkinson recorded his debut album “Boogie With You Baby” on Bluebeat Music and it received rave reviews. Two years later the guitarist/vocalist collaborated with the Blues Music Award winning harmonica ace Bob Corritore and they released “House Party at Big Jon’s”; the album received […]
Molly Thomas and The Rare Birds Honey’s Fury Kaigler’s Bottom Records From the first drop of the needle, Honey’s Fury is evident. There is an urgency to these songs. They enlighten, and empower. These are honest songs that capture the exact moment one decides the moment has come. A band that prides itself on authenticity, […]
Rebecca Dumaine and the Dave Miller Combo Chez Nous Summit Jazz vocalist Rebecca Dumaine is the daughter of pianist Dave Miller and they collaborate for a generous program of mostly standards, several done rather inventively. Joining are bassist Chuck Bennett, drummer Bill Belasco, and on eight of the 14, guitarist Brad Buethe. This is Bay […]
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram Kingfish Alligator Records Christone “Kingfish” Ingram grew up near Clarksdale, Mississippi. Born into a musical family, his mother Princess Pride is first cousin to country music’s Charley Pride, and he started playing drums at the age of six. At nine years old he switched to bass. His mother enrolled him in a […]
Tullie Brae Revelation Endless Blues Too many singers in Tullie Brae’s ilk deliver overwrought vocals but not Tullie. Steeped in church and gospel music in her home state of Louisiana, combined with her multi-instrumental skills, Brae is not faking a thing; she knows the blues . Also, Executive Producer Mick Kolassa knows a few things […]
Jordon Dixon ON! Self-released Jordon Dixon is a Washington-D.C. based emerging tenor saxophonist with a big fat sound that owes in part to Stanley Turrentine and Dexter Gordon. As a bandleader on this, his second album, he fronts a quartet/quintet that includes the brilliant Allyn Johnson on piano and the rhythm duo of bassist Herman […]
The Texas Horns Get Here Quick Severn Records Tenor saxophonist Mark “Kaz” Kazanoff has played on approximately 200 recording sessions starting out in the 1980’s on Blacktop Records. He appears on albums by Earl King, Marcia Ball, Anson Funderburgh, Ronnie Earl, and many others. He played on 1999’s “Lone Star Shootout” with guitarists, Lonnie Brooks, […]
Alexis P Suter Band Be Love Hipbone Records Alexis P Suter’s roots are in the church and she possesses a powerful bass/baritone voice. B.B. King once remarked “It’s a rare thing to share the stage with great talent like that young lady”. Suter also wound up opening for Levon Helm over 90 times. Suter’s debut […]
Pablo Lanouguere Quintet Eclectico Self-released Pablo Lanouguere is a native-born Argentinian bassist and composer and this is the recording debut of his quintet, Eclectico. These are a dozen originals, 11 by Lanouguere. Their music is unique, for lack of a better term, world fusion, combining modern jazz, tango, Argentinian, and classical music. Lanouguere has been […]
Adam Holt Kind of Blues Zenith Given the familiarity of the title, with the added ‘s,’ it is somewhat surprising that no one else has used it (at least that this writer is aware of). Adam Holt is right; there are blues influences here but it’s essentially a southern rock album from the Alabama roots […]
The Forty-Fours Twist The Knife Rip Cat Records The Los Angeles based 44’s caused quite a stir when they released their debut recording “Boogie Disease” in 2011. The album was produced by ex-Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist Kid Ramos who also played on four tracks. They followed up with 2012’s “Americana”; and a 2015 live set called […]
Jimmie Vaughan Baby, Please Come Home The Last Music Company Jimmie Vaughan is the older brother of Stevie Ray Vaughan. While SRV was forming Double Trouble his older brother was founding The Fabulous Thunderbirds. In 1979 The Fabulous Thunderbirds with lead guitarist Vaughan released their debut recording “Girls Go Wild” on Takoma/Chrysalis Records. Jimmie stayed […]
The Waterboys Where the Action Is Cooking Vinyl This one from Mike Scott and his current lineup of Waterboys lies somewhere between 2017’s Out of the Blue and earlier Waterboys and Scott solo material. At times, the full band is revved up in rock mode and at others the poet Scott holds court over ethereal […]
Albert Castiglia Masterpiece Gulf Coast Records Albert Castiglia’s credentials include apprenticeships with Junior Wells and Sandra Hall. He recorded his debut album in 2002. He signed with Bluesleaf Records in 2006 and released four albums including 2008’s “These Are the Days”; the lead off track “Bad Year Blues” resulted in his first Blues Music Award […]
Jennifer Truesdale Through the Circle The first thing you will notice about Through The Circle is that Jennifer Truesdale has a thrilling voice. As a graduate of Berkeley School of Music and a 25-year veteran of the music industry who has performed hundreds of shows on the East Coast, she knows exactly how to use […]
The Cash Box Kings Hail To The Kings! Alligator Records The Cash Box Kings were founded in 2001 by Joe Nosek. Oscar “43rd Street” Wilson joined in 2007. Born in Chicago in 1953 Wilson grew up in the company of blues royalty such as Junior Wells, Elmore James and David “Honeyboy” Edwards. Chicago’s 43rd Street […]
RJ Cowdery What If This Is All There Is When you listen to an album that evokes Patty Griffin, Gretchen Peters, Kim Richey all rolled into one, you know you’ve picked high-cotton. What If This Is All There Is, is one of life’s grandest questions. It’s reflective and forward focused and allows for personal growth. […]
Joe Zook & Blues Deluxe Good Mornin’ Blues Self- released Blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, bandleader and now retired teacher, Joe Zuccarello (Joe Zook) is now nearing almost five decades playing in various configurations. Here he leads the ensemble Blues DeLuxe, with a full three-piece horn section, a group comprising nine members. Zook, based in Trenton, […]
The South Austin Moonlighters Travel Light Station House Records The South Austin Moonlighters are a roots-rock band. A group of local music veterans got together in 2011 just to have a good time. Included were bassist/mandolinist Lonnie Trevino Jr. who had previously toured with Mike Zito, played with singer-songwriter Drew Womack, and was soon to […]
Rev. Freakchild Road Dog Dharma Once again on Road Dog Dharma Rev. Freakchild breaks the mold. The mood is set by the sound of static as a radio is dialed, interrupted by a strong acapella version of “Going Down The Road Feeling Bad.” After that, about half of the 25 tracks are bits and pieces […]
Elizabeth Tomboulian Love’s In Need of Love Today Self-released It’s never too late. Elizabeth Tomboulian has been singing since the ‘70s but this is her debut CD, Love’s In Need of Love Today. In keeping with her career, it’s an eclectic mix of blues, bossa nova, and jazz – all styles that she has covered […]
B.B. King Blues Band The Soul of the King Ruf Records When B. B. King passed away on May, 14th 2015 the world mourned. He also left behind this fabulous ten piece band. They pay tribute to his memory on “The Soul of the King”. In order to help keep the tribute vibrant the thirteen […]
The Duke Robillard Band Ear Worms Stony Plain Records Duke Robillard is one of the most heralded recording artists, guitarists and producers in the blues genre. He founded Roomful of Blues in 1967 but left that band two years later to form his own. Between 1985 and 2017 Robillard released thirty-three albums; the last being […]
Rising Appalachia Ley Lines Blends cultures and harmonies into pure bliss Patrick O’Heffernan The word “ley lines” was coined in 1921 by the amateur English archaeologist Alfred Watkins, describing the apparent alignments among historical and geological spaces, hypothesizing that they had persisted over millennia to facilitate travel, trade and community. Later, others theorized that global ley lines […]
Carlo Ditta Hungry For Love Orleans Records Carlo Ditta is a Grammy nominated New Orleans record producer with over thirty years experience. On his own Orleans Records label Ditta produced albums by Professor Longhair, Mighty Sam McClain, Coco Robicheaux, Rockie Charles and others. Recently he produced “Fried Rice & Chicken”, a Little Freddie King compilation; […]
Reverend Shawn Amos Kitchen Table Blues Vol 1 and Vol 2 In February of this year, Rev. Shawn Amos released Kitchen Table Blues Vol. 1, Recorded Live Over Breakfast, Van Nuys, CA 2016, and also Kitchen Table Blues Vol. 2. Each volume contains five fabulous songs which came from f a podcast Amos did in […]