#630 > Bourbon and Blues Festival - 2023 (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

Bourbon & Blues Festival – Aug 19, 2023

McGrath Amphitheater

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

 

By Phillip Smith; Aug. 23, 2022

 

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

The temperature was running hot at just over ninety degrees, but that sure did not keep blues fans from coming out to hear the amazing talent who took the stage at the 2023 Bourbon & Blues Festival co-presented by Linn County Blues Society and Cedar Ridge Winery and Distillery.  Mr. Sipp the 2023 Blues Music Award nominee for the BB King Entertainer of the year took the stage first and gave a stellar performance packed with high-energy.  Following afterwards was an incredible set from Sugaray Rayford the 2023 Blues Music Award winner for Best Soul Blues Album.  Headlining the event was Shemekia Copeland, the 2023 Blues Music Award winner for Best Instrumentalist – Vocals.  She was absolutely amazing.  Cedar Rapids musician Bryce Janey, a semi-finalist in the 2012 International Blues Challenge, kept the music flowing and the audience captivated between sets.  It’s always a pleasure to hear him play.  From beginning to end, this festival was delightfully outstanding.    

 

·         All photos by Phillip Smith

Mark Rowell

Bob DeForest

Mr. Sipp

Bob DeForest

Bryce Janey

Sugaray Rayford

Bryce Janey

Shemekia Copeland

#629: Mario Rossi Band - Smoke Burst (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

Mario Rossi Band

Smoke Burst

2023 – Mario Rossi Band

By Phillip Smith; Aug. 19, 2023

Release Date : July 16, 2023

 

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

Brazilian singer/songwriter/guitarist Mario Rossi discovered his deep passion for blues in 2013 while joining John Primer’s touring band across Brazil.  Since then, he has blazed a trail that has caught the eyes and ears of many fans.  Smoke Burst, his fourth and most recent album is a fantastic recording of all original tunes loaded with hot guitar licks and infectious riffs.  With Rossi on guitar and vocals, his band is comprised of Edê Boy on keyboards, Marcelo Rocha on bass, and Rafael Cacavallo on drums.

Kicking open the gates with his title-track instrumental “Smoke/Burst”, Rossi’s impressive guitar performance is a smoldering wonderment.  I love the slow goodness of “It Means Blues”.  Every note is delivered with feeling as guest Lu Vitti lends her voice to give the song an extraordinary soulful touch.  Harmonica in hand, Steve Bell (son of Carey Bell) joins the Mario Rossi Band along with a gospel choir comprised of Magally Farias, Je Farias, Lu Vitti, and Edê Boy for “There’s No Hope For Willie Brown”.  Guided with a driving second-line cadence, this spirited homage to the legendary blues pioneer embraces the music of the Mississippi Delta, down to the Big Easy.  The psychedelic blues-rock vibe is strong with “Don’t Tell Me What To Do”.  Rossi draws deeply from his Hendrix influence for a delectable cut.  This is positively lightning-in-a-bottle.  He then continues to channel that Hendrix energy for a cosmic instrumental “Jammin’ for Jimi”.  I am filled with awe with every listen.

I can’t get enough of this new album from Mario Rossi Band.  Smoke Burst is a recording I am going to highly recommend for blues fans and guitar aficionados.  It’s spectacular.    

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For more information about Mario Rossi Band visit the website at :  https://www.mariorossiband.com

#628: Chickenbone Slim - Damn Good and Ready (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2023 – Vizztone Label Group

By Phillip Smith; Aug. 12, 2023

 Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

San Diego-based musician Larry Teves aka Chickenbone Slim has returned to Greaseland Studios to record his fifth release Damn Good and Ready.  The album is a cocktail of all-original blues and rockabilly with a cool-as-hell vintage sound.   It is quite obvious why he was awarded the 2022 San Diego Music Award for “Best Jazz/Blues Recording”.  With Christoffer “Kid” Anderson engineering, mixing, and mastering this twelve-track recording, Chickenbone Slim is joined by Laura Chavez (2023 Blues Music Award winner for Best Blues Guitarist) on guitar, Marty Dodson on drums/percussion, Justice Guevara on electric and stand-up bass, and Kid Anderson on everything else.

Loaded with a fistful of musical badassery and a searing blues riff, Teves’ homage to the wonderous lifeforce H2O has me hooked with “Drink Me”.  “Rather Be Up” follows up with sweet twangy tones and a western delivery.  It’s a beautiful song, and draws me in tight.  From the first smokin’ guitar lick Chavez drops, title-track “Damn Good and Ready” is pure unadulterated blues, and sounds absolutely wonderful.  With a fearless vocal delivery, Slim belts out “Ice in My Whiskey”.  Chavez truly shines on this favorite track.  It is songs like “Ty Cobb’s Chiclets” which put a spotlight on Teves’ songwriting mastery.  This suspenseful tale of a baseball legend and his false teeth unfolds with a splash of surf guitar, and I dig it immensely.

Chickenbone Slim’s Damn Good and Ready is a one-of-a-kind album and I highly recommend it. 

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Note: 

I caught Chickenbone Slim live in Memphis this past May performing at Rum Boogie Café on Beale Street for the Vizztone Blues Music Award Showcase, and had the opportunity to speak with him a bit while we were waiting for Uber rides at the end of the evening.  That was very cool.  The next evening, I attended the Blues Music Awards where Laura Chavez was awarded Guitarist of the Year.  Being the first female to be honored with that prestigious award in the forty-four years they have been held, will hopefully begin a new trend.  It was a special moment, and I am very happy she won.   

         

Visit Chickenbone Slim’s webpage at https//chickenboneslim.com to purchase Damn Good and Ready.

#627: Kurt Allen Band - Live at the Flatted Fifth : Aug 4, 2023 (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

Kurt Allen Band

Live at the Flatted Fifth – Aug. 4, 2023

Bellevue, Iowa

By Phillip Smith; August 5, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

It was great to finally catch up with Kurt Allen Band on their current tour.  I had reviewed this Kansas City artist’s Whiskey, Women & Trouble album in 2020, and been wanting to see him play live since.  His guitar prowess and whiskey-soaked vocals make for a spectacular combination onstage and in studio.  Backed by Josh Wright on bass guitar and Greg Schaberg on drums, Allen kept his fans fully entertained for two extraordinary sets.

The first set opened with a super-funky cover of Anthony Gomes’ “High Calorie Woman” before tearing into a tuneful, rocking original “Sweet T”.  Schaberg delivered a second-line backbeat as I got caught up in the groove on “Cry Mercy”.  The vocal harmony between Allen and Wright sounded terrific on their cover of Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love”.  A smokin’ performance of “Hoochi Choochi Man” led into a glorious cover of “Soulshine” by the Allman Brothers.  That was followed by a blissful one-of-a-kind take on Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” which brought the first set to an outstanding finish.     

The second set began with a personal favorite “Graveyard Blues”.  The slide-work on this was amazing.  “How Long”, Allan’s homage to Led Zeppelin drew me right in.  I loved the cover of the George Harrison song “My Guitar Gently Weeps”.  Allen took this to places I never imagined it could go.  It was great to hear the swinging rockabilly original “Whiskey, Woman & Trouble”.  Ending the set with bow in hand, Allen reminded me of Jimmy Page as he brought the sounds of the cosmos to the Flatted Fifth while Wright keep the thunder rolling on bass for their intro to “Better Think Twice”.  I was so captivated, grabbing a photo at the time never crossed my mind.  The demand for an encore was so great, the band blessed us with a performance of Alvin Lee’s “Slow Blues in C”.  It was fantastic.

Kurt Allen Band keeps the energy high and focused on the music, making for a very enjoyable listening experience.  The band is certainly on my watchlist for when they swing by this area again.    

 

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Set 1

 

High Calorie Woman (Anthony Gomes)

Sweet T

Cry Mercy

Sunshine of your Love (Cream)

Watch Your Step (Willie Cobb)

Hoochi Coochi Man (Muddy Waters)

Soulshine (Allman Brothers)

Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd)

 

Set 2

 

Graveyard Blues

Funky Bitch

RoadRunner

How Long

My Guitar Gently Weeps (George Harrison)

Bad Love

Voodoo Queen

Whisky, Women & Trouble

Better Think Twice

Slow Blues in C (Alvin Lee)

 

 

*Photos by Phillip Smith

#626: The Hurricane Party - Cat 2 (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2023 – Tall and Mean Records

By Phillip Smith; Aug. 5, 2023

Release Date : August 18, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

Hailing from Richmond, Virginia is a new ensemble called The Hurricane Party.  Their debut album Cat 2, brings a bit of rock, blues, funk, and R&B to the table in a twelve-track collection of songs.  Rocky Pleasants and Gainesville, Florida songwriter Rob Marlowe teamed up to write nine of the twelve tracks.  The Hurricane Party is comprised of vocalists Rocky Pleasants and Jenny “Buttafly” Vazquez, guitarist Matt Walton, drummer Kelli Strawbridge, and bassist Noah Boyle.

Title-track “Hurricane Party” kicks the album off in a funky way with a nod to George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic.  As ‘there ain’t no party like a hurricane party, ‘cuz a hurricane party don’t stop’.  “Hey! That’s My Jam” rolls in on a nice slice of piano and horn-infused blues.  A lovely vocal performance by Buttafly adds an extra layer of elegance to “Flame of Love”.  She also brings a powerful force to their heavy-funk cover of Mother’s Finest’s “Truth’ll Set You Free”.  The pièce de resistance on the album is the cover of Sly and the Family Stone’s “Underdog”.  Pleasant nails the vocals on this superbly arranged cover which features guests Toby Whitaker on trombone, JC Kuhl on saxophone, and Bob Miller on trumpet.

The Hurriane Party is a tight, funky band who can surely mix it up in a potpourri of genres. 

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#625: Scottie Miller - Carnival Cocoon (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2022 – Scottie Miller

By Phillip Smith; July 29, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

Carnival Cocoon, the latest release from Minnesota poet/pianist Scottie Miller, has me gob-smacked with amazement and delight.  This companion set features an eighty-three-page book of poetry coupled with a twenty-three track album featuring those poems eloquently set to music with a classic beat-inspired delivery.  Miller, a three-time inductee of the Minnesota Blues Hall of Fame has toured with Bo Diddley and currently tours with Ruthie Foster.  With Miller on vocals and piano, he is joined by JT Bates on drums, Jeff Bailey on electric and double bass, Cierra Alise Hill on violin 1, Bex Gaunt on violin 2, Jesse Kellerman on viola, Greg Byers on cello, and double bass.  As a bonus, there is a special appearance by Ruthie Foster.

The album opens with a flowing beat as Miller recites “Ah, New York”, a fast-passed from-the-street lyrical treat from which the title Carnival Cocoon is birthed.  I can smell the smells and hear the sounds of traffic, automotive and pedestrian both.  With “Whiskey, Coffee”, my thoughts effortlessly drift toward Tom Waits.  This track swims among my favorites.  As ear-worms go, this is the most welcome.  Hearing Miller reminisce about his days at “Berklee” certainly bring back college-days memories of my own.  “Adrenalina” lives up to its name, breaking through with staggering words and a surging riff.  The Bukowski-esque “Bleecker Street” paints a bleak vision of homeless folks and hopeless alcoholics lining the street in Greenwich Village.  An air of somberness hovers over “A Better Way to Cope” while it rings out like a long-lost Bob Dylan song.  Ruthie Foster joins along for “Stay” an anthem against injustice.  Miller vocalizes this one with a cadence reminiscent of Eminem, and tops it with a chill beat and smooth R&B hook.  “Beggar, Banker, Fisherman Pay” is nested in a Celtic tradition and beautifully performed.  The recording comes to its end suited up in full gonzo attire with “24 Hours in Mexico”.  Miller condenses a day’s worth of debauchery in Puerto Vallarta into eight minutes of freewheeling fun. 

Carnival Cocoon is an unexpected masterpiece.  It is unlike anything I have ever read or heard.  I will certainly be revisiting this one for a very long time.                       

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 For more information about Scottie Miller or to purchase Carnival Cocoon, visit his website at:  https://www.scottiemiller.com/