BLUES JUNCTION Productions
7343 El Camino Real
Suite 327
Atascadero, CA 93422-4697
info
For your summer listening pleasure we've pulled the latest in great blues music from the preeminent online site for such things - Bluebeat Music. Thanks as always to Charlie Lange for his commentary on some of these recordings and for continuing to make such great music available on his site.
Recorded in Austin, Texas, last February 18th and 19th , both Izor and Pandolfi back one another as they swap original tunes and vocal duties not to mention guitar and harp licks on this terrific new CD. These two kindred spirits speak the universal language of the blues like they grew up on the same back porch, despite the fact that they reside on the opposite side of the world from one another. Pandolfi is Italian where as Izor is an American based in Austin. This live, in studio recording is as fresh, as it is fun and full of spirit. Highly recommended…
This band, which hails from Northern Italy, has just released another great album. It is their first on the Rhythm Bomb Records label. They continue to be one of Europe’s leading exponents of post war traditional electric blues and have even been called the Italian Aces. This quartet is joined by special gusts Little Victor, who also serves as the album’s producer, as well as British ex-pat and longtime California resident, Carl Sonny Leyland on piano. (This recording sits in our Monthly Album Spotlight for July).
Minor Differences, the latest offering by the Ukrainian harmonica master Konstantin Kolesnichenko, is what it feels like when jazz and blues climb into the same bed and make passionate love. After listening to his 2016 release entitled Hypnotized, I became an instant fan of his music. I have revisited that recording many times in the past several months. This new release makes a handsome companion piece to Hypnotized. An exceptional musician, Kolesnichenko leads his talented quartet down many of the same roads that made so many of those great 50’s and 60’s Blue Note Records such timeless classics. This all instrumental affair conjures up the aural experience of bachelor pad cool. Minor Differences is brimming with maturity, sophistication and soul. Lord knows we could use some of that here in 2017.
The bay area blues tribe gathered yet again in San Jose at Kid Andersen’s Greaseland Studios in support of guitarist and vocalist Rockin’ Johnny Burgin. The opening track sets the tone as this seven-minute instrumental includes a variety of sounds which coalesce under the general vibe of Gidget being banged by Quinten Tarantino, while Moondoggy watches on in horror. Everything is thrown into this ambitious ocean of ideas. Part way through the album Burgin and company leave the shores of the blue Pacific and venture down to the Gulf Coast for a few numbers. This sixteen-track gem, which was produced and engineered by Kid Andersen, clocks in at over 75 minutes. It is a wide-ranging affair that is just spectacular.
Harp player and vocalist Martin Lang’s third album is a wonderful old school blues workout which speaks in the language of the Meyer brothers’ 50’s era Aces. Ain’t No Notion features guitarists Rusty Zinn and Billy Flynn as well as guest vocalist, the suddenly ubiquitous, Oscar Wilson, who sings on five of the album’s thirteen tracks. From the opening track, Frank Frost’s Backscratcher where Lang blows through a Leslie speaker, to Herbie Hancock’s Watermelon Man, where Zinn plays his guitar through the same speaker, the band leads listeners on a dark, moody, atmospheric journey to groove central.
Believe it or not, New World is the first full length studio album of new material to be released by the Paladins since El Matador in 2003. Guitarist and principal vocalist Dave Gonzalez is back in the saddle, writing nine of the eleven tracks and thankfully doing all the vocal work this time out. He is joined once again by longtime bandmates bassist Thomas Yearlsey and drummer Brian Fahey. Yearlsey served as the project’s recording engineer as the album was recorded at his Thunderbird Analog Recording Studio in Oceanside, California. New World might come as a shock to long time Paladin fans as the album opens with three somewhat contemplative Gonzalez originals. It may be a new world, but songs about women and relationships are still present. (There is a full album review in this month’s BLUES JUNCTION)
One of the most impressive traditional blues bands today, The Cash Box Kings' Alligator debut is a strong, good time collection of hard core blues, topical songs and old-fashioned rockers. Featuring the sturdy vocals of Oscar Wilson, along with Joe Nosek's accomplished harp, the band is exciting and enjoyable and features the double threat of Billy Flynn and Joel Paterson on guitars. One of the best of the year. – C. L.
Nathan James latest release is a self-produced gem. Featuring 100% original material and a guest list that includes James Harman and Kim Wilson, the recordings are unique and cover similar territory to the work of Jeff Turmes or James Harman. Insightful and witty, with a prominent role for the B3 organ throughout, the format is bluesy without being traditional blues. – C.L.
Copyright 2022 BLUES JUNCTION Productions. All rights reserved.
BLUES JUNCTION Productions
7343 El Camino Real
Suite 327
Atascadero, CA 93422-4697
info