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I started a quest to find terrific blues music and incredible musicianship when I was just a little kid. I also have a tremendous appreciation of fine musical instruments and equipment. One of my greatest joys all of my life was sharing my finds with my friends. I'm now publishing my journey. I hope that you come along!
I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Everything Now, by JW-Jones and it's a solid mix of blues, R&B, rock, and pop. Opening with title track, Everything Now, JW-Jones on lead vocal and guitar has penned a cool, pop rocker with a strong melody, featuring Stanton Moore on drums, Gordie Johnson on harmony, rhythm, bass and keys making this a super opener. Blues rocker, Papa's In The Pen has a cool rhythm and Jones' vocals are strong with a tight guitar solo pushing the track nicely. With Eric Eggleston on harmony vocal, rhythm guitar and percussion, Aaron Sterling on drums and Jeff Rogers on keys another solid entry. Shuffle track, Take Your Time features Jimmie Vaughan on guitar with his signature style, and includes Jason Corbiere on drums. My favorite track on the release is To Tell You The Truth (I Lied) with Jones' best vocal on the release and it's supple bluesy feel. Cutting loose on guitar Jones really gives this track an extra boost, joined by Jacob Clarke on bass, Eggleston on rhythm guitar and percussion, and Jesse O'Brien on keys. Very nice. Another favorite is R&B influenced, When You Left, with a real nice melody and with Kaz Kazanoff, John Mills and Al Gomez on horns working in support of Jones on vocal and guitar. Wrapping the release is rocker, Good To Be True, with a contagious melody and driving beat. JW has a solid rocker here with plenty of diversity and soul.
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
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I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Fully Charged, from Kathy Murray & The Kilowatts and its a cool current day blues rocker. Opening with Expense of Love based around an up tempo Sonny Boy Williamson riff, Kathy Murray leads the release off with supple, lead vocals in front of a band that sounds like it's chomping at the bit to run. With Michael DeSantis on bass, Richard Ross on drums, and Bill "Monster" Jones on guitar, solid opener. Rolling into a great blues track, My Mistake, Jones steps up with some hot riffs over DeSantis' bass line, and with the addition of the Texas Horns (Kaz Kazanoff on tenor sax, John Mills on bari sax, and Al Gomez on trumpet). Very nice! With a modified walking bass line driven by DeSantis, Henny Penny Blues is a cool change up mid disc with a nice exchange between Murray and Jones. With solid riffs and a snappy drum base by Ross, a solid addition. Pulling out Tampa Red's It Hurts Me Too, Jones slips on the slide and with Murry's vocal prowess, really delivers on this classic. Wrapping the release is Extra Nice with Murray sharing the vocal spotlight with Jones (who of course has lead guitar and adds accordion) over a cool bass line by Jeff Botta with Jason Corbiere on drums. Cool closer.
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
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I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Just Say The Word, from Gabe Stillman and it's a solid blues release. Opening with slide exdplosion, Give Me Some Time, Gabe Stillman on guitar and vocal really gets it rockin. With Elmore James like flair, Stillman really ramps it up, backed by Colin Beatty on bass, Ray Hagen on drums, Taylor Streiff on B3 and the Texas Horns doing the rest. Excellent opener. R&B flavored, Let It Go, gives Stillman a chance to not only show his wares vocally but excellent guitar phrasing. No Time For Me has a lumbering pace and Stillman turns up the gain for a saturated tone on his guitar to grind over the full tone of Streiff's B3. This track has more rock but in the tone of a ZZ Top like jam. Very cool. Ballad, Heartbreak Makes A Sound, is a mellow, radio track, with solid vocals and guitar by Stillman, Streiff on piano and with a nice sax solo by Mark Kazanoff. Anson Funderburgh and Sue Foley take turns on shuffle, No Matter What You Wear and Foley joins Stillman on vocal. Susquehanna 66 is a hot jazz like shuffle with some smoking harmonica work by Greg Izor and some really hot guitar work by Stillman. Excellent! Soul track, I'll Take Care Of You really shows off Stillman's soul prowess, cradled in a keyboard bed and capped off with a solid guitar solo. Very nice. Wrapping the release is See BT Blues, an excellent blues number with a jagged rhythm, cool. unconventional double stops and perfect B3 and drums accents. This is an excellent closer for an excellent release.
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
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I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Here I Come, from Jose Ramirez, and it's a very cool, R&B flavored, contemporary blues release. Opening with title track, Here I Come, Jose Ramirez leads on vocal and guitar, backed by Jim Pugh on piano, Wes Starr on drums and Nate Rowe on bass. Showing his first solo, he's low slung and with plenty of Texas feel...think Jimmie Vaughan or Anson Funderburgh styling. Very nice. Slow blues, I Miss You Baby sounds like it's right out of the T Bone Walker songbook and with solid vocals by Ramirez and the backing of Texas Horns (Mark ‘Kaz’ Kazanoff, John Mills and Al Gomez) this track is rich. Listen to Ramirez make that guitar sing... nice. Anson Funderburgh actually shows up on Gasoline and Matches and lays in some stinging riffs over the Horns, a funk bass line by Rowe. Very nice. Goodbye Letter is a real nice slower blues with some of Ramirez's best vocals on the release and excellent rolling piano work by Pugh. Sit back and let him stroke the strings... solid phrasing and great tone. Combining the guitar loping riff of SRV and the warm organ work of Pugh, Three Years has a real soothing blues feel and gives Funderburgh and Ramirez plenty of space to work. Very nice. Super soulful, As You Can See, is one of my absolute favorites on the release with strong lead vocals by Ramirez, and plenty of fat horn work. Ramirez holds back on his guitar until the tail of the track but it's a perfect short of heat at just the right moment. Excellent! Wrapping the release is strong shuffle, Stop Teasing Me, with cool organ work by Pugh under Ramirez's solid vocals. His lead guitar lines and the tight drum work is a perfect balance and with continued pressure from Pugh on his Hammond, this track is a stong closer for a really strong release.
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
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I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Stand Up!, from Whitney Shay and its got a cool R&B vibe. Opening with funky title track, Stand Up! ... Whitney on lead vocal and strong drumming by Brannon Temple. This track has got it going. With solo guitar work by favorite Laura Chavez and a full horn compliment of Kaz Kazanoff on tenor sax, John Mills on bari and Al Gomez on trumpet and with Chris Maresh on bass and Red Young on keys, this is a strong opener. Equal Ground is a slower, lumbering blues style track with a lot of swagger. Slide work by Derek O'Brien and the rich vocals of Shay gives this track just the right sound. Radio ballad, I Thought We Were Through has a strong melody and soulful vocals by Shay and a cool sax solo by Kaz makes this an ideal radio track. A duet vocal with Guy Forsyth on funky, Far Apart (Still Close) a solid fluid guitar solo by Chavez and a strong bass line by Maresh makes this track one of my favorites on the release. Boy, Sit Down has a snappy, beat with a sizzling drum rhythm. Shay's sassy vocals, cool resonator work by Forsyth, real nice trumpet work by Gomez and keys by Marcia Ball is another of my favorites on the release. Falling back into a nice soul track, I Never Meant to Love Him, is a great showcase for Shay's voice and one of the stellar tracks on the release. Really nice! Wrapping the release is Change with the Times, a rolling R&B track with a full horn compliment. Mills has a throaty sax solo giving the track a nice jolt and backing vocals by Alice Sadler, Whitney Shay and Kaz give the track smooth out the edges before a pumped up finale. Very cool release.
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
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I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Get Here Quick, by The Texas Horns and it's smokin'! Opening with Guitar Town, a real Texas style blues, cooked up with Anson Funderburgh and Johnny Moeller on guitars and Gary Forsyth on lead vocals. Kaz Kazanoff on tenor, John Mills on bari and Al Gomez on trumpet and this track is hot. With a bit of New Orleans flavor, Instrumental, Feelin' No Pain is all horns to the floor with excellent piano work by Red Young, bass by Russell Jackson and Tommy Taylor on drums. Mills lays out and excellent sax solo and Moeller shows why he is regarded as one of the top bluesmen in Texas today. Title track, Better Get Here Quick is another instrumental with rich tandem sax lead and excellent guitar accents by Moeller. Gomez steps up with some crisp lead work of his own and Youngs takes a nice few bars of his own. Very cool. An excellent New Orleans style instrumental, 2018, has a super march style snare lead by John Bryant with Chris Maresh on bass and again featuring excellent work by Moeller and Connolly. Gomez's trumpet is bright and punchy. Very nice. Curtis Salgado is up front on lead vocals on Sundown Talkin'. His vocals are always soulful and stellar and this track is no exception, being clearly the radio track on the release. The horns flex their muscle through out and excellent accents by Moeller give the track a great presence. Instrumental, Funky Ape really gives Kaz, Al and John a chance to play and they push you back in your seat. Excellent! Wrapping the release is Truckload of Trouble, a springy, instrumental with a solid horn melody and with a cool muted trumpet interlude by Gomez, and a sweet sax lead by Kaz as well. Ronnie Earl is featured on lead guitar adding a bluesy component to an otherwise driving horn composition. This is a real cool outing for the Texas Horns. Enjoy!
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
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I just received the newest release (May 19, 2015), Blues Gotta Holda Me, from the Texas Horns and it's a hot one! Mark "Kaz" Kazanoff, John Mills and Al Gomez kick out the windows on opener track Soul Strut, a cool shuffle just pumped with fat sax work and trumpet highlights. An instrumental track, this one has a great groove and despite the press, features really cool guitar work from guitar wizard Anson Funderburgh. Next up is Go On Fool with it's New Orleans strut. Marcia Ball leads the way on piano and vocal. Thirties track, You're Driving Me Crazy, features Kaz on vocals and huge swing style horn solos from Kaz, Al and John. Nick Connolly on piano and Roscoe Beck on bass round out the band. They ain't playing around! Straight up, horns in your face rock on Kick Me Again features a great thick bari solo from Mills as well as Derek O'Brien with a ripping guitar solo and Danny Levin on piano. W.C. Clark takes front and center vocals on shuffle track, Cold Blooded Lover. Rich horn work envelopes this track but O'Brien on guitar and Kaz on harp do rips some really nice solos as well. Percy Mayfield's Lost Mind lays back in the groove featuring Kaz on vocals. Kaz lays out a real sweet tenor solo and Gomez works the mute really nicely on his trumpet with a sassy solo of his own. Earl King's Sing, Sing, Sing again visits the New Orleans flavor and this time with more of a Dixieland approach. Barry "Frosty" Smith's drumming on this track really gives it the extra punch. Kaz lays down a nice tenor solo and Connolly rolls the piano down the road like he owns it. Hot charger Rippin' and Trippin' is a horn mans delight. These guys really do rip it on this track with a featured solo by Kaz on tenor backed by Danny Levin on piano and Ronnie James on bass. Title track, Blues Gotta Holda Me is a real rock and roller with Kaz on vocal leading the way chased by the entire horn section. Johnny Nicholas hammers out a great piano solo and Gomez and Kaz each rip great lines of their own. Curtis Mayfield's People Get Ready shows a healthy blend of horn work with Mills on bari, Gomez on trumpet, and Kaz on tenor all taking sweet solos. Roscoe's bass solo is a particularly pleasant surprise as well. Fleecie Moore's Caldonia plays right into the hands of a band with this kind of horsepower. Kaz takes the vocal lead with strong piano backing from Connolly. Gomez on trumpet, Mills on Bari and kaz on tenor all take righteous solos making this one of the hottest tracks on the release. Breaking back to some southern soul, Home Cooking sounds just like the title. You can smell it on the stove simmering. The horns balanced nicely against Connolly on B3 this track grooves. Kaz steps up with a tenor solo followed by Gomez on trumpet and Mills on tenor. Smokin'! Wrapping the release is beach blanket rocking Spanky's Twist. These guys drive it home on this track with a great solo from Connolly on B3, Kaz on tenor, O'Brien on guitar, Miulls on bari and Gomez on trumpet. Excellent conclusion to a horn soaked extravaganza!
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Sorry , could not find an appropriate video. here's Kaz.
