Long time Mighty Flyer bass player Bill Stuve released a solo album in 2007 entitled, Flyin’ Right. It is a swingin’ jump blues program featuring some terrific musicians including Henry Carvajal on guitar, Stephen Hodges on drums and Steve F’dor on piano and organ. The horn section is comprised of tenor sax men Johnny Viau and Johnny Perez. They are augmented by baritone sax man Troy Jennings .  The song Conjured is an old Wynonie Harris tune that features the horn section.

There is so much great Doug MacLeod music to choose from. The prolific songster continues to make great music. His most recent album is 2011’s Brand New Eyes. I however went back a decade to the 2002 release entitled, A Little Sin. The song High Spending Woman has the troubadour singing another great story and accompanying himself on his National Steel guitar. It was great having Dub at the Rumble for Ramos. It was also nice to have at least one acoustic act on the bill and it was even better that it was the one and only Doug MacLeod.

Curtis Salgado, who is a cancer survivor, released a terrific soul-blues album in 2012 entitled, Soul Shot on Alligator Records. Salgado is backed by the Phantom Blues Band on on this record which includes drummer Tony Braunegal. Braunegal is also the drummer for the Robert Cray Band and just returned from a European tour and was able to play drums with Salgado at the benefit. One of my favorite tunes on this album is the Salgado original, A Woman and the Blues. This gospel infused tune not only features his Solomon Burke inspired vocals, but a tasty harp solo as well. 

Lil A & the Allnighters' Special Project came out originally in 2010 but was reissued this past spring to coincide with the band's first appearance at the Doheny Blues Festival. The album's producer was Art Martel. Martel served as the DJ for the Rumble for Ramos benefit concert. The band is made up of Alex Woodson on harmonica and vocals, Joe Conde and Anthony Contreras on guitars, bassist Kenny Huff and A.J. Martel on drums.

The guitarist Brophy Dale has long been associated with the rockabilly scene as he, along with Buzz Campbell, are long time guitar players in The Lee Rocker Band. His influences however are pretty broad as evidenced on his 2008 album Night Hawkin. On this record he mixes in originals with material as diverse as songs by Johnny Otis and Lonnie Mack as well as one of my favorites, a Dave Bartholomew tune ‘Cha Gonna Do which is a New Orleans rumba featuring Brophy playing bottleneck slide. This album also features the bass of Dave Gore who played with Brophy at the benefit.

Fred Kaplan’s 2012 album, Hold My Mule, just might be the best album of 2012 and what I have referred to as an old school modern masterpiece. It features a band comprised of drummer Richard Innes and guitarist Junior Watson. Boston based tenor sax giant, “Sax” Gordon Beadle and bay area based bassist, Kedar Roy round out this band. The album is an all instrumental affair which was recorded live using vintage equipment and recording techniques. The album was produced by none other than Montreal’s own Bharath Rajakumar who flew in to sing and blow harmonica just for the benefit.

Junior Watson’s Live From Outer Space  was recorded live at the Torre Alfina Blues Festival in 2007 with an Italian Band called, The Red Wagons. This is the most "Junior Watson" sounding album of his career. He handles all the vocals and plays the songs he performed as a band leader for decades. There are so many terrific old blues tunes that Watson has made his own but one of my favorite slow blues instrumentals of all time is also one of Watson’s and he dusts off the Pee Wee Crayton classic Blues after Hours. Perfection!

Lynwood Slim released an album a few years back entitled Last Call. The 2007 Delta Groove Music release was co-produced by Rumble for Ramos tenor sax man Ron Dziubla and features drummer Ron Felton. The Lynwood Slim original, You’re a Pain features some great brush work by Felton. It is a jazzy number where Slim’s terrific singing carries the day. Lynwood Slim was the host and principal organizer for the Rumble for Ramos benefit.  

The Blasters Maria Maria is the closing track on their 2012 Rip Cat Records release, Fun on a Saturday Night. This is an updated version of the Dave Alvin penned Blasters' Classic Marie Marie. This time out Phil Alvin sings the song in Spanish and turns the old rocker into a ballad. This recording features Kid Ramos playing a bajo sexton. At the Rumble for Ramos benefit the Blasters played with tenor saxophonist Ron Dziubla who put us all in mind of the late great Lee Allen, who was featured on so many of the old Blasters recordings from three decades earlier. Blasters bassist Johnny Bazz assumed his role alongside fellow original Blaster Bill Batemen. Guitarist Keith Wyatt rounds out this great band

Ron Dziubla's Nasty Habits is the tenor saxophone player’s 2012 release. Like his previous outing the 2010 offering, Some Strange Blues, this finds the sax man at the helm of an all instrumental album which touches on several American musical idioms from vintage rock and roll, Spy Step to martini lounge with Lemon Drop Martini, to jazz noir with the classic Harlem Nocturne. It is however Dziubla’s (pronounced Joo-Blah) take on the Jimmy Forest standard Night Train that gets the nod. Here Dziubla gives this standard  a Link Ray meets King Curtis vibe.

Tommy Harkenrider has been a player on the Southern California blues scene for some time. He is a fan favorite and has garnered the respect of his peers. He is however surprisingly under recorded. I had to go into the world of Rockabilly to find a recording featuring Tommy’s tasty guitar licks. I am glad I did because I found a terrific album by Rockabilly chanteuse Amber Foxx, Everlovin'. On this record you will find a rockin’ tune entitled, Flippin’ which features the smooth swinging guitar of Tommy Harkenrider who spent a great deal of time on stage with different musicians during the benefit. 

In 2012, The 44s released their second CD, Americana on Rip Cat Records. The album, like their first outing Boogie Disease, was produced by Kid Ramos. It is also Kid whose guitar is featured on both these records along with the band's leader, front man, vocalist guitarist Johnny Main. Americana represents a huge step forward for this band as the band really stretches out and shows a level of versatility not heard on the their first outing. The song Dixie is a great example of this as the band plays with a Sun Records rockabilly beat. The 44s' harmonica man Tex Nakamura  and Main were joined on this afternoon by bassist Dave Deforest.

The Hollywood Blue Flames' Deep in America is the most recent of this band's three Delta Groove Music albums. The band is producer, principal songwriter, vocalist and harmonica player Al Blake, pianist Fred Kaplan, bassist Larry Taylor, drummer Richard Innes and guitarist Junior Watson. They make up one of the best blues bands ever to stride across the modern blues scene. These players are in such demand and all have their own side projects too numerous to mention that they rarely perform together yet they all were in attendance to support Kid. There is a nice mix of covers and originals here. I chose the Al Blake original Rambler and Rollin’ Stone.