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.
The Heavy Hitters The Heavy Hitters Cellar Music Group The Heavy Hitters is a new name and the eponymous debut for a group co-led by pianist Mike LeDonne and tenorist Eric Alexander. Yet, there are plenty of reference points for this one. In recent years we’ve seen more than one ‘super group” assembled to carry […]
Beatles, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, making a Scene, roots, roots rock, Teresa James
Teresa James With a Little Help From Her Friends Blue Heart The Grammy-nominated Texas born, California-based vocalist Teresa James makes the ten Beatles songs on her With a Little Help From Her Friends sound like a steaming, rowdy set from your favorite roadhouse or at times a sweaty dancefloor from the Stax /Motown/Philly soul era […]
americana, bluegrass, Country, roots, roots rock, singer-songwriter
Peach & Quiet Beautiful Thing Peach & Quiet Music The play on words duo Peach & Quiet are Canadians Heather Reed and Jonny Miller, both of whom sing, write songs, and play acoustic guitars. Their dozen originals draw on folk, blues, Americana, and throwback Laurel Canyon rock. This is their sophomore release and they have […]
cd review, jazz, jazz CD, Jazz Review
John Bailey Time Bandits Freedom Road Versatile and in-demand trumpeter and composer John Bailey has played alongside Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Jr., and Latin jazz giants Ray Barretto and Arturo O’Farrill as well as with major jazz musicians in NYC. The backing ensemble he has recruited for Time Bandits, his third album as a leader, […]
cd review, jazz, jazz CD, Jazz Review
Richie Goods & Chien Chien Lu Connected Vol. 1 Richman Music Renowned bassist Richie Goods and respected vibraphonist Chien Chien Lu are documenting what looks to be the first in a series of collaborations. You may have already heard some of their work as “We Three Kings” was released in the Fall of 2020 and “Rain,” which […]
cd review, jazz, jazz CD, Jazz Review
Derrick Gardner & The Jazz Prophets Pan Africa Impact Jazz Trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Derrick Gardner has been regarded prominently ever since his 2005 debut with Slim Goodie. He has also received international acclaim for his 18-piece ensemble Derrick Gardner & The Big dig! Band, highlighted by their critically acclaimed 2020 recording debut Still I Rise, which we covered […]
americana, blues, blues rock, damon fowler, indie Blues, Rock, roots, roots rock
Damon Fowler & Friends Live at the Palladium Landslide Records A very special night this turned out to be. Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Damon Fowler and his band tore it up, threw it down, stomped on it, and on occasion smoothed it over at their show in St. Petersburgh, Florida this past July. Live at […]
americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, making a Scene, roots, roots rock
Barbara Blue From the Shoals Pittsburgh native Barbara Blue left home in 1977 for Phoenix Az. From 1980 through 1987 Barbara lived in Detroit playing with the “City Limits Blues Band”. She returned to Pittsburgh and she started recording her own music after meeting Tony Braunagel on the blues cruise. She recorded with the Phantom […]
blues, indie Blues, roots, singer-songwriter, songwriter
Gail Ceasar Guitar Woman Blues Music Maker Foundation Gail Ceasar is a self-taught Piedmont blues and bluegrass singer/guitarist, who through the help of the Music Maker Foundation is releasing an authentic blues album. Ceasar has been playing this regional style blend of bluegrass and the blues, learned from her uncle Joe, since she was ten […]
jazz, jazz CD, Jazz Review, roots
Something Blue Personal Preference Posi- Tone Every so often producer Marc Free and engineer Nick O’Toole of Posi-Tone Records take the opportunity to showcase new artists. Sometimes this is under the banner “New Faces” but at others the pair introduces new artists in the company of label mainstays. Such was the case with 2018’s Something […]
cd review, jazz, jazz CD, Jazz Review, roots
Michael Feinberg Blues Variant Criss Cross Bassist and composer Michael Feinberg gathers an elite group of jazz musicians to honor the spirit of Elvin Jones specifically and John Coltrane’s classic quartet in general. The bassist contributes six originals, one from Tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger, one from pianist Leo Genovese, and his own arrangement of Herbie […]
cd review, jazz, jazz CD, Jazz Review, roots
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bluegrass, Country, country rock, roots, roots rock, songwriter
The Gibson Brothers Darkest Hour Bull Run / Rainmaker Music The Gibson Brothers began recording their 15th album just as everything hit the fan. But from that Darkest Hour came the purest expression of what makes The Gibson Brothers the multiple award-winning bluegrass vocal duo and band leaders that they are. As produced by the […]
americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, roots, roots rock
Angela Strehli Ace of Blues Angela Strehli who helped found Antone’s, the legendary blues venue in Austin, Texas, recently released Ace of Blues, her first album in seventeen years. Her voice is deep and buttery on this twelve-track recording as she pays tribute to those musicians who were an inspiration to her, such as O.V. Wright, Elmore James, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy […]
americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, roots, roots rock
Steve Hill Dear Illusion Canadian bluesman Steve Hill has pulled down an impressive number of awards over his twenty-seven-plus years of playing professionally. In 2015 he was awarded the Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year. In 2013 he received the Best self-produced CD award at the Memphis International Blues Challenge. And as far as the Maple Blues Awards go, he’s secured eight of […]
americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, roots, roots rock
GeminiiDragon Equinox Equinox, the follow-up album to GeminiiDragon’s earlier release this year Fighting Fire With Fire continues to rock out with music fortified with a heaping helping of funk, soul, and blues. Lead vocalist Jessica Harper and guitarist Christian Simeon absolutely shine as writing partners on this ten-track recording of all original songs. Harper and Simeon are joined by bassist Dougie V, drummer E Sass, and backing vocalist La La Thomas. […]
americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, Rock, roots, roots rock
Diane Blue LIVE! At the Fallout Shelter Diane Blue “Live! At The Fallout Shelter” features the vocalist and harmonica player Blue on an album including seven originals and two covers. Blue is the first female member of Ronnie Earl and The Broadcasters and she appears with them on their last six albums. This album features […]
americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, Rock, roots, roots rock
Tas Cru Riffin’ The Blue Tas Cru “Riffin’ The Blue” is a set of eleven Tas Cru Originals. Featured alongside Tas on two tracks is guitarist Mike Zito. Keyboardist Bruce Katz is featured on all songs except for one with organist Bill Barry. The wonderful overall sound is rounded out by the rhythm section of […]
americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, Rock, roots, roots rock
Making a Scene Presents Tom Clarke’s Twelve Favorite Roots and Blues Studio Albums of 2022 Tedeschi Trucks Band – I Am the Moon – Concord Records Derek Trucks may be the most brilliant and expressive guitarist of his generation, his wife Susan Tedeschi the finest rock and soul singer, and their 12-piece Tedeschi Trucks Band […]
cd reviews, jazz, jazz CD, jazz releases, Jazz Review, top 30
Making a Scene Presents Jim Hynes’s Top 30 Jazz Releases Covered in MAS Plus Honorable Mentions (alphabetically by artist – not rated) By Jim Hynes Let’s begin by saying every single jazz release we have reviewed has an appeal for some reason, which makes it difficult to develop these lists. Keep in mind that this […]
Vanessa Collier Live At Power Station Vanessa Collier is from Clarksville, Md. She attended the Berklee College of Muisc in Boston and graduated with multiple degrees including Music Production. She toured the U.S. and Turkey with the Grammy winning Joe Louis Walker. Her self-produced debut introduced her mixture of blues. Since then Collier won Instrumentalist-Horn […]
cd review, jazz, jazz CD, Jazz Review
Nadje Noordhuis Full Circle Newvelle The Australian-born trumpeter Nadje Noordhuis leads a first-rate quartet on Full Circle, the fourth album in NewVelle Records’ Renewal Series. Flanked by pianist Fred Hersch, bassist Thomas Morgan, and drummer Rudy Royston, Noordhuis, who composed all eight compositions, gives each of her bandmates plenty of solo opportunities. This is a […]
americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, roots, roots rock
Samantha Fish & Jesse Dayton The Stardust Sessions Rounder Records (digital) A massive front of low-pressure dustbowl country crashed head-on into high-pressure blues and rock ‘n’ roll when Austin’s Jesse Dayton and Kansas City’s Samantha Fish hit a New Orleans studio together. Their hellacious storm of a debut album dubbed Death Wish Blues drops this […]
americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, roots, roots rock
Mud Morganfield Portrait Delmark Records Mud Morganfield, the oldest son of the legendary bluesman Muddy Waters takes his music seriously. Closely following the path of this father, Mud sets the bar high when it comes to performing the blues. Additional influences of Motown, soul, and R&B are absorbed into his songs. Portrait is a remix of Mud’s entire debut album Son of the Seventh Son topped off with […]
cd review, jazz, jazz CD, Jazz Review, making a Scene
Lisa Hilton Paradise Cove Ruby Slippers Productions Paradise Cove marks the 26th album for pianist, composer and producer Lisa Kristine Hilton, and her second release in 2022, following March’s Life Is Beautiful. It also marks the debut of her new, L.I.L.O Quartet (all first initials) featuring returning mainstay bassist Luques Curtis with trumpeter Igmar Thomas (Hilton’s former roommate at […]
cd review, jazz, Jazz Review, making a Scene
Laszlo Gardony Close Connection Sunnyside Hungarian-born pianist and Berklee College of Music Professor Laszlo Gardony delivers his fourteenth album and sixth with his trio of bassist John Lockwood and drummer Yoron Israel. The trio has been playing together for more than twenty years so the deep level of understanding facilitates a lively session that has […]
cd review, jazz, Jazz Review, making a Scene
David Bloom and Cliff Colnot Shadow of a Soul Fire and Form Shadow of a Soul is an expansive, largely orchestral album from guitarist, flautist, composer, educator David Bloom and esteemed arranger Cliff Colnot. This is their fourth collaborative album with 15 original compositions from Bloom and 13 arrangements by Colnot, with the two arranging […]
americana, roots, roots rock, singer-songwriter, songwriter
Amelia White Rocket Rearview Self-released Amelia White is a singer-songwriter who has emerged as one of the most honest and direct in the talented field of Americana artists, many of whom, like White, call East Nashville their hometown. Rocket Rearview is White’s eighth album, her pandemic album (just about all artists have one of those, […]
americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, Rock, roots, roots rock
Skip James The Complete 1931 Sessions Org Music This year Record Store Day Black Friday has something exciting for Blues fans and vinyl connoisseurs. ORG Music is re-releasing Skip James – The Complete 1931 Sessions on transparent orange vinyl. This is a great introductory record for the music of Skip James. Born in 1902 near Bentonia, Mississippi, he learned to play guitar in his youth and later […]
cd review, jazz, jazz CD, Jazz Review
Rodney Whitaker Oasis – The Music of Gregg Hill Origin Detroit native, Director of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University, and esteemed bassist Rodney Whitaker is back with his third album dedicated to music of his East Lansing neighbor, composer Gregg Hill, with Oasis. If this, the first one this writer has heard, is any […]
americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, Rock, roots, roots rock
Bruce Cockburn Rarities (Digital Only Release) True North For fans who cannot get enough of Bruce Cockburn’s music (this writer being one of them), the artist is releasing Rarities, sixteen rarely heard and newly mastered recordings for digital only consumption. These include two previously unreleased songs that are not included on the Rumours Of Glory limited-edition box […]
americana, making a Scene, roots, roots rock
Kate Baker and Vic Juris Return to Shore – The Duo Sessions Strikezone We’re just a tad late for this one; shame on us if we were to overlook it. The husband-and-wife duo of vocalist Kate Baker and the late esteemed guitarist Vic Juris is one of the most intimate, tender recordings in recent memory. […]
cd review, jazz, jazz CD, Jazz Review, making a Scene
Skip & Dan Wilkins Quartet In the Stars Deer Head At this same time almost exactly three years ago we reviewed Someday from the Skip and Dan Wilkins Quartet, an homage to the Deer Head Inn in Delaware Water Gap, PA, relatively local for this writer. Yes, it’s a rather unlikely spot to find a […]
americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, Rock, roots, roots rock
Bywater Call Remain Gypsy Soul Records Maple Blues Award winners Bywater Call have drawn a fair share of parallels to Tedeschi Trucks Band since emerging in Toronto in 2017. Remain will likely bolster those comparisons, but also cement the distinctive character of this seven-member group through their gripping performances of eleven original songs. This […]
cd review, jazz, jazz CD, Jazz Review, making a Scene
Santi Debriano & Arkestra Bembe Ashanti Jojo Panama-born and New York-based composer and bassist Santi Debriano has been a longtime bandmate for Kirk Lightsey but is an accomplished bandleader as well. Ashanti is his eighth release as a leader and the first for Jojo Records. Bembe is quite the ensemble, boasting a five-horn front line, with four […]
americana, roots, roots rock, singersongwriter, songwriter
Vince Herman Enjoy the Ride LoHi The epitome of the Americana sound is present of Vince Herman’s Enjoy the Ride, the first solo album from the frontman of Leftover Salmon, a band that’s been with us for thirty years. Melding country, bluegrass, tinges of blues, and the kind of songs that echo John Prine and […]
cd review, jazz, Jazz Review, making a Scene
Jussi Reijonen Three Seconds/Kolme Toista Challenge Records International If you were to know that the leader has lived in Finland, Jordan, Tanzania, OMan, Lebanon, and the United States, it would pique your curiosity. Add to that the unusual instrumentation and background of the players in his nonet: Jason Palmer on trumpet and flugelhorn; Bulut Gülen […]
americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, Rock, roots, roots rock
Spencer Mackenzie Preach to my Soul Gypsy Soul Records Ranking high on my list of the newest wave of blues artists is Canadian bluesman Spencer Mackenzie. While just in his mid-twenties, he’s already been nominated for multiple blues awards in Canada, and is bound to push the envelope even further in his career. His talent for […]
cd review, jazz, Jazz Review, making a Scene
Sun-Mi Hong Third Page: Resonance Edition As the title implies, Resonance is the third album for Korean born, Amsterdam-based drummer Sun-Mi Hong, and it marks her debut for the prestigious UK Edition label. Sun-Mi is one of the rising stars in European jazz and, if you were reading closely, she appeared on the recently reviewed […]
americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, Rock, roots, roots rock
Emanual Casablanca Blood on my Hands Kings County Blues Blood on my Hands, the debut album from Brooklyn-based blues-rocker Emanual Casablanca has quickly garnered my admiration. Casablanca’s all-in approach to music produces deep and personal songs. That’s what makes his blues honest and real. This album contains sixteen tracks of all-original material featuring an amazing arsenal of guests which include Eric Gales, Albert […]
americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, making a Scene, roots, roots rock
John Primer Hard Times Blue House Productions Hard Times, the very latest release from Chicago Blues great John Primer captures my ‘real-deal’ blues-loving heart with thirteen new originals. With Steve Bell on harmonica, Lenny Media on drums, and David Forte on bass, this recording also features special guests Rick Kreher on 2nd guitar, Johnny Iguana on piano and organ, and John’s seventeen-year-old daughter Aliya Primer on vocals. Primer states: “The name of my new CD […]
americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, making a Scene, Rock, roots, roots rock
Ivor S.K. Mississippi Bound Vizztone Label Group Hailing from Sydney Australia, and now living in New Orleans, Ivor Simpson-Kennedy takes story-telling to the highest level with his music. There’s a unique spin he has on blues and roots which is very refreshing and quite captivating. The attention he pays to details in his songwriting, pairs perfectly with his laidback […]
americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, roots, roots rock
Annika Chambers and Paul Deslauriers Good Trouble Vizztone Label Group Annika Chambers and Paul DesLauriers have both been on my radar a while. I covered Chambers’ 2019 album Kiss My Sass, and DesLauriers’ 2016 release Relentless, as well as his 2019 release Bounce. I embraced all three of those recordings. The spirited couple met at the 2018 International Blues Challenge in Memphis and started working together in 2019. Within the […]
cd review, jazz, Jazz Review, making a Scene, roots
Sam Blakeslee & Wistful Thinking Busy Body Outside in Music Ohio native, New York City based trombonist and composer Sam Blakeslee follows up his 2021 debut The Long Middle with his band, Wistful Thinking, delivering their second release, Busy Body. The bandleader has created an almost entirely new sound that contrasts to the intimate, melancholy […]
cd review, jazz, Jazz Review, making a Scene
Ant Law & Alex Hitchcock Same Moon in the Same World Outside in Music Two emerging forces in the UK jazz scene have collaborated on Same Moon In The Same World. Guitarist Ant Law and tenor saxophonist Alex Hitchcock not only remotely recorded the album, but they enlisted support from top artists in the UK and the U.S. […]
cd review, jazz, Jazz Review, making a Scene
Michael Blake Combobulate Newvelle Combobulate is the second release in Newvelle Records Renewal Series is a celebratory and unique exploration of saxophonist and composer Michael Blake’s compositions and arrangements featuring a star-studded brass section including TWO legendary tuba players Bob Stewart and Marcus Rojas, Steven Bernstein on trumpet, Clark Gayton on trombone and Allan Mednard […]
cd review, jazz, Jazz Review, roots
Eddie Palmieri Sonido Solar Truth Revolution Recording Collective NEA Jazz Master, 85-year-old Eddie Palmieri, dubbed “The Sun of Latin Music” has figuratively passed the torch to many but is doing so directly on this recording, Sonido Solar. While Palmieri’s spirit and guiding light brightens the whole album, he plays just on two tracks while handing […]
cd review, jazz, jazz CD, Jazz Review, making a Scene
Hilario Duran and David Virelles Front Street Duets Alma Hilario Duran and David Virelles are two acclaimed Cuban pianists and composers who have known each other for over two decades. They come together here on Front Street Duets with their most extensive project to date. There seems to be a proclivity for Cuban pianists to […]
alt rock, americana, making a Scene, roots, roots rock, songwriter
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an interview with Stephen Jacques A rising star in the Alt-Rock scene, frontman Stephen Jacques & legendary indie producers Alan Weatherhead and John Morand, collaborate on this prolific body of work. A manifestation of material Stephen gathered throughout his career as engineer, custom builder, and actor. Over 300 Radio […]
Country, folk, indie country, making a Scene, roots, roots rock, singer-songwriter, songwriter
The Lone Bellow Love Songs for Losers Dualtone After delivering four highly acclaimed albums with reputable, decorated producers, the harmonious trio, The Lone Bellow have self-produced their fifth album, Love Songs for Losers. Recorded in the possibly haunted former home of Roy Orbison, this album weaves in some pain with the unbridled joy that characterized […]
