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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, Whisper in the Wind, by Michael Bloom and the Blues Prophecy and it's a cool relaxed blues rocker. Opening with Time On My Hands, Bloom is up front on lead vocal and guitar with Minuro Maruyama, also on guitars, Michael Damani on keys, an excellent rolling bass line by Jeffrey Labon, and Andrew Thomas and Faustino Cortez on drums. Just Can't Win is a real nice contemporary blues track with a solid melody and again, a cool bass line by Labon. Bloom and Michael Damani lay out some really cool guitar lines on this one as it floats along nicely. Bloom's take on Brownsville has classic styling with Bloom on slide and lead vocal and cool piano rolls by Damani. One of my release favorites is slower blues, Old Man Blues with Bloom stretching his chops on electric lead guitar and with Brant Leeper on B3. Clocking in at nearly 7 minutes...very nice. No Luck At All is an interesting blues track with a different kind of approach to an Albert King style blues. With it's funky bottom and stinging guitar lead by Bloom and Maruyama and Damani on keys, this is another of my favorites on the release. With a bit of that southern swagger, Lisa is another guitar showcase with Bloom and Tim Arnolld on guitars and Leeper on Wurlitzer. Wrapping the release is Robert Johnson's Dust My Broom with it's laid back pace. Mary lane is featured on lead vocal with Bloom on slide guitar, Damani on keys and Cortez on drums. Cool closer for a 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, Travelin' Woman, from South Side Chicago's Mary Lane and its real nice. Opening with title track, Travelin' Woman, Lane shows why her reputation precedes her large as life. Joined by Travis T. Bernard on drums, Chris Cameron on keys, Jim Trullio on guitar and bass, Terry Ogolini and Gene Barge on sax, Don Tenuto on trumpet and with flaming hot slide work by Louie Zagoras this is a super opener. Up tempo blues track, Leave That Wine Alone, has a great tempo and Lanes vocals are sassy. Johnny Grey on B3, Phil Miller on slide and Paul Mertens bass harmonica work is solid and backing vocals by Simbryt Dortch and Yvonne Gage really add nicely to the bottom. Corky Siegel sits in on harmonica on shuffle track, Some People Say I'm Crazy and with solid piano work by Grey, a very cool track. One of my favorite tracks on the release is soul soaked, Let Me Into Your Heart with it's gripping vocal feel and gospel like piano and B3 reinforcement by Cameron. Lanes phrasing and vocal tension are perfect. Bad Luck And Trouble has a driving shuffle pace with Trullio's bass line leading the way. Cameron on piano and Lane on lead vocal really mesh nicely on this track with a solid guitar solo by Dave Specter. Wrapping the release is acoustic blues, Make Up Your Mind featuring Lane alone with Colin Linden on acoustic slide / dobro. This track is a strong closer for a really 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”
For added exposure - Blues World Wide Group "LIKE"
“Like” Bman’s Facebook page and get support for your favorite band or venue - click HERE
I just received the newest release, Angels Sing The Blues featuring performances by Liz Mandeville, Mary Lane, Al Short, Shirley Johnson and Johnny Drummer and it's cool! Opening with Al "Guitar" Short on the Johnny Guitar Watson track, A Real Mother For Ya, backed by Johnny Drummer on keys, Walter Scott on rhythm guitar, Anthony Palmer on lead guitar, Kenny Hampton on bass, Tino Cortes on drums this release starts off with a kicking funk. Danny O'Connor takes the mic on Cold Women With Warm Hearts and a rolling James Brown rhythm driven by O'Connor's own bass lead. Very nice! Johnny Drummer is up next and a slick guitar intro by Palmer opens Gonna Sell My Cadillac, Buy Myself A Mule. This track has a great feel with extended guitar work by Palmer and Drummers vocals are tight, complimented by his own harp work. Slowing it down a bit, Drummer leads a low slung groove in easy style. Palmer steps up with some real nice riffs on this track giving it a real bluesy feel. R&B style track, Get Your Lovin' Where You Spend Your Time, features Shirley Johnson on lead vocals and she takes command. Compact guitar riffs and simple phrasing makes this track a solid radio contender. Mary lane takes center stage on Just As Grown As You and with a solid 12 bar rhythm and prominent keys from Drummer delivers a stike right down the alley. On Ride In Your Automobile, Lane gets the band involved with backing vocals from Mike Pappas and Alvin Short for a cool driver. Drummer is back up front on Rockin' In The Juke Joint and this is a cool rumble. Shirley Johnson is back up front on I'm Gonna Find Me A Lover, a high stepping R&B track with some of her best vocals on the release. Hamptons bass work on this track stand out nicely with compliments by Palmer. Again on Unchain My Heart, Johnson takes total control with thick, rich, vocals. Drummer's organ work on this track sets up just the right amount of tension, along with a slick guitar solo from Palmer, making this one of the strongest tracks on the release. Mary Lane really grinds out a classic on You Can Have My Husband, Please Don't Mess With My Man. With solid organ backing, nice bass work from Hampton and tight drums from Cortes, Palmer rips a real nice solo on this one. Very nice! Liz Mandeville takes center stage on Use What You Got and she gets hot and sassy. This is a hot track with heavy overtones and a sweet guitar riffs. Continuing with I Just Want To Make Love To You, Mandeville really works it and Drummer's harp and organ add nicely with hot guitar riffs from Palmer. Very cool! On John Prine classic, Angel From Montgomery, Mandeville, Lane and Johnson team up for a solid soulful rendition supported by Amber McMillan and Taniesha Brock on backing vocal and John Elwood Migliaccio and Scott Harper on sax. Very smooth. Wrapping the release is a funky, Run A Red Light, with plucky guitar and bass riffs and Mary Lane showing her stuff just one more time.
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”
For added exposure - Blues World Wide Group "LIKE"
A longtime staple of Chicago's West Side blues circuit, singer Mary Lane was born November 23, 1935 in Clarendon, Arkansas. After honing her skills in local juke joints in the company of Howlin' Wolf, Robert Nighthawk, Little Junior Parker and James Cotton, Lane relocated to Chicago in 1957; backed by Morris Pejoe, she soon cut her debut single "You Don't Want My Lovin' No More" for the Friendly Five label. A favorite among peers for her dulcet tones, she nevertheless did not record again for several decades, remaining virtually unknown outside of the Chicago blues faithful; finally, in the early 1990s, Lane recorded a handful of tracks for the Wolf label, leading to 1997's full-length Appointment with the Blues. If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
Arkansas-born Lane began singing blues barely into her teens. Soon she was working with slide guitar master Robert Nighthawk.
"I was about 16 or 17 when I did a few shows with him in a place called Marvell, Ark.," she says. "It was fun to me. It was beautiful. I was just out there being wild!"
Lane came north in 1957, settling in north suburban Waukegan. There she met guitarist Morris Pejoe, who had recorded for Chess and Vee-Jay. She moved to Chicago in 1961, playing the West Side, and she and Pejoe had three daughters (including singer Lynne Lane, who shares Saturday's bill at the Zodiac).
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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!
A longtime staple of Chicago's West Side blues circuit, singer Mary Lane was born November 23, 1935 in Clarendon, Arkansas. After honing her skills in local juke joints in the company of Howlin' Wolf, Robert Nighthawk, Little Junior Parker and James Cotton, Lane relocated to Chicago in 1957; backed by Morris Pejoe, she soon cut her debut single "You Don't Want My Lovin' No More" for the Friendly Five label. A favorite among peers for her dulcet tones, she nevertheless did not record again for several decades, remaining virtually unknown outside of the Chicago blues faithful; finally, in the early 1990s, Lane recorded a handful of tracks for the Wolf label, leading to 1997's full-length Appointment with the Blues. If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
