Showing posts with label Little Mike & The Tornadoes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Little Mike & The Tornadoes. Show all posts

Thursday, July 25, 2024

Little Mike & The Tornadoes - All The Right Moves

Album: All The Right Moves
Size: 132,5 MB
Time: 57:33
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Blues
Art: Full

1. Hard Hard Way (3:37)
2. Problems (4:13)
3. Since My Mother's Been Ill (7:06)
4. (I Got) Drunk Last Night (3:46)
5. Sam's Stomp (2:04)
6. A Little On The Side (3:50)
7. All The Right Moves (4:41)
8. The Blues Is Killing Me (5:26)
9. You Wonder Why (3:55)
10. All The Time (4:51)
11. I Won't Be Your Fool (2:39)
12. Stuck Out On This Highway (5:49)
13. Close To My Baby (5:30)

Harmonica player and keyboardist Mike Markowitz, born in Queens, NY, and raised in New York City's burgeoning 1980s blues club scene, has made his mark in the blues world through a lot of hard touring and a bit of good, old-fashioned New York salesmanship, or "chutzpah."

Born November 23, 1955, Markowitz cites his earliest influences as John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, and Little Walter Jacobs. In 1978, he formed his first blues band and began playing the blues bars around lower Manhattan, but his reputation began to grow when he began backing up legendary musicians like pianist Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, and Jimmy Rogers when they came to New York or New Jersey to perform. Markowitz's passion for blues, as a fan and as a performer, is legendary, and he carried it over into the producer's chair in 1988, when he recorded albums for Perkins and later for Sumlin.

In 1990, Little Mike & the Tornadoes got their own recording contract with Blind Pig, a San Francisco-based label, and his output has been quite prolific since then. The group's first album, Heart Attack, includes guest performances by Perkins, Paul Butterfield, and Sumlin. Two years later, he recorded Payday, also for Blind Pig, before recording his debut for Flying Fish Records (a label that has since been acquired by Rounder Records), Flynn's Place.

Markowitz is an extremely hard working, level-headed blues musician who will no doubt surface again and again on records, whether for Rounder or for some other label. All three of Markowitz's albums are available on compact disc, and worth seeking out. /Biography by Richard Skelly, AllMusic

Personnel: Michael "Little Mike" Markowitz (harmonica, vocals); Tony O. Melio (guitar); Brad Vickers (bass); Robert Piazza (drums); Jim McKaba (piano).

All The Right Moves mc
All The Right Moves gofile

Sunday, July 19, 2020

Zora Young & Little Mike And The Tornadoes - Friday Night

Year: 2015
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:29
Size: 114,5 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Full

1. I've Been A Fool Too Long (3:14)
2. A Fool's Lament (4:27)
3. 44 Blues (4:51)
4. True Love Is Hard To Find (3:20)
5. I Love Chicago (5:38)
6. Friday Night (5:07)
7. Chains Of Love (6:51)
8. Just Your Fool (3:28)
9. Country Girl (5:46)
10. I'm Good (4:16)
11. Spann's Boogie (2:26)

Over the course of her career, Zora Young has become a mainstay on the Chicago blues scene where she has performed with many of the biggest stars of Chicago royalty. Zora (Howlin’ Wolf’s cousin) is a regular at the Chicago Blues Festival and a frequent headliner in both European and American Blues Festivals. On the recently released, Friday Night, Zora is backed by New York City stalwarts, Little Mike and the Tornadoes, one of the most prolific and veteran blues bands in the world.

Zora covers a range of material that includes originals songs by band leader Little Mike and guitarist Tony O’Mello, as well as covering some of her favorite modern blues classics. The influence of her mentor, Lucille Spann, can be heard on “Country Girl” and she also pays tribute to her very good friend, the late Bonnie Lee, with a tough, gritty version of Lee’s, “I’m Good.” With the help of Little Mike and the Tornadoes, and the great, yet under acclaimed piano player Jim McKaba, Zora delivers a modern Chicago blues sound that only blues veterans can provide.

Little Mike and the Tornadoes started recording and releasing successful recordings on their own after touring and recording with Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, Louis Meyers, Jimmy Rogers, Roscoe Gordon and Big Daddy Kinsey all throughout the eighties. It was only natural that 25 years later old friends got together for a collaboration of this sort. We think you will agree that Zora’s soul-drenched vocals put her at the head of the class.

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

Friday Night mc
Friday Night zippy

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Little Mike & The Tornadoes - Flynn's Place

Year: 1995
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:49
Size: 131,7 MB
Styles: Electric blues, harmonica blues
Scans: Full

1. H.W. Boogie (2:24)
2. Fool For You (4:04)
3. Don't Speak About Love (3:35)
4. Rather Be Lying With You Than To You (5:17)
5. Blues (2:50)
6. Don't Bother My Baby (4:02)
7. Henhouse (3:29)
8. Where's My Love Tonight (2:52)
9. You Drive Me Crazy (4:06)
10. Everybody's Talkin' (4:24)
11. Nobody Knows New York (6:25)
12. Sweet Little Girl (3:28)
13. Rainy Day Woman #12 & 35 (5:04)
14. Flynn's Place (4:42)

Harmonica player and keyboardist Mike Markowitz, born in Queens, NY, and raised in New York City's burgeoning 1980s blues club scene, has made his mark in the blues world through a lot of hard touring and a bit of good, old-fashioned New York salesmanship, or "chutzpah."

Born November 23, 1955, Markowitz cites his earliest influences as John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, and Little Walter Jacobs. In 1978, he formed his first blues band and began playing the blues bars around lower Manhattan, but his reputation began to grow when he began backing up legendary musicians like pianist Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, and Jimmy Rogers when they came to New York or New Jersey to perform. Markowitz's passion for blues, as a fan and as a performer, is legendary, and he carried it over into the producer's chair in 1988, when he recorded albums for Perkins and later for Sumlin.

In 1990, Little Mike & the Tornadoes got their own recording contract with Blind Pig, a San Francisco-based label, and his output has been quite prolific since then. The group's first album, Heart Attack, includes guest performances by Perkins, Paul Butterfield, and Sumlin. Two years later, he recorded Payday, also for Blind Pig, before recording his debut for Flying Fish Records (a label that has since been acquired by Rounder Records), Flynn's Place.

Markowitz is an extremely hard working, level-headed blues musician who will no doubt surface again and again on records, whether for Rounder or for some other label. All three of Markowitz's albums are available on compact disc, and worth seeking out. /Biography by Richard Skelly, AllMusic

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

Flynn's Place mc
Flynn's Place zippy

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Little Mike And The Tornadoes - 2 albums: Payday / Heart Attack

This powerhouse blues and rock n’ roll band from New York City is led by singer, songwriter, producer, and harp master, Mike Markowitz. The band is well-known for its flawless, high energy blues sound, modeled after the great Chicago bands of the 50’s.

They have played nearly every major metropolitan area in the United States and Canada, some of the toughest hangouts, as well as the most sophisticated stages in the world, never straying from their course of delivering hard back alley blues and rough rock and roll. Little Mike, is a mean harmonica player who cut his teeth in New York City in the late 1970s and early 1980s, backing up legendary Bluesmen Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, and Jimmy Rogers. He then moved to Florida, and continued to perform and record through to the early 2000’s.

After leading a series of bands as a teenager, Mike formed the Tornadoes in 1978. At age 22, Mike was leading one of the busiest and toughest blues bands in New York City. Whenever a visiting blues artist came to town and needed a band, Little Mike and the Tornadoes usually got the call, backing artists such as Perkins, Rogers, Sumlin, Louis Meyers, Walter Horton, Bo Diddley. Mike’s reputation led to the band touring and recording as the backing unit for blues legends such as Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, and Jimmy Rogers.

Album: Payday
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:50
Size: 95.8 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Year: 1992
Art: Front

[3:26] 1. I Should Have Known Better
[2:53] 2. Stick With Me
[4:01] 3. Payday
[3:36] 4. What About Love
[4:39] 5. Care Of The Blues
[3:12] 6. Resey's Rock
[2:17] 7. Taylor Made
[2:37] 8. Been A Fool Too Long
[3:28] 9. Walkin' The Floor
[3:12] 10. Message Machine
[4:32] 11. Money
[3:53] 12. Shane's Stomp

Payday mc
Payday zippy

Album: Heart Attack
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:33
Size: 99.7 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Year: 1990
Art: Front

[3:31] 1. Heart Attack
[2:18] 2. Never Missed A Woman
[3:27] 3. Nothin' But The Blues
[2:22] 4. Try My Love
[2:33] 5. Blind Love And Whiskey
[3:02] 6. 85 Miles An Hour
[4:55] 7. Me And The Blues
[3:23] 8. One Woman Man
[2:22] 9. Christmas Song
[3:25] 10. Don't Like To Get In Trouble
[3:10] 11. Good Gal
[2:25] 12. D.O.A
[6:34] 13. Ida B

Heart Attack mc
Heart Attack zippy

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Little Mike & The Tornadoes - Live At The St. Augustine Bluzfest

Size: 124,5 MB
Time: 53:02
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Label: Elrob Records
Art: Front

01. Another Mule (Kickin' In My Stall) (Live) (6:07)
02. Big Town Playboy (Live) (4:19)
03. Elgin Shuffle (Live) (3:50)
04. Mr. Jellyroll Baker (Live) (8:11)
05. Nadine (Live) (4:20)
06. Look Over Yonders Wall (Live) (5:00)
07. Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive (Live) (5:33)
08. How Long (Feat. Zora Young) (Live) (5:33)
09. Rock Me (Feat. Zora Young) (Live) (7:28)
10. Mojo/Outro (Live) (2:36)

On Feb 12, 2007, the original Little Mike and the Tornadoes reunited onstage for the first time since 1990 for a special event: the fourth annual St. Augustine Bluz Fest. The same band that toured across the North American continent with Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, and Jimmy Rogers, whose members are all currently band leaders on their own, reunited as blues veterans for an unforgettable performance. Fortunately, the night was captured digitally by St Augustine's premier producer and engineer, Jim Stafford of Eclipse Recording Studio. The result was nothing short of excellent, which is what you would expect from veteran touring musicians of this caliber, even after seventeen years.
From the beginning of the night, Tony O. had the crowd in the palm of his hand with his searing guitar licks and deep heartfelt blues. The rhythm section of Brad Vickers and Robert Piazza kept the grooves tight and danceable, providing Little Mike with the perfect vehicle for his rough back-alley blues and muscular harp. The crowd was happy and excited and the night only got better when the boys were joined by special guest blues princess Zora Young. As the night grew hotter you can hear Zora urging Little Mike and Tony on as they soloed. By the time she left the stage everybody in the house was exhausted.
If you were not able to be there that night you may have missed one of the hottest blues performances St. Augustine has ever witnessed. If you were...you know what I'm talking about! Either way you will be glad you bought this recording of high-energy blues that captures one of the finest blues bands in the country at its best.

Live At The St. Augustine Bluzfest

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Hubert Sumlin - 2 albums: Heart & Soul / Healing Feeling

Album: Heart & Soul
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:57
Size: 84.6 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1989
Art: Front

[4:00] 1. Your Foxy Self
[5:19] 2. Chunky
[4:16] 3. Sitting On Top Of The World
[4:12] 4. I Want You
[3:17] 5. Bring Your Love To Me
[4:08] 6. The Red Rooster
[1:31] 7. Juke
[3:48] 8. No Time For Me
[3:44] 9. Got The Blues
[2:40] 10. Old Friends

The veteran guitarist sounds more confident and expressive vocally here than on any other of his contemporary recordings. Backing by harpist James Cotton, along with Little Mike & the Tornadoes, is nicely understated, affording Sumlin just enough drive without drowning his easygoing vocals out (no small feat). ~Bill Dahl

Heart & Soul zippy
Heart & Soul mc

Album: Healing Feeling
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:41
Size: 100.0 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1990/2005
Art: Front

[3:28] 1. I Don't Want To Hear About Yours
[2:36] 2. Healing Feeling
[3:56] 3. Just Like I Treat You
[4:34] 4. Come Back Little Girl
[5:15] 5. Play It Cool
[3:22] 6. Without A Friend Like You
[3:24] 7. I Don't Want No Woman
[4:31] 8. Blue Shadows
[2:52] 9. Down The Dusty Road
[5:30] 10. Honey Dumplins
[4:07] 11. Blues For Henry

Hubert Sumlin arguably did his best work during the 23 years he was Howlin' Wolf's guitar player, and his ragged, angular guitar style was a big part of Wolf's rough-and-ready sound. The perfect sideman, Sumlin was by all accounts somewhat shy and reticent about taking center stage, and Healing Feeling, his second album for Black Top Records, much like his first, Hubert Sumlin's Blues Party, is really more of an all-star blues jam than it is a fully realized project. Recorded May 5 and 6, 1989, at Southlake Recording Studios in Louisiana, with two additional tracks coming from a live show at Tipitina's in New Orleans earlier in the day on May 5, the sessions were once again organized by guitarist Ronnie Earl, whose band the Broadcasters is used on most of the cuts. The vocal duties were shared by James "Thunderbird" Davis and Darrell Nulisch, with Sumlin singing on "Come Back Little Girl," "Honey Dumplins," and the set closer, "Blues for Henry," all of which gain poignancy because of Sumlin's somewhat fragile, whispered vocal approach. A clear highlight is Sumlin's solo electric guitar version of "Down the Dusty Road," which is focused, clear, and intimate. The sound of the album is a little thicker and punchier than Blues Party, but once again Sumlin pulls off the difficult task of sounding like a sideman on his own album project, which is a shame, since when he does step forward, things really start to take on a distinct character. The two Black Top albums (this one was originally released in 1990) are really like blues jam holding patterns recorded when Sumlin was still trying to figure out how to make the transition from ace sideman to revered bandleader. Both suffer a bit from not having a truly assertive Sumlin on board. ~Steve Leggett

Healing Feeling mc
Healing Feeling zippy

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Little Mike & The Tornadoes - Forgive Me

Released: 2001/2011/2013
Size: 159.3 MB
Time: 64:33
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Front

1. Opelousas Rain [ 6:50]
2. Wait a Minute Baby [ 6:03]
3. Nothing I Wouldn't Do [ 4:36]
4. Tell Me Baby [ 5:42]
5. Walked All the Way [ 4:59]
6. Fool to Long [ 5:15]
7. You Don't Love Me [ 5:59]
8. Forgive Me Baby [ 4:19]
9. My Little Therese [11:39]
10. The Hit [ 4:48]
11. Traveling Blues [ 4:19]

This powerhouse blues and rock n' roll band from New York City is led by singer, songwriter, producer and harp master Mike Markowitz. The band is well-known for its flawless, high energy blues sound, modeled after the great Chicago bands of the 50's. They have played nearly every major metropolitan area in the United States and Canada, some of the toughest hangouts, as well as the most sophisticated stages in the world, never straying from their course of delivering hard back alley blues and rough rock and roll. Little Mike Markowitz, is a mean harmonica player who cut his teeth in New York City in the late 1970s and early 1980s, backing up legendary Bluesmen Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, and Jimmy Rogers.


(MC)Forgive Me
(Zippy)Forgive Me