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New Blues News – 1/26/2021

Billy J – Rise Above (Self-produced): “Billy J is a rising star in the long tradition of the “working man” blues-rock Americana artists. His combination of soulful guitar playing, power vocals and great song writing is destined to rock the blues-rock world.… Originally a rocker from Philadelphia, Billy J now has his roots in South Florida. His tenure in the blues-rock Americana scene has included shows throughout the west coast of Florida and beyond. His sincerity will knock out from the very first note and I’m sure the listener will agree, his new and first CD RISE ABOVE will keep you humming, strumming and wanting more. Billy J’s vocals and guitar work will appeal to the blues listener as well as the roots-rock-Americana aficionado and beyond.
Rise Above is recorded live in the studio….. Featuring the late great Yonrico Scott (Derek Trucks Band) on drums, Charlie Wooten (Royal Southern Brotherhood), Todd Smallie (Derek Trucks Band) on bass and J. Robert on fiddle.” (https://www.billyjjams.com/about)  Click here to listen to the title song.

Paul Boddy & The Slidewinder Blues Band – Friends Of Tuesday (Slide Records): “Six tracks make up this new EP, “Friends Of Tuesday,” from Paul Boddy & The SlideWinder Blues Band. ‘Over the Hump’ is a humorous tale of an aging body playing host to the thoughts of a younger mind. Follow-up tracks include ‘Love Me Darlin,’’ which is unabashedly about the come-hear go-away dynamic of troubled relationships. ‘Money On Love’ depicts a young man blowing his weekly paycheck in bars as he looks for love. ‘Knock My Boots’ is not only a play on words, but also a line drawn in the sand about a man’s prized pair of cowboy boots. ‘Pretty Kitty’ is a humorous story of a woman’s pet and chock full of innuendo. And the final track, ‘Makin’ Me Cry,’ is love gone awry.” (https://blindraccoon.com/clients/paul-boddy-slidewinder-blues-band/) The opening song is wonderful and prophetic is as prophetic as things get — the last listed song, “Pretty Kitty” was apparently left off of the pressing! This is straight ahead blues and Boddy’s style is engaging and fun. Band members include Glenn Hale (piano, organ, accordion), Chuck Hearne (bass), Jim Bowman (drums) and Lori Gaston (backing vocals) with Tim Shay adding sax on one song and Mikey Jr adding harmonica on another. Click here and scroll down to listen to all of the songs including the the missing title (“Makin’ Me Cry”)!    Life is indeed strange at times! Boddy is a straight-ahead cat! Check him out!

Joanna Connor – 4801 South Indiana Avenue (Keeping The Blues Alive): “Chicago based blues rock guitarist Joanna Connor has announced the release of 4801 South Indiana Avenue…. The album will be released on Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping The Blues Alive record label. The new album is produced by Bonamassa and Josh Smith at Ocean Way Recording Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. “We chose the album title 4801 South Indiana Avenue because it was the actual street address of the hallowed funky blues sanctuary “Theresa’s Lounge”, says Connor. “We want the listener to open that door, walk in and feel to their core some of the magic that a place like that brought night after night. It was an honor to bring this to you, the listener. This album is a homage to the blues school that I attended in Chicago,” says Joanna. “We attempted to capture the spirit of tradition and inject it with raw energy and passion.” On why Bonamassa wanted to produce the album, Joanna says, “I remember asking Joe point-blank, ‘Out of all the guitar players in the world why me?’ He said, “Because you have an intensity about your playing that most people don’t have. As a matter of fact, I wish I had some of that in myself where you just let it go, and you don’t even think about it.” (https://bluesrockreview.com/2021/01/joanna-connor-announces-4801-south-indiana-avenue.html) INTENSE! Click here to check out “I Feel So Good” from this release.

Chris Thomas King – Angola (21st Century Blues): “Chris Thomas King, one of the world’s greatest blues guitarists and songwriters, has created an original music masterpiece that captures the raw emotions and resilient spirit of Black Lives. His timely new album Angola, named after Louisiana’s notorious state prison, brilliantly captures the sound and the fury of Black Lives Matter protests in the streets of America.  The year 2020 will go down as a year of reckoning. Indeed, Trumpism, the Covid-19 Pandemic, along with the murder of George Floyd, has had a profound effect on King and his community.   The album opens with the protest chant “George Floyd,” then takes a knee in a sacré bleu rendition of the National Anthem in the King original “The Flag.” The first single from the album is a country soul rendition of “Nine Pound Steel,” a plea from a chain-gang prisoner asking his lover to wait for his release. The superb studio production features the steel hammers of a chain-gang as the backbeat to drive the New Jim Crow message home. “Nine Pound Steel” would go over well on modern country and pop radio. Angola is seamlessly sequenced to enrapture the listener. Each song blends perfectly into the next, similarly to Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.” King also infuses the plaintive soulfulness of Nina Simone and Sam Cooke, with Bob Dylan, and his edgy authentic expressions. King’s Angola transforms chaos into art. This is a certified Professor Bebop “Wax Devoid Of Cracks”! Click here to listen to the songs on this release.

Andy Watts – Supergroove (VizzTone): “Andy Watts Premier Guitarist has performed and recorded with some of the Best Blues Artists in the World, including Grammy Artists, Joe Louis Walker, Kenny Neal, Johnny Winter, Rick Estrin, Bernard Allison. Lucky Peterson, and Eliza Neals among others.” Guitar slinger with a nice groove. (https://www.andywattsguitarslinger.com/) Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this release.

Kopasetically,

Professor Bebop