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New Blues News – 11/3/2020

Kurt Allen – Whiskey, Women & Trouble (Self-produced): “Kurt Allen Band is a high quality, high energy Funky Blues/Rock power trio. With strong roots in Blues, Funk, Soul, Jazz and Rock, Kurt Allen Band has been relentlessly touring the US for the last 8 years. Having already performed from coast to coast, top to bottom and everywhere between. With an impressive list of notable venues, festivals and events on their resume. Look for Kurt Allen Band to be rocking a venues around the world soon. A show you don’t want to miss and will be looking forward to the next time you can catch this amazingly talented group of musicians.” (http://www.kurtallenmusic.com/#/) Allen plays guitar and songs and is backed up by Lester Estelle Jr. (drums), Craig Kew (bass), and Beaux Lux (keys, sax and biking vocal), with Pete Carroll (trumpet) and Trevor Turla (trombone) on half of the songs. Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this release.

Big Harp George – Living In The City (Blues Mountain): “Big Harp George/George Bisharat is a San Francisco Bay Area blues singer, songwriter, and chromatic harmonica player. The chromatic, compared to the 10-hole diatonic more common to blues, has a distinctive voice, giving Big Harp George a jazzy and sophisticated sound.” (https://www.bigharpgeorge.com/) This is his fourth release and it is dedicated to the late Charles Baty, better known as the lead guitarist of Little Charlie & the Nightcats, who passed away last March. Baty played on six of the songs on this disc. Other players include Amal Murkus (vocals, 1 song), Ben Torres (bari sax on 5 songs, flute on 1), Carlos Reyes (Paraguayan harp, 1 song, violin on 2), Chris Burns (keys, backing vocal), D’Mar (percussion, 3 songs), Doug Rowan (bari sax 5 songs), Firas Zreik (zither, 1 dog), Joe Kyle (bass, 6 songs), June Core (drums), Kid Andersen (bass, 7 songs, guitar, 6 songs, backing voca, 1 song), Lisa Leusch Andersen (backing voca, 4 songs), Loay Dahbour (Arabic percussion, 1 song), Loralee Christenesn (backing vocals, 5 songs) Michael Peloquin (tenor and bari sax), Mike Rinta (trombone) and the Sons of the Soul Revivers on 6 songs). This is a fine tribute and set honoring Little Charlie. Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.

Mick Kolassa – If You Can’t Be Good, Be Good At It! (Endless Blues): Mick Kolassa (vocals, acoustic guitar) has teamed up with Jeff Jensen (electric and acoustic guitars, percussion) nine Kolassa originals and covers of James Taylor’s “Lo And Behold” and Howlin’ Wolf’s “Who’s Been Talking”. Other backing musicians include Bill Ruffino (bass), John Balckmon (drums, percussion) Rick Steff (keys) and Eric Hughes (harmonica). It’s a blues based set offering some good songs, but unfortunately there is so much similarity among a number of songs that it begins to lose its attraction. Nonetheless, there are some strong offerings here as well. I regret I am not able to find a sample from this release.

Bob Margolin – Star of Stage and Screens (VizzTone): ““Steady Rollin’” Bob Margolin began playing guitar in 1964. Less than 10 years later he was Muddy Waters’ main man, recording on three of Mud’s albums and appearing with him on The Last Waltz. Since then he’s traveled the world, and released 11 solo albums including last year’s BMA winning, acoustic release, This Guitar and Tonight. The 2020 pandemic hit Margolin where it hurt him the most. His ability to perform in front of live audiences was abruptly taken away and he went from being a star of the stage to a star of our phone screens. Hence his new EP, Star of Stage and Screens was born. Hot on the heels of his award winning acoustic This Guitar and Tonight, the six new, all-original songs on Star of Stage and Screens take on the Coronavirus, isolation, and the halt of live music. He shares missing shows and friends, fear for the world, outrage, grief, new coping skills and new ways to present his music. The opening lines of the title cut come straight out with Margolin’s anger and frustration at not being able to do what he loves most after 50 years of doing it. Yes, he still plays acoustic guitar with abandon, with and without a slide, but it’s the interaction with his friends and fans he misses the most. Never known as a paramount vocalist, Bob conveys heaps of emotion, and on the first track we can virtually hear his heart break. Pun intended…. Ending with the brilliantly titled “March 2020 in Stop Time,” Margolin returns to his outrage at not only live music coming to a screeching halt, but to what our leaders are doing, or not doing about it. His stop-time playing drives the point home like a hammer. Bob is exasperated and terrified, mostly about the fact that nobody knows when it will end. After a few seconds of labored breathing near the song’s finish, it too stops, leaving us to ponder for ourselves.” (https://www.americanbluesscene.com/bob-margolin-star-of-stage-and-screens/) The saddest thing about this release is that Margolin seems to feel he can entertain his listeners by torturing them with his broken wails and strained missed notes. Rather it’s a squall at best – overblown noise. My strong advice is to listen before purchasing. If you think it’s entertaining, go right ahead and buy it, but if you buy it first, the fun or disappointment is on you. Click here to listen to the opening performance on this disc.

Dave Riley & Bob Corritone – Travelin’ The Dirt Road (VizzTone): “he Mississippi-meets-Chicago team of blues singer/guitarist Dave Riley and harmonica ace/blues music producer Bob Corritore has become a fifteen year blues institution. Travelin’ the Dirt Road demonstrates a natural musical chemistry and friendship, and is pure down-home blues. The album is an expanded reissue their long out of print Blues Music Award-nominated debut album of 2007, originally on Blue Witch Records. This deluxe re-release comprises the original album plus two unissued originals from those initial sessions, and the first of Corritore’s upcoming “From the Vaults” series of recordings from his own vast archives. If you like the old style hard blues GRAB this release!!!! This is a certified Professor Bebop “Wax Devoid of Cracks”! Click here to listen to the songs on this release.

Kopasetically,

Professor Bebop