Bentley’s Bandstand: October 2026
Christopher Wyze & the Tellers, NAPTOWN BLUES. Sometimes the blues can use a major shot in the arm by those who toiled hard and deep, but didn’t quite knock it all the way over the fence. Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell were hardcore blues-beaters who tried as hard and achieved as much as just about anybody starting back in the 1920s. And while they achieved all those things, they never made it to the top of the hill like so many Chicago big names. But the bright side of that is that so much of Carr and Blackwell’s full-tilt blues isn’t overheard. Their glowing songs feel new, and hit the heart with a strong strut. And on this super-set of blues it’s a mighty fine take on songs like “Naptown Blues,” “Kokokmo Blues,” “Prison Bound Blues” and “Birthday in Jail” by front man Christopher Wyze and the Tellers. This is music that wiggles into the soul, invading the deepest part of life with an undeniable occupation. And at times when a new feeling is sought, freshness takes over like only the best music can. Wyze is a vocalist and harp player that arrives just in time, which is to say he hasn’t overstayed his welcome at the front of the band. He has a warmth that isn’t about to overdo what he’s so strong at. And, yes, his Tellers Band is just as deep with John Boyle III (acoustic, electric and slide guitar along with Hammond organ) and Gerry Murphy (acoustic bass). When the blues started seeping strong into a new audience during the mid-1960s, it is like life was starting over again. The songs ripped and roared into society–whether they were loud or soft, acoustic or electric—-and it felt like the music was new and old at the same time. It started a first right then, whether it was soft or loud. And it’s been like that the past 75 years, all to good measure. And if Christopher Wyze & the Tellers have anything to do with it it’s going to be like that forever. Hallelujah for sure.
Kirk Fletcher & Erika Baier, DON’T LOOK NO MORE. Here’s a duo that’s ready to do the wang, dang doodle and see where the party goes. Kirk Fletcher is a way fine American bluesman, a full-on king on guitar and singing leader, along with other superfine players and, to boot, Swedish vocalist/songwriter Erika Baier and the cake was baked. When she sings she has a way of blending Sweden and American blues like few can these days. They all got together at Fletcher’s Portland studio and let it rip. Adding German-born keyboardist Simon Oslender, former Fabulous Thunderbirds drummer Jim Bott and bassist Randy R Bermudes and it was time to blast-off. And they truly are off in the ozone. There are a few all-time classics in the tunestack, along with some newer tracks and this is a band that can tour everywhere. It’s interesting how the blues contracts and swells, but right now it seems like the world is demanding some life-healing music to take the sting off the falling apart-feeling on the plannet. Thank the world the music is spearing and hope is flying around the sphere. We need it.
Anthony Geraci, WHERE WERE YOU. Here’s an all-around music man who is a burning light on the keyboard and isn’t afraid to sing when necessary. He’s also full-on able to bring in players of the highest talent and make sure everything works together. With band members like Barrence Whitfield, Sheryl Youngblood, Nic Toscano, Dave Specter, and other shining lights, WHERE WERE YOU is an aggregation that feels like it has it all. And being on the distinguished Delmark Records there is no doubt for its class. From there Anthony Geraci and the players spread out and gathered the kind of songs that are often known but also a surprise that make an album really fly. Having Geraci be the mind who did the decisions on what is written, conceived and arranged gave the tracks a powerful cohesion through the entire collection. And being able to give the work a sense of Delmark’s strong tradition adds even more strength. There is a way the music goes in different directions but without ever a drop in power that offers up a loose groove. And while the label has been blues history in itself, it also makes sure the jazz idiom is well spotlighted, with several rhythm & blues burners. American music is alive and well in the home of Delmark. Listening to WHERE WERE YOU in one sitting is like taking a trip from New York to Chicago and maybe stopping finally at Seattle, all in one standing, then coming back for more the next night. Do not miss.
PK Mayo, ALL BEFORE YESTERDAY. There are some guitarists who take to the highroad immediately and never look back. That is PK Mayo. it’s not so much that they’re blues people. Rather, it’s that the blues enters their innards without any problems. The music belongs there and it’s straight from the heart. PK Mayo was someone who didn’t have to fight it. The music just walked right in and stayed there. This 23-song collection feels like such a natural occasion that smiles got things started and it all went from there. Mayo heard others like Ry Cooder and Duane Allman burning fire on the slide guitar and that was that. He began all kinds of songs in their salad and knew he was marked for life. This 23-song double-album was born. Even better, PK Mayo was able to take to all kinds of music that called the blues home, but didn’t stop there. Instead, discovering other styles and sounds to be but together made sure the sound of originality was at the center of everything PK Mayo recorded. Some of the songs may wander in their route, but that is what makes all the music so beautiful. There is nothing predictable about it. And, of course, operation number two after choosing the songs is finding just the right musicians to move everything up a few nothches. And that’s exactly where the musicians went. They didn’t stop when the qwest was just finished. Instead, they didn’t stop until all the sounds were right. The results was a double-album full of surprises. There is no telling what is coming around every corner, to the point to where the musicians weren’t even sure until the finish was there. There is burning and beauty right together. All is here.
Gurf Morlix, AIN’T NO PERFECT WORLD. In so many ways, this man feels and sounds like a mystery. He is beyond middle age and isn’t one to go on and on about himself. Which, in fact, is a good thing in our over-factoid age. This line from the 1960s’ often comes flooding to the rescue: “Sometimes not knowing keeps both of us going…” Right on. To his perfect cinch Mr. Morlix lays back, sings like he is in love with some parts of life and likes laying low from others, and has an edge to his logic that doesn’t need to be explained. AIN’T NO PERFECT WORLD says it all, and then demands to be wondered about. The gorgeousness of album kickoff “Silverly Sleep” is upset when “Boom Twack” rides in just in time to turn logic upside down. Morlix has a way with guitars that soothes and riles, and naturally plays everything on the album himself. How could he not? And, naturally, he has tagged his song publishing company Crankbait Music and records at his own studio and releases it on Roobait Music. Any other questions should be likely guessed. For this new release it feels like Morlix has outdone even his own audio swirl. It’s hard to visually know how his live performances might go, but it’s worth dreaming about. That’s because sometimes wondering can be more exciting than knowing. In our world when the internet can spoil more than it explains, it makes sense that pictures be left afar. Listen and hope that wherever it all leads ends up at a circle with no questions left. “Gurf” is “Frug” spelled backward. Figure that out.
Carla Olson, FOR PETE’S SAKE. For the past six decades this musical Texan has really covered the waterfront. Starting in Austin and jumping into the punk movement in the mid-1970s, Olson moved on to Los Angeles to rock and worked with a multitude of different musical professional groups and solo slots, including one of the most successful studio and recording acts The Textones. She never stopped moving forward, and one of her interesting adventures was recording with Pete Brown, one of the most known songwriters for Cream. Olson’s new release is a collection of recordings of many of the songs she co-wrote with Pete Brown and others. This new collection is Carla Olson’s prolific collaborations with a range of writers and shows just how strong and exciting that work was then, and, now, with a wonderfully wide range of musicians and several co-writers. What is also a total knock-out is her strength of vocals that totally show her wide range. There are as strong as any recordings of all her career, and in some ways show her ability to totally take things over the top no matter what she is in charge of. The range of Carla Olson’s duty on the sessions doesn’t ever vary: she is always at the peak of the job, and hopefully the recording industry will hear all her abilities now and let her loose with a new range of songs from her collection and various co-workers. This is an album of the ages and in so many ways something very few others in the the ranks can do better at. Time to fly.
Dida Pelled, I WISH I WAS A SINGLE GIRL AGAIN. One of the best things about the world shrinking as it spins ahead is how so many different styles of music come out of the closet. There really isn’t any secrets in sounds these days. Musicians go where they want to go and try on various styles. Why not? With online music everything is there for the hearing, and styles open for the trying. Dida Pelled is one of the more adventurous singers now, and will try just about any type of music that pulls her attention in its direction and hits her monkey nerve just right. She moved to New York as a teenager and all bets were off: Every style of music that caught her ear was on. She ranged from classical jazz to Lou Reed and all points in-between. On her new album she went for the moon and got there and returned. Along with the expansion of her lifestyles she did not shrink from any type of feeling. Many of the various styles of Americana to classical allows her a full expansion of where she sees a future. And with a magician mother and motivational-speaker father she seems to hit the road ahead with power. So from Bob Dylan’s “Shooting Star” to Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke’s “Moonlight Becomes You,” this is an artist who feels unafraid of any style. There seems like a good chance just about any lane is open for someone who took off the blinders a long time ago and is going for broke. Race is on.
Jamiah Rogers & Dirty Church, CHICAGO COWBOY. Every scene needs a few artists who are starting from scratch and then ramp thngs to the limits. Jamiah Rogers & Dirty Church is one of the most dedicated on any scene right now. They push their songs as far as the feelings take them, and then move it a little farther. Rogers is someone who lives all the way to the edge of their spirit and finds that part of the heart which very few get to. It has a large portion of blues in its center, but also makes sure the electric attittude is never short of maximum buzz. Rogers calls his spirit Chicago Cowboy. It’s full of a Windy City spirit, with a soul that shakes the foundtation of every club they appear. The jolting beats the band bring with them are always present, and as they amp the energy wherever performing there is no way not to be mesmerized. In some ways, there was a connection to the Southern band in the 1960s tagged Doug Clark & the Hot Nuts, just not quite as, um huh, exotic. But the spirit is still felt and it’s clear the high fever is in the funk. It’s coming out all over the place here.
Vaneese Thomas, WINDOW TO MY SOUL. Rufus Thomas did a lot of things for rhythm & blues. Not least of which was helped bring Carla Thomas and Vaneese Thomas into the world. The former singer, of course, first recorded a long chain of mighty hits. But less known, but just as strong, was another daughter, Vaneese Thomas, just as great a singer but less well-known. This collection is a recent group of songs that show just how strong this Thomas sister is. In fact, considering these are recent records it’s somewhat mindblowing that music created in 2025 is this moving. In a lot of ways, R&B in modern American tends to be a bit sugared down, and juiced up hip-hop. Not this Thomas. She sings like she’s hoping to hold onto her life, and wants the deepest part of the soul of everyone of her listeners. And, wonders of wonders, some of these songs sound like music meant to bring the sharpest edges of love. Listen to “Ain’t Gonna Be No One’s Fool” for starters. This could be the music you hear out of a club in Memphis next to Royal Studios with Willie Mitchell sitting in a little front room with a 90-watt light bulb hanging from the ceiling. Easily one of the funkiest buildings in Memphis. These are songs that zero in on the closest pain in a three-way love affair and hope somehow it is cured. There isn’t a way for music like this to live forever, but for every day it does there should be dancing in the streets. All night long!
Jad Tariq, PRECIOUS COMPANY. Here’s a guitarist-vocalist whose music sounds like he floated in on a parachute and stayed to perform for a party that evening. Things feel different. Tariq is based, of course, in Memphis where practicality and performance is a religion. And just to stay on the perky side of the Mississippi Riber the man is known to perform in Bob Dylan’s band, which puts him the ranks of Michael Bloomfield, Robbie Roberetson, T-Bone Burnett. Denny Freeman, Charlie Sexton and a host of other shining guitar stars. Luckily, the man’s sound is all his own, which is probably how he got the Dylan gig, and he can heat up a circus tent and send the audience home ecstatic. Plus Tariq has a hand in writing all the songs on his album, which lets him tag on a big “O” for original, not such an easy ordeal these days in show business. In the end, what truly brings home the beauty of it all is how warm and wonderful the feel of his voice, guitar and band together to hit the jackpot. There may not be any hotshot sounds on this album, but there is such a depth of warmth and wonder all over everyerthing that there is nothing to do but smile and swing from start to finish. Jad Tariq. This is a musician who not only burns down the cornfield, but he also hands out smiles for free. Do not miss.
REISSUE OF THE MONTH
Dave Alvin, BLACKJACK DAVID. When this album was first released in 1998, it felt like one of the great collections of that era had arrived. There was a softness to some of the songs that felt new for the California rocker. By then Dave Alvin had made a mighty reputation with the Blasters’ original songs, and his brief period with X moved him up. He was at the top of the class with Americana and beyond, and while the Blasters had been unbeatable at what they did, it still felt like there was more ahead for the whole Los Angeles scene. BLACKJACK DAVID stylistically really blasted through musically in its own way for the deep listeners. This was beyond rock and a whole new wonder. There was a deep freedom in Alvin’s style, and producer Greg Leisz added a special depth for those who took as deep a listening to the dozen songs. Nobody else had gotten quite as far from the City of Angels crew. But it’s also true that Dave Alvin himself was giving himself a farther task to achieve in his own music. In some ways, this release was a big step forward that is able to be heard now on the LP. With the 2026 version of the LP something magnificent is heard, and it’s a great achievement clear now in 2026. There’s even a stunner now included not on the original 1998 album: the soft classic “Angel on Your Shoulder.” It feels like a 1960s beauty that now deserves a whole new life. It’s the time.