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.
Yana Distant Shore Today I want to introduce you to a wonderful singer/songwriter from the Czech Republic…Yana. When you listen to her music you realize very quickly that she has a strong connection to Ireland and she says about herself that she may have lived there in a previous life. Yana released her debut EP […]
Vanessa Collier Heart on the Line Phenix Fire Records Vanessa Collier hails from Clarksville, Maryland. Collier attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston where she graduated with degrees in Performance, Music Production and Engineering. In 2012, after graduation, she spent eighteen months touring the US and Turkey with the Grammy winning Joe Louis Walker. […]
John Warwick Mur Mur Fountain “I’m Down in the Basement In my Imaginary World I can’t Live in Your one Too Much Violence Everywhere” John Warwick Today I have the honor of reviewing John Warwick’s second album “Mur Mur Fountain” John is a brilliant singer songwriter from Poplar, London and he has already showed with […]
Jon Strahl Band Heartache and Toil Independent As a teenager Jon Strahl’s musical experience was similar to our own. “I grew up in a house with music, there was always something new on the turntable and it was almost always rock and roll…but what really hit me…was this Sunday night radio show on WTTS called […]
The Flying Horse Big Band Florida Rays – featuring songs of Ray Charles Flying Horse Orlando’s own Flying Horse Big Band, on their seventh release, pay] tribute to perhaps the city’s biggest musical icon, Ray Charles on this expansive outing directed by Jeff Rupert, a tenor saxophonist who doesn’t play on the album, but conducts […]
Dianne Davidson Perigon: Full Circle Independent Born in West Tennessee, Dianne Davidson was singing and writing songs when she was just a child. She formed her first band when she was eleven. She completed her musical education by performing in bars, nightclubs and listening rooms from Tennessee to Greenwich Village. She recorded her debut album […]
Eleesha Prothero Electric Princess The world of music can be compared to a massive gold mine. There are lots of riches to found if you are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. Now I know that Facebook gets a lot of negative press and maybe on occasion the criticism […]
Friends & Legends of Louisiana Various Artists L & M Star Productions Producer Lucas Spinosa is a songwriter, keyboardist and former bandleader of the Baton Rouge based “Southern Star”, a band popular in the 1990’s. Their albums include “Magic”, “Evangeline” and “From The Heart”. Way back in 1966 Spinosa was a member of the band […]
Willie Nile Uncovered Paradiddle Records Willie Nile was born Robert Noonan in Buffalo, N.Y. in 1948. He attended the University of Buffalo; and afterwards relocated to Greenwich Village to pursue a music career. Nile frequented New York’s punk rock club CBGB’s were he was influenced by the music of the Ramones, the Patti Smith Group, […]
John Beasley and MONK’estra Plays John Beasley Mack Avenue This year seems to especially have many jazz artists turning to the music of Thelonious Monk but this is nothing new for John Beasley and his MONK ‘estra who have plied their first two volumes of Monk material into two GRAMMY nominations. Over the course of […]
A Band Called Sam Legacy Highlander Records Guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and bandleader Samuel Willis Taylor, Jr. a.k.a. Sam “Bluzman” Taylor was born in 1934 in Crichton, a suburb of Mobile, Alabama. He was the son of jazz and blues saxophonist Sam “The Man” Taylor, but was raised by his mother a vaudevillian. They moved to […]
R.B. Morris Going Back to the Sky Singular Recordings and songwriter, solo and band leader, and a sometimes playwright and actor Admittedly, the initial draw here is that RB Morris’ album is produced by Bo Ramsey. Yet, a small bit of research combined with listening to just the first full song, “Red Sky,” proves that […]
Eric Johanson Below Sea Level Nola Blue Records While still in high school Louisiana native Eric Johanson was already a soulful blues guitarist appearing on stages throughout the state. When heard by Tab Benoit, the young Johanson became the first guitarist/singer signed to his then new Whiskey Bayou Records. In 2017 Johanson released his debut […]
Ron Thompson From the Patio, Live at Poor House Bistro, Vol 1 Little Village Foundation From the Patio – Live at Poor House Bistro, Vol 1 dates to two sessions in the summer of 2014 at the famed venue in San Jose, CA where the recently passed Bay Area Blues legend Ron Thompson often gigged. […]
Allman-Betts Band Bless Your Heart BMG Last year’s debut from the Allman-Betts Band, Down to the River, marked the first time the seven-piece ensemble played together, let alone record together. But even that is not entirely accurate as keyboardist John Ginty joined the band for the tour, after the recording was done. So, if that […]
Laura Green Green Eyed Blues Independent St. Louis’ Laura Green has been performing her own brand of rock, folk and jazz. Influenced by legendary blues women like Big Mama Thornton; and skilled contemporaries such as Bonnie Raitt, Lou Ann Barton and Janiva Magness, Green has spent the last ten years honing her craft. Inspired she […]
Bobby Rush Rawer Than Raw Deep Rush Records/Thirty Tigers Emmit Ellis Jr. a.k.a. Bobby Rush was born in Homer, La. in 1933. As a youngster, in the late 1940’s, he befriended and played with Elmore James. He formed his first band before relocating to Chicago where he worked with Freddie King, Luther Allison and Jimmy […]
Various Artists Back to Paradise – A Tribute to Okie Music Horton Think Tulsa and inevitably the names of J.J. Cale, Leon Russell, The Gap Band, Jesse Ed Davis, and others come to mind. Today, it’ likely John Fullbright, John Moreland, Paul Benjamin, Jesse Aycock, and others. Fullbright, Benjamin, Aycock and six more pay tribute […]
Dan Penn Living On Mercy The Last Music Co. The seventy-eight-year-old Dan Penn was born Wallace Daniel Pennington in Vernon, Alabama. Penn found work at the Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals. He first recorded in 1960, and that same year wrote his first hit for Conway Twitty. He is among our most soulful songwriters. His […]
Champian Fulton Birdsong Self-released New York-based pianist and vocalist Champian Fulton celebrates Charlie Parker’s centennial with her latest, Birdsong., featuring her friend and saxophone luminary Scott Hamilton (who of course plays tenor, not alto liker Parker did). Hamilton appears along with Fulton’s long-standing quartet made up of bassist Hide Tanaka, drummer Fukushi Tainaka and her […]
Kirsten Thien Two Sides Screen Door Records Born in Germany, and educated at Georgetown University, Kirsten Thien writes and sings her own songs. She released her debut album “She Really Is” in 2002 and her follow-up “You’ve Got Me” in 2005. After relocating to New York City Thien released 2012’s “Delicious” with bassist/producer Erik Boyd. […]
Matt Wilson Hug Palmetto A few weeks ago, fellow drummer Jeff Cosgrove brought us a trio album, History Gets Ahead of Itself, from one of his main inspirers, Matt Wilson. Saxophonist Jeff Lederer, a mainstay of Wilson’s quartet appeared on that album as he does here, along with Wilson’s other long-running bandmates, cornetist Kirk Knuffle […]
Crooked Eye Tommy Hot Coffee and Pain Blue Heart (Nola Blue) Crooked Eye Tommy is the brother guitar duo of Tommy and Paddy Marsh, hailing from Ventura County in California. The duo has placed as semi-finalists in the IBC in 2014 and 2019, reaching the finals earlier this year. They leverage that respect with this […]
Savoy Brown Ain’t Done Yet Quarto Valley Records The British blues band Savoy Brown was formed by Kim Simmonds in 1965. Their U.K. debut was 1967’s “Shake Down” featuring originals mixed with extended length covers of songs by Willie Dixon; B.B. King; Albert King, and John Lee Hooker. Savoy Brown began to achieve success in […]
Eli Winter Unbecoming American Dreams Chicago-based guitarist Eli Winter, who is still in college, delivers Unbecoming, is first album as a leader and second overall. and one that explores many aspects of instrumental guitar from acoustic to electric and even baritone electric. On two of the three tracks (yes, these are lengthy ones) Winter plays […]
Johnny & The Mongrels Creole Skies Independent This is the full length debut recording by Johnny & The Mongrels. The band was founded by Fort Collins, Colorado residents Johnny Ryan and Jeffrey Bostic. The two singer-songwriters, vocalist Ryan, and bassist Bostic first met in April of 2015. The seasoned bassist had already toured with his […]
Mehmet Ali Sanlikol The Rise Up: Stories of Strife, Struggle and Inspiration Dunya Prolific composer and multi-instrumentalist Mehmet Ali Sanlikol delivers his ambitious project: THE RISE UP: Stories of Strife, Struggle and Inspiration with his dynamic jazz orchestra Whatsnext, written for and featuring NEA Jazz Master Dave Liebman as soloist, The Rise Up is an epic three-part artistic masterpiece that combines traditional Middle […]
Raphael Pannier Quartet Faune French Paradox/L’Autre In May we brought you the masterful work of alto saxophonist/composer and MacArthur Fellow Miguel Zenon’s Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera. Zenon is the lead voice and musical director of the quartet on this brilliant debut from French drummer Raphael Pannier. Zenon is a mentor of Pannier’s and […]
Adam Miller Unify Emtechnik Australian guitarist Adam Miller has released his latest album, Unify. Recorded in Los Angeles, Miller’s trio features prominent LA musicians – bassist Joel Gottschalk and drummer Justin Glasco. All Miller originals, these songs are born from settling not only into a new city, but a new country, all the conflicting emotions associated with such. The album is equally […]
Downchild 50th Anniversary CD: Live At The Toronto Jazz Festival Diesel Management Productions Donnie and Hock Walsh founded The Downchild Blues Band in 1969. The band’s name comes from the song “Mr. Downchild” by Sonny Boy Williamson II. The band is also known as Downchild as the name was shortened in the early 1980’s. Dan […]
Kenny Washington What’s the Hurry A-Train Entertainment Although What’s the Hurry is the debut studio album for Bay Area jazz and blues vocalist Kenny Washington, you may have heard him before. This writer became acquainted with his warm, professional, perfectly intoned, and well-articulated vocals on the two vocal albums from pianist David K. Mathews – […]
Dave Fields Force of Will FMI Records Dave Fields first came to national attention when he produced Roxy Perry’s “Back in Bluesville”. That cd won the Best Self-Produced CD award at the 2006 International Blues Challenge. Fields released his own debut recording “Times A Wastin’” in 2007. At the 2009 Blues Music Awards Fields played […]
Sam Joyner When u Need a Friend Sam Joyner Music Sam Joyner was born and raised in Chicago. His father, the Reverend Joyner, made sure that Sam spent his summers down South. So Joyner’s original music is a combination of urban Chicago blues and Louisiana styled R n’ B. Internationally known he spent twenty-three years […]
The Two Tracks Cheers to Solitude Cheers To Solitude, the newest album by Sheridan Wyoming’s Funky-Americana quartet, The TwoTracks, releases on August 14, 2020 amidst radio charting buzz. The Two Tracks have been making a name for themselves nationally since their self-titled debut was voted “Wyoming Best Album” by Wyoming Public Radio In 2016. The […]
Radam Schwartz Organ Big Band Message From Groove And GW Arabesque This is a year of some inventive organ releases and now one of the pacesetters for the jazz organ, Radam Schwartz, teams with drummer David F. Gibson and the Abel Mireles Jazz Exchange Big Band for a swinging trip through music inspired by Richard […]
Paul Kelly and Paul Grabowsky Please Leave Your Light On GawdAggie/Cooking Vinyl Australia’s greatest and most enduring songwriter, the exceptionally versatile Paul Kelly collaborates with perhaps the country’s best jazz pianist, and strong composer in his own right, Paul Grabowky – not “Me and Paul” but Paul and Paul. Yes, these are songs for just […]
JW-Jones Sonic Departures Solid Blues Records Canadian JW Jones released his debut album in 2000. Since then he has recorded with Kim Wilson, Charlie Musselwhite, Little Charlie Baty, Hubert Sumlin, David “Fathead” Newman, and others. His eighth album, “High Temperature”, won the award for “Best Self-Produced CD” at the 2017 International Blues Challenge. His last […]
Chris Bevington Organisation Sand And Stone I remember a night in January of this year, I had made my annual trip to the fantastic “Skegness Blues And Rock Festival” over in the north east of England. Unmissable date in my musical calendar as far as I’m concerned. But that’s another story as they say over […]
Samoa Wilson with the Jim Kweskin Band I Just Want To Be Horizontal Kingswood Records During the early 1960’s there was a thriving folk music revival coming out of New York’s Greenwich Village. In 1963 the “Even Dozen Jug Band” released their album on Elektra Records. The music was fun, and among the band members […]
Cary Morin Dockside Saints Dockside Saints released August 7, 2020 and features an all-star cast of soulful players. Cary Morin releases the best album of his career at a time when promoting new music will take a higher power. There is something special at play here, perhaps something ancestral was captured, some ancient Native culture […]
Eliza Neals Black Crow Moan Eliza Neals has produced an album of soul stirring blues and rock n’ roll. You know that your in for a treat from the opening track “Don’t Judge The Blues” when it blast’s off with the meanest slide guitar that you are ever likely to hear, add in some hand […]
Jeff Fetterman Southern Son Self-released Hailing from western Pennsylvania, not exactly a blues hotbed, comes vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Jeff Fetterman, a self-taught bluesman, with his fourth album and one that may break his name out there beyond the regional success he’s had. Fetterman has placed highly in IBC in both 2017 and 2018 and won Rock Erie […]
Kat Riggins Cry Out Gulf Coast Records While growing up in Miami, Katriva Tabitha Riggins’ was instilled with a love for music. Her parent’s record collection included R n’ B, soul, gospel, hip-hop, country and rock n’ roll. Her primary influences soon became Nina Simone, Tina Turner, Etta James and Koko Taylor. Riggins landed a […]
Quinsin Nachoff Pivotal Arc Whirlwind Recordings Say the words “classical music” and it scares off plenty of would-be listeners, even the most fervent jazz listeners. Yet, we have so many examples of classical music in jazz from Miles to Mingus to Corea to Wayne Shorter and to the more contemporary Ambrose Akinmusire, to name a […]
The Lucky Losers (w/ Cathy Lemons & Phil Berkowitz) Godless Land Vizztone Label Group The Lucky Losers are a band fronted by vocalists Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz. Lemons is originally from the Dallas area where she used to run with Stevie Ray Vaughan and Anson Funderburgh. In 1987 she toured with John Lee Hooker. […]
Market Junction Burning Bridges Self-released Houston, Texas-based Market Junction grabs the listener right from the outset with lyrics to the opening “When Your Heart Begins to Break.” Try this line – “Love is not an anchor that steadies you at sea. It’s more like a shipwreck on a godforsaken beach.” As the album unfolds, it’s […]
Thundermother Heatwave Let’s get straight to the point, this album delivers in spade’s with song after song of red hot high voltage rock n’roll. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard songs of this quality. In fact if I’m being honest, it’s the Bon Scott era of AC/DC since I heard something this good. With songs […]
Slave To Sound Vol 5 The Muggs If proof was needed that honest, loud,driving rock n roll is still cutting it. You need look no further than the latest offering from Detroit rockers The Muggs. “Slave To Sound Vol 5”is a collection of songs designed to get your toes tapping and hands clapping. What’s called in […]
Scott Weis Band Simmer Me Down Sleepy Lodge Records Scott Weis began playing professionally in the 1990’s. Early on he worked with, or opened for, Jerry Garcia, Junior Wells, John Lee Hooker and Buddy Guy. He formed the Scott Weis Band in 2005; and recorded their well-received 2006 debut “Have A Lil Faith” with co-producer […]
Family Album Stephen Simmons Introducing new music from Stephen Simmons as he releases his Family Album on his indie Locke Creek label. These are uncertain times but perhaps one saving grace during the pandemic is that people are slowing down and reconnecting with family. The songs on Family Album are exactly that, a connection to […]
