PhillyCheeze's Rock & Blues Reviews: Search results for sean chambers

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Saturday, April 5, 2025

#739- > Sean Chambers - Live From Daryl's House Club (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2025 – Quarto Valley Records
Release Date : Feb. 28, 2025

By Phillip Smith; April 5, 2025

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

The Blues is most definitely part of Sean Chambers’ DNA. For five years between 1998 and 2003, he was Hubert Sumlin’s guitarist and bandleader. Recording at Daryl Hall’s place in Pawling, New York, undoubtedly injects a very positive energy to the final sound. With that in mind, Live From Daryl’s House Club, the seventh and most recent release from Chambers is an extraordinary example of live blues-rock at its mightiest. With Chambers backed by the Savoy Brown Rhythm Section, bassist Pat DeSalvo and drummer Garnet Grimm, this album pays a great honor to the late, great Kim Simmonds who sadly passed away in December of 2022. Being that Chambers and Simmons are label-mates on Quarto Valley Records set the stage for this exciting partnership.

The record opens in a with an amazing instrumental called “Cobra”. It totally ignites the stage with a brute force. I love the driving locomotive rhythm of “Red Hot Mama”. Chambers’ fiery guitar riffs and whiskey-soaked vocals absolutely shine on this Texas blues song. Hearing them play “Louise” brought a smile to my face. Passed down through the ranks from Howlin’ Wolf to Sumlin to Chambers, the song surely stands the test of time and this performance is fabulous. Dedicated to Simmonds and all the Savoy Brown fans in the house, “Street Corner Talking” quickly targets the soul with its hypnotic groove and digs right in for nearly eight minutes of musical bliss. In a tip of the hat to Rory Gallagher, Chambers lets loose on “Bullfrog Blues”. Grimm fills the song with his own thunder and lightning, making this a stellar performance. Chambers then rolls into “Sweeter Than a Honey Bee” and “Trouble & Whiskey” to wrap up a very nice three-fer of tracks from his 2017 album Trouble & Whiskey. I love the deep bass groove and crashing drum fills that pour over Chambers’ searing guitar on Muddy Waters’ “Louisiana Blues”. This one is a sure favorite as well.

Don’t let this record sneak past you. Sean Chambers’ Live From Daryl’s House Club is an album one will want to listen to loud and listen to often.

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Photo by Arnie Goodman

Photo by Alain Broeckx

WEBSITE & SOCIALS.

Sean Chambers

https://www.seanchambers.com/

Daryl’s House Club

https://darylshouseclub.com/

Past articles on PhillyCheeze Rock & Blues Reviews featuring Sean Chambers

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=sean+chambers

Past articles on PhillyCheeze Rock & Blues Reviews featuring Savoy Brown

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=savoy+brown

Saturday, November 17, 2018

#363 : Sean Chambers - Welcome to My Blues

2018 –American Showplace Music

Release Date: October 19, 2018

By Phillip Smith; Nov. 17, 2018

Florida bluesman Sean Chambers knocks another out of the park with his seventh album, Welcome to My Blues. Produced by Ben Elliot and including John Ginty on B3 and keys, bassist Todd Cook, and drummer Moe Watson, this record features eleven tracks plumb full of fine-crafted electric blues.

Chambers greets the listener with infectious SRV-like riffs and searing hot licks on title-track “Welcome to My Blues”. It’s magnificently performed. “Black Eyed Suzie”, another Chambers original, is soaked in the swampy southern goodness of slide guitar. Paired with the keyboard mastery from Ginty, it invokes the sounds of the Allman Brothers. I can’t help but fall for his cover of Luther Allison’s “Cherry Red Wine”. That is such a heavy tune, and Chambers pours every bit of himself into the song. His vocals are heart-felt and his guitar playing is amazing.

With guest guitarist Jimmy Bennett (The Bennett Brothers) on slide and backing vocals, “One More Night to Ride” is funky and cool as hell. There’s a bit of a Black Oak Arkansas vibe in this ode to outlaws and motorcycles. The T-Bone Walker cover “All Night Long” is soulful and handled with care. Cook’s funky smooth bass line and Watson’s stellar beats usher the song to its destined greatness as it naturally builds into a glorious jam.

Welcome to My Blues is what blues-guitar albums are supposed to sound like. It’s one of this year’s best.

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To check out the PhillyCheeze review of Sean Chambers – Trouble and Whiskey ;

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2017/04/sean-chambers-trouble-whiskey.html

For more information about Sean Chambers, visit his website: http://www.seanchambers.com/

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Sean Chambers - Trouble & Whiskey

2017 – American Showplace Music

By Phillip Smith; Apr 15, 2017

From 1998 to 2003, Sean Chambers toured as lead guitarist and band leader for the legendary bluesman Hubert Sumlin. During that time, Chambers was named by Guitarist Magazine as “One of the Top 50 blues guitarists of the last century”. His sixth release, Trouble & Whisky is fully-loaded with raw electrified blues. Backing Chambers is drummer Kris Schnebelen(Trampled Under Foot) , bassist Todd Cook, and Michael Hensley on B3 and piano.

Right out of the gate, the driving rhythm and searing blues in “I Need Your Lovin” sets the tone for the whole album. Chambers’ slide guitar on “Bottle Keeps Staring at Me” gets so red hot, it scorches. The infectious hook sets in and does not let go. With Schnebelen nailing down a thunderous performance on drums, Chambers takes on Rory Gallagher’s “Bullfrog Blues” with unbridled force. I love the way Chambers’ guitar wails with emotion in his rendition of s B.B. King’s “Be Careful with a Fool”. It’s plumb terrific. Special guest, John Ginty, one of my favorite keyboardists today, lays down some groovy keys on his B3 in the soulful jamboree of “Travelin’ North”. It melts like butter with Cook’s funky bassline. The song soars skyward as Chambers takes control of this wonderful instrumental.

Trouble & Whiskey is about as good as it gets. It is indeed a powerful album.

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Saturday, November 30, 2024

#717 > Carly Harvey - Kamama (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2024 – Do Good Records

By Phillip Smith; Nov. 30, 2024

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

Kamama, the debut album from Washington, D.C.-based blues artist Carly Harvey is quite special. I love how her Indigenous roots shine through a carefully-curated mix of soul, blues, and jazz. Each of the eleven tracks are written by Harvey and performed with beauty and grace. Appearing with her on this recording is Jonathan Sloane, and WALKING EAGLE on guitar, Mike Tony Echols, Patrick Thornton, and Sean Hurley on bass, Deren Blessman and Leland Nakamura on drums, Coleman Williams and WALKING EAGLE on percussion, Wes Lanich and Daniel Clarke on keys, Danny Davis, Mario D’ Ambrosio, Kevin Cerovich, Ben Ford on horns, and Dana Nearing and WALKING EAGLE on backing vocals. Special guests appearing on the album include Joe Louis Walker, Doug Woolverton, Sean Hurley, Annika Chambers, Dave Keller, and WALKING EAGLE.

The album begins with “Native Scat” a short introductory track in which Harvey delivers an amazing performance of Native vocables delivered in a fusion of delta blues and Indigenous percussion. WALKING EAGLE’s slide guitar performance is deliciously swampy. “Mean Old Woman” slides in next on a riveting wave of funky, horn-accompanied blues with Joe Louis Walker on guitar. It’s a terrific song, and Walker makes me smile as he pours his blues-filled magic on top. I absolutely love the Sixties-soul sound on “Misery”. Harvey’s vocals shine with pure delight and remind me very much of singing-legend Etta James. With special accompaniment from Doug Woolverton on trumpet, Harvey marvelously sings her all-original torch song “Please Do That To Me”. The song hits me with absolute bliss.

After looking up “Kamama”, the name of the title-track, I found the word to have dual meanings. One, a Cherokee name for girls which means “butterfly” which can represent hope, joy, and transformation. This gives a deeper meaning to the album art, which features a butterfly on both the front and back cover. The other meaning is of Kenyan origin, and is a plant known as Portulaca oleracea. It is used for food and medicine. With WALKING EAGLE on hand drum, and backing vocals, this short-in-length song is a lovely, glory-filled tribute to a girl named Kamama.

Alongside Harvey for the stirring and poignant track “Human Too”, is Dave Keller and Annika Chambers. Both guests share lead vocals, and Keller also takes on lead guitar. Kamama comes to a close with “Native Scat Reprise. With Harvey on vocals and hand drum, she is backed by WALKING EAGLE on flute. This short song dives deep into my core.

Carly Harvey’s Kamama earns my highest recommendation. It’s beautiful from beginning to end.

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For more information about Carly Harvey, visit her website @ https://www.carlyharvey.com/

Available on Bandcamp

Monday, May 29, 2023

#616 : Blues Music Awards Showcase - May 10, 2023 (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

Blues Music Awards Showcase

Presented by BratGirlmedia

Rum Boogie Cafe

Memphis, Tennessee

May 10, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

For many years, I've been wanting to visit Memphis for the Blues Music Awards. I finally made it down for that this year on May 11. It was an amazing experience.

On May 10th, the evening before the BMA's, I attended a music showcase presented by BratgirlMedia at Rum Boogie Cafe on Beale Street. The event featured a prestigious lineup of blues musicians. It served as a fund-raiser to benefit John Nemeth who underwent surgery last year to have a tumor removed from his lower jaw. It was an extraordinary event to say the least. If heaven has a juke-joint, I imagine it would be a lot like this.

Without camera in tow, I still captured a few photos of this fabulous event on my iPhone.

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* all photos by Phillip Smith