CD Reviews on projects by Indie Blues Artists
Dave Keyes Right Here Right Now Keyesland Music Dave Keyes has been a part of the New York music scene for over twenty years. His cd “Tear It Up” was released in 1997. In 2000 Keyes won the International Blues Challenge band competition. Keyes’ third cd “Covered in Blue” received 3 ½ stars from Downbeat magazine. […]
Elvin Bishop Can’t Even Do Wrong Right Alligator Records Elvin Bishop first came to my attention as a member of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. He appears on the first three Butterfield albums and left in 1968 to form the Elvin Bishop Group. In 1974 Bishop released the album “Let It Flow” on Capricorn Records. […]
John Ginty Bad News Travels/The Showplace Sessions Live American Showplace Music On June 11, 2014 John Ginty entered the studio to record this DVD. Ginty recreated music from his Bad News Travels cd released this past September. Guesting are Albert Castiglia, Todd Wolfe and Alexis P. Suter. This is the first in producer Ben Elliot’s […]
Sugar Ray and The Bluetones Living Tear To Tear Severn Records Ray Norcia, harp, was appropriately nicknamed Sugar because of his sweet vocals. A former member of “Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters” he left them to form his own band “Sugar Ray and The Bluetones”. Their first album was 1989’s “Knockout”. After two albums Norcia […]
Chris Smither Still On The Levee Signature Sounds Recordings “Still On The Levee” is Chris Smither’s 16th studio album. This is a 50 year retrospective. Smither has selected 25 of his best songs and re-recorded them. Smither’s band “The Motivators” includes Billy Conway, drums; Jimmy Fitting, harmonica; David Goodrich, guitarist/producer; and Anita Suhanin, background vocals. […]
Eric Clapton & Friends “The Breeze – An Appreciation of JJ Cale” www.Surfdog.com www.EricClapton.com Starting with Eric Clapton’s 1970 self-titled debut solo album, Clapton started a decade’s long affection for JJ Cale. They also recorded together on the ’06 “The Road to Escondido.” Last year Cale passed-away so it was not a stretch (but a […]
Jeremy Baum The Eel Flying Yak Records Jeremy Baum is a world class Hammond B-3 and piano player who is also a first call session musician. Baum’s first cd was 2002’s “Lost River Jams”. Baum’s music is rooted in the funky soul jazz of Booker T and The MG’s, the Meters, Jimmy Smith, and Jack […]
The Iguanas Juarez Piety Street Files and Archaic Media Based in New Orleans, La. The Iguanas are a roots rock band. They combine Conjunto and various other Latin styles with R n’ B. Imagine a cross between The Sir Douglas Quintet and The Blazers of East Los Angeles. The Iguanas consist of Joe Cabral, vocals, […]
Dave Van Ronk Down in Washington Square The Smithsonian Folkways Collection As an adolescent my interest in music progressed from The Kingston Trio to The Weavers, Pete Seeger, Bob Gibson, Ian and Sylvia, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, Mississippi John Hurt, Reverend Gary Davis, The Blues Project, and Dave Van Ronk. As a guitar student I would […]
Jaco Pastorius “Modern American Music … Period! The Criteria Sessions” Omnivore Recordings Jaco Pastorius’ major solo debut appeared in 1976 on Epic Records, many of the tracks had their beginning two years earlier when a twenty-two year-old Pastorius booked time at Criteria Studios to work out songs and jam. Eventually six of those session tracks […]
Catherine Russell Bring It Back Jazz Village Catherine Russell is a Jazz singer who will appeal to Blues aficionados. It has been a long time since Jazz has had a singer like Russell. Russell is the daughter of Luis Russell the former musical director for Louis Armstrong. Her father died when she was very young […]
JP Soars Full Moon Night in Memphis Soars High Productions JP Soars first album was “Back of My Mind” released in 2008. JP Soars and The Red Hots won the 2009 band competition at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. In 2011 his “More Bees with Honey” album was released. That album garnered Soars a […]
Selwyn Birchwood Don’t Call No Ambulance Alligator Records Selwyn Birchwood first picked up the guitar when he was 13. By the age of 17 he was into Jimi Hendrix, Albert King, Freddie King, Albert Collins, Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy. He met Texas-born blues legend Sonny Rhodes two years later and Rhodes took him under […]
The Mannish Boys Wrapped Up and Ready Delta Groove Records The Mannish Boys were formed to be a Muddy Waters tribute band. They’re named after a Muddy Waters song so they are readily identifiable with Waters. Individually they were already veterans of the west coast blues music scene when they decided to band together. They […]
Mud Morganfield and Kim Wilson For Pops: A Tribute to Muddy Waters Severn Records The most important figure in modern Blues is Muddy Waters. Waters took the music from rural Mississippi to the northern city of Chicago. As a bandleader his band included Little Walter, the most influential harp player of our time. Waters’ electrified […]
The Holmes Brothers Brotherhood Alligator Records Wendell Holmes, guitar, and his brother Sherman, bass, met Popsy Dixon one night in New York City when he sat in on drums. They formed The Holmes Brothers band in 1979 and began as an opening act at music clubs like Dan Lynch’s and The Bottom Line. In 1990 […]
Before Full Moon Night in Memphis, I have to admit I was woefully unaware of JP Soars, even though he and his band The Red Hots won the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2009. But now that I’ve heard the album, I am truly impressed! The title and title tune, “Full Moon Night in […]
The Alexis P. Suter Band “Love The Way You Roll” American Showplace Music On Labor Day weekend 2007, my wife and I drove to Woodstock, New York. Levon Helm had just released “Dirt Farmer” his comeback album. The ex-Band vocalist and drummer had recovered from surgery and regained full vocal powers. Opening for Helm at […]
Bobby Patterson I Got More Soul Omnivore Recordings Bobby Patterson is a Texas, Rhythm and Blues, legend in the soul tradition of Bobby “Blue” Bland, Otis Redding, and Wilson Pickett. As a producer Patterson worked with Fontella Bass, Chuck Jackson, Little Johnny Taylor and others. He has also been a Dallas area DJ. Patterson’s first […]
Dr. John Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch Proper Records/Concord Music Dr. John is known as the embodiment of New Orleans’ musical legacy. He is the winner of six Grammy awards the last being in 2013. Every few years however Dr. John feels the need to reinvent himself. In 2006 Dr. John released “Mercenery” a tribute […]
Paul Thorn Too Blessed to Be Stressed Perpetual Obscurity Records “It’s April 14th, 1988 and we’re live from The Tropicana in Atlantic City New Jersey. In one corner, the former Lightweight, Welterweight, and Light Middleweight Champion of the World, Roberto Duran with a record of 82W-7L, in the other corner, Paul Thorn with a record […]
Dave Specter sets out to deliver a “Message in Blue” on his new CD, and the message is that he can write and deliver great instrumentals in a variety of blues moods. Here, he delivers songs that are defined by their titles: “New West Side Stroll,” “Chicago Style,” “Funkified Outer Space,” “The Spectifyin’ Samba,” “Jefferson […]
Jarekus Singleton Refuse To Lose Alligator Records As a reviewer for Making A Scene there is nothing I like to do more than inform our readers about a great new talent. Sometimes I do not get it on first listening. Such is the case with Jarekus Singleton, the former 6-3 point guard from The University […]
Murali Coryell Restless Mind Shake-It-Sugar Records In 1999, Murali Coryell released “2120” an album by The Murali Coryell Blues Band on Chess Records subsidiary CZYZ Records. This was the well executed but basic blues band that first turned me on to Coryell. They were booked as an opening act at BB Kings in NYC and […]
Dave Fields All In FMI Records Dave Fields is a highly skilled guitarist and vocalist. Field’s 2012 recording “Detonation” established him as a major player in the world of Blues Rock. This is Field’s fourth recording. Today Field’s band consists of Andy Huenerberg or Tony Tino, bass; Kenny Soule or Dave Moore, drums; and Vladimir […]
Davina and the Vagabonds are different from the very start. There are no guitars in the group, which consists of Davina Sowers on piano and vocals plus horns, drums, upright bass and even sousaphone and vibraphone. The analog sound on their new CD, Sunshine, is excellent and the acoustic nature of the music adds to […]
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, […]
