Phenix Fire Records artist: Vanessa Collier - Heart On The Line - New Release Review

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Heart On The Line, from Vanessa Collier, and it's quite good. Opening with James Brown's, Super Bad Collier is off to a strong start morphing a quick tempo driver into a slow, funky instant hit. This track has it all with movement, great vocal, a great bottom, and saxy solo by Collier. Backed by Nick Stevens on drums, Scott Sutherland on bass, Laura Chavez on guitar, William Gorman on keys, Quinn Carson on Trombone, Doug Woolverton on trumpet, this track is hot! With a delta feel on Bloodhound, Chavez lays down a cool slide riff and Colliers vocals really take over. With CC Ellis on bass and Stevens on drums, this track has oomph. Randy Newman's You Can Leave Your Hat On gets a really nice rework with plenty of spunk. I really like the horn work on this one pushing it along and Chavez's guitar solo just just right in the groove. Excellent! Original track, Weep and Moan has a really great feel with a slower tempo, tasty guitar trem and solo work by Chavez and Carson, Woolverton and Colliers working the horns under death defying vocals. Very nice! Funky, Who's In Power really pours on the horn sauce with Colliers working up the band with choice vocal and sax work over a pumped bass line by Ellis. Hot! Wrapping the release is the most pop oriented track on the release, Heart On The Line, with Cornell Williams really working the bass line, punchy horn work by Carson and Woolverton and great vocal work, revival style by Colliers. Excellent closer for her best release yet.

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Soulful Singer/Saxophonist Vanessa Collier on 'Honey Up' Tour, Performs at Sportmen's Tavern

SOULFUL BLUES SINGER/SAXOPHONIST VANESSA COLLIER EMBARKS ON 'HONEY UP' TOUR IN SUPPORT OF NEW ALBUM Performs Locally: SPORTSMEN'S TAVERN - Wednesday, October 11 "If you haven't yet hooked onto the Vanessa Collier bandwagon, do so now because this young woman's a rising star. Ms. Collier is a true triple threat --- an accomplished sax player, a very fine soulful singer with some roots in gospel, and a prolific songwriter. If that's not enough, she also plays a little guitar."         BLUES BYTES “There’s a young lady [Vanessa Collier] came onstage with me, I forget where I was, but she’s playing an alto saxophone, and man, she was amazing.” – Buddy Guy

(Buffalo, NY) - Soulful blues singer/saxophonist Vanessa Collier, embarks on her 'Honey Up' U.S. Tour, in support of her acclaimed new album of the same name, with a local performance at Sportsmen's Tavern, 326 Amherst St., Wednesday, October 11. Showtime: 7pm. Tickets: $15. Info: (716) 874-7734 or visit http://sportsmensbuffalo.com/.                       About...Vanessa Collier and "Honey Up"   If you haven’t been fortunate enough to meet Vanessa Collier and witness one of her head-turning, fiery, and passionate performances, you should definitely make sure you do. As a master musician and multi-instrumentalist, Vanessa weaves funk, soul, rock, and blues into every powerful performance and she is downright impressive. With soulful vocals, searing saxophone, and witty songwriting, Vanessa is blazing a trail, racking up an arsenal of honors, and has already singled herself out as an artist of distinction and one we would all do well to watch.   It’s not simply the accolades she has accumulated so far, although they’ve been many -- three Blues Music Award Nominations (BMAs) for Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year (2018) and Horn Player of the Year (2018 and 2017), a Blues Blast Award nomination, the Jamming-est Pro Award bestowed by the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, First Place for lyrics in the International Songwriting Competition, Best of 2014 Blues Breaker on Dan Aykroyd’s BluesMobile -- it’s the fact that she has accumulated all these honors even while her career is still in its infancy. A 2013 graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music, she’s toured nationally and internationally, released two critically acclaimed albums (2014’s Heart, Soul & Saxophone and 2017’s Meeting My Shadow), and will release her highly anticipated self-produced third album, Honey Up, in July 2018.   These days, Collier spends much of her time on the road, performing at some of the most prestigious music festivals in the world. Her talents have taken her to the Blues Music Awards Show where, in the words of the Blues Foundation, Vanessa “blew the doors off the Blues Music Awards!”; Ottawa Blues Festival, where she earned two front page newspaper photos and rave reviews after her foot stomping debut there; twice on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise, where she earned the Jamming-est Pro Award and was a featured artist with Tommy Castro’s Blues Review; Briggs Farm Festival, where she was the “most popular Briggs Farm act in 2017” (Elmore Magazine), and the list continues. In 2017, Vanessa was also a featured artist in three major tours across Europe as part of Ruf’s 2017 Blues Caravan.      Collier says she’s happy performing on stages across the world, hoping that she can make a difference with fans and followers along the way. “I am driven to do this because I find it a total form of expression and connection,” she explains. “I love connecting with an audience and feeling their energy and I hope to inspire people to follow their dreams and passions, to find what brings them joy, and then to pursue it doggedly.”                  Vanessa Collier 'Honey Up' Fall 2018 U.S. Tour Itinerary Oct. 5 (Friday)             THE HAMILTON                            Washington, DC Oct. 6 (Saturday)         THE FOUNDRY                              Columbia, MD Oct. 11 (Thur.)           SPORTSMEN'S TAVERN                 Buffalo, NY Oct. 12 (Fri.)               MUSIC BOX SUPPER CLUB               Cleveland, OH Oct. 13 (Sat.)              CANAL BANK SHUFFLE BLUES FEST     Ontario, CAN Oct. 14 (Sun.)             FANATICS PUB                               Lima, NY Oct. 17 (Wed.)            DOUGLAS CORNER                        Nashville, TN Oct. 18 (Thur.)           SLIPPERY NOODLE                         Indianapolis, IN Oct. 19 (Fri.)              BUDDY GUY'S LEGENDS                 Chicago, IL Oct. 20 (Sat.)             BACON BLUES/BIG STORIES FEST        Madisonville, KY Oct. 21 (Sun.)            RAILGARTEN                                  Memphis, TN Oct. 22 (Mon.)           WOODSONGS                                 Lexington, KY Oct. 23 (Tues.)          FAT FISH PUB                                 Galesburg, IL Oct. 24 (Wed.)           ZOO BAR                                        Lincoln, NE Oct. 25 (Thur.)          KNUCKLEHEAD'S SALOON               Kansas City, MO Oct. 26 (Fri.)             FAMOUS DAVE'S                             Minneapolis, MN Oct. 27 (Sat.)            CHROME LOUNGE                           Omaha, NE Oct. 30 (Tues.)          PARADISE BAR & GRILL                   Pensacola, FL Oct. 31 (Wed.)           TWO BROTHERS                             Punta Gorda, FL Nov. 1 (Thur.)            THE ALE & WITCH                         St. Petersburg, FL Nov. 2 (Fri.)               SUNRISE THEATRE                         Fort Pierce, FL Nov. 3 (Sat.)              FORGOTTEN MUSIC FESTIVAL        Mexico Beach, FL Nov. 4 (Sun.)             CAPITOL OYSTER BAR                    Montgomery, AL www.vanessacollier.com www.facebook.com/music.vanessacollier             Join us on Facebook       Follow us on Twitter       Send us an Email

Vanessa Collier - Honey Up - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Honey Up, by Vanessa Collier and I really like it. Opening with funky, New Orleans soaked, Sweating Like A Pig is a great track with  sassy vocal lines and great sax swing. Collier is really getting it going now. With Nick Stevens  on drums, Nick Trautmann on bass, William Gorman on keys, Laura Chavez on guitars, Quinn Carson on trombone and Doug Woolverton on trumpet, this track is a opener that's hard to beat! Title track Honey Up has a deep funky groove and Trautmann really sets the pace. Collier is booked as a sax player but her vocal style and efforts are top notch giving this track a certain spank. This track has an incredible groove led by Trautmann and Stevens and with this horn section you better step back... it's about to blow. Hot! Percolatin' has an infectious feel and Collier really sails on it showing her excellent feel for the music, shored up by Gorman on organ. Super. The Fault Line give Chavez a wide open floor to express herself and she doesn't need much encouragement with big fat chops and loads of experience. Excellent! Bluesy, Bless Your Heart, has solid radio appeal with strong vocals by Collier and just the right guitar spank from Chavez. Very nice. With it's strong James Brown beat thanks to Stevens and a sweet melody, You Get What You Get, is another track with solid radio appeal featuring Collier on vocal balanced by Gorman's keyboard work and capped off with a swinging sax solo.  Wrapping the release is Chris Smithers' Love Me Like A Man done slow blues style with some of Collier's most soulful vocals featuring Sparky Parker on electric guitar and of course a healthy sax solo by Collier to close the show. 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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Ruf Records artist: Vanessa Collier - Meeting My Shadow - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Meeting My Shadow by Vanessa Collier and it's quite good! Opening with dark, slinky, Poisoned The Well, Vanessa Collier has a great sound as a lead vocalist and her clavinet work on this track and especially her haunting flute work on track one is intoxicating. I really like the bass line by Lenny Bradford and Nicholas Stevens' drum work. Excellent opener. On R&B track, Dig A Little Deeper, Laura Chavez created a cool traditional guitar rhythm and Collier adds her solo sax work to the horn work of Marc Franklin on trumpet giving the track a bit more punch. When It Don't Come Easy has a smooth southern blues rock featuring Chavez on electric guitar and resonator guitar and getting some of the best vocal warmth from Collier. Rock n roller, Two Parts Sugar, One Part Lime features a bit more of Collier's solo sax work with her vocals and some nice piano work by Charles Hodges.  Soul track, You're Gonna Make Me Cry has some particularly expressive vocals by Collier and a bluesy guitar solo by Chavez making it one of my favorites on the release. With just a dash of New Orleans, Meet Me Where I'm At, has a cool funky feel, nicely blended vocals and super sax and trumpet work pined against a snappy percussion/ piano bottom. Very cool. With it's Tower of Power like roots, Cry Out has a great feel with Franklin and Collier funking it up over nice Chavez's guitar rhythm and super vocals. Very nice. Revival/gospel styling on Up Above My Head I Hear Music In The Air is a real rebel rouser with great keys, a slick, Boots Randolph sax vibe and a swinging soul conclusion. Wrapping the release is a really nice ballad, Devil's On The Downslide, again reinforcing the strength of Collier as a straight up vocalist. With perfect organ work by Hodges, cleanly detailed guitar work by Chavez and Daniel McKee  on bass this track is a perfect closer for a really nice 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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