PhillyCheeze's Rock & Blues Reviews: Kevin Burt

Showing posts with label Kevin Burt. Show all posts

Saturday, May 18, 2024

#685 : Kevin Burt & Big Medicine - Thank You Brother Bill : A Tribute To Bill Withers (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2023 – Gulf Coast Records

By Phillip Smith; May 18, 2024

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

I’ve been listening to Kevin Burt perform his magic behind the microphone for almost thirty-two years now. He is one of the most gifted singers I know. His well of talent runs quite deep and that talent brought him awards in three categories at the 2018 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. He walked away that year with First Place Solo/Duo , First Place Solo/Duo Guitarist, and the Lee Oskar Award for Best Harmonica Player.

His fourth album Thank You Brother Bill (A Tribute to Bill Withers) breathes new life into a dozen Bill Withers songs. It couples Burt with a stellar backing ensemble called Big Medicine comprised of Scot Southerland on bass, Ken Valdez on lead/rhythm guitar/backing vocals, and Eric Douglas on drums.

From the opening notes of “Who is He (and What is He To You)?” I’m all-in. I love how Burt's voice suavely fills the air radiating off the funky groove constructed from Big Medicine. The funk gets stronger on “Kissing My Love”. Topped with a smokin’ splash of harp, this track absolutely cooks as Valdez tosses in his searing guitar licks. The tempo drops and the bluesy soulful goodness of “World Keeps Going Round and Round” hits with an amazing heaviness as the tension tightens like a tourniquet. Then “Just the Two of Us” rolls in like a ray of sunshine with Burt opening up the song on harmonica. I can’t help but feel good when I hear this song. It’s such a delight. I absolutely love his cover of “Ain’t No Sunshine”. The emotion Burt packs into his delivery on this track cuts to the bone. It’s additionally fortified by Douglas slapping out a ferocious beat on congas. “Lean on Me” brings back a flood of memories of hanging out with one of my best friends growing up. The song is a gift of time-travel, as I recall those care-free days. Bringing the album to its close, is the title-track “Thank You Brother Bill”, written by Burt to show his gratitude and “Big Love” for music of Bill Withers. It really makes for the perfect closer for this album.

Thank You Brother Bill is one of the most perfect tribute albums I’ve heard by a single artist. Kevin Burt does an outstanding job of taking on these treasured songs and I highly recommend this recording.

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For more information about Kevin Burt, visit his website at https://www.kevinburtmusic.net

Follow the link below for more PhillyCheeze reviews featuring Kevin Burt:

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=kevin+burt

Friday, December 15, 2023

#650 : JM O'Malley's 25 Yrs of Live Music (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2023 – Independent

By Phillip Smith; Dec. 15, 2023

Release Date : Oct. 12, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

I want to make PhillyCheeze’s Rock & Blues Review #650 special and focus on my local blues scene in a very specific way. It’s a rare occasion to be able to brag about the abundant amount of blues Iowa has to offer and this is a perfect time to shine a light on it. If you find yourself in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on a Thursday night and feel the urge to hear some blues in an authentic juke joint environment, navigate yourself to JM O’Malley’s in the Irish District of town. For over twenty-five years, every Thursday evening, Iowa Blues Hall-of Famer Tom ‘T-Bone’ Giblin (Lonnie Brooks, Elvin Bishop, The Dynatones) has led a legendary jam at this Irish bar on keys and organ. The magic of these much-adored jams is fabulously captured on CD and features two tracks apiece from seven different acts who played O’Malley’s in 2023. Each track features Giblin at the helm of the keys. The lineup consists of Charlie Morgan and the Bone Crushers, Iowa Blues Hall-of-Famer and International Blues Challenge winner in three categories Kevin Burt, Matt Panek (The Electric Koolaid Trio), D’Dog and the B’Bits featuring Iowa Blues Hall-of-Famer and Iowa Rock n Roll Hall-of-Famer Dennis McMurrin, Iowa Blues Hall-of-Famer and Iowa Rock n Roll Hall-of-Famer Craig Erickson, Iowa Blues Hall-of-Famer and Iowa Rock n Roll Hall-of-Famer Bryce Janey, and Merrill Miller (Shakey Feet).

The album kicks off with a fabulous Chicago-style blues jam with Charlie Morgan and the Bone Crushers on “Two Trains Runnin’”. Giblin tears it up on keys and Dave Bader lays down a blues-soaked bassline for Morgan as he fearlessly belts out the vocals and rips it up on guitar. Local music legend Dennis McMurrin, who cut an album with The Tower of Power in 1986, leads D’Dog and the B’Bits through a funky cover of Jr. Walker’s “Cleo’s Back”. Performed with another Iowa Blues Hall-of-Famer bassist Dan Johnson, and drummer Butch O’Connell, the track is a downright terrific. I love that Kevin Burt was on this recording. I still remember the first time seeing him and The Blues Instigators, back in 1993 shortly after I moved to Iowa. His band was one I would often see over the years. Burt performs his iconic original “Real Love” as well as a soulful, funky cover of Bill Withers’ 1972 classic “Who is He (and What is He to You)?”. When Bryce Janey brings his guitar to the stage for a couple of his originals “Drinking Dirty Water” and “Practice What You Preach”, it makes for a high-voltage dose of guitar-centric blues. It’s always a pleasure to hear this man play. Matt Panek aka “Matty Koolaid” brings the Big Joe Turner classic “Honey Hush” to a sear, and it sounds great. Craig Erickson, a hands-down all-time favorite, appears with his band Sky Train featuring John Hall on bass and Rob Haskell on drums for an extraordinary performance of “Mojo in Memphis” from his 2015 album Sky Train Galaxy. Merrill Miller, who I first heard many years ago play as a duo with Bryce Janey, now fronts his own band Shakey Feet, comprised of Butch O’Connell on drums and Troy Harper on bass. Their cover of Muddy Waters’ “Got My Mojo Workin’” surely makes me smile. This is what the blues is all about.

JM O’Malley’s 25 Yrs of Live Music is a splendid recording which captures the immense musical talent we have in the I-380 Corridor. I highly recommend this one, so make a stop out at JM O'Malley's and buy a copy.

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For more information about this CD contact:

JM O’Malley’s

1502 H. Ave. NE

Cedar Rapids, Iowa 53402

Saturday, July 22, 2023

#624: Soulful Femme - Attitude (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2023 – Skydog Studios

By Phillip Smith; July 22, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

Funk, soul, and blues form a magical convergence with the sounds of Soulful Femme. Comprised of lead vocalist Stevee Wellons and guitarist Cheryl Rinovato, Soulful Femme was formed shortly after the two women met at a blues society event in 2014. Attitude, the follow up album to their 2021 release It Is Well With My Soul, is produced by Albert Castiglia and features him on guitar for three tracks. The backing musicians include drummer Michael Bram, bassist Matt Reynol, Dave Gross on Hammond organ and tambourine, Doug Woolverton on trumpet, and Mark Earley on tenor saxophone. Special guests on this record include Tommy Castro and Kevin Burt.

The funky, infectious rhythm of title-track “Attitude” leads the way with Castiglia joining in on guitar. The bassline is thick as Wellons’ vocals ring out with a striking fearlessness. I absolutely love their cover with Kevin Burt which breathes new life into the 1968 Willie Dixon/Koko Taylor duet “Insane Asylum”. Burt and Wellons sing this heartbreaker with pure emotion as they stick the landing for a stellar performance. Reminiscent of the lovely sounds of Sade, “Breathe Again” rolls in on a crisp wave of fresh air. Rinovato digs in deep with a George Benson-like approach on guitar and it sounds fabulous. Tommy Castro joins in the fun on the bodacious cover of James Brown’s “Talkin’ Loud and Sayin’ Nothing”. This funkdafied track is one I really enjoy.

The musical chemistry between Wellons and Rinovato extends beyond their performance and into their song-writing. Soulful Femme’s “Attitude” is an album soul-blues fans will surely want to hear. They are definitely an act to keep one’s eyes and ears on.

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For more information about Soulful Femme visit the website : https://www.soulfulfemme.com

Saturday, March 11, 2023

#600 : 'daBluesapalooza 2023 (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

The Olympic Southside Theater

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

February 18, 2023

By Phillip Smith; Mar. 11, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

Last year, KCCK Jazz 88.3 celebrated thirty years of playing ‘da Blues over the airwaves, and marked the occasion by producing a well-oiled blues event in Cedar Rapids called ‘daBluesapalooza. This five-hour long live blues show honored radio show hosts Bob DeForest and John ‘Big Mo’ Heim and featured many local and regional artists. The event was such a success, another gathering of the blues tribe was warranted, and daBluesapalooza 2023 was held at Olympic Southside Theater in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on February 18.

Ship of Fools, a band from the Eastern Iowa Arts Academy in Cedar Rapids, kicked the evening off in a big way. These young musicians sounded like seasoned artists as they lit up the stage with a most impressive cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child”. The lineup for the rest of the evening included outstanding sets from Craig Erickson Band, Dennis “Daddy-O” McMurrin, Homebrewed, Charlie Morgan, Tanya English Band, Johnny Kilowatt, Kevin Burt, Saul Lubaroff, Matt Panek, Wonderful Smiths, and Evan Stock Band. With the blues gushing out of every performance, the evening flew by way too fast. Seeing the artists sit in with each other for musical collaborations was extra special and made for a unique experience. I really hope this event keeps going. I absolutely love it.