This is one of those releases that makes it exciting to be a reviewer. Gaar is a blues vet with highly seasoned vocal chops, and I’d be willing to bet (and I’m not a betting man) that every reader of this magazine of baby-boomer age would dig this effort just as much as I! There’s…

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Once everyone’s favorite cabby in the Cresent City, Mem Shannon is now rapidly making tracks toward the same level of popularity in the contemporary blues idiom. Making his home in Memphis (where is the home of the blues, anyway?), but most assuredly not driving a cab, Shannon’s new release benefits from the brilliant production work…

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This CD, recorded over a two-year period, spotlights the world class work of the legendary T-Birds frontman, but of interest to the readers of this publication would be the four – count ’em, four – great guitarists lending support. You kind of get the feeling that this level of musicianship is hiding around every corner…

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As a parent of a 15-year-old boy, I would hope that “Monster” Mike’s music packs a message that belies his 17 years. Perhaps he has a ghost writer lurking nearby with 40 years or so of heartbreak to his/her credit. I certainly hope so, if that’s not the case, it will be very interesting to…

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There have always been Big Sticks in Louisville, Kentucky. In the world of vintage guitars, there’s Jimmy Brown’s Guitar Emporium. Guitarist Jimmy Raney and his son, Doug, have kept the jazz world on its ear for decades. The Louisville Slugger (both the bat manufacturer and Muhammed Ali) could both lay claim to the original “Big…

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A 70-something sassy songstress, Big Time Sarah has been on the Chicago blues scene for over 25 years, and it’s obvious she can belt with the best of them. Of perhaps greater interest is the brilliant accompaniment of guitarist Rico McFarland. Deeply versed in the pre-1980 Texas blues idiom, McFarland pays obvious respect to the…

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Barry Levenson has most all the tools; the heart, the hands, the chops, and experience. What places this release a step ahead is the production, which in this is also the work of Barry Levenson. So we’ve got a multifaceted guitarist who’s as adept behind the boards as he is in front the amp. What’s…

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Leslie Ann Knight is the host of the “Monday Morning Blues” program on KKUP-FM, in Cupertino California, and as of late, she has been responsible for a number of west coast blues getting their message to the rest of the United States. Richie Barron is one of those performers. Richie is a strong guitarist and…

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I’ve lost count! I believe this is Kenny’s sixth self-produced CD. And, as have its predecessors, Git It, his most recent effort, again illustrates Blue Ray’s dedication to the blues craft. Rumor has it his next release will be on the J.S.P. label. I say go Kenny go … go! …you a hard woukin dude.…

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Stout is an obvious devotee of a number of different ’50s roots musical styles. You hear country twang, but it was early Sun stylists who left the strongest mark on this West Coast stringer. This is fun stuff – tube amps, old wood, great clothes, and never-ending I-IV-V chord variations. This approach to retro roots…

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