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 […]
Casey Hensley Live Featuring Laura Chavez VizzTone Hensley’s name is the prominent one on the jacket but also note “Featuring Laura Chavez.” Chavez is a world- renowned guitarist who played with the late Candye Kane and has been hailed by folks like Ronnie Earl as one our best. This is a showcase for her dazzling, […]
Peter Parcek Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven Lightnin’ This is the hard blues. It’s not that Peter Parcek plays hard constantly but it’s the feeling he evokes. He alternates dynamics but leaves vapors of Hendrix and The Cream in his wake. He can play cleanly like Peter Green but prefers to shroud both his guitar […]
