Mike Monford

Welcome to the bewitching world of Circus Dinogad in which Welsh contralto Hilary Summers, the Dutch theorbo & bass clarinet duo Mike Fentross & Maarten Ornstein and the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam converge in a fusion of musical traditions.

Gulf Coast Records' Blues Music Award-Winners Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia bond as Blood Brothers on new CD coming early 2023. Blood Brothers was produced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith and recorded at Dockside Studio in Maurice, Louisiana.

"Mike Hart Bleeds" was one of the first discs issued on John Peel's Dandelion label. The album is a totally underrated and overlooked classic, which at times bears worthy comparison to some of Bob Dylan's and John Lennon's work. There is much variety in the songs, and every track is a gem in its own right. Hart's lyrics combine bitterness, irony and humour, and are ruthlessly honest. His voice is deeply emotive and affecting. The most outstanding track "Almost Liverpool 8" sounds a bit like Lennon on his first solo album backed by Procol Harum. "Arty's Wife" is another similarly moving tale of failed relationships, while "Disbelief Blues" sounds uncannily similar to the sound of "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream". There are shades of "Mr Tambourine Man" in "Dance Mr. Morning Man" while "Shelter Song" is a tragi-comic tale of working-class life in Liverpool (similar in melody to "Universal Soldier")…

Gulf Coast Records' Blues Music Award-Winners Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia bond as Blood Brothers on new CD coming early 2023. Blood Brothers was produced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith and recorded at Dockside Studio in Maurice, Louisiana.

It’s an appropriate name for a Holober-led band; in many ways, Holober’s management of his many musical inspirations is a balancing act. On one hand, much of what he’s best known for is his work with larger ensembles like the WDR Big Band, the HR Big Band, and the Gotham Jazz Orchestra, whose latest work with Holober at the helm, Hiding Out, earned a 2020 GRAMMY® nomination. On the other, there’s the magnetism of even greater self-actualization, of writing for and leading a smaller group.

Although not a blues band in the truest sense of the word, consider this their 'roots music' album. Frontman Little Mike Markowitz turns in a batch of original tunes that more than tip their collective and stylistic hat to Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Louis Prima and James Cotton. The band goes through its workmanlike paces and that same blue-collar approach applies to the lyrical themes on these songs, full of tried and true formulaic stories about sex, the road and bad whiskey and women. It's a shame that the blues can sometimes be reduced down to a pile of cliches but at least the musical side of the equation works.

Mike Nock is an icon of the Australian and international jazz scenes. In a career spanning more than 65 years, including 25 years in the US, he has worked with the world’s top jazz artists and garnered a swag of awards, including being inducted into the Australian Jazz Hall of Fame. His discography of more than 35 albums, recorded with his Trio, Quartet, Big Small Band and many other collaborators, includes ARIA, AIR and Jazz Bell awards, but this is his first solo album since the chart-topping ‘Touch’, released 30 years ago almost to the day, in 1993. Its 13 tracks reveal the many colours and moods that can be conjured from keys of a piano, and prove again Mike Nock’s incomparable genius as both composer and performer.

The live attempts at recreating the seminal jam chemistry of Super Session were hit-and-miss affairs, and this one, previously unreleased, has its fair share of off-key and off-target tunes. The rhythm section is erratic, the repertoire–ranging from Simon & Garfunkel's "59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" to an Elvis-flavored "That's All Right Mama"–is a bit odd, and co-leader Al Kooper is competent but rarely inspired. Guitarist Michael Bloomfield, however, is uniformly brilliant and his graceful blues virtuosity is by itself well worth the price of admission. Bloomfield and the group are joined on B.B. King's "It's My Own Fault" by a then-unknown Johnny Winter and things get really interesting.