Don Braden Earth Wind and Wonder Vol.2 Creative Perspective Music Saxophonist, composer and arranger Don Braden encores his 2018 initial rendering of the songs of Earth Wind and Fire and Stevie Wonder with Earth Wind and Wonder Volume 2. Braden’s imaginative arrangements make these tunes surprisingly enjoyable in a jazz context; thankfully they stay far away from smooth […]
Phil Haynes & No Fast Food CodaI(s): No Fast Food III Corner Store Jazz Drummer Phil Haynes and his trio No Fast Food with NEA Jazz Master saxophonist Dave Liebman and bassist Drew Gress have initiated an ambitious three-year release schedule with the double CD Coda(s): No Fast Food III CodaI(s: No Fast Food III. […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents Gerry Casey’s Interview with Ben Reel Ben Reel will release his 11th studio album ‘Come a Long Way’ in June 2023. The album consists of 11 brand new self penned songs. This follows 2 previous releases ‘Live @JJ Smyths Dublin’ (2021) & ‘Locked In & Live’ (2022) a double […]
Christine Jensen Day Moon Justin Time Saxophonist, composer, and conductor Christine Jensen steps in with a brilliant album, Day Moon. Her sister, Ingrid, of course, is a renowned trumpeter and original member of the female supergroup Artemis. Christine is usually very busy leading her own fabled jazz orchestra in Canada, but the pandemic gave her […]
Arlen Roth and Jerry Jemmott Super Soul Sessions Blue Heart Okay, maybe the title is bit of borrowed interest from the classic Super Sessions album featuring Stephen Stills, Mike Bloomfield, and Al Kooper but it too boasts its share of gems and “super” talent. Guitarist Arlen Roth has long been hailed as a Master of […]
Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame Celebrates Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary with Hip-Hop Concert Unveiling of LL COOL J Statue, Performances and Panel Discussions with Son of Bazerk, A.J. Rock (J.V.C. F.O.R.C.E.), DJ Jazzy Jay, Dinco D (Leaders of the New School), DJ Johnny Juice and Keith Schocklee (Public Enemy) MC Glamorous and Ralph McDaniels […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Brings you an interview with Dean Mueller A professional musician for nearly 20 years, Dean Mueller has worked as a performer, producer, promoter, recording engineer and teacher. Now he begins a new phase of his career with Sky Fallin’, his solo album debut. The bassist-turned-singer-songwriter recorded his album of original […]
The Drive-by Truckers The Complete Dirty South New West This is more of a buyer’s guide than a regular review. Let’s just say for this writer, that The Drive-by Truckers’ The Dirty South, has long been the crown jewel of their robust catalog and that this enhanced version only improves on it. Going further, The […]
Steven Feifke Catalyst La Reserve Bandstand Somehow, we didn’t cover Steven Feifke’s 2023 Grammy-winning large ensemble album with Bijon Watson, and the Generation Gap Orchestra so we’re in play for this follow-up, Catalyst where Feifke does all the heavy lifting as pianist, composer, arrange, orchestrator, bandleader, and producer. Feifke became the youngest ever GRAMMY winner for […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Pat McDougall Pat has performed with a long list of bands and artists, including his own blues/R&B outfits Runaway Train and Tall Static. He was the musical director for the Portland-based band supporting Tony Coleman (B.B. King’s drummer for many years), and a member of the […]
Son Volt Day of the Doug Transmit Sound/Thirty Tigers Day of the Doug is the Son Volt album that doesn’t sound like a Son Volt album until we reach the last two tracks. Surely, it’s a tribute to the Tex-Mex stylings of Doug Sahm but that’s not the point. The lonely, weary, burnished voice of […]
Nic Clark Everybody’s Buddy Little Village Young roots/blues singer-songwriter Nic Clark has seen more than his share of troubles, heartbreak, and derision as anyone, but you’d never necessarily pick up on that from the positive, bright outlook in his songs. It’s as refreshing as when Steve Forbert first burst on the scene. Clark’s music is […]
#indieblues #roots #makingascene #soul #spotify #musicbusiness #indie #blues #rootsrock #americana #newblues #newmusic #originalmusic #rock #podcasts #Fridaymotivation #MusicFridays
Mike Guldin and Rollin’ & Tumblin’ The Franklin Sessions Blue Heart The Franklin Sessions comes a little more than a year after Mike Guldin and Rollin’ & Tumblin’s release, Tumblin’, which has sessions recorded at Kevin McKendree’s Rock House studios in Franklin, TN. It’s difficult to pick up a roots or blues album these days […]
Jeremy Dutton Anyone Is Better Than Here Self-released Jeremy Dutton is a drummer and composer making his bandleader debut with Anyone Is Better Than Here. We’ve come to know Dutton as a vital force behind leading contemporary jazz artists on Blue Note. Specifically, the Houston born, New York based drummer was the timekeeper on vibraphonist Joel […]
Altin Sencalar In Good Standing Posi-Tone If you’ve been following the jazz releases on Posi-Tone, you’ve come across the name of trombonist Altin Sencalar in a sideman role on several releases. In Good Standing marks his debut on the label as a leader and his fourth overall as either a leader or co-leader. Sencalar, who […]
Making a Scene Presents the PODCAST of LIVE from the Midnight Circus Featuring Season Ammons This is the Voice of Indie Blues, the future of the blues. Artists who embrace the diversity of the blues that always has and still is being created from it’s roots. These artists understand the blues is a living […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Season Ammons With a voice as distinguishable and versatile as her name, Season Ammons is an award-winning songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, blending soulful blues with Texas roots and Americana. Ammons’ most recent project, ‘Steel Hearts,’ is her fourth and most personal album to date. For this […]
Todd Clouser The Mexico City Experiment Ropeadope SUR This is Ropeadope’s sixth installment of their acclaimed Experiment series. The Mexico City Experiment follows in the tradition of the 2001 The Philadelphia Experiment, the 2003 The Detroit Experiment, the 2007 The Harlem Experiment, the 2022 The Chicago Experiment, and with new momentum for these projects, arrives […]
Making a Scene Presents the PODCAST of LIVE from the Midnight Circus Featuring Nelson Blanchard This is the Voice of Indie Blues, the future of the blues. Artists who embrace the diversity of the blues that always has and still is being created from it’s roots. These artists understand the blues is a living […]
Making a Scene presents Turn it up with Gerry Casey Show #198 and his Guest Jonny Driver Jimmy C Still Be Loving You A Life Divided Last Man Standing The Mike Bourne Band Cruisin’ Kanas City T.Rex Whatever Happened To The Teenage Dream Sparks This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us Joe […]
Anthony E. Nelson Jr. Swinging Sunset Musicstand The mountainous cover art belies the urban, small jazz club nature of this organ trio recording, Swinging Sunset, by tenor saxophonist Anthony E. Nelson, Jr. Yes, here is yet another organ trio, sometimes consisting of guitar, organ, and drums to which often a saxophone was added. This makes […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Brings you Gerry Casey’s Interview with Jonny Driver Over the last decade Melbourne based musician/songwriter Jonny Driver has released six albums and three EPs in bands such as Uptown Ace, The Devilrock Four, Don Fernando and The Lightning Strikes. In 2019 he flew to New Orleans, Louisiana to spend two […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Brian Kalinec Texan Brian Kalinec has been called “a combination of Woody Guthrie, John Steinbeck, James Taylor, and Rodney Crowell in the stories he tells” in a review in music magazine Rootsy. He has also been described by Robert Bartosh of Roots Music Report as “one […]
Buselli/Wallarab Jazz Orchestra The Gennett Suite Patois Please do not dust this off as just another big band/ large ensemble recording. You will likely learn something about the history of music recording in America if you invest a few minutes here. This writer was unaware of the importance of Gennett Records, and the first jazz […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Nelson Blanchard Nelson Blanchard was born on January 13, 1953. At the tender age of 10, he was already a performer in clubs with The Richard Brothers, a popular local group from the Pierre Part, LA area (Nelson’s birthplace). He studied music throughout elementary and high school, […]
Ray Blue #People Jazzheads Ray Blue is a NYC-based tenor saxophonist, who lived in Berlin for a decade, and has a global outlook like few others. On #People he plays in essentially five different contexts, leading his own sextet, leading a similar unit with NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron on piano instead on Blue’s bandmate […]
Pierrick Pédron & Gonzalo Rubalcaba Pédron Rubalcaba Gazebo This is as pure and masterful as music gets – an acoustic duet between the most renowned saxophonist in France, Pierrick Pédron, and one of the most respected pianists of our times, four-time Grammy winner Gonzalo Rubalcaba. You’d never know it by listening that this is the […]
Jan James TimeBomb It has been over thirty years since Jan James released her first album Last Train. That record gained her a rather large fanbase in Europe. With creative partner guitarist Craig Calvert by her side, her latest and twelfth release Time Bomb is drenched with feeling and soul. James’ musical-wheelhouse is centered in American roots, and embraces each petal: R&B, Soul, Country, Rock, […]
#indieblues #roots #makingascene #soul #spotify #musicbusiness #indie #blues #rootsrock #americana #newblues #newmusic #originalmusic #rock #podcasts #Fridaymotivation #MusicFridays
Doug Deming and the Jewel Tones Groovin’ at Groove Now Endless Records Recorded live in Switzerland, this is the follow-up recording to “Complicated Mess” on Eller Soul Records. After a short introduction from the band they open with an instrumental including solos from bassist Gohman and saxes played by “Sax” Gordon and Terry Hanck. Deming […]
Making a Scene Presents the PODCAST of LIVE from the Midnight Circus Featuring Lady J Huston This is the Voice of Indie Blues, the future of the blues. Artists who embrace the diversity of the blues that always has and still is being created from it’s roots. These artists understand the blues is a […]
Tremoloco Curandera Volume 1 Slo Poke Bandleader Tony Zamora has put together and infectious concoction of what he describes as Gulf Coast, Country, and Mexican music on Curandera Volume 1, and album recorded in two different studios involving seven engineers, and a collective of seventeen musicians who augment the core trio of multi-instrumentalist and lead […]
Making a Scene Presents the PODCAST of LIVE from the Midnight Circus Featuring Willie West This is the Voice of Indie Blues, the future of the blues. Artists who embrace the diversity of the blues that always has and still is being created from it’s roots. These artists understand the blues is a living […]
Boo Boo Davis Boo Boo Boogaloo At almost eighty years old, St. Louis bluesman James ‘Boo Boo’ Davis is still busy creating some of the most authentic blues being recorded today. Born in Drew, Mississippi in 1943, Davis grew up being surrounded by music, playing drums in a family band. In 1972, he landed an eighteen-year-long gig playing weekends at Tabby’s Red Room in East St. Louis. In 1999, Davis cut […]
Ryan Meagher AftEarth Atroefy This writer has seen several integrated, cross-media projects recently. In fact, pianist Yelena Eckemoff issued one recently which you may have seen on these pages. Often musicians pair their songs with videos, though not usually for an entire album. In short, most multi-media projects are two dimensional. Enter Portland-based jazz guitarist/composer […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with The Dilly Dally Alley Dilly was formed with the intent of eternally seeking out the perfect groove, as well as repairing and re-embodying communal spaces that dissolved from the pandemic. The tunes from Make You Whole are meant to be interacted with live. Crowd games and […]
The Cowboy Junkies Such Ferocious Beauty Cooking Vinyl Such Ferocious Beauty is the third album of new material since The Cowboy Junkies returned from a six-year hiatus in 2018. Over a 35-year career, the band has released 29 albums and were doing this roots-Americana thing before people were even thinking in those terms. The original […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Willie West Willie West is one of the original Soul and Blues men. He was born Millard Leon West on December 8, 1941 in Raceland, Louisiana, a stone’s throw from New Orleans. He started singing at 15 when he and his cousins formed a band they […]
Dara Starr Tucker Dara Starr Tucker Green Hill Music That same Philadelphia-based Dara Tucker we covered on her 2021 Dreams of Waking: Music for a Better World (Green Hill) now releases the eponymous Dara Starr Tucker, her sixth album. As we pointed out last time, Dara Starr Tucker is a jazz/roots singer, notably contributing to […]
#indieblues #roots #makingascene #soul #spotify #musicbusiness #indie #blues #rootsrock #americana #newblues #newmusic #originalmusic #rock #podcasts #Fridaymotivation #MusicFridays
Jan Cronin I Thought About You Scootermusic Jan Cronin is a versatile vocalist who has performed in several genres, found success in pop/rock and blues, but has long desired to sing a collection of the Great American Songbook which she does here on the beyond intimate I Thought About You. Cronin’s album is deeply personal […]
Making a Scene Presents the 2023 Independent Blues Awards! Congratulations to all the nominees! The 2023 Independent Blues Awards nominations are now in and ready for you to vote on. We do things a bit different than other awards in that we give you the opportunity to explore and experience artists and music you may […]
Making a Scene Presents the PODCAST of LIVE from the Midnight Circus Featuring Johnny King and Friends This is the Voice of Indie Blues, the future of the blues. Artists who embrace the diversity of the blues that always has and still is being created from it’s roots. These artists understand the blues is […]
Tracy Nelson Life Don’t Miss Nobody BMG Ms. “Mother Earth” may have taken a long break, but she sure hasn’t missed a beat. Tracy Nelson celebrates her calling with Life Don’t Miss Nobody, her first new album since 2011’s Victim of the Blues. Nelson began recording acoustic blues in 1965 in her hometown Madison, […]
Gaye Adegbalola Satisfied An Anthology Vizztone lable Group Gaye Adegbalola was a member of “Saffire – The Uppity Blues Women” from 1984 thru 2009. The Anthology includes selections from her nine solo projects. Songs include the classic blues of Ma Rainey “Prove It On Me” and “Jelly Bean Blues”. Born Gaye Todd, Adegbalola, got her […]
Making a Scene Presents the PODCAST of LIVE from the Midnight Circus Featuring Brad “Guitar” Wilson This is the Voice of Indie Blues, the future of the blues. Artists who embrace the diversity of the blues that always has and still is being created from it’s roots. These artists understand the blues is a […]
Dean Zucchero Electric Church for the Spiritually Misguided Originally from New York City’s East Village, Dean Zucchero now calls New Orleans his home. I first became aware of him through his work through the music of Ghalia Volt. I had reviewed two of her albums, and Zucchero had made a big impression on me with his performance on bass guitar. His debut album Electric […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Erika Olson Erika Olson, an American Expat, raises babies and write songs in the high weald of East Sussex. Erika combines vulnerable vocals, contemporary storytelling, and musical influences spanning indie, folk, country, blues, Americana and pop. When pressed to describe her music, Erika likes to call […]
Making a Scene Brings you Turn it up with Gerry Casey and his Guest Jamie Kyle Rebecca Downes Not On My Knees B’ee Slow Moving Train Anthony Gomes Red Handed Blues Billy F.Gibbons She’s On Fire 🔥 Sons Of Liberty Ruby Star Aces & Eights2021 Circle Of Dust Tell Tale Crime Royal Autumn Say Goodbye […]
