Brandi and The Alexanders - Rock Soul (USA)

The kick in the Brandy Alexander is the cognac/brandy, smoothed out by fresh cream and crème de cacao.  This new soul-rock band from Brooklyn takes their name from the cocktail as powerhouse vocalist Brandi Thompson delivers plenty of kick, while her supporting Alexanders flesh out the sound, not necessarily smoothly but more often with a tremendous punch too, usually in a nine-piece configuration with blaring horns. They are a funk and soul band with deep roots in the NYC music scene, a crowd-pleasing live act making their debut.

Thompson wrote eleven of these radio-friendly dozen tunes, telling stories of love, regret, jealousy.  In the heydays of pop and R&B radio decades ago, some of these tunes might have become classics. They bring back those Muscle Shoals and Memphis sounds. One curious cover is Ozzy Osbourne’s “Paranoid.” Maybe you’ve seen Brandi’s name on recordings from Daptone artists such as Aloe Blacc, Nick Waterhouse, Jay Stolar, and Animal Years. She was born in Chicago to a Doo Wop singing dad and has traveled the U.S. and Europe as a backup vocalist.  Now she is stepping out as the frontwoman.

How Do You Like It (2018)

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More Soul Rock

The Rocket Man - ELTON JOHN

Lloyd Cole and The Commotions

Blue Touch - Heavy Duty Blues Rock (UK)

A UK based rock blues band that has a popular live show. This album showcases 10 all original tracks. The standout one for me is Track 2, "Trying to find my way home", it's just such a great song when you are on the Motor/Free way at night and you heading home. It has one of those 'join in' shouty chorus that you are less embarrassed to sing out when you are driving. There are other out and out rock, blues and ballads in here and if you like the genre, I think you'll like this.

Musicians:

Andrea Maria - Vocals;

Neil Sadler - Guitar and Vocals;

Adam Cleaves - Guitar and Vocals;

Merv Griffin - Bass;

Hugh Lawrenson -Drums.

So the new album is finished it's called "Nothing left to hide"...kind of suggests we were hiding something in the past! Happily that's not the case, but the revealing thing with this, our sixth album, is that every song is a Blue Touch original.

Blue Touch is a band based in the UK and perform, what they like to call, Blues Rock with an edge.

Nothing Left To Hide [2016]

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More Blues Rock

The Advancement (fusion jazz blues psych rock)

Ranmadou - Psychedelic Blues Rock (Japan)

Brad Shepik - Jazz (USA)

Featuring Gary Versace (organ) and Mark Ferber (drums), the comfort and easy rapport is apparent as they groove their way through full tilt improvisation, funk, blues, swing, South American and Balkan rhythms in this update of the time honored organ trio.

Shepik writes about Top Down- "These compositions (except Gary Peacock's Major Major) were written in the late spring/early summer of 2015. Friday evokes a wide open elation I feel working in my studio in Brooklyn. Sweet Suzy, written just a few days before the recording recalls the Meter's and the blues and was a highlight of the recording for me. There's more than a hint of one of my favorite guitarists, John Scofield, on this tune. Coincidentally, on the morning of the day of this album's second recording session, I had the honor to record a song with him along with Peter Bernstein and Adam Rogers as part of an New York University Guitar Ensemble record. Vampa has South American feel though I didn't have a specific regional rhythm in mind. The tune's harmonic/rhythmic structure leaves a lot of room for melodic invention and suggested a conversation in the trading choruses. Hall is dedicated to Jim Hall, the giant of the guitar whose influence is felt on every generation of guitarists that have come along since the the late 1950's. Something in the wide melodic intervals and fluid rhythm suggested his artistry. Top in the Middle is a bluesy AABC form however the chords deviate and suggest a somewhat difficult climb to the goal. The title refers to the inevitable mix of sweet and bitter as life unfolds. Major Major has been a favorite tune from Gary Peacock's "Tales of Another" for many years, I had the privilege of playing a session with him when I was 19. Aeolia is a circular tune with a 7/8 Balkan rhythm that reminds me of a friend who lives on a windy island. I was playing with harmonic colors and phrasing on Stumma Cake. The tune's title could be a dessert but the final two chords reflect a mild discomfort experienced occasionally by the very young."

Top Down [2016]

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More Jazz

Pat Metheny - Jazz & Guitar

Music to enjoy and relax

Don Blackman - Funk Disco (USA)

Don Blackman (September 1, 1953 – April 11, 2013) was an American jazz-funk pianist, singer, and songwriter. He performed with Louis Hayes, Earth, Wind and Fire, and Nicolas Dietz. Blackman was born and raised in Jamaica, Queens, NY. A childhood neighbor was Charles McPherson, and while still a teenager he played in McPherson's ensemble with Sam Jones and Louis Hayes. At the beginning of the 1970s, he played with Parliament/Funkadelic, Earth, Wind and Fire, and Roy Ayers, before becoming a member of Lenny White's group Twennynine, for whom he penned songs such as "Peanut Butter" and "Morning Sunrise". He released his self-titled debut solo album in 1982 on Arista Records, including the songs "Holding You, Loving You", "Heart's Desire" and "Since You've Been Away So Long" that became minor hits in Europe.

Blackman also worked as a session musician, appearing on albums by Kurtis Blow (Kingdom Blow), Bernard Wright, Najee, David Sanborn, Lenny White, Roy Ayers, Sting (Brand New Day), World Saxophone Quartet, Janet Jackson's "That's the Way Love Goes" (Remix) and Wayman Tisdale. He wrote the composition "Haboglabotribin", which appeared on Bernard Wright's album Nard and was sampled by Snoop Dogg in the song "G'z and Hustlaz", Tupac Shakur's album R U Still Down? (Remember Me), and is a featured song in the video game Grand Theft Auto V. Other compositions include "Dear Summer", which appeared on Memphis Bleek's album 534 featuring Jay-Z, and "Holding You, Loving You", which appeared on Master P.'s album I Got The Hook Up.

On television, he scored and wrote music for commercials, TV shows, and movies, appearing on Fox Network's New York Undercover, producing and writing the theme song for Nickelodeon's show "Gullah Gullah Island", as well as producing songs for the MTV Network movie Joe's Apartment.

1982 - Don Blackman

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More Funk & Disco

Instant Funk - Disco Funk

The Funky Collector (A Collection of The Best Funk & Dance Music)

Mu - Psychedelic Rock (Netherlands)

Mu, a band with Peter Mensing, Koos Ver A, Peter Graute, Bob Knegt, Martin v.d. Leer, Wim Ver A, Linda Smits, Steve Keen and Sylvia Koch. Recorded at the labels Backlash Studio between 1979 and 1981. Rock music, with weird edges, perhaps a bit like Suspect... It really was a special band creating endless magical sessions that were recorded live and performed live the band would play and jam for maybe 8 hrs with people coming and going steping in with vocals and Martin mixing and introducing effects and mixes to the room a truly organic live band. 

1981 - Motion in Tune

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More Psychedelic Rock

Sensory System - Psychedelic Rock

Yesterday's Children - Psychedelic Rock (USA)

Beth Hart - Blues Rock (USA)

Beth Hart (born January 24, 1972) is an American singer, songwriter and musician from Los Angeles, California. She rose to fame with the release of her 1999 single "LA Song (Out of This Town)" from her second album Screamin' for My Supper. The single was a number one hit in New Zealand, as well as reaching the top 5 of the US Adult Contemporary and Top 10 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 charts.

Subsequent albums namely Seesaw and Live in Amsterdam by Hart and Joe Bonamassa debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart, a chart she has now topped six times. Hart has had two number 1 singles in Denmark, "As Good as It Gets" and "Learning to Live", as well a double platinum-selling album, Leave the Light On.

Hart's first album with Bonamassa, Don't Explain, went gold in the Netherlands, while their 2014 collaboration Seesaw was nominated for a Grammy Award, and gave Hart her first Blues Music Award nomination in the category 'Best Contemporary Blues Female Artist'.

2016 - Fire On The Floor

2018 - Black Coffee [Limited Edition] (Joe Bonamassa)

2018 - Front And Center (Live From New York)

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More Blues

Ana Popovic - Blues Guitarist (Serbia-USA)

Amy Arlo & Almost Blue - Blues (USA)

Big Fat Mama - Blues (Italy)

The band born from an idea of Piero De Luca, (bass player and singer), in the distant 1979, together with Giampiero Esposito (what group shoulder drums), Fiorenzo Bodellini (harp), Elio Arlandi (guitar): the band shows during a concert of Roberto Ciotti and Fabio Treves in Genova 1982; in 1982 it plays also in Cergy, near Paris, on invitation of a cultural circle.

After different changes, from 1985 the band acquires a stable order with Peter De Luca (bas), Paolo Bonfanti (guitar and voice), Mauro Mura (drums) and Maurizio Renda (guitar and voice). From this moment BIG FAT MAMA is considered one of the most important band of the Italian scene; besides the concerts in the main italian clubs, they collaborated and shared the stage with famous blues artists (opening act for the concert of Johnny Winter in the Milan Blues Festival, for Stevie Ray Vaughan and Los Lobos to the Palatrussardi Arena, tour with Louisiana Red, Eddie C. Campbell, Johnny Mars, Zora Young, and opening act for Screamin ' Jay Hawkins, Clifton Chenier Jr, Honeboy Edwards, Legendary Blues Band, Jimmy Rogers): the band is also mentioned on "Italian music Encyclopedia" by Renzo Arbore.

After the great success of the switzerland/italian tour, the band in 1992 begins a collaboration with the American harper Johnny Mars; in the same year Maurizio Renda leaves the band and is replaced by Alessio Menconi (now with Paolo Conte).

With this new formation the band participates in numerous European festivals sharing the stage with James Cotton, Magic Slim, Sherman Robertson, Little Willie Littlefield and with Johnny Mars and Robert Plant (ex Led Zeppelin) the band has participated to the "Pistoia Blues Festival". From 1994 to the 2001 Piero De Luca and Maurizio Renda are devoted to other musical experiences: Piero De Luca creates together with Carlo Ratto the "Burnin' Tubes" with whom has recorded two albums: "The Road" and "New Orleans Bound" together with the harper of Louisiana Jay Monque D

Maurizio Renda creates "Blackberries Trouble Band" with whom participates to the recording of the cd "For you-Tribute to Bruce Springsteen"

In 2002 Piero De Luca and Maurizio Renda decided together with Carlo Ratto and Giampiero Esposito to take back the project Big Fat Mama realizing the album of the return "Goin ' Back Home" that it is the logical continuation and evolution of the precedents jobs of the band.

Twenty-Five Years [2004]

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More Blues

The Fabulous Thunderbirds - Texas Blues (Harmonica)

Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan - In Session