Joe Krown's “Tribute” is a New Orleans piano styled record. It pays tribute to all of the great piano players that were the architects of this style: Professor Longhair, Allen Toussaint, Dr. John and James Booker. Hell yeah! 

​West meets East in Europe and North Africa.  But also challenges jazz, classic and Balkan music in fusion.  Great album where interplay takes precedence over solo virtuosity.

​You can be sure that the music of Deuce ’n a Quarter is the real deal. They have created a blues album that not only speaks to the human experience of today but shows us how music can provide comfort and strength in hard times. Recorded with the help of American Bluesman Kenny Neal at his Baton Rouge studio, this album will move even the most genuine blues music fan. Music listeners everywhere can find something special in the music of Deuce ’n a Quarter – bluesy riffs, passionate vocals, harmonica, piano, organ, and tight rhythms that make it feel good. Don’t take our word for it.

​Very inventive approach of peasants past in the south of Italy with astonishing results. 

​Kick ass rock and roll, with a great nod to Dr. Feelgood, The Stones and other quality collectors and musical dignitaries. Shapeshifted, four experienced musicians led by singer-guitarist Marc Van der Eecken, guitarist Pieter Minne, bassist Jean-Marc Talloen and drummer Peter De Bosschere. Dirty old school Rock'N'Roll with a greasy blues edge. Wonderful album!

It’s Sewyn Shirwood’s most visionary statement from a musician who is determined to define the future of the blues.  During the last decade, ever since his victory over 150 other artists at the International Blues Challenge, Selwyn has gigged across the U.S., Canada and Europe, playing hundreds of shows and winning fans wherever he goes. It’s not just his searing guitar playing (on both regular six-string and lap steel), intense, gritty vocals and warm stage presence that have won him an army of fans. Above all, it’s his inspired, instantly memorable songs. On the album’s 13 new originals, he proves himself to be one of the most far-sighted and imaginative songwriters in the blues, delivering up-to-the-minute contemporary blues with deep feeling and mature musicianship, but also pushing beyond the standard subjects and themes to create groundbreaking new songs that expand the genre.

​Make this historical musical trip on the silk road from Europe to China.  Enchanted!

​Thomas Charlie Pedersen is Danish musician who showed up last year on Fingertips as half of the sibling duo Vinyl Floor. “Slow Passage” is the third of 15 tracks on the album Employees Must Wash Their Hands, set for release next week. This will be Pedersen’s third solo album!

​This album is a loving return to the sounds of the swing jazz big band era. Featuring guest vocals from Maria Muldaur on "Baby It's Cold Outside" and Evan Price's string arrangements on two tracks. The album includes fourteen standards composed by Duke Ellington, Louis Jordan, George Gershwin and Louis Armstrong, among others. All brought to life by the unique voice and character of Taj Mahal.

​Despite the fact that record companies led to believe that music should be classified in specific genres, in practice things turned out completely differently. The different genres not only influenced each other, but also the artists. The entanglement between rhythm & blues and country & western is therefore formidably addressed in the series that was appropriately titled 'Rhythm & Western'. 'You Are My Sunshine', volume 9 again, just like his 8 previous volumes, gives a good example of the cross-fertilization between rhythm & blues and country & western. We get a nice example of this right away with opener 'Hillbilly Blues', a song that Pee Wee Crayton recorded. Crayton is immediately followed by Piano Red, who puts Hank Williams' 'Hey Good Lookin' in a very special, but very well-fitting suit. Extremely well done! The tempo and the piano clearly give the song something extra. Later, Fats Domino also tackles a Williams classic. He transforms 'You Win Again' into a stunning New Orleans rhythm & blues. More work from Hank is coming with Nat King Cole and 'Your Cheatin' Heart'. Even gospel matches dribs and drabs with the aforementioned genres. Little Willie John shows this in 'Don't Be Ashamed To Call My Name', a song from 1958. Damita Jo also delivers an extraordinary performance. Her version of Loretta Lynn's ‘I Walked Away From The Wreck’ is a great example of the connection between rhythm & blues, country & western and even soul. We know '(Now And Then There's) A Fool Such As I' in Presley's version. Elvis achieved the most success with it, although Hank Snow already scored a hit with it in 1953. A very special version with formidable harmony vocals is presented here by The Robins, who remind me a bit of The Platters. King Curtis is the perfect artist for an impressive sax instrumental. Here he gives a very personal twist to Pee Wee King's 'The Tennessee Waltz'. Who is still doing very well is Solomon Burke with 'Just Out Of Reach', on which the country & western is in the spotlights. Wonderful country also sounds classy Brook Benton in 'Come On, Be Nice'. Eddie Lang provides rocking rhythm & blues a little later with 'She's Mine All Mine'. Giving an old gospel song a country & western touch is no problem for The Original Gospel Harmonettes. In 'Everyday Will Be Sunday (By and By)’ they show how you have to do that. A style that you immediately recognize is the one by Lee Dorsey. He is present with his version of Jimmie Davis' ‘You Are My Sunshine’. A voice that you can immediately point to at home is that of Jackie Wilson in the uptempo 'Why Can't You Be Mine'. We close with the oldest song on the compilation. That's the 1929 recorded ‘Kunjine Baby’ by The Black Hillbillies, being Tampa Red and Georgia Tom. A very pleasant song where Georgia vocally imitates a horn part.
The ninth volume in the 'Rhythm & Western' series again offers many discoveries and cover versions that you are most likely hearing here for the first time. Definitely an unmissable volume!

​Now, after working and recording 150 albums for other artists, Blanchard has finally recorded albums of his own. And this contrasts like never before. The sound is chiselled between blues, beautiful soul ballads and some cajun tinted music.

​This Haïtian/French voodoo queen sings as a powerful shaman on energetic rhythms. 

​The tried-and-true cliché "not to be taken for granted" seems to have been invented for Daan Stuyven. His work defies conventions and ticks multiple boxes. His ‘Housewife’ is a benchmark in Belgian dance history, he evoked Johnny Cash with 'Icon', provided soundtracks for various films, composed a blazing indictment of right-wing political parties with 'Landmijn', et cetera. In April 2023, he surprised and baffled all by covering 'Intro' by Metejoor as a spoken word parlando for TV show 'Liefde voor muziek'. On paper it sounded like a recipe for disaster, but in Daan's hands it became an instant classic.
 
New album 'The Ride' is vintage Daan. In 'High' one can recognize the click track from 'Da da da' by the German Trio. The Casio VL-1 drum computer is one of Daan's favorite working instruments, which he buys at flea markets. 'Morning Sun' resembles a slowed-down 'I Want to Break Free' by Queen, although that was anything but the songwriter's intention. 'The Dancer' is described by the maestro as 'the evil beastie, an annoying song,' but it's refreshingly cool. The absolute highlight of ‘The Ride’ however, is the opening track of the B-side, ‘16 Men’. In the song, Daan apologizes to women for not being able to be everything. He very generously replaces himself with sixteen other men. The song's close harmony is reminiscent of The Temptations’ or The Four Tops’ best work. An incredibly catchy, danceable song that will haunt your head for weeks to come. Today alone, I sang it out loud four times.
 
'The Ride' lives up to its title. It's quite the ride. Great record

​Florida’s Backtrack Blues Band has released its new album, "A Day By The Bay" on the prestigious Gulf Coast Records label. It's an energetic album of the band's best original songs recorded live at the Tampa Bay Blues Festival. This record is the ultimate "party" album, and is guaranteed to lift your spirits and get you moving! This is a modern blues record that draws heavily from classic Chicago blues, with flavorings of Texas blues guitar! On "A Day By The Bay", the Backtrack Blues Band delivers an energetic and amazing live set of blues music. Featuring stellar harmonica, guitar and B3 organ, with exceptional vocals and solid rhythms, this is a blues album that every music lover will treasure! Please order today and bring a world class blues party into your world!

​Based out of Milan, Fabrizio Poggi has been fronting the band Chicken Mambo since the mid-1990s. This stunning release includes recordings from Guy Davis, Ronnie Earl and Garth Hudson of The Band. It includes an eclectic mix of six originals, primarily paired with a few pre was blues tracks. ‘Basement Blues’ is a stunner of an album. Highly recommended! 

​Ethiopian jazz with traditional instruments and western horns.  Fresh and unique indeed.

The number of decent 'black rock 'n' roll songs' is almost inexhaustible. After all, with the first 'Boss Black Rockers' series consisting of 10 CDs, we were able to add no fewer than 280 gems in that genre to our collection. And also with the subsequent series 'More Boss Black Rockers', compiler Little Victor presents the eighth volume of this series of 10 volumes with 'Rock & Roll Baby'. Once again, the album contains a number of well-known names, supplemented with artists who could not penetrate everyone's brain. Ravon Darnell is immediately in the starting blocks with the infectious 'Chicken Little', a solid rocking rhythm & blues that he recorded for Tampa in 1956. Very nice is 'Smack Smack' by Marvin and Johnny. Originally both gentlemen were saxophonists, but what they do here vocally is formidable, especially the head voice of one of them is impressive. Vocal delights but in the style of beautiful harmony vocals can be heard with The Barons and their 'Who's In The Shack', as well as in 'What's The Matter For You' by The Cellos and certainly with 'She's A Flirt' by The Jewels. Vocally strong are also the ringing at the door in search of 'Miss Petunia' being Day, Dawn and Dusk. Blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon is no stranger. Here he is present with "It Ain't No Secret (What My Baby Can Do)", a song that Willie Dixon credits as co-author and that also contains a bit of gospel due to the input of the backing choir. Jackie Brensten is certainly also known. He is assisted by Ike Turner and his band in 'Trouble Up The Road', by the way, also flowed from Ike's pen. For a swinging 'shout song' you can go to 'Shake Em Up Baby' by the well-known Roy Brown. Whoever let the rock 'n' roll sound through rather than the rhythm & blues was Elmer Parker as he did in 'You Know I Love You'. Influences of New Orleans rhythm & blues are more likely to be found in 'Rock And Roll Baby' by Mercy Baby. 'Juke Box Boogie Chick' by Snookum Russell Orchestra is then a particularly beautiful piece of big band rocking rhythm & blues. Jumping and swinging are indispensable tools for the Jap Curry's Blazers, as evidenced in 'Hey Now'. You can recognize Louis Jordan's style out of a thousand. 'Rock 'n' Roll Call' betrays him from the first notes. Of course you can also twist. Randy Thomas and The Twisters take care of that, except for a few screams, 'Twistin' All Night Long' is instrumental. You undoubtedly know 'Woke Up This Morning' from B.B. King. Well, Kripp Johnson and Chuck Jackson give the song a total metamorphosis by giving it a rocking doo-wop twist. Wonderful approach! 'Mirror Mirror On The Wall' becomes in the hands of Ernest Tucker, an excellent rock song. Chris Kenner who co-wrote “Sick And Tired” with Dave Bartholomew also recorded it first. However, the Fats Dominos version is more fameust. Here you get the Elton Anderson version, which stays close to the original New Orleans sound.
Chuck Higgins can close the list with the instrumental 'The Rooster'.
Even at this volume, the quality of the recorded songs remains exceptionally high. It is already eagerly awaiting the next two volumes, which will complete the 'More Boss Black Rockers' series. Those are volumes 9 and 10, which were given 'Hey Doll Baby' and 'Lonely Lonely Train' respectively as titles and which in turn will appear in May and June. Vinyl enthusiasts can also purchase this series on their beloved black disc, which also gives them the complete CD version as a bonus.

Acoustic slide guitar like in the main days of the Delta blues are the main focus. And Andres does have it in his fingers. The cultivated audience is all about his virtuosity.

​Philadelphia’s blues-soul singer and songwriter Deb Callahan releases her 6th CD “Backbone” on Blue Pearl Records. The CD, produced by Philadelphia producer, songwriter and guitarist Chris Arms was recorded live at Morningstar Studios in Norristown, PA with overdubs and mixing completed at Arms’ Studio 501 in Philadelphia. Deb recorded this album with her road tested, all- star band of Allen James on guitar, Garry Lee on bass and Tom Walling on drums. The CD features London’s producer and songwriter Danny Schogger on keyboards and Arms on slide guitar. There are guest appearances by Philly’s Jay Davidson on sax, John Colgan Davis on harmonica and Charlene Holloway on backing vocals. The core bands years of playing together creates a unique chemistry and an ability to play with an easy, nuanced improvisation. Highly recommended! 

​Swinging latin tunes to danse on, with a rum cocktail in every hand.

​Bart Ryan has recorded a blast of a record with 'Messenger'. A full-length release colored with ten original tracks. All are 'The Healer' and 'Wanna Be' reworked songs from the release  'Starlight and Tall Tales'. And so every song on the record has a mission, a message of love, destiny, lust, anger and hope. Or an amalgama of it all! Highly recommended! 

​For our second visit in the Pan American Series 'Rockin' Rollin' USA' we are still staying in Canada. The 28 tracks on 'Teenage Boogie' dating from the period 1956 - 1963 were released on both local labels and were available via import in Canada. The local labels, whose recordings you can hear here, are Artic, Canatal, Sparton, Teen-Age and Tundra.
We start with Canadian local heroes Bob and Lucille. They rock hard in the cheerful 'Eeny-Meeny Miney Moe', song from 1959. They are followed by Keray Regan with 'Vibratin'’, which goes a bit hillbilly with the addition of fiddle. There were plenty of female artists who played rock 'n' roll with verve. Perhaps less known, but Myrna Lorrie was not of lesser quality. She was only 17 when she recorded ‘Hello Baby’. Of a completely different order is 'Arkansas Jane' by The Millionaires, floating on a jungle beat. A rarity is 'The Big Black Jacket' by Marcel St. Jean and The Jitters. The single was only pressed in a limited edition. Fortunately he graces this compilation because it is an excellent rocker. The Novatones provide a good portion of rocking rhythm & blues with 'Mary Lee'. More rocking rhythm & blues will follow later with 'Mean Old Woman' by The Hi-Fives. Bob and Lucille who opened the album, return as The Canadian Sweethearts with 'Freight Train', in which Lucille's voice reminds me of the other Lucille, namely Lucille Starr. French Canadian is featured through Les Trois Clefs and their 'Ah Oui Je L'Aime Tant'. The song contains an unusual but impressive xylophone solo. The Bucks went whistling through life. They even made a nice song with it. Just listen to the bluesy 'The Whistling Stroll'. Covering has been down all times and happened everywhere. The Canadian The Crew Cuts recorded a nice version of Dale Hawkins' 'Susie-Q'. Rocking wildly, supported by an all-scorching sax, Tommy Ambrose and Joe King work their way through 'The End Of The World'. Curtis Lee had a hit with the Phil Spector produced 'Under The Moon Of Love'. Here you get the flip side of that single with 'Beverly Jane', which should certainly not give way to the hit side. Fans of instrumental songs will get their money's worth with 'Rain Maker' by Tony Mystery and The Masquerades, a band led by the English brothers Tony and Chris Albury. And successor 'Watch Your Step' by The Galaxies is also an instrumental 'guitar driven' topper. A touch of Buddy Holly can be heard somewhat in 'I've Got A Feeling' by Larry Lee and The Leesures.
Doo-wop fans will certainly enjoy 'Baby Tell Me (Why, Why, Why) by The Mello Kings, as well as 'Tomorrow' by The Rock-A-Tunes. Wonderful harmony vocals also include 'Little Woman' by The Dukes. Song that, by the way, is introduced by a twangy surf guitar. Rocking with a light pop touch, Frank Rondell and The Chancellers close with 'Your True Love'.
Quality once again adorns this second volume in the 'Rockin' Rollin' USA' series. 28 tracks and all 'killers', you just have to do it. This needs no further explanation.