CD Reviews on projects by Indie Blues Artists
A boxer and a rocker who was born in London, raised in Brooklyn, Ben de la Cour played dive bars underage and dropped out of school to join a Heavy Metal Band. His formative years were deftly shaped by Bob Dylan the Everly Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Turning his steely eyed intensity towards an acoustic […]
Paul Filipowicz Unfiltered Big Jake Records Paul Filipowicz was born in Chicago in 1950. One night while listening to the radio he heard songs by both Sonny Boy Williamson II and Muddy Waters and got bitten by the blues bug. His first exposure to live blues music was going to see Otis Rush. Paul says […]
Ry Cooder The Prodigal Son Fantasy Records/Concord Music Group Ry Cooder began his recording career in 1970 with his self-titled debut. In 1972 he followed up with two widely acclaimed albums that helped develop his artistry; “Into The Purple Valley” with its movie-like cover and “Boomer’s Story”. On these albums Cooder covered older often obscure […]
Keeshea Pratt Band Believe Independent The Keesha Pratt Band finished first in the band competition at the 2018 International Blues Challenge. The eight piece band is that rare collective that can perform both traditional “old school” blues or more contemporary styles. The core band is Keesha Pratt, lead and background vocals; Shawn Allen, piano, organ and bass; […]
The Proven Ones Wild Again Roseleaf Records The Proven Ones are an all-star ensemble built from the bottom up. The master rhythm section includes Jimi Bott nominated nineteen times as Best Instrumentalist – Drums at The Blues Music Awards and winning that award in 2015. His long time partner is bassist Willie J. Campbell who […]
Kat Riggins In The Boys Club Bluzpik Media Group Katriva Riggins hails from Miami, Florida. Her parents instilled in her a love for all genres of music from gospel, to soul, to country and to rock. Her primary influences include Nina Simone, Tina Turner, Etta James and Koko Taylor. She has been on the South […]
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 […]
The Record Company All Of This Life Concord Records The Record Company’s music is a blend of early electric blues and garage rock. In 2016 The Record Company released their hugely successful debut which appealed to a broad range of listeners. Chris Vos vocals, harmonica, and guitars states “We’re just as influenced by bands like […]
Buddy Guy The Blues Is Alive And Well Silvertone/RCA Records Buddy Guy is undoubtedly the reigning “King of The Blues”. He began his career performing in 1953 in Baton Rouge, La. By 1957 he had relocated to Chicago. In 1965 and 1966 Guy recorded sessions with Junior Wells for both Delmark and Vanguard Records. Guy’s […]
Rory Block is a five-time Blues Award winner, and with albums like A Woman of Soul, it is easy to understand why. This is the first in a series of albums called ‘”Power Women of the Blues.” This one is a tribute to Bessie Smith. The album contains well-known songs like “Do your Duty,” “Gimme […]
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 […]
Bridget Kelly Band Blues Warrior Alpha Sun Records Bridget Kelly and Tim Fik met sometime in May of 2007. They were married that December. Tim produced two Americana albums for Bridget but was convinced she should change her style and sing Blues. Tim was already a guitarist well versed in all styles of the Blues. […]
Tom Hambridge The Nola Sessions: Dedicated To New Orleans, La. SuperStar Factory Productions Tom Hambridge is a two time Grammy Award winning producer, songwriter, and drummer. He also has six Blues Music Award nominations and shares his 2011 BMA for “Song of The Year” with Buddy Guy. Hambridge has produced Guy’s last four albums including […]
Bob Corritore & Friends Don’t Let The Devil Ride Vizztine Label Group/Southwest Musical Arts Foundation Bob Corritore was born in Chicago and got hooked on blues harmonica when he was twelve years old. He studied and received playing tips from Carey Bell, Big Walter Horton, Junior Wells and others. At the age of twenty-five Corritore […]
Little Boys Blue w/Kid Memphis Hard Blue Space Vizztone Label Group When JD Taylor, harmonica and vocals, formed “Little Boys Blue” in 1993, he and his partner chose a really cool name. Rice Miller called himself “Little Boy Blue” before renaming himself Sonny Boy Williamson II. I also know of at least two songs with […]
Artur Menezes Keep Pushing Independent Artur Menezes spent time living in Chicago during 2006, 2007 and again in 2011. He sat in on Jam sessions at clubs like Kingston Mines and Rosa’s and got the opportunity to play with Linsey Alexander, John Primer and Buddy Guy. Menezes released his full length solo debut recording in […]
Madeleine Besson’s “Journey Home” is sultry and soulful. Influences such as Etta James, Otis Redding, and Ray Charles are evident throughout. It is an album that can stand in for your best friend. An album for anyone who’s been going through some rough times and are emerging more trusting and believing and stronger. Those of […]
Billy Price Reckoning Vizztone Label Group Billy Price was born in Fair Lawn, NJ in 1949. Price became Roy Buchanan’s vocalist and appears on Buchanan’s 1975 album “Live Stock”. Price formed the Keystone Rhythm Band in 1979 and released four albums before renaming his band The Billy Price Band. He has since recorded eleven more […]
Lurrie Bell & The Bell Dynasty Tribute To Carey Bell w/special guests Delmark Records As a youngster growing up Lurrie Bell was surrounded by the Blues as his father was the legendary harmonica player Carey Bell. Lurrie first picked up the guitar at the age of six and polished his playing skills with Big Walter […]
Victoria Ginty has recently released her second album, Unfinished Business. The band consists of Ginty on lead vocals, violin, and acoustic guitar, Tim Costello, vocals and lead guitar, Mike Ivey, vocals and bass guitar, Nick Lauro, drums, Chuck Weirch, Trumpet, and Wayne Cornelius, Tenor Sax.’ The album starts out with a fun and sassy title […]
J.P. Soars Southbound I-95 Soars High Productions In 2009 JP Soars and The Red Hots won the band competition at the International Blues Challenge. JP Soars’ 2011 album “More Blues with Honey” resulted in him receiving a 2012 Blues Music Award nomination as “Contemporary Blues Male Artist of The Year”. JP is a blues treasure […]
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 […]
John Clifton Nightlife Rip Cat Records In the late 1980’s harmonica player John Clifton founded The MoFo Party Band with his brother guitarist Bill Clifton. They released their debut recording “Call The Doctor!” in 1999. That album was named one of the “Best West Coast NEW Blues Recordings of 2000” and made numerous other “Best” […]
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 […]
Deb Ryder Enjoy The Ride Vizztone Label Group Deb Ryder got her start as a teenager. She would often perform the opening set at her step-father’s nightclub. Some of the artists she opened for included Etta James, Big Joe Turner, Charlie Musselwhite and Taj Mahal. It’s not surprising then that she calls James her biggest […]
Tas Cru Memphis Song Subcat Records In 2014 Tas Cru won a “Keeping The Blues Alive” Award in education. For the past twenty years he has been teaching about the blues and its history, and about how to play. He self funded the production of 2009’s “Even Bugs Sing The Blues” and it’s follow-up “Doggone […]
Dana Fuchs Love Lives On Get Along Records Dana Fuchs is a soulful blues rocker whose primary influence is Janis Joplin. In 2001 she starred in New York City’s off-Broadway production of “Love Janis” as one of several singers who alternated in the role. During her downtime Fuchs would often play the now closed B.B. […]
Mike Zito First Class Life Ruf Records Mike Zito signed with the Delta Groove subsidiary Eclecto Groove in 2008. The album “Today” co-produced by David Z and Tony Braunagel was his first internationally distributed recording. The title track on his follow-up, “Pearl River”, co-written with Cyril Neville, received a 2010 Blues Music Award for “Song […]
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 […]
Jeff Jensen’s new album. Wisdom and Decay is a marvel. It seems impossible that it can be better than his previous albums, and yet I believe it is. The production, certainly, is the best yet. That, too, is done by Jensen. The work of his band, Bill Ruffino on bass and David Green on drums, […]
Michael Kaeshammer Something New Linus Entertainment Michael Kaeshammer grew up in Germany where he studued Classical piano. At a young age he developed an interest in the boogie – woogie and stride piano of Meade Lux Lewis, Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson. He moved with his family to Canada and began playing at festivals. He […]
The Lucky Losers Blind Spot Dirty Cat Records The Lucky Losers are a vocal duo performing blues with a soulful 60’s retro sound. This is the third album for Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz. Lemons, is originally from the Dallas area where she used to run with Stevie Ray Vaughan and Anson Funderburgh. She also […]
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 […]
Joe Goldmark Blue Steel Lo-Ball Records Joe Goldmark grew up in Tucson, Arizona where he studied cello and guitar. He moved to San Francisco and started playing bass in soul bands. He became enamored with the San Francisco Sound and got bitten by the pedal steel bug after seeing Jerry Garcia play with The New […]
J.T. Lauritsen & The Buckshot Hunters Blue Eyed Soul Volume 1 Hunters Records Jan Tore Lauritsen hails from Lillestrom, Norway. He began playing piano at an early age but soon switched to the Hammond B-3. Early influences included B.B. King, Charles Brown and Ray Charles. Because the B-3 was too big to haul around from […]
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 […]
Walter “Wolfman” Washington My Future is My Past Anti Records Walter “Wolfman” Washington is a New Orleans icon. He learned by working with Ernie K. Doe, Lee Dorsey, Irma Thomas, and Johnny Adams among others. He is a blues, R n’ B, soul, jazz and funk master. Washington is usually heard with his band The […]
Mike Zito is about to release his 14th Album, First Class Life, and in it, he celebrates two things: his rise above addiction and his absolute love for the blues. and he does ur in first-class style! The album begins joyously with some amazing slide guitar and Zito enthusiastically singing about “Mississippi Music.” Them the mood […]
Andy Watts Blues On Fire Independent Andy Watts started playing the guitar when he was twelve years old. He was drawn in after first hearing American blues. Watts formed his band The Blues Rebels in 2012 and has played with them all over Israel and Europe. They released their first album “Open Road” in 2015. […]
Little Freddie King Fried Rice & Chicken Orleans Records Fread Eugene Martin a.k.a. Little Freddie King was born in McComb, Mississippi, in July of 1940. He was a cousin to Lightnin’ Hopkins and moved to New Orleans when he was seventeen where he honed his guitar skills playing with Slim Harpo and Champion Jack Dupree. […]
Marcia Ball Shine Bright Alligator Records Marcia Ball was born in Vinton, Louisiana, on the Texas borderline. As a child she began playing piano but it wasn’t until she witnessed a live performance by Irma Thomas that she discovered the power of soul music. She soon enrolled at Louisiana State University where she began her […]
Beth Hart Front And Center Live From New York Provogue / Mascot Label Group Beth Hart has eight solo studios albums and four collaborative albums with Joe Bonamassa. Her last studio album “Fire On The Floor” has resulted in three 2018 Blues Music Award nominations; Contemporary Blues Album, Contemporary Blues Female Artist, and Best Instrumentalist […]
Markey Blue and Ric Latina are a true performing and songwriting team, and recently changed the name of their group from just Markey Blue to Markey Blue Ric Latina Project to reflect that. They also recently signed with EllerSole Records, and on April 20 they will release their newest album, “Raised in Muddy Water.” This […]
Savoy Brown You Should Have Been There! Panache Records Kim Simmonds formed the British blues band Savoy Brown in 1965. Their first album released in the UK was 1967’s “Shake Down”. They began to achieve success in the U.S. in 1971 with the release of their seventh album “Street Corner Talking”. The following year they […]
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 […]
A Tribute To Deborah Deborah Coleman What about Love? Telarc Records Deborah has often said she is more comfortable “live” but this is her best studio recording yet and I’m sure it will be her most commercially successful album. Her effort is augmented by a crackerjack band. Per Hanson, the drummer who has played with […]
Paul Thorn Don’t Let The Devil Ride Perpetual Obscurity Records Paul Thorn was born the son of a preacher. The first music he was ever exposed to excited him and it was gospel music. “Thorn spent his youth singing in his father’s Pentecostal church…but his most memorable musical experiences were at an African American branch…the […]
