Bman's Blues Report

Eddie James “Son” House (1902–1988) poured more raw emotion into the Delta blues than almost anyone else. He spent his life torn between preaching in church and playing in rowdy jukes. Living in Mississippi during the 1930s and '40s, he became a massive influence on legends like Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters . While he started out playing for local crowds at weekend house parties, House hit the international stage during the 1960s blues revival . Fans loved his intense, trance-like performances, aggressive guitar style, and powerful a cappella gospel singing. He first recorded with Charley Patton in 1930, and later did legendary field recordings for the Library of Congress in 1941 and 1942. House walked away from music in 1943 and moved to Rochester, New York, where young blues fans tracked him down in 1964. This "rediscovery" launched a major comeback career, leading to his famous 1965 Columbia album, Father of Folk Blues . He retired for good in...

When Kim Simmonds hooked up the first version of Savoy Brown back in London in 1965 , nobody could have guessed he was kicking off a sixty-year blues crusade. Simmonds lived his life on the road, taking raw Chicago electric blues and supercharging it into a heavy, high-octane boogie that basically drew the blueprint for British blues-rock . While the band never quite got their due back home in the UK, they absolutely conquered America on the back of relentless touring and killer FM radio staples like Looking In (1970) , Street Corner Talking (1971) , and the massive Hellbound Train (1972) . The group also doubled as a legendary revolving-door incubator for rock history—most famously when a chunk of the band split off in 1970 to form the arena-rock powerhouse Foghat . Through every single lineup change, Simmonds was the glue holding it all together, steering the ship for over 40 albums and even landing a #1 Billboard Blues hit with Witchy Feelin' in 2017. Now, the 14-track...

Michael Dease is a total monster on the jazz trombone , a multi-Grammy winner , and a 2025 Guggenheim Fellow . Originally from Augusta, Georgia , he started playing at 17 and quickly made his way up to New York as part of Juilliard ’s very first jazz class. Since then, he's played on over 250 records, won the DownBeat Critics Poll multiple times, and now helps shape the next generation of players as a professor at Michigan State University. Dease has always had a deep love for big bands, having played with powerhouse ensembles like Jazz at Lincoln Center , the Christian McBride Big Band , and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band . He really locked in his skills as a large ensemble leader back in 2011 during a legendary two-year monthly residency lab in Greenwich Village . His brand new release, Return Trajectory , marks an exciting return to that big band format. It’s not just a trip down memory lane—it’s a fresh continuation of his big band journey. Backed by a high-energy lineu...