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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Some may call it "the new sound of Urban Blues" but to define Urban Blues a body of work like Blues Is The New Cool, the new album from London-based band quintet Kat & Co. is a big understatement. Where their 2013 debut album I Kat The Blues showed hints of a different and interesting method to approach and fuse together genres like Jazz and Blues, Blues Is The New Cool is instead a much more refined and mature work, with new layers of sound applied to a music formula that, with this second album, is taking definite shapes and forms.
Kat & Co.'s second album is the body of work of a truly solid collective. Chief songwriter, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Francesco Accurso provides lyrics of a certain depth about suburban life, sometimes bitter but fundamentally real. Lead singer Kathleen Pearson has got one of the most amazing voices of the British Blues & Jazz scene and she is able to translate, thanks to her impressive vocal range, Accurso's storytelling in the most truthful and passionate possible way. Federico Parodi, on keyboards and harmonica, with a strong musical background, paints with his melodies and through his artistry the necessary backbone to allow Pearson's phenomenal voice to be unleashed even further, especially when it comes to stripped-down songs delivered just through piano and voice. Nicholas Owsianka on drums and percussion and Marco Marzola on bass and double bass are two highly experienced musicians and their musical understanding is so in tune that it sounds like they have been playing together all their lives, on this record.
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- Written by: Deb Hebert
ALBUM: Joe Bonamassa: Live at Carnegie Hall, An Acoustic Evening
ARTIST: Joe Bonamassa
LABEL: J & R Adventures
RELEASE DATE: June 23, 2017
ARTIST WEBSITE: jbonamassa.com
There's more to Grammy nominated, Blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa than a plethora of shiny Gibson Les Pauls and Marshall amps. Bonamassa's an artist. Driven by an insatiable appetite for the blues, he has put-to-the-test every six-string within grasp, in search of the holy grail in tone-- the one to match what can only be heard inside his head. As for the music? It's a personal journey that speaks for itself, as evidenced in a rapidly expanding solo catalog, of where instrumental and acoustic-infused songs are neatly sandwiched between progressive, guitar-driven melodies. Joe Bonamassa: Live at Carnegie Hall, An Acoustic Evening is a career defining moment in the bluesman's professional life: it's another opportunity to keeping the blues alive for the next generation.
"This has not been the easiest specialty project," Bonamassa reveals in the behind the scenes clip, Journey to Carnegie Hall. "It fought us a little bit."
The two night concert held on January 21 and 22, 2016 at Stern Auditorium's Perelman Stage was part of an all-acoustic (limited) tour that featured an all-star ensemble of world-class musicians including acclaimed Chinese cellist and erhuist Tina Guo, whose repertoire stretches from classical to heavy metal; and Hossam Ramzy, the Egyptian percussionist and composer, who has performed on dozens of film sound tracks and records, including Jimmy Page and Robert Plant's No Quarter: Unledded tour. The band line-up also includes Reese Wynans (piano), Anton Fig (drums), Eric Bazilian (mandolin, hurdy-gurdy, saxophone, acoustic guitar, vocals), and three Australian vocalists, Mahalia Barnes, Juanita Tippins, and Gary Pinto. Both performances were filmed and will be released as Double CD, Double DVD, Blu-ray and 3 LP Vinyl on June 23rd. Fans will appreciate newly arranged renditions of timeless classics and never-before-heard new tracks. Below, the official video trailer highlights a few of 15 songs offered in this recording.
Read more: Joe Bonamassa: Live at Carnegie Hall, An Acoustic Evening
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
There are always big expectations coming from any music fan all over the world, when you hear that a band like Thomas Wynn And The Believers had been chosen, in the Florida's music scene, as best Rock Band and Country/Folk Band for seven consecutive years.
On their brand new album called Wade Waist Deep, even the most sceptic fan can understand why the collective from Orlando has received so many high praises from music lovers and worldwide press through the years. Their sound runs deep in the roots of Southern Rock but with a more contemporary twist, with lashes of Soul and R&B here and there making the musical offer from Wynn and his band sounding even more palatable.
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
You can walk through different paths in your life but, in the end, if music it's your first love, you will always get back to it, sooner or later. This is exactly what happened to guitarist and singer/songwriter James R. Poggensee, aka Jim Roberts, which in the 90's, after 20-odd years of music activity, to absolve family duties decided to let aside the music and start working as a police officer. But, with time, with the same effect that the irresistible chant of a mermaid would do to humans, back in 2012 Roberts decided to go back to what he really loved doing, a love affair with music lasting for more than four decades and still running. The 2014's album Devil On A Dirt Road, released when the band was still called The Jack Roberts Harvey Band, showed clear signs that the magic in Robert's music was still there, despite the 15-years hiatus from the music business.
Robert's brand new album, called Beneath The Blood Moon and released under a new band name, Jim Roberts And The Resonants, is a definite game changer in Robert's career as a musician. His slide guitar sound is sharper and stronger than ever, his lyrics more personal and inspired, his vocals displaying a growing solidity and maturity in comparison to Robert's last album.
Read more: Jim Roberts And The Resonants - Beneath The Blood Moon
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
If you want to achieve your goals, you have got to risk it all. This concept might have been in the back of the head of French blues/rock artist Gaëlle Buswel, at the time her brand new album, New Day's Waiting was written and recorded.
The genesis of Buswel's new album started back in 2015, when the French artist decided to pack her luggage and travel to the United States for a month and a half, searching for inspiration for her next music project. The journey proved to be a very successful one for the singer/songwriter, with Buswel immersing herself deeply into the roots of the blues and the rock, two genres very close to her heart.
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- Written by: Deb's Music Stop
ARTIST: Chris Ross and the North
ALBUM: Over Lonesome
RELEASE DATE: June 2, 2017
LABEL: Independent
WEBSITE: Chris Ross and the North
Supporters of Chris Ross and the North get behind the band to raise funds to record Over Lonesome. Those who visited the band's PledgeMusic page could pledge to pre-order the upcoming album or memorabilia, e.g. handwritten lyric sheet, private guitar lesson with Zack, personal video of the band singing Happy Birthday to the pledge, and receive exclusive updates and insights into the album making process. A real win-win for everyone.
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
It gives such a great feeling to listen to an album like this. Laura Tate, American actress and singer, here on her 4th studio album called Let's Just Be Real, delivers one of the most intense records of her career.
Tate's new album is a masterful display of the Texan singer's vocal abilities on the 12 tracks that travel through old, new and original material, never before released. Tate surrounds herself with the elite of worldwide studio musicians, from the Brass Maestro Lee Thornberg to the devastatingly brilliant Jeff Paris on Piano, B3 and Mandolin, just to mention few of the great musicians involved on the album.