Scott Ramminger, Rise Up Review

Blues

Scott Ramminger, Rise Up Review

scott-ramminger-staccatofy-cd

Bluesman Scott Ramminger, a well-known figure in DC region, made a life change and moved to Nashville in 2017, he performs regularly as a saxophone player at Bourbon Street Blues Bar on Printer’s alley, and various clubs throughout the city in band and solo settings.  He also returns frequently to his previous home of DC to play band gigs and has performed throughout the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic area with his own band and as a sideman. He has received significant airplay on blues and roots-oriented radio, including Sirius XM’s Bluesville Channel 70. His February 2017 studio release, Do What Your Heart Says To reached Number 1 on the “Root Music Report” R&B Charts, and his double live CD, released in September of 2017, charted on the “Roots Music Report” Blues Album Charts. Ramminger has won the Gold and two Silver Awards in Blues/Jazz Category of the Mid-Atlantic Songwriting Contest. His 2011 initial release, Crawstickers, took a Washington Area Music Association WAMMIE Award as best debut CD. In late 2017, we reviewed his live CD Alive and Ornery.  His previous studio albums focused on heavy horn sections and backing vocals, Rise Up set to release in March of 2019, features only five players: Ramminger on vocals and tenor saxophone; Wes Lanich on piano and Hammond B3, Shane Theriot on guitar, Paul Langosch on upright bass, and Emre Kartari on drums.

Positives:

A downhome greasy feel, with witty lyrics that adorn each track. Ramminger has not lost his touch; each tune relishes the next with hard-hitting shuffles and plenty of soulful playing.

Bottom Line:

Swampy, tasty and filled with deeply soulful shuffles and mournful howling blues. Ramminger conjures a 60s vibe that takes you back to the juke joints for some good old-fashioned blues musings. Ramminger takes the culmination of 5 albums and puts forth a solid 8 tune album that ranges from celebratory blues, to heartache and everything in between. The secret in the sauce is Ramminger’s albums is his songcraft. He can turn a phrase on its ear and turn it into a hit song. Ramminger describes his motivation behind Rise Up; an experiment in presenting his songs in a different light. “I sort of feel that a couple of my previous songs have gotten a little lost in my ‘Phil Spector Goes to New Orleans’ productions of them, with horn sections and backing vocals, and all sorts of cool stuff like that . I wanted to see how these songs would sit presented more simply.” Mission accomplished man, this is 8 tunes of straight up passion filled performances all deeply rooted in the blues. That’s the short of it!

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