CD Reviews

Matters of the Heart is a new EP by Frankie T & the Triple B, a local funk/blues combo fronted by guitar/vocalist/ songwriter Frank Tranfaglia, and noteworthy for commitments to organ and a horn section. Tranfaglia has some fiery guitar licks in his holster, and works them into the tracks. The opener and highlight, “Hurricane […]

He has 11 CD releases now with his latest, Heavy Groove, but Billy Watson and His International Silver String Submarine Band are a local jamming blues fixture. He has played his harp and sung with virtually every blues player in town (and many others), while his band is a rotating cast of established blues combo […]

Black Market III has now been around for seven years and have released five CDs, toured the US and Europe, and are on a run of seven straight nominations for San Diego Music Awards, as well as other recognition. Their music has been consistent, a blend of fiery blues originals and well-chosen covers that take […]

As the old expression goes, “We’re getting the band back together.” Chimpos did it for real, infusing a sort of zany OB vibe in the process on their disc Flung Like a Horse. The band is built around a nucleus of former Pt. Loma and Ocean Beach high school garage band mates (and lifelong friends) […]

Not the biggest act to come out of San Diego, nor the longest in service, the Farmers are nevertheless local music royalty. An earlier incarnation, the Beat Farmers, helped establish San Diego as a regional center of original music in the mid-1980s–showed the country (and record label execs) that there was a fertile music scene […]

This month’s cover story subject, altoist Christopher Hollyday, had already lived a storied life in jazz that began even before he discovered the saxophone at the age of 10. By the time he was 20, he had a major label recording contract (remember those?) on RCA/Novus, and had been hailed a “young lion” mentioned in […]

If top notch bluegrass instrumentation on acoustic instruments is your cup of tea, you will love the new instrumental album from David Benedict. Titled The Golden Angle, this great recording features some of the best in the business on complementary backup instruments–David Grier and Ross Martin on guitar, Mike Barnett and Stuart Duncan on fiddle, […]

A few short years ago, John Mailander was known for his work in bluegrass music here in San Diego in numerous band projects. The fiddler got together with some stellar friends for a solo CD in 2014, Walking Distance, recorded in Massachusetts, then he relocated to Nashville. He has remained an in-demand studio recording artist, […]

Gregory Page’s website contains an interesting note, that the British-born singer/songwriter is an Irish citizen who has never set foot on the Emerald Isle. He has been just about everywhere else, playing his eclectic music and releasing dozens of albums for over three decades. A Wild Rose is his latest, and this project is another […]