Yes, it is nearly happening. This weekend, 29th November, the presentation of this band's new album will take place, and TB-Bluesmanagement has got the honour to be the first to give an impression of the new disc.

It makes me feel proud that I am the one who may do this and straight away I can tell you that we are not talking about an Average Blues album, but about an album that fits into the category of 'different'.
Mariëlla Tirotto & the Blues Federation present us with an album that is full of contrasts as for the music and its perception. A bit of everything.: Slow blues, Jazzy stuff, Latin, Rock, and so on, which is the reason we can look forward to an exciting album, of course, and which it definitely is.

Mariëlla has got a voice which you cannot just classify under one specific sound or it must be among that of the very old Jazz singers such as  Eartha Kitt, Carmen McCray and also Cassandra Wilson,  but she also sounds a bit like the singer of  the Dutch band Blues Treat from Utrecht.
It is a voice with many aspects: a low and dark one with a beautiful vibration, another time she sings with a rough voice which then changes into a caressing one which gives you a shiver of excitement.
This lady radiates while performing and looks wonderful (half Italian with dark hair, a special face and a Great Outfit) and yes, blessed with a marvellous throat.

Looking at the interpretation of the tracks I can only say that the band have done a very good job and people like Heins Greten (bass), Michiel de Kok (blues harp), John Kakiay (drums), Harald Koll (guitar and bass) and a couple of others really sparkle on this new disc.
Variation is very high; the album starts with a firm rock like track 'Playing the Game' and then Jazzy Funk influences in the second track.
And then the climax of the disc for me: a fantastic slow blues that is just slightly different from the 'normal' ballads as we know them. A number of wonderful ranges of chords follow one another, with very beautiful musical interpretations as for solos: 'Confused Woman's Blues'.
Then 'Winters Blues', a cheerful number which has slightly Latin like influences and which is easy  to listen to.
There are two numbers on this album which are not written by Mariëlla, but by the expert 'Harry Muskee', which gives you something really beautiful in the form of very fragile arrangements of 'Sometimes' and 'Windows of my Eyes'.
First Class, especially the simultaneous bass and harp solos in the last number.
'High Fever', with a 'steaming' groove, brings us back to earth.
'Bad Soul' is very different, a rather dark tinted number with a lot of percussion sections and a slightly scary sound.

By the way, when you look at the CD cover with Mariëlla in that outfit, and you would leave out a few small details, you could easily think that she comes straight from the Gothic world. This cover is beautifully made, but I am not going to give it all away now. It is better to come to the presentation this weekend in large numbers and be sure to get the marvellous new disc of this Band from which we will hopefully get many more surprises in future.

I end by saying that this album refers to Blues and Beyond in all forms again and that that is fully my department. And for the more Jazzy listeners there is the wonderful bonus track 'After Hours', a BEAUTY.
Enjoyment with a capital EEEEEEEE!