This brand new VizzTone Records release was recorded primarily at Kid Andersen’s Greaseland Recording Studios in San Jose, CA. Blues in Good Hands features A-list musicians from both the San Francisco Bay Area and the Austin, Texas, music scenes and beyond. The CD features stellar guest appearances by Marcia Ball, John Németh, Carolyn Wonderland, Vicki Randle and others. State-of-the-art production, vintage vibe, tasteful guitar playing and a natural, unforced vocal delivery come together via one all-important element that is so often missing in modern blues and R&B recordings...great original songs.  – C.L.

This is the third release in as many years from Andy Talamantez and Nick Nixon.  Numbers Man also represents the third time in a row that the tandem has had Anson Funderburgh in the producer’s chair. The Nashville based duo are backed by a whole host of terrific musicians including sax man Kaz Kazanoff and his Texas Horns which consist of Al Gomez on trumpet and John Mills who plays primarily baritone.  Hammond B3 player Larry van Loon, Nick and Andy’s regular keyboard player, also contributes mightily to the proceedings here. The real stars of the show are of course Nixon and his gospel infused vocals and the guitar playing of Mr. T. Both men contribute wonderful original songs on Numbers Man which is their strongest release to date.  – D.M.

Blue Largo is guitarist Eric Lieberman and vocalist Alicia Aragon. This San Diego based duo play and sing their own songs mostly written by Lieberman as well as some wonderful covers. Lieberman and Aragon are backed by an all-star, little big band of first call California musicians including sax man Johnny Viau and pianist Taryn Donath. The entire affair was recorded at Nathan James’ Sacred Cat Studios in Oceanside. This veteran duo have been on a thirteen year hiatus due to a neurological condition suffered by Lieberman called focal dystonia which kept him from playing the guitar. It is a fascinating story of the triumph of the human spirit which Lieberman details in the CDs liner notes. Their long awaited return to the recording studio has yielded this brand new fourteen track CD which has a big full ensemble sound. It is a rollicking, swinging affair that is simply a lot of fun. It is great to have Eric and Alicia back. – D.M.

Andy Santana has been a fixture on the Central California scene for over two decades and has consistently led and recorded with some of the best players around. From his earliest recordings with Junior Watson and Mighty Mike Schermer to his current talent heavy recording, Andy always brings it forward with his own style and sound.  A triple threat on guitar, harp and vocals, he debuts his strongest recording yet with Watch Your Step, featuring Rusty Zinn and Kid Andersen, Bob Welch and Anthony Paule. As far as Andy’s guitar playing is concerned, Rusty Zinn put it best when he said, "Andy's guitar playing is like hearing the love child of Wild Jimmy Spruill and Johnny Guitar Watson after taking a guitar lesson from Ike Turner." – C.L.

On O’Leary’s brand new release the singer, harmonica player, guitarist comes after the listener with a vengeance. The multi-talented musician’s most potent weapon is his songwriting and he wields his words like a wrecking ball. O'Leary's voice is terriffic and like everything else about this CD, it is hard not to fall for the honesty, urgency and intensity of his delivery. There are several high moments on Gonna Die Tryin’, but for me O’Leary’s $00.19 a Day seems like a shoe-in for song of the year. On this number he confronts the politics of patriotism and the tragic consequences of this nonsense. As a former Marine, I suspect O’Leary knows from which he speaks. – D.M.

Anthony Geraci has played and recorded with a laundry list of the greatest blues musicians in the most prestigious blues nightclubs and at major festivals around the world. The names read like a who’s who of the blues. They include Muddy Waters, Big Joe Turner, J.B. Hutto, Big Walter Horton, Otis Rush, Big Mama Thornton, Hubert Sumlin as well as Jimmy Rogers and that’s the short list. He was also a founding member of Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters. However, Geraci is probably best known as a founding member of Sugar Ray and The Bluetones and after 35 years he remains an essential component of that band, which is still going strong. On October 16th Anthony Geraci and the Boston Blues All-Stars make their Delta Groove Music debut with their album Fifty Shades of Blue. The Boston Blues All-Stars are the same musicians Geraci has been playing with for parts of the last five decades. They include vocalists Toni Lynn Washington, Darrell Nulisch, Michelle “Evil Gal” Willson and, of course, Sugar Ray Norcia. As Geraci points out, “I don’t sing, so why not get the best.” They are backed by guitarist “Monster” Mike Welch, bassist Michael “Mudcat” Ward and drummers Marty Richards and Neil Gouvin. The All-Stars take on thirteen Geraci penned numbers which are full of fresh original ideas that are applied to music that comes from many shades of the blues palette.  - D.M.

Like the name of this brand new album implies, De Vita serves up some serious sides from the Southside of Chicago. The 27 year old guitarist and vocalist from Buenos Aires and his band, which features harmonica ace Nicolas Smoljan, take a trip through some vintage sounds. Tunes written by John Brim, Little Walter, Muddy Waters, Sunnyland Slim, Willie Dixon and others are taken out for a spin. The band strives for and achieves a vintage, warm sound throughout this 15 song visit to the world of early electric post war Chicago blues. – D.M.

This talented duo continues to put out well crafted modern blues with a deep respect for classic traditional blues sounds. Ever since they joined forces in Chicago in 1990, they have played with the likes of Junior Wells, Detroit Junior and Dave Myers. Additionally, the two spent five years together in Sam Lay's Blues Band. They've backed up a who's who of iconic Chicago bluesmen and been hailed for their own recordings. But they've never stripped their sound down on a disc quite the way they do on Trouble Don't Last. The duo is joined only by rock solid drummer June Core, who has spent long stretches keeping time with Robert Jr. Lockwood and Charlie Musselwhite.  James and Rynn are also joined by two of their favorite harmonica aces, longtime collaborator and fellow VizzTone artist Rob Stone and new ally Aki Kumar. – C.L.

The CD simply entitled Introducing Shoutin’ Red is this year’s (and it doesn’t even happen every year) lightning bolt on a clear day moment. This is what others refer to as one of those head snapping or jaw dropping moments when you hear something so wonderful and yet so unexpected. The CD comes in a four panel sleeve which is a study in stark beauty, sans the hyperbole, normally associated with most debut releases. Maybe this should have been my heads up that the music contained therein was something truly special. What some research has revealed is that Shoutin’ Red is actually Felicia Jangard Neilson from  Enköping, Sweden a small town about 100 kilometers west of Stockholm. The entire album was recorded in the home of Swedish blues veteran Bosse Skoglunds. Neilson is a 25 year old guitar player and vocalist of immense talent who plays in the pre-war, country blues and folk idiom with not only intense authenticity but with deep soul. How refreshing it is to hear an artist who lets their music do the talking and Neilson’s music speaks volumes - D.M.

For these and thousands more blues titles, click here: