The successful series ‘Boss Black Rockers’ was followed up with the equally high-flying ‘More Boss Black Rockers’. For a while it seemed that nothing more would follow, but fortunately KokoMojo now comes up with the series ‘Boss Black Instrumentals’. The first volume that was recently released is entitled ‘Rinky Dink’, named after the song by trumpeter Cootie Williams. Cootie was once part of Duke Ellington’s orchestra and after listening to ‘Rinky Dink’ you will undoubtedly understand why Duke hired him. But there is more. With 26 instrumental tracks, this first volume provides an insight into the formidable instrumental repertoire from the heyday of rhythm & blues and blues. With the exciting ‘Malibu’ by Bob Reed and his Band we immediately get a beautiful example of guitar-driven rhythm & blues. Harmonica virtuoso Little Walter lets the Mississippi saxophone take the lead on ‘Flying Saucer’. More sublime work on the blues harp comes with ‘Boogie Beat’ by Levi Seabury. Lafayette Thomas was also featured in the series ‘Right Hand Man’, also released by KokoMojo. Here you can hear this guitarist at work on the bluesy ‘Cockroach Run’. The black and white keys create, played by Piano Red for an atmospheric ‘Wild Fire’, after which a roaring sax is the ‘leading instrument’ on Red Prysocks ‘2 Point 8’. The 2-part ‘Johnnys Houseparty’ by multi-instrumentalist Johnny Heartsman is certainly impressive. You get to hear the 2 parts one after the other. In the first part the guitar dominates, while part two focuses on the sax and keyboard. The live feeling that emanates from both numbers is also very infectious. Another top song is the gypsy jazzy feeling artistic ‘Destination Mars’ by Frosty and The Diamonds. Blues guitarist Elmore James became famous for his ‘straightforward’ raw performances on the slide guitar. He shows it off again here during ‘Elmore’s Contribution To Jazz’. Elmore is followed by the equally famous Ike Turner with ‘Rock-A-Bucket’. Bandleader Preston Love wrote quite a few songs with Ike. You can hear Preston and his band at work in the swinging ‘Country Boogie’. In the zydeco genre, accordionist Clifton Chenier is one of the greatest. Rightly so when you listen to the rocking ‘The Big Wheel’. Lazy Lester was talented as both a harmonica player and a guitarist. He shines on the bluesharp during ‘Lester’s Stomp’. Johnny Otis and his orchestra should not be missing here either. Otis has quite a few catchy songs to his name, including the two-part ‘The Midnight Creeper’. You can already get the first part on this compilation. Saxophonist Joe Houston evolved from jump blues to ‘early rock & roll’. A fine example of his skills can be heard on ‘Shuckin’.
The ripping sax sounds of ‘Walkin With Mr. Lee’ by Lee Allen stylishly end this first part of the ‘Black Rockers Instrumentals’.
It is clear that KokoMojo puts the instrumental work of the black artists in a awesome way in the spotlights with this new series. We can already look forward to ‘Zeen Beat’ soon, the second volume of this once again fantastic series. To be continued!

After years of burning up the Blues Highway with a trunk full of original tunes, Max Hightower mellowed down at the vintage-style BigTone Studio in NOLA.  There he captured a raw, unfiltered blend of New Orleans funk and greasy Southern blues that ain’t “Nothin’ but the Truth.”

Prepare to be blown away by ‘Blues Is Still Alive’ the electrifying new album from blues harmonica virtuoso and singer Will Wilde This is no ordinary blues record—it's a full-throttle exploration of the genre, with a powerful intensity that’s unmatched. Will Wilde plays the harmonica in a way that echoes the raw power of guitar icons like Gary Moore or Jeff Healey, bringing his own dynamic and commanding style to every note. The result is a blues harmonica album like you’ve never heard before. The songs remain true to the core of the genre, but Will’s unique approach imbues each song with a fiery energy and passion that makes this album impossible to ignore. ‘Blues Is Still Alive’ is more than just a tribute to the genre, it’s a statement that proves the blues is still alive and kicking. Hell Yeah! 

In 2020, this band started as Travellin' Blue Kings with members who had already earned their spurs in various Belgian bands. Their album 'Bending The Rules', released in 2022, brought the band recognition in both Europe and the States. In the fall of 2023, the band carried out an important update. Travellin' Blue Kings became Travellin' Blue for short and with a changed line-up and a renewed repertoire, they now present their third album 'Take The Edge Off'. The band currently consists of JB Biesmans (vocals, sax and harmonica), Luke Alexander (guitar), Winnie Penninckx (bass), Patrick Cuyvers (Hammond, piano, Wurlitzer and backing vocals) and Steve Wouters (drums). Ten original songs by Biesmans, Alexander and Cuyvers show the direction Travellin’ Blue wants to take. A direction that values diversity.
In opener ‘Better Left Unsaid’, which unfolds as a blues rocker, newcomer guitarist Luke Alexander immediately takes a firm position in the foreground. The previously released single ‘Come Hell Or High Water’ is also situated in that genre. The band proves that it can also be subdued on the ballad ‘The Closer Is King’, while swing forms the basis for ‘Down The Rabbit Hole’.
The highlight of the album comes with ‘After All’, a composition by keyboard wizard Patrick Cuyvers. A magnificent soulful blues ballad, winking at the past but with a contemporary twist, after which Biesmans shows his talent on the sax in the swinging jazzy instrumental ‘Hellhole Shuffle’. ‘Take The Edge Off’ is an album that serves the most diverse blues fan to his or her liking.

The Maddox Brothers And Rose are the next artists in the spotlight in the three-part CD series ‘The California Acetates And More’. Previously, this unique series had already released boxes about Jimmie Dolan, Billy Barton and Terry Fell. The Maddox Brothers and Rose are no strangers in the history of American roots music. Together, the brothers and their sister Rose made quite a few, sometimes daring recordings, which included hillbilly, blues and country. As a result, they can certainly be considered pioneers of rockabilly. The group was formed by brothers Fred, Cal, Cliff and Don and their sister Rose. The Maddox family initially lived in Alabama but moved to California with their then young children. It was the 1930s, years of the economic depression and the family worked from early morning until late at night as pickers of fruit and vegetables. Social security did not exist, which made life extremely difficult and hard. The family noticed that those who performed at local rodeo shows made more money and more easily than those who worked hard. They decided to take the plunge into music. In 1937, they made their first appearance on a country radio station as The Maddox Brothers Band. However, there appeared to be a small problem. The sponsor thought the band had a female lead singer, which they did not. Fred Maddox responded that his then eleven-year-old sister Rose was the best singer. Anecdotally, he did not mention that Rose only knew the lyrics to three songs. But then World War II came as a spoilsport and the family's musical activities were interrupted from 1939 to 1945. At the end of World War II, the now 16-year-old Rose was married and had a son. However, that did not prevent her from recording and touring again with her brothers. With their mix of hillbilly, country and gospel and Fred who played the slap bass, the band was one of the founders of rockabilly, although they called it ‘Okie Boogie’ and the rest is history.
This box contains no less than 93 uptempo songs that The Maddox Brothers and Rose recorded between 1947 and 1963. 7 of those songs come from acetates and have therefore never been released before.
The first CD contains the recordings made for the 4 Star label, supplemented with 2 acetates, namely the demos of ‘I Don’t Care If Tomorrow Never Comes’ and ‘Tell Me You Care’.
The first CD kicks off with ‘I Couldn’t Believe It Was True’, where you are immediately overwhelmed by Rose’s lead vocals, which are nicely complemented by the brothers. The band was also extremely versatile. Be sure to listen to their version of ‘Milk Cow Blues’ for that. But also wonderful country and Western Swing and ‘Okie Boogie’ as they call it themselves, were no problem for this quintet. The lightning-fast instrumental ‘Water Baby Blues’ and the equally instrumental ‘Texas Guitar Stomp’ are also magnificent.
The first CD also contains songs where Fred, Cal or Don sing the lead vocals separately or together. The cheerfulness that the family radiates on all recordings is also striking.
This also applies to the second CD, which, in addition to recordings for 4 Star, also features their recordings for Columbia and Decca. The songs recorded with a string band are also beautiful. The songs on which Eddie Cletro’s orchestra provides the accompaniment show that Rose has evolved and has more control over her voice. ‘Hey Little Dreamboat’, recorded together with Eddie Cletro, already clearly shows how Rose is successfully moving towards rockabilly. The second CD concludes with the acetate demo of ‘Georges Playhouse Boogie’.
On the third CD we find recordings made for Columbia, Capitol, Black Jack and Flat-Git-It. Songs that were recorded in the second half of the fifties. You can clearly hear that the band has evolved enormously and where Rose's vocal control once again reaches new heights. The recordings that Rose made with Billy Strange's orchestra are so beautiful. Those songs are bathed in a fuller sound. A sign that Rose, Fred and Cal were clearly inspired by the then new prevailing musical zeitgeist.
The third part concludes with four acetate recordings of demos.
This three-part box not only offers an impressive overview of the career of The Maddox Brothers and Rose, but also shows the enormous evolution that the quintet went through.
In this respect, we can fully agree with Fred Maddox's statement: 'We are ten years ahead of ourselves'. Rose then always hit back with 'twenty!'. We cannot put it better ourselves.

On his first album in five years, Strange Things Happening, internationally renowned guitarist and producer Kid Ramos shares a musical message of faith, joined by featured vocalists Brian Templeton (The Radio Kings) and his son, Johnny Ramos. Produced by Chris Lizotte (singer/songwriter and worship leader), the session includes Dave Limina on Hammond organ (Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters), international touring bassist Mike Tuturro, and Stephen Hodges (James Harman, John Hammond, Tom Waits) on drums. A gospel blues fusion accompanies songs made famous by icons including Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Mahalia Jackson, The Soul Stirrers, and Bob Dylan as well as original compositions by Brian Templeton, in this spiritual salve for modern times.