Our cover of Jason Aldean's Night Train.
Rod Millgate - Vocals, Organ
Serge Bardot - Guitars
Gary Holdsworth - Bass
Andy Bennett - Drums
Each musician's part is recorded at home, then mixed and mastered later.

The Usual Suspects - Confinement Collaboration - Night Train

Alone Together

Embrace Space

Armed with a funky drum loop from 'The Pocket Queen' here's what I came up with....

Pocket Queen

A collaborative cover of Wayne Shorter's Infant Eyes.

Infant Eyes - Wayne Shorter cover

The beautiful river Gorre near Saint Auvent, Haute Vienne. One of my favourite places to walk and pass time.

Rivière La Gorre près de Saint Auvent

Feeling Good

Happy Bossa Birthday

Your Heart Is As Black As Night  cover with Madame Blanc

Madame and The Sugaree Band Live cover of RITFW.

Rocking in the Free World - Live at the Palais

Dread DnB

Madame Blanc sings the old Blues classic....If you Love me Like You Say (Why do you treat me like you do?).

If You Love Me Like You Say - featuring Madame Blanc

Funky #44

Yours Forever

A cover of Janiva Magness - I won't Cry.
Voice - Madam Blanc
Guitar - Serge Bardot
The harder the words, the colder the night
The closer the hand, the sharper the knife
The longer I hold out, the further you seem to fly
I get cut and I might bleed
But I won't cry!
The bigger the love, the blacker the bruise
The less that you give, the more i could use
The longer you hold out
The further you seem to fly
I get cut and I might bleed
But I won't cry!
The quicker the lie
(I might bleed)
The softer the moan
(I might bleed)
All of those whisper
(I might bleed)
They just sink like a stone
(I might bleed)
I think momma should push on
(I might bleed)
Before these fists just fly
I get cut and I might bleed
But I won't cry!
The stronger the bond, oh, oh
The tougher the loss, oh, oh
The pain in my heart, oh, oh
Until it just stops
Once more I'll just hold on
Until I get strength to fly
I get cut and I might bleed
But I won't cry!
I get cut and I might bleed
But I won't cry!
I get cut and I might bleed
But I won't cry!
I get cut and I might bleed
But I won't cry!

Janiva Magness conveys a message of resilience and strength in the face of challenges, pain, and heartache. She talks about enduring difficult situations and emotional pain without allowing themselves to show vulnerability through tears.

The lyrics talk about the various hardships and struggles that Janiva faces, such as feeling cut, bruised, and hurt by love, lies, and loss. Despite experiencing these painful moments, she emphasizes her determination not to cry as a way to show inner strength and resilience.

The repeated refrain of "I get cut and I might bleed, but I won't cry" reinforces the theme of enduring pain and difficulties without succumbing to tears. It portrays a sense of defiance and courage in the face of adversity, suggesting a refusal to let emotional wounds break them down.

The song is about facing challenges head-on, acknowledging the pain and struggles, but choosing to remain strong and composed despite the hardships. It conveys a message of inner strength, resilience, and the power to persevere through tough times without giving.

I Won't Cry

Emo' Rock Ballad Improvisation #137

Vocals - Madam Blanc
Guitars - Serge Bardot
Bass - Sven
Drums - Tim Bragg

White Rabbit - Grace Slick cover

Tell Me All About It - Michael Franks cover.
Vocals - Madam Blanc
Guitars - Serge Bardot
Bass - Sven

Tell Me All About It

Chaleur d'Hiver - Composed by Lyda Van Tol

Chaleur d'Hiver

On a Winner With You, sung by Madame Blanc. 

On a Winner With You - featuring Madame Blanc DEMO

Lie to me.....go ahead lie to me.

Carla - Vocals
Serge - Guitars 
Steve - Bass
Drums - Roland

Guitars - Gibson Firebird, Telecaster.
Bass - Fender Jazz
Recorded in France 2016

Lie 2 Me - featuring Madame Blanc

Stay in Bed

Stay in Bed - featuring Madame Blanc

Cm Funk

Version with drums and flute from Tim Bragg.

Tell me all about it - with drums and flute - featuring Madame Blanc

Vocal - Nathalie Pnt
Sax - David Burckhardt
Guitar - Serge Bardot
Bass - Brad Lang
Drums - David Dyson

Oh la la ! Comment j'adore !!!!! Ça m'a envoyé direct en arrière, à une époque que je n'ai pas connu certes, mais j'me voyais assise dans une salle enfumée d'un club de jazz , à écouter une petite brune chanter ses peines de coeur ! J'en veux encore !!! Tu assures ! Bravo....

Oh mais franchement, comment ne pas aimer, ta voix est juste parfaite pour ce titre ! Moi ça m'a emporté direct : c'est beau, ça paraît simple ( et c'est en ça que c'est fort parce qu'on sait bien que c'est tout sauf simple), cette douce mélancolie dans ta voix.....c'est divin ! J'ai écouté 2 fois de suite et je vais la faire écouter autour de moi si tu veux bien.....

Je viens d’écouter j’adore tellement 🥰 ça me fait penser au chanteuse qui chantais dans les piano bar dans les années 50-60" Et tu sais à quel point j’aime ses années...

j'adore ?ambiance de ouf. Ouhla pas facile, mais là c'est réussi quoi, tu fermes les yeux tu vois la scène, les rideaux rouges, la fumée, haha c'est énorme...

J’adore, aaah du Jazz !
Magnifique timbre de voix...

I Fall In Love Too Easily - Bennetti's Jazz Blues All Stars featuring Nathalie Pnt

Remixed with help from DoMi Sakurazawa.

You can check out his excellent music here...
https://soundcloud.com/domi-sakurazawa

Cantaloupe Island - Bennetti's Jazz n Blues Collective (Remixed)

Rod Millgate - Vocals, Piano
Jim Condie - Lap Steel, Acoustic guitar
Serge Bardot - Bass, Electric Guitar
Thomas Hedlund - Drums

The Usual Suspects - Confinement Collaboration - The Girl From Yesterday

Our final collaboration of 2020. A cover of John Hiatt's Hangin Round Here.
Jim Condie - Vocal, Dobro Guitar
Jon Medici  - Acoustic Guitar
Dave Purple - Harmonica
Serge Bardot - Bass
Andy Bennett - Drums
Madame Blanc and 'The Crew' - Backing Vocals

Each musician recorded at home. Then we put it all together. Stay safe y'all.

Confinement Collaborations

The Usual Suspects - Confinement Collaboration - Hangin' 'round Here

My attempt to play Carlos Santana's 'Samba Pa Ti'......

What started out as something simple ( I wanted to show off my new guitar) turned into a three and a half month study. You see, I found a transcription of Samba Pa Ti in an old guitar mag. Perfect for my new guitar I thought, but when I tried the first few bars it didn't seem quite right, and that's where it all started. That's where the journey to this cover version began.

I searched the internet trying to find videos of Carlos Santana playing. However, when he plays live he varies his performance, and never plays it the same twice. There's loads of cover versions, some are very good too, but then again, they're all different. I wanted to stay close to the recorded version on the Abraxus album, use that as my benchmark. I listened to it morning noon and night. I began working my way through it phrase by phrase.

While I was doing this I carried on making regular searches on the internet for more versions. I'd also check every couple of days for newer youtube versions. I found some really great ones. My favourites include the version by Al Mora, the accoustic version played by Mark Galloway, Mark Thompson's version, and the inspirational version by Grandma Mary.

I had a bit of a breakthrough when I found a video of the man himself talking about Samba Pa Ti, how it came about, how to play it, including some excellent tips on how to get a suitable tone.

Samba Pa Ti started out as a poem... 
"Through every step of life you find freedom from within" Carlos Santana.

Samba Pa Ti appeared on Santana's second album Abraxus, which is still regarded by many as his finest work.
As a study piece it is one of the most rewarding I have ever tried. Not only is it a great study in guitar playing, but also a great study into the unique and totally fabulous playing of Carlos Santana. 

Carlos style relies on a mystical feeling 'Duende' found in flamenco music, a sensation described as 'musical shockwaves in the soul'. He has a very fluid sense of timing, and will often play repeated musical phrases with sublty different phrasing. He rarely uses vibrato at the top of bends. Unison bends are another characteristic.

Like I said at the top, three and a half months. That's three and a half months and still learning, because each time I hear the original I'll hear some little thing that I've missed, some little inflection that I hadn't noticed before. Sometimes I think I'm close, then other times I think I'm miles off. I asked one of my favourite players how long it had taken him to get his version as good as it was. He told me 38 years and still trying!!! So I've got a long way to go. However, I hope my version does the song justice. Yeah, I know it's just a bloke playing to a backing track. I'd love to play this with a live band.

Many many thanks to all who gave me encouragement with this, especially Madame Blanc who can now spot a fake Santana from the first phrase!!!!

Musicalement,
SB

Samba Pa Ti - Cover

Our cover of Little Feat's Long Distance Love.
Madame Blanc - Vocals
Jim Condie - Acoustic Guitar, Slide Guitar
Rod Millgate - Keyboards
Peter Jezukiewicz - Bass
Serge Bardot - Drums, additional guitars
Each person's part is recorded at home, then put together later.

The Usual Suspects - Confinement Collaboration - Long Distance Love

“Most of us know that this music is profound; even apocalyptic at times. However, it is so often approached on such a casual social and commercial level, we tend to ignore and overlook the stirrings within our souls and the voices of our ancestral ‘spirits’ that remind us of the fact, that there is a revelation of certain prophetic dimensions inherent in this music.”–Doug Carn

Serge Bardot

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