Aki Kumar - God Bless The USA

Size: 116.7 MB
Time: 49:48
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2025
Styles: Harmonica Blues
Art: Front

01. Should I Stay (3:18)
02. A Plea To Be Free (4:06)
03. I Just Want To Make Love (2:57)
04. Jarvos Woman (4:07)
05. Desi Strut (3:59)
06. Time Will Tell (3:49)
07. Thoughts And Prayers (3:54)
08. God Bless The USA (3:26)
09. It Is What It Is (5:13)
10. Man Of Constant Sorrow (3:40)
11. Hard To Get (3:48)
12. Save A Bread (3:34)
13. Harp Tuah (3:51)

Since Charlie Musselwhite planted roots on the West Coast decades ago, San Francisco has evolved into a hotbed of sensational harmonica players, most notably Rick Estrin, Mark Hummel and the late Norton Buffalo. But as most locals already know, there’s a new reed-bender in town, and he’s ready to make a name for himself on a broader scale.

Born in Mumbai, India, and only working as a musician full-time for the past six years or so, Akarsha “Aki” Kumar is the real deal if you love traditional blues harp with an extra dose of originality. As a teen, he studied keyboards and tabla (Indian drums) before picking up a tremolo harmonica, instrument commonly used in popular Hindi music. Now in his mid-30s, Kumar emigrated to the U.S. in 1996 to study software engineering, settling first in Oklahoma City before transferring to San Jose State University, where he earned a degree that landed him a job in the industry.

Aki’s love for the harmonica eventually lead him to the San Jose School of the Blues, where master instructor Dave Barrett quickly turned him onto to the works of Little Walter Jacobs, George “Harmonica” Smith and James Cotton. Kumar burst onto the West Coast scene in 2009, fronting one of the Bay Area’s favorite bands, Tip Of The Top. He now fronts his own tight ensemble and also does service with Little Jonny And The Giants. ~~Marty Gunther

God Bless The USA MP3
God Bless The USA FLAC

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Ashbolt Stewart - Beats Workin' (With Kid Andersen & The Greaseland Gang)

Size: 149,5 MB
Time: 63:42
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Full

01. Smitten With A Kitten (1:59)
02. Goin' To That Roadhouse (3:36)
03. Too Many Drivers (4:35)
04. Oh Carol (3:05)
05. Gypsy (4:57)
06. Who's Been Talkin' (4:10)
07. Bluesed (2:23)
08. Route 66 (3:11)
09. Center For Peace (2:31)
10. Blues Coming Down My Shoes (4:49)
11. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (6:36)
12. Up For Grabs (3:53)
13. Snatch It Back (4:07)
14. After Midnight Blues (4:42)
15. Sugar Sweet (3:39)
16. Wipe Out! (2:01)
17. Home In One Peace (3:18)

Personnel:
Ashbolt Stewart: Vocals, Drums, Percussion, Piano
Kid Andersen: Hammond B3, Piano, Guitar, Synth
Steve Ehrmann: Bass
Aki Kumar: Harmonica
Johnny Cat: Lead Guitar on 14 & 16

Ashbolt Stewart has been a professional drummer since 1964! He's appeared on over 20 CD recordings including 'Family Affair' w/ Norman Sylverster {2003} and 'Up For Grabs'-{All originals} & 'Only Looking' {All Originals} with his band Bolt Upright, which has been gigging around Portland for the past 14 years. Ashbolt was the drummer for Norman Sylvester from 1995 through 2015. Bolt Upright played the Main Stage @ The Waterfront Blues Fest w/ guest Kenny Blue Ray in 2009.
'Beats Workin' is a recording that commemorates his 50 years of professional drumming as well as turning 65 years old! He plays drums & sings on all 17 tracks! The band,Beats Workin', features Ashbolt out front as the Lead Vocalist and percussionist!

Beats Workin' (With Kid Andersen & The Greaseland Gang) MP3
Beats Workin' (With Kid Andersen & The Greaseland Gang) FLAC

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VA - Lockdown Sessions

Size: 234 MB
Time: 84:31
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Blues
Art: Full

CD 1:
01 Tommy Schneller,Tomi Leino - Lockdown Blues (3:12)
02 Aki Kumar, Andreas Arlt - Can't Get Too Close (1:53)
03 Muddy Arlt, Micha Maas - Personal Shutdown (3:11)
04 Abi Wallenstein, Roger Wade - Death Letter Blues (4:51)
05 Fred Kaplan, Andre Werkmeister - Mean Old Quarantine (3:33)
06 Michael Van Merwyck, Victor Puertas - Low-Down Lockdown (4:24)
07 Roger Wade, Andreas Arlt, Jack O Roonie - Get Me Outta Here (2:17)
08 Timo Gross, Krissy Matthews, Micha Maass - Blow A Poor Man Down (3:38)
09 Christian Bleiming, Andreas Bock - Boogie Galore (2:28)
10 Little Victor, Roger Wade, Jack O Roonie - The Death Of Louisiana Red (4:07)
11 Andreas Arlt, Marion Wade, Micha Maass - Home Alone Stomp (2:59)
12 Kai Strauss, Aki Kumar, Fred Kaplan - World Crisis Blues (4:06)
13 Black Petti, Joe Felisko - Be Ready When He Comes (2:51)

CD 2:
01 Larry Garner, Michael Van Merwyk, Roger C. Wade - Why You Lie (3:58)
02 Nicolas Duportal, Víctor Puertas, Jack O Roonie, Andre Werkmeister - Hey Sweet Marie (2:33)
03 Abi Wallenstein, Víctor Puertas - Destination Mississippi (3:17)
04 Big Daddy Wilson, Veronica Sbergia, Víctor Puertas, Gary Winters, Tommy Schneller, Jurgen Wieching, Andre Werkmeister - Come See About Me (3:46)
05 Roger C. Wade, Andreas Arlt - I Know (2:44)
06 Tommy Schneller, Marion Wade, Jack O Roonie - Low-Down Lockdown (4:46)
07 Michael Van Merwyk, Ferdinand Kraemer - Get Me Outta Here (3:49)
08 Veronica Sbergia, Max De Bernardi, Joe Filisko - I Can Tell The World (2:36)
09 Christian Bleiming, Jack O Roonie, Micha Maass - Lockdown Shuffle (2:34)
10 Aki Kumar, Tomi Leino, Fred Kaplan - Everything Has Changed (4:24)
11 Nathan James, Víctor Puertas - Come What May (3:19)
12 Jens Turowski, Gary Winters, Tommy Schneller - Give Me My Heart Back (3:03)

This may be an authentic-sounding blues CD but it has emerged in a most unusual way courtesy of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting social distancing and lockdown of normal activities, including live music and recording. As a result German-based British harmonica player Roger C. Wade got these tracks together with artists from eight countries sending their contributions via the internet. In fact some of the musicians had never actually met the people they are playing with! Roger first contacted other German blues players like guitarist Kai Strauss and saxophonist Tommy Schneller but then also added artists from the UK, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Finland and France. He then followed this by getting contributions from several top American players including Larry Garner, Fred Kaplan, Nathan James, Aki Kumar and Big Daddy Wilson.

There is a great variety of styles here from the jump blues of the opener 'Lockdown Blues' - "Strange times we live in, just keep keeping to yourself" to the Chicago band blues of 'Can't Get Too Close' and 'Personal Shutdown' which also both tell lockdown stories - "I've got to love my baby from six feet away..." Abi Wallenstein & Roger Wade do a nice acoustic cover of Son House's very appropriate 'Death Letter Blues' and there is more nice acoustic blues from Little Victor and Kai Strauss, with Black Patti and US harp star Joe Filisko closing the first CD with the low down and dirty 'Be Ready When He Comes'. CD2 starts with a bang with Larry Garner and company, Tommy Schneller blows a nice bluesy instrumental and Christian Bleiming plays beautiful boogie boogie piano. Big Daddy Wilson contributes some soulful gospel, as does the wonderful Veronica Sbergia on 'I Can Tell The World'. And the quality carries on right to the last tracks courtesy of Aki Kumar and Nathan James and especially Jens Turowski whose closing track 'Give Me My Heart Back' is one of the collections' many highlights. Roger deserves much praise for getting this collection of tracks together it is completely successful and I hope that it makes lots of money for the musicians involved. ~G.E. Harrison

Lockdown Sessions MP3
Lockdown Sessions FLAC

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Marina Crouse - Never Too Soon

Size: 92,5 MB
Time: 39:36
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Soul
Art: Front & Back

01. Touch Of The Blues (4:04)
02. The Cisco Kid (5:59)
03. More And More (3:00)
04. Anyway The Wind Blows (3:23)
05. Sabor A Mi (3:30)
06. I'm Just A Prisoner (4:04)
07. Los Tiempos Van Campiando (5:22)
08. Better Than You (3:46)
09. It's Been A Long Time (3:34)
10. In The Same Old Way (2:49)

Marina Crouse is an exceptional singer. Her album Never Too Soon is an eclectic mix of soul and blues. It is a mix of English and Spanish. It is American music…California style and it is simply a great album.

Let’s step back a second and acknowledge a cruel fact of life. If War, this great Southern California based band, came out in this day and age, they wouldn’t even have a record contract. They, like much of their home state, were and still are multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and even multi-national. Like Marina Crouse they were simply great musicians. Back in the day, great music would often win out and find an audience and a large audience at that mind you.

Now, it isn’t even given a chance. That is until Jim Pugh’s Little Village Foundation steps in and produces musicians who wouldn’t be given an opportunity otherwise.

Crouse moves from that slice of urban funk mentioned earlier into a mid-60s Little Milton tune More and More, before visiting a Syl Johnson tune Any Way the Wind Blows. Both tunes are sung with verve, passion and care.

Then Crouse sings a bolero, Sabor A Mi. Before the program is all over Crouse visits New Orleans and an Annie Laurie’s rhythm & blues number, It’s Been a Long Time and closes everything out with a Dan Penn/Spooner Oldham composition In the Same Old Way. Somewhere in the mix is even a Bob Dylan tune sung in Spanish and it all works and works in a big way.

The entire album was recorded at Kid Andersen’s Greaseland Studios (where else) in San Jose, California. It was Andersen who, along with Jim Pugh, produced Never Too Soon. Andersen plays guitar on all the tracks and Pugh does the same on piano and organ. Drummer Derrick “D’Mar” Martin and bassist Randy Bermudez round out the core band who performs on this CD. The entire ensemble lends sympathetic support and never gets in the way of or distracts from the supple vocals of Crouse.

What makes Never Too Soon is the voice and delivery of Marina Crouse. She wields a naturalistic instrument which is imbibed with warmth. It has an unaffected expressiveness that is simply refreshing. Her singing carries with it none of the vocal histrionics and clichés that mar so many female vocalists in this field. They, unlike Crouse, have never taken the time to learn the elusive and subtle dialect of the blues. She performs in two languages, yet seamlessly blends both to deliverer missives in the international language of music.

In talking to Jim Pugh, the founder of the Little Village Foundation, some time back he explained that one of the principal missions of the organization is to create cultural empathy through music. Marina Crouse does that all on her own and all on one album. That is quite an accomplishment.

Never Too Soon places Marina Crouse as an early front runner for the 2018 BLUES JUNCTION Productions’ Etta James Award for Best Female vocalist and this CD is, of course, a contender for Album of the Year. ~David Mac

Never Too Soon MP3
Never Too Soon FLAC

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Aki Kumar - Hindi Man Blues

Size: 141,3 MB
Time: 60:36
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Electric Blues
Art: Front & Back

01. Dum Maaro Dum (4:32)
02. Bollywood Blues (4:01)
03. Yeh Chaand Sa Roshan Chehra (4:49)
04. Sajan Re Jhoot Mat Bolo (4:16)
05. Hindi Man Blues - Dekhaa Naa (4:31)
06. All Bark No Bite (4:09)
07. Watermelon Man (5:25)
08. Dilruba (3:42)
09. Yeh Shaam Mastaani (4:08)
10. Aaja Aaja (4:19)
11. Ruxanna (4:31)
12. Voh Surmayi Shaam (4:12)
13. Jaane Kahaan Mera Jigar Gaya Ji (3:55)
14. Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Yeh (4:00)

Well, what do we have here. A new CD by Aki Kumar! And what a delight it is! But heck, Aki is ALWAYS a delight. His performances never fail to delight! This CD has blues, but also Aki’s adaptation of Bollywood music and blues. So, it’s not really a total blues record, but i’d think all blues fans and harp players everywhere will have a LOT of fun listening to this as i have. It is at the same time fun and interesting to let Aki take you on his musical adventure of bridging cultures. Consider it a new setting for blues and it’s in a huge party atmostphere provided by Aki and a bunch of excellent top-notch musicians. Many will enjoy Aki’s dissing of Trump in the politcal blues: All Bark No Bite. I believe Aki knows that to remain silent is to be complicit.

I’ve always been interested in blending blues and especially blues harmonica with music from other cultures and I think Aki has done a rockin’ job here! I’ve always been impressed by Aki’s singing and his harp playing has always been tasteful with great tone and phrasing. Check it out. I wouldn’t steer you wrong. This would be perfect for a party. It’ll have everybody up and dancing and smiling. It’s that much fun!!! ~Charlie Musselwhite.

Hindi Man Blues MP3
Hindi Man Blues FLAC

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Aki Kumar - Don't Hold Back

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:36
Size: 120.4 MB
Styles: Harmonica blues
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[4:09] 1. Judgement Day
[3:08] 2. Hoochie Coochie Coo (Feat. Rusty Zinn & Frankie Ramos)
[5:06] 3. Don't Hold Back
[4:06] 4. Buzzin' (Feat. Little Jonny & Johnny Cat Soubrand)
[4:08] 5. Let Me Get Closer
[3:11] 6. She Don't Want Me No More
[5:46] 7. Drifting Blues
[3:42] 8. Blue Baby (Feat. Bob Welsh)
[3:34] 9. I'll Get You Too
[3:56] 10. Wish Me Well
[4:00] 11. Freight Train (Feat. Vance Ehlers, Little Jonny & June Core)
[2:56] 12. The Mumbai Express (Feat. Kid Andersen)
[4:46] 13. Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Yeh (Feat. Lisa Leuschner Andersen)

Since Charlie Musselwhite planted roots on the West Coast decades ago, San Francisco has evolved into a hotbed of sensational harmonica players, most notably Rick Estrin, Mark Hummel and the late Norton Buffalo. But as most locals already know, there’s a new reed-bender in town, and he’s ready to make a name for himself on a broader scale.

Born in Mumbai, India, and only working as a musician full-time for the past six years or so, Akarsha “Aki” Kumar is the real deal if you love traditional blues harp with an extra dose of originality. As a teen, he studied keyboards and tabla (Indian drums) before picking up a tremolo harmonica, instrument commonly used in popular Hindi music. Now in his mid-30s, Kumar emigrated to the U.S. in 1996 to study software engineering, settling first in Oklahoma City before transferring to San Jose State University, where he earned a degree that landed him a job in the industry.

Aki’s love for the harmonica eventually lead him to the San Jose School of the Blues, where master instructor Dave Barrett quickly turned him onto to the works of Little Walter Jacobs, George “Harmonica” Smith and James Cotton. Kumar burst onto the West Coast scene in 2009, fronting one of the Bay Area’s favorite bands, Tip Of The Top. He now fronts his own tight ensemble and also does service with Little Jonny And The Giants.

Kumar makes his recording debut on this disc, which was co-produced with Chris “Kid” Andersen at Andersen’s award-winning Greaseland Studios. Joining him for the session is lineup that includes four of the best guitarists in the area: Andersen (who also adds keyboards, tabla and sitar), Rusty Zinn, Little Jonny and Johnny “Cat” Soubrand of the Terry Hanck Band. Blues Music Award nominee June Core and Vance Ehlers contribute drums and bass, while Frankie Ramos sits in on saxophone. Bob Welsh sits in on piano and Kid’s wife Lisa Leuschner Andersen backing vocals. ~Marty Gunther

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Rockin' Johnny Burgin - Neoprene Fedora

Year: 2017
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:52
Size: 179,8 MB
Styles: Electric blues, Chicago blues
Scans: Full

1. Neoprene Fedora (7:28)
2. Guitar King (6:24)
3. Won't Get Married Again (4:22)
4. Give Me An Hour In Your Garden (5:05)
5. Kinda Wild Woman (4:35)
6. Please Tell Me (4:24)
7. Our Time Is Short (3:08)
8. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear (4:09)
9. Smoke And Mirrors (5:10)
10. I Did The Best I Could (5:38)
11. Self Made Man (4:46)
12. My Baby's Gone (3:40)
13. You Gotta Work Fast (3:27)
14. I Ain't Gonna Be A Working Man No More (3:46)
15. My Life's Enough For Me (5:10)
16. Goodbye Chicago (6:33)

Neoprene Fedora chronicles Rockin’ Johnny Burgin’s move to California from Chicago. This time around he’s written 11 songs from surf to zydeco to gut-bucket blues to plain old party! The combination of his Chicago-based styles with some of the best musicians of the popping South Bay scene is intoxicating. Rockin’ Johnny’s seventh CD since 1998 shows an artist at the height of his powers as a songwriter, singer, and guitarist.

“While today’s blues has more than its share of flashy guitar gunslingers, Rockin’ Johnny Burgin dives into the music with more depth, heart and mind than any hotshot soloist. Neoprene Fedora embraces the entire blues tradition with a multitude of sounds.” /Aaron Cohen, Downbeat

Personnel: Rockin' Johnny Burgin (guitar, vocals, harmonica); Aki Kumar (harmonica, vocals); Alabama Mike (guest vocals); Kid Andersen (guitar, piano, electric piano, bass); Nancy Wright (sax); Bob Welsh (guitar, piano); Vance Ehlers, Chris Matheos (bass); Stephen Dougherty, June Core (drums); Steve Willis (accordion); Billy Wilson (rub board).

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Hans Bollandsås - 2 albums: In Session With Aki Kumar / Confession

Hans Bollandsås also known as just Hans (born in Melhus, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway on October 28, 1980) is a Norwegian blues musician who won the Norwegian X Factor in 2010.

In a final that was held on 11 December 2010, by beating Atle Pettersen and Annsofi Pettersen, to the top. He was mentored by judge Elisabeth Andreassen in the over 25 category. Earlier in 2010, he had won the Notodden national competition in blues guitar. He is married and has two children.

Album: In Session With Ali Kumar
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 30:00
Size: 68.7 MB
Styles: R&B, Electric blues
Year: 2016
Art: Front

[3:47] 1. Pala De Nieve Chris
[4:52] 2. Lost Without Love
[2:15] 3. Go Ahead On
[5:18] 4. I'm A Young Man
[3:45] 5. She's Dynamite
[4:22] 6. Move To Oslo
[5:40] 7. Can't Live Without You

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Album: Confession
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:25
Size: 106.3 MB
Styles: R&B, Electric blues
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[3:57] 1. I Hope
[4:14] 2. The Way
[4:42] 3. Hard Time Loving You
[5:49] 4. Am I Losing You
[3:56] 5. If You Choose Me
[5:08] 6. How Can I Trust You
[5:23] 7. Same Old Boogie
[4:26] 8. All About You
[4:21] 9. Leavin' On Your Mind
[4:25] 10. Confession

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Aki Kumar - Aki Goes To Bollywood

Size: 119,1 MB
Time: 50:41
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Blues, Indian Pop, World Fusion
Art: Front

01. Badan Pe Sitaare (3:32)
02. Eena Meena Deeka (4:05)
03. Jaane Jaan (5:59)
04. Kissi Ki (4:34)
05. Chala Jaata Hoon (4:09)
06. Home Is Prison (5:35)
07. Jaanu Meri Jaan (5:12)
08. Pukarata Chala (3:56)
09. Hai Apna Dil (3:43)
10. Baar Baar Dekho (4:32)
11. Goin' To Bombay (5:19)

Aki Kumar is no stranger to living double lives. The now professional harmonica player grew up in Mumbai, India and studied traditional Hindustani music at the age of 9 years old. When he was 18 (circ. 1998), he moved to California to attend San Jose State University and began hanging out at underground blues clubs. After college, he worked as a software engineer at a major Silicon Valley tech company for 11 years, and by night, he performed Chicago blues in local venues. 2016 marks a milestone for Aki as he’s spent half his life in India and half in the United States. His debt album for Little Village, Aki Goes To Bollywood, is a true representation of his musical DNA -- classic 1950s/60s Bollywood and down-home American blues.

Though some instrumental albums and DJs have attempted to rearrange Bollywood music mixed with other genres, never before has an Indian blues musician so triumphantly recorded songs by the film industry’s biggest stars such as Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar, R.D. Burman, and S.D. Burman. Aki Kumar notes, “I realized that many of the Indian songs I loved had, in fact, been influenced by American blues music and I wanted to bring them together.” Aki Goes To Bollywood blends sitars with Delta blues jams, Hindi vocals with ferocious harp playing. Aki has single-handedly created “Mumbai Meets Muddy,” his own blues movement. For the album’s cover, Aki emulates his childhood hero and mega-star, Amitabh Bachchan.

Aki Goes To Bollywood MP3
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John Blues Boyd - The Real Deal

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:54
Size: 102.8 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Year: 2016
Art: Front

[3:58] 1. I Am The Real Deal
[2:33] 2. You Will Discover
[3:31] 3. I'm Like A Stranger To You
[3:24] 4. That's Big!
[2:55] 5. The Smoking Pig
[2:52] 6. That Certain Day
[3:09] 7. Dona Mae
[4:01] 8. I'm So Weak Right Now
[3:19] 9. When Your Eyes Met Mine
[4:28] 10. Screaming In The Night
[3:52] 11. (Have You Ever Been To) Marvin Gardens
[3:15] 12. Be Careful With Your Gardens
[3:31] 13. John, The Blues Is Calling You

John Blues Boyd: vocals; Kid Anderson: guitar, bass, piano, organ; Big Jon Atkinson: guitar, drums; Robert Welsh: guitar, piano, organ; Rick Estrin: harmonica; Aki Kumar: harmonica; Jim Pugh: piano, organ; Dave Chavez: bass; Danny Michel: bass; June Core: drums; Martin Windstad: drums; D’Mar Martin: drums; Donnie Green: drums; Eric Spaulding: sax; Frankie Ramos: sax; Terry Hanck: sax; Doug Rowan: sax; John Halbleib: trumpet; Manny Angel: trumpet; Faris Jarrah: trombone.

For those who love the blues, the thrill of discovering a new artist is still special. Blues singer John "Blues" Boyd just released The Real Deal—at 71 years young—as a testament that the blues continues to be a vital American art form that will never die. Born in Greenwood, Mississippi, Boyd picked cotton as a youngster, worked at hard labor, and loved to sing. Relocating to the Bay Area in the 1980's he was a roofer, sat in at local clubs, retired, and took care of his ailing wife, who passed in 2014. That's when he became a bluesman full time. Under the tutelage of Jim Pugh at Little Village Foundation, and with the production savvy of Kid Anderson from Greaseland Studios, Boyd was able to make an album of pure blues the way they use to do back in the day. He wrote most of the songs, letting Anderson take over the controls and procure all the accompanying musicians.

Opening with the autobiographical title track, there is an immediate sense of an authentic "big sound" upon which Boyd lays his songs. "You Will Discover," has that up tempo Junior Parker feel, while "That's Big," is a rolling Kansas City swing number carried along by honking tenor saxophones. Everyone knows that blues and barbecue go together, and "The Smiling Pig," is a humorous stinging tribute to that perfect combination. The classic west coast shuffle of T-Bone Walker influenced "That Certain Day," and "Be Careful With Your Love, offering a nice cadence where Boyd feels cool and collected. Memphis, and the Stax sound come to mind on "I'm So Weak Right Now," highlighted by the great organ work of Jim Pugh. Shades of an early B.B. King slips into "When Your Eyes Met Mine," contrasted by the Chicago style of "Screaming In The Night," which features Frankie Ramos on the howling sax. "I'm Like A Stranger To You," has him crying and pleading, and "Dona Mae," is a reflective ballad composed as a moving tribute to his wife. The selections come full circle on the closing "John, The Blues Is Calling You," Boyd taking a closer look at himself, and how things turned out. As with many blues singers that came before him, John "Blues" Boyd, is a storyteller who lived an interesting life. He has certainly been there, done that, and now is enjoying the opportunity to sing his songs. Great credit goes out to Pugh and his Little Village Foundation for his dedication to discovering and recording these interesting artists, and keeping the blues alive. ~James Nadal

The Real Deal

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D'Mar & Gill - Take It Like That

Size: 134,1 MB
Time: 57:27
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Modern Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Since I Saw You (Feat. Jerry Jemmott & Frankie Ramos) (3:12)
02. Tore Down And Blue (Feat. Jerry Jemmott, Kid Andersen & Bob Welch) (5:29)
03. Lonesome For Leaving (Feat. Kid Andersen) (6:08)
04. Sweet Tooth (Feat. Lisa Andersen) (2:40)
05. Take It Like That (Feat. Jerry Jemmott, Kid Andersen & Lisa Andersen) (4:07)
06. Must Be Love (Feat. Kid Andersen & Bob Welch) (3:33)
07. Three Way Inn (Feat. Kid Andersen & Lisa Andersen) (4:35)
08. You Never Know (4:15)
09. Dancin' Girl (Feat. Kid Andersen) (4:59)
10. Souvenir Of The Blues (Feat. Jerry Jemmott & Kid Andersen) (4:54)
11. Song For Honeyboy (Feat. Jerry Jemmott & Kid Andersen) (5:39)
12. Back To Paradise (4:06)
13. Fell In Love With The Blues (Feat. Bob Welch, Lisa Andersen, Aki Kumar & Kid Andersen) (3:44)

Drummer Derrick “D’Mar” Martin and singer/guitarist Chris Gill live in a musical land of timeless sights and sounds. Like a trip back to where the blues began, the duo creates a big sound proving less really is more. The follow-up to their stunning debut Real Good Friends (2011) goes straight to the heart, body and soul.

Thirteen original compositions also feature Jerry “The Groovemaster” Jemmott (bass), Chris “Kid” Andersen (bass, guitar), Lisa Andersen (background vocals), Bob Welsh (piano and B-3 organ), Aki Kumar (harmonica) and Frankie Ramos (sax). “I Fell in Love with the Blues” jumps exuberantly as Gill belts “I fell in love with the blues, I got ‘em bad, worse than any woman a man ever had. I go crazy, that’s what I do, when I can’t get me those rhythm and blues.” Ominous Delta guitar riffs underpin the serious “Back to Paradise” with “Bombs shatter life’s fragile balance. Hunger in the streets. Children learning talents they don’t teach in school, that ain’t the golden rule.” “Song for Honeyboy” rolls like the Southern Railway, Gill sliding and proclaiming “I got a real good friend, travel with me everywhere… From Mississippi to California, just me and my ol’ guitar.”

On the evocative minor key “Souvenir of the Blues” Gill laments “It’s way past midnight, broke down thinking about you (2x). I’m laid out in this dirty alley, a souvenir of the blues.” He paints another memorable word picture on the lusty “Dancin’ Girl” with “Paradise struttin’ at midnight, tight dress, long legs swingin’ in the heat. She was movin’ in the blue light, seem to make her whole body just flow,” turning the heat up with his cigar box guitar. Gill yearns “Want to take you in my arms, catch up nice and slow. The way I miss my woman, don’t nobody know” on the gentle pastoral ballad “You Never Know.”

“Three Way Inn” swings and swigs like the thirties with “…the big leg woman drinkin’ all my wine. When the sun comes up in the morning and it looks like I had died… you can tell by the smell, I had myself a good time.” Gill bemoans “Yeah, I think she been foolin’ with voodoo, must be down there in New Orleans, you know, I’m like a puppet under her spell, man, I been hoodooed” on the hypnotic, laconic “Must Be Love.” Funky, Caribbean rhythms sway the title track beneath “There’s beauty in the Delta. Just kickin’ back by the river. There’s magic in your curves, I tell ya, yeah, only the full moon will deliver.” “Sweet Tooth” references ragtime, using a creative metaphor “I got a craving on like never before, can’t find it down at the candy store. A little sugar’s what I crave, I hope it don’t take me to my early grave.”

“Lonesome for Leaving” is low down with a classic hook “I’m a rollin’ man, don’t ask me where I’m from ‘cause I come from where I been” with Gill sliding on his cigar box guitar. The jazzy, minor key “Tore Down and Blue” is his heaviest “cry of love” as Gill intones painfully “These blues, they all around. Oh man, they just draggin’ me down.” “Since I Saw You” ends hopefully with the sweet alto sax of Ramos, and Gill optimistically sharing “Everything’s just been so wrong, why these hard roads so long? Through the blue fog I think I hear a new song, since I saw you.”

D’Mar & Gill utilize their staggering skill set to inhabit the blues from deep inside for unsurpassed emotional and musical expression. It is a lasting contribution to the enjoyment and understanding of the great American cultural treasure. ~Dave Rubin

Take It Like That

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Rockin' Johnny Burgin - Greetings From Greaseland California

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:01
Size: 132.8 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[4:53] 1. Love Me Like I Want It
[3:46] 2. Cold Chills
[5:29] 3. She's A Hit
[5:28] 4. The Western Horizon
[6:39] 5. Telephone Angel
[3:37] 6. The House Of The Rising Sun
[8:36] 7. Empty Bed Blues
[4:31] 8. Tribute To Big John Wrencher
[4:28] 9. Havana Rock
[3:52] 10. Homework
[6:39] 11. Tell The World I Do

He recorded "Greetings from Greaseland" with the cream of the crop of the San Francisco Bay blues scene at California's funkiest studio, Greaseland. This CD, his sixth, features Aki Kumar on harp, Kid Andersen on gtr, Vance Ehlers on bass and June Core on drums. It also features the first recordings of Johnny on harp. There's some great chemistry and blues feeling on display on his first ever California recording with these great Bay area blues players.

NOTE: Track 11 has some 'scratches' and drops so until we find a clean version, this will have to do.
Greetings From Greaseland California mc
Greetings From Greaseland California zippy

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David Barrett, Gary Smith & Aki Kumar - It Takes Three

File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Blues
Time: 63:23
Size: 146,0 MB
Covers: Full

(6:43) 1. David Barrett, Gary Smith & Aki Kumar - It Takes Three
(3:36) 2. Gary Smith - Mojo Hand
(3:56) 3. Aki Kumar - Bombay Stroll
(8:49) 4. David Barrett - Dark Night
(3:34) 5. David Barrett & Gary Smith - Midnight at 7 Bamboo
(4:15) 6. David Barrett & Aki Kumar - Playin It Forward
(3:26) 7. David Barrett - Here We Go
(2:54) 8. Aki Kumar - I'm In Love With My Baby
(5:21) 9. Gary Smith - Up All Night With The Blues
(3:31) 10. David Barrett - Blow! Blow! Blow!
(3:19) 11. David Barrett - In Memory
(3:00) 12. Gary Smith - Alviso Rock
(4:24) 13. Gary Smith & Aki Kumar - A.G. Blues
(3:11) 14. Gary Smith - Tribute to Jr.
(3:18) 15. David Barrett, Gary Smith & Aki Kumar - Rocket Ride

An unprecedented collaboration between three generations of the San Francisco Bay Area's blues harp masters - Gary Smith, David Barrett and Aki Kumar.
David Barrett started playing the harmonica at age fourteen. At age sixteen Gary Smith took Barrett as a private student. Smith also introduced Barrett to the local blues jam scene and even invited him to participate is some of the local harmonica blowouts. At age eighteen Barrett was studying music theory in college (De Anza College in Cupertino, California) and started teaching private harmonica lessons at local music stores and institutes in the California Bay Area. Since 2002 he has been teaching at his own School of the Blues in San Jose.
Gary Smith started playing music when he was in junior high school; he played drums and Gary continued to play drums in little garage bands in San Jose multi-ethnic bands, some white guys and some Mexican guys. They played Richie Valens and Buddy Holly stuff and a Jimmy Reed kind of snuck in there too. Smith actually switched to the harmonica in 1968 because blues was having the "blues revival". He was actually playing in blues bands at that point, playing drums. There were no harp players around and Gary got more and more into it. The day he threw away the drumsticks and picked up the harmonica was when he went to see the Monterey Jazz Festival Blues Day in 1968. He saw Muddy and George Smith was the harmonica player. He also met Charlie Musselwhite and Paul Butterfield and this was a turning point in his life. For three decades, San Jose harmonica player Gary Smith has been an influential figure in the San Francisco Bay Area Blues scene. His band was the first to grace the stage at the inaugural San Francisco Blues Festival way back in 1973.
Dynamic frontman & harp player Aki Kumar is a rising star among the next generation of SF Bay Area bluesmen. A master of the amplified Chicago blues sound, Kumar inherits his style from the harp legends of the 1950s and 60s. Aki has a unique voice in the blues, blending elements of blues harmonica pioneers and with a signature sound of his own.

It Takes Three

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