Mike Merola isn’t just another technically skilled blues and jazz guitarist based in New York City, one voice among so many. What emerges most memorably from listening to his playing in his band The City Boys Allstars is its sense of intertwined emotional honesty and naturalness. No wonder some of the best singers and musicians in the big […]
Tag Archives: Soul
ALBARE, GEORG BREINSCHMIDT, CITY BOYS, CRISCUOLO, SUMARI, TROPEA reviews in Highlands Magazine September 3, 2015
It’s the holidays, a simple time, a relaxing break , and you are looking for a nice record to suit the mood. But that’s no reason not to still demand quality from musicians, compositions, sound. Pleasure is not synonymous with mediocrity and PERSONAL THING by the group THE CITY BOYS ALLSTARS is sound proof of […]
The future is bright for a sophisticated yet entertaining band like ‘The City Boys Allstars’ like no other …”
The core of the NYC “The City Boys Allstars”, a jazz / rock ensemble with funk, soul, blues and gospel influences, Mike Merola (guitar) – in 1988 he was the founder of the band / he is the glue group, which keeps everything together, Al MacDowell (bass) – it is the replacement of the […]
Blues Blast Magazine Review
The City Boys Allstars – Blinded by the Night www.thecityboysallstarts.com 9 Tracks; 48:54 running time A fine group of ten musicians and three singers make up this jazzy, bluesy, and soulful ensemble. The band formed in 1988 and their latest recording released in September 2014 was the group’s first performance in 17 years. […]
Amazon Customer Review
City Boys Allstars, one of the finest bands in the world. Their sound is a special fusion of Blues, Jazz, Soul, Funk, Rap, Disco, Latin, Rock and anything else that the Boys think sounds great. The recording was made in a live recording form the Cutting Room. It is just a touch of everything […]
Flying Shoes Review
Recorded live at The Cutting Room, New York in August 2013, Blinded By The Night is proof that supergroups are not always guaranteed to fail to meet high expectations. Blind Faith? West, Bruce and Laing? Beck, Bogert and Appice? Not here. Thirteen strong, these masters have playing CVs the length of trombonist Tom ‘Bones’ Malone’s […]
Highlands Magazine
A live album of jazz including some celebrities : here’s how to sharpen our curiosity. Indeed, we find some BLUES BROTHERS of brass : Lou Marini and Tom Malone on saxophone . These two are surrounded by equally awesome musicians like Mike MEROLA , guitar, CLAPTON worshiper ; AL MACDOWELL, bass, keyboards Rob Clores , […]
Review: The Working Musician
The City Boy Allstars follow in the hallowed footsteps of such New York City Bands as Dreams, Blood Sweat and Tears, and The Blues Brothers. They mix blues, soul, jazz, and funk with horns and a lot of sweat. Started by guitarist/leader Mike Merola at the close of 1988, they took a seventeen year break […]
