Big Al and The Heavyweights World Full Of Trouble Eller Soul Records Big Al Lauro, who is from The Big Easy, started recording his original Louisiana based roots music around 2001 with the release of both Big Al and The Heavyweights “Hey, Hey Mardi Gras” and “Ultimate Mardi Gras”; and followed up with 2002’s “Late […]
Mary Lane Travelin’ Woman Women of the Blues Although 83-year-old Chicago blues veteran Mary Lane has not released an album in twenty years, we did cover her on these pages for last year’s Chicago/ Blues Legends/ Today. That project was helmed by the late Mike Mettalia, who passed away much too soon just last week […]
Vegas Strip Kings Jackpot! GutBukit Records Two of the founding members of the Vegas Strip Kings were part of the band “Contino” who recorded “Back Porch Dogma” on Blind Pig Records in 2012. That band morphed into the Vegas Strip Kings and they recorded their “(Live)” album in 2015. The live album was mostly covers […]
Nick Schnebelen Crazy All By Myself Vizztone Label Group Nick Schnebelen is from Kansas City where he grew up in a household surrounded by music. “Music’s been in my blood for generations” as both of his parents were professional musicians, as were his grandparents and great grandfather. Schnebelen is a founding member of the band […]
Caleb Elliott – Forever to Fade Single Lock Forever to Fade is the impressive debut album from Louisiana singer/songwriter Caleb Elliott. Elliott tells his story, from preacher’s son in a cult-like religion to finding musical freedom in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. This is a swamp-art-rock record. There may not be many of those but think of John […]
Senor Groove Little Havana Zoho Senor Groove is a the latest band from the Smith brothers, bassist Tim and guitarist Roddy, who are flanked by Mercelo Perez (drums), Martin Bejerano (piano), and Murph Aucamp (percussion). For this session that focuses on the Cuban neighborhood in Miami named Little Havana, the quintet is augmented with a […]
Peter Rogan Still Tryin’ to Believe Melt Shop Proving that’s it’s never too late to begin, this is the debut album from 57-year-old Peter Rogan, already a songwriting winner in the Great American Song contest. Rogan wrote or co-wrote all dozen songs on the album with 17 musicians and back-up singers, thereby fulfilling a lifelong […]
Jane Kramer Valley Of The Bones Jane Kramer releases her third full-length album Valley of the Bones on March 1st of this year. This is an album of original songs that evolve out of the heart. They make sense out of the things that wear you down and rip you heart. They are also about […]
Amy McCarley MECO Amy McCarley is a steely eyed musician on a mission. A native of north Alabama, McCarley is on a course that is true. MECO is the NASA acronym for Main Engine Cut Off. The songs chronicle Amy’s pursuit of a career in music after leaving the NASA contracting world. These are good […]
Tony Holiday Porch Sessions Vizztone Label Group Tony Holiday used to play guitar and front the Salt Lake City based Tony Holiday and the Velvetones. When he switched to harmonica he recruited the then young prodigy Landon Stone as the band’s guitarist. The band won the Salt Lake City Weekly Music Awards and was named […]
Doug MacDonald Quartet Organisms Self-released Only last month we wrote about guitarist Doug MacDonald’s trio album View of the City but the prolific and rather restless MacDonald returns with a self-released quartet disc featuring some fine players. Like the title implies Organisms is an organ project, MacDonald’s third, as a leader, composer, and arranger. Interestingly, […]
Eric Jerardi Occupied Niche Records Guitarist Eric Jerardi won the Ohio University battle of the bands in 1989. He won again two years later as the Midwest’s “Best Unsigned College Band”. He recorded his debut album in 1995. Since then he has shared the stage with Little Feat, toured with Robin Trower, and has been […]
John Mayall Nobody Told Me Forty Below The Godfather of British Blues, John Mayall is now 85 years old, but you’d never guess it from his prolific output in recent years since he signed with co-producer Eric Corne’s label, Forty Below Records, in 2013. Mayall’s long overdue induction into the Blues Hall of Fame was […]
Katarina Pejak Roads That Cross Ruf Records Katarina Pejak hails from the Serbian city of Belgrade, where her father ran the local jazz and blues nightclub. Listening to her father’s record collection she became inspired by Tom Waits, Norah Jones, Bessie Smith, Otis Spann and others. She decided she should stretch her classical piano […]
Aaron Lack’s Vibetet Lovely Night Millard Street Music Aaron Lack is an Adjunct Professor of Music at Concordia University in Austin, Texas. He currently teaches Drumset, Applied Music and the history of Jazz. Lack plays drums, classical percussion, Vibraphone and traditional steel pan music. He has shared the stage and performed with Benny Green, Roy […]
Seth Walker Are You Open? Royal Potato Family It’s been one heck of a moment or two lately. Normal has turned on its head. We are all in this together, and together we can make a difference. Are You Open?, the new album by Seth Walker releases February 15 on Royal Potato Family and asks […]
Peter Mulvey There Is Another World Righteous Babe Records. Peter Mulvey is a traveling troubadour with his compass pinned to the out of the ordinary. He is a songwriter who threatens at being a poet. The songs from There Is Another World are no exception. Conventional instruments unconventionally create mood and the lyrics fall to […]
Tiffany Pollack/Eric Johanson Blues In My Blood Nola Blue Records Tiffany Ann Pollack is a product of the musical mecca known as New Orleans. At an earlier age Pollack began to write songs and sing. Her first professional gig was singing background vocals for Russell Batiste & Friends. She eventually formed her own band Beaucoup […]
The Trevor B. Power Band Everyday Angel Independent The Trevor B. Power Band is based in northwest New Jersey. Power grew up in a household with parents that loved all kinds of music. He received his first guitar when he was fifteen and began playing the rock n’ roll of the sixties and seventies. He […]
JP Williams Blues Band Everblue Gizzifter Records JP Williams was born in New York City. He attended Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. where he began moonlighting at college coffee houses and local night spots. His acoustic music included folk, blues, and soul. He returned to NYC and performed at many famous venues, open mikes and […]
Reed Foehl Lucky Enough Green Mountain Records At first you pick up the album, it is dark with starlight streaming in to highlight a solitary figure playing a well-worn guitar. Then you drop the needle. These are powerful songs. Reed Foehl’s Lucky Enough, birthed during a dark time, is one that we all will pass […]
Watermelon Slim Church of The Blues Northern Blues Music William P. Homans III was born in Boston but raised in North Carolina where he first heard the blues. He rejected his family’s career aspirations and served in Vietnam. When he returned home in 1973 he became involved in “Vietnam Veterans Against the War” and recorded […]
Ernie Watts Home Light Flying Dolphin Ernie Watts is one of our greatest living saxophonists. Certainly two-time Grammy winner. Watts has a uniquely versatile resume, having played with artists ranging from Cannonball Adderley to Frank Zappa with the Buddy Rich’s Big Band, Charlie Haden’s Quartet West, Oliver Nelson’s Orchestra, Gerald Wilson’s Orchestra, Doc Severinsen’s Tonight […]
Vin Mott Rogue Hunter Independent While still a teen Vin Mott got bitten by the blues bug. It was the sound of the harmonica as played by Muddy Waters, Little Walter, and James Cotton. Mott studied at Boston’s Berklee College of Music and graduated with a degree in songwriting in 2011. He returned to NJ […]
Dave Rudolph Quintet Resonance Self-released Resonance is the recording debut for Tampa-based drummer Dave Rudolph as a bandleader. Rudolph leads a group of locally based musicians: tenor saxophonist Zach Bornheimer, guitarist LaRue Nickelson, pianist Pablo Arencibia, and bassist Alejandro Arenes, most of whom met at The University of South Florida where Rudolph earned two degrees […]
Beverley Church Hogan Can’t Get Out of This Mood Café Pacific The time-worn cliché of age is just a number seems more applicable recently as several artists in the jazz and blues genres are finding their way to recording studios as octogenarians. For vocalist Beverley Church Hogan, it’s for the first time. A sixty year […]
Amelia White Rhythm of the Rain Poets reach in and give voice to our greatest joys and darkest demons. Amelia White is one of Americana’s most gifted poets and songwriters and the album, Rhythm Of The Rain speaks to darkest of personal and political loss. The thirteen songs on this her seventh album, written while […]
Tomislav Goluban Chicago Rambler Spona Records Tomislav Goluban was inspired by harp masters Sonny Boy Williamson, Paul Butterfield, Gary Primich and others. The Croatian musician, whose surname translates to Pigeon in English, formed Little Pigeon’s Forhill Blues Band in 1997. His debut recording Pigeon’s Flight was released in 2005, and followed up in 2007 with […]
Gaye Adegbalola The Griot Vizztone Label Group Gaye Adegbalola, born Gaye Todd, was given the name Adegbalola by a Yoruba (African) priest. She was a founding member of the group Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women and was with them for twenty-five years; they recorded nine albums before they ended their run in 2009. In 1990 Gaye […]
Seth Rosenbloom Keep On Turning HOLMZ Music Blues-rock guitar slingers are a dime a dozen these days, making it difficult to break through the clutter. Seth Rosenbloom has as good a chance as any though, with incendiary playing and superior songwriting. After all, it is mostly about the songs in the final analysis. Shredding can […]
Niecie Trouble With A Capital T Ride The Tiger Records Niecie was born in Detroit but prefers to tell people she was “born and raised in Motown”. During an early gig with a rock band in Lincoln Nebraska, vocalist Niecie was heard by Magic Slim who told her “Girl, you need to sing the […]
Eric Bibb Global Griot Stony Plain Records Eric Bibb, the son of Leon Bibb a singer-songwriter popular during the folk music scene of the 1960’s, grew up surrounded by the folksingers of the time including Leadbelly, Odetta, Pete Seeger, Paul Robeson and Bob Dylan. Other influences include Joan Baez, Richie Havens and Taj Mahal. Bibb […]
James Maddock If It Ain’t Fixed Don’t Break It The newest album by James Maddock is a reflective American songbook James Maddock style. “If It Ain’t Fixed Don’t Break It” takes you back in time. It’s new music by a reflective rocker and a soulful crooner. These songs are a nod to music that shaped […]
Chris Pasin Ornettiquette Planet Arts Ornette Coleman’s free jazz and avant-garde compositions were on that slippery border between the accessible and inaccessible for many listeners and this writer. Yet, alto saxophonist Coleman and his long-time collaborator, trumpeter (or pocket trumpeter) Don Cherry’s work has held up remarkably well, first with the band that included Cherry, […]
Cary Morin When I Rise When I Rise is the newest album by singer/songwriter Cary Morin and delivers a potent Blues/Roots Message. The Music that shapes our formative years stay with us forever. These songs reflect Cary Morin’s upbringing. Shaped by life’s experiences, these songs are given breath by a world traveler with a keen […]
Sean Chambers Welcome To My Blues American Showplace Music Sean Chambers learned by fronting a Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute band. “Strong Temptation”, his debut recording, was released in 1998. While in Memphis in support of that album, Chambers was asked to sit in with Hubert Sumlin, the former guitarist for Howlin’ Wolf. As a result […]
SHIJIN Self-titled Alter-Nativ/SOCADISC/AN100 You’re likely already thinking “what kind of name is that?” and “what’s with the weird record label name?” Yes, this is not your usual jazz group but instead a co-op group that brings American and European jazz artists together in a fusion-jazz/improvisational jazz format across eight original compositions that range from three […]
Sandy Carroll Blues & Angels Catfood Records Sandy Carroll hails from McNairy County in West Tennessee; two hours east of Memphis. Carroll spent her early career singing in venues throughout the South. Carroll returned to Memphis, her musical home, and took up residency at Lafayette’s Corner club in 1983 when she co-wrote the single “If […]
Paul Kelly Nature Gawd Aggie Paul Kelly considers Nature a companion piece to 2017’s Platinum-certified Life Is Fine but although it bears some similarities, it’s not exactly a sequel. It’s not one coherent statement or even one focused theme but instead a collection of different elements, come originals and, as we’ve come to know from Kelly, […]
John Akapo Paradise Blues Mensch House Hawaii usually conjures up that special sound of the Hawaiian slide guitar, not acoustic blues but Taumei “Big John” Akapo is here to change that perception. This is a breakout record that represents the big vocal sound and adept guitar picking that residents and visitors to Hawaii have heard […]
Ultan Conlon Last Days of the Night Owl Dark Sideout Irish singer/songwriter Ultan Conlon deliver his third album, recorded in Galway over the winter of 2017. Songs were written on both the west coasts of Ireland and America (where he lives in Santa Monica part-time) . The album features 15 musicians in the credits including […]
Fiona Boyes Voodoo in the Shadows Reference Recordings/Blue Empress Fiona Boyes has been Australia’s foremost blues artist for over two decades now. She spends considerable time in the states touring and she’s earned six BMA nominations, including Acoustic Album of the Year and Best Acoustic Artist in 2017. Her career trajectory continues to rise, and […]
Blue Largo Before the Devil Steals Your Soul CoffeeGrinds This is one mega project. Aside from the two principals, Alicia Aragon and Eric Leiberman. There are 15 supporting musicians, three recording sites, two engineers, two mixers, and two producers. This duo/band, Blue Largo, make their comeback with a strong statement, covering a few genres and […]
Ken Wild/Tom Rizzo/Susan Krebs Trio WoRK GreenGig Music A serendipitous gig led to these three L.A. musicians getting together for this recording of standards. In fact the oldest song here is the oft-covered Lennon/McCartney “Eleanor Rigby.” What makes it different from other standard fare is its sparsity– just Tom Rizzo’s guitar, Ken Wild’s standup bass, […]
The Knickerbocker All-Stars Love Makes A Woman fea. Darcel Wilson and Thornetta Davis JP Cadillac Records In 1967 Duke Robillard and Al Copley hosted weekly jams at The Knickerbocker Café in Westerly, Rhode Island. It was at the Knick that “Roomful of Blues” was born; it was here that the horn section evolved. Back in […]
Colin James Miles To Go True North Records One of the best Canadian interpreters of traditional blues is Colin James. On his last album 2016’s “Blue Highway” James paid tribute to some of his influences. That album spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the Roots Music Report’s Blues Chart. This is James’ sequel to […]
Celso Salim Band Mama’s Hometown Tower High Music Based in Southern California for the past four years, Brazilian guitarist Celso Salim and his band introduce their first album recorded here in the states. This is deep blues, not Brazilian music, and it’s fused with elements of soul, country, jazz and rock. There are eight originals […]
Various Artists Chicago/The Blues Legends/Today! West Tone Blues collectors will recognize the cover art work reminiscent of the Vanguard three album set, compiled by Samuel Charters and released in 1966. That project, like this one, shed light on some artists that didn’t have the reputations of Muddy or Wolf, who later went on to become […]
Johnaye Kendrick Flying Johnygirl Vocalist, composer and Thelonious Monk Institute grad Johnaye Kendrick has released her second album, Flying, on her own label. Kendrick is San Diego born and bred but is currently based in Seattle. Produced and arranged by Johnaye, who also plays harmonium, this set includes six well-constructed originals and six inventive arrangements of […]
Frank Bey Back in Business Nola Blue Records Frank Bey was born in Millen, Georgia in 1946. His mother, gospel singer Maggie Jordan, had him singing with The Rising Son Gospel Singers when he was four years old. Bey was brought up in a strict household, and at the age of fourteen he had to […]
