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WALTER WOLFMAN WASHINGTON
Really feel So at Dwelling
Tipitina’s Report Membership – TRC-0305
Certain, in the present day’s streaming mannequin of music supply provides us wonderous entry to just about your entire universe of music in our telephones; but, it seldom supplies the chance to savor and revel within the music.
Over the course of his greater than 50-year profession, New Orleans’ favourite son Walter Wolfman Washington has positioned serving the music on the prime of his to-do checklist. He started honing his chops within the Fifties backing up artists like his cousin, R&B belter Ernie Okay-Doe (who hit it massive with the 1961 hit Mom-in-Legislation) and Irma Thomas. He quickly started bringing his mix of soul, blues, R&B, and romantic ballads, all with ample quantities of swagger, as he and his trusty band, the Roadmasters, turned regulars at New Orleans venues like Tipitina’s, the Maple Leaf Bar, and lots of others, whereas he turned a stellar songwriter within the course of.
Within the liner notes for Really feel So at Dwelling, producer Ben Ellman says the album is supposed to be listened to “in a single go” so the tender, smokey vibe envelops you. The spare, string- and woodwind-injected preparations on the eight tracks are a continuation of the method used on Washington’s extremely regarded 2018 launch My Future Is My Previous that recast the blues/funk stay wire as a soulful balladeer. That Really feel So at Dwelling was accomplished after Washington’s 2022 demise at age 79 provides one other stage of poignancy.
The overture of woodwinds and swirling strings that opens I Really feel So at Dwelling Right here give the track a timeless really feel that units the tone for the album. Initially showing on Washington’s 1986 album Wolf Tracks, With out You is given a wistful remedy that imbues the lover’s lament with a subdued, sadly buoyant really feel.
Whereas the album creates a decidedly mellow expertise, Washington at occasions deftly blends his blues and R&B tendencies. With minimal reverb, the clear guitar tone and stylish stand-up bass by James Singleton conjures an edgy, simmering tackle Guitar Slim’s Alongside About Midnight, whereas the pulsing, staccato groove and plush strings of I’ve Been Unsuitable for So Lengthy is matched by Washington’s snarling vocals.
With Washington’s resonant baritone that recollects Brook Benton, his tender guitar, and string swells, Pretty Day seems like the proper soundtrack to a dream. As his voice inhabits Charles Brown’s basic Black Night time, Washington injects an urgency and warmth to every phrase, as he sings “No one cares about me / I ain’t even received a pal / My child’s gone and left me / when will my troubles finish?” The up-tempo swing of Sufferin’ Thoughts, one other Guitar Slim gem, rides alongside on a rolling bass line and shimmering orchestration earlier than Washington’s scalding guitar brings it to life. Initially written for his 1981 launch of the identical title, It’s Rainin’ in My Life paints a melancholy image of romantic ache and torment.
For finest outcomes, spin the vinyl launch of Really feel So at Dwelling, pour a glass of your favourite libation, and discover a quiet house to benefit from the last chapter of Washington’s storied profession.
—Rod Evans
OMAR COLEMAN
Unusual Occasions
Coloration Purple Data – CRED-306-VLP
Born and raised on Chicago’s West Aspect, vocalist and harmonica participant Omar Coleman received his first well-deserved break when he was featured on Severn Data’ 2007 compilation of current-day Chicago harp gamers, Diamonds within the Tough.
The producer of Westside Soul, Coleman’s fourth album, launched Coleman to Eddie Roberts, British-born guitarist of acclaimed fashionable funk/boogaloo group the New Mastersounds; across the time of that assembly, Roberts launched his personal file label, Coloration Purple. In 2020 Roberts scheduled recording classes, and the ensuing nine-song Coleman album, Unusual Occasions, was scheduled for launch in 2021.
Unusual occasions certainly: owing each to worldwide lockdowns and provide chain points, Coleman’s Coloration Purple debut—a vinyl-only launch—can be delayed greater than two years, lastly showing in early 2024. And whereas that delay possible annoyed Coleman, it’s effectively well worth the wait. Roberts’ determinedly natural and analog method to the recording studio—coupled with Coleman’s artistry and his present for arising with significant lyrics primarily on the fly—has resulted in an outstanding album.
Deep grooves and spirited horns present rock-solid backing for Coleman on the autobiographical Chicago. Shades of Otis Redding make themselves recognized in Coleman’s voice, and the tune’s vibe has an Albert King really feel, albeit with harp—not electrical guitar—as its focus instrument. Roberts leads the band and performs guitar, however he correctly leans again, retaining the highlight squarely on Coleman.
On the title monitor, Roberts engages in instrumental dialogue with the horns, and the rhythm part lays down a moody, vaguely sinister really feel. Unusual Occasions’ association hearkens again to ’70s blaxploitation soundtracks like Tremendous Fly and Shaft, and a hovering but refined string part heightens that character. Right here, Coleman focuses on his hovering vocal, leaving the harp on the desk till midway by the track; at that time he turns in a hearty prolonged solo.
You’ve Been Cheatin’ has a personality that can be acquainted to followers of the New Mastersounds’ trademark sound. However Coleman provides a What’s Going On–period Marvin Gaye really feel to the track, and Roberts’ manufacturing serves to strengthen these values. Coleman’s solo evokes ideas of Stevie Marvel, however the track stays rooted within the blues.
The rousing Sluggish Down Child mines a Stax really feel, with a kinetic rhythm part, beefy and whip-smart horn charts. Coleman howls and shouts in between the lyric strains, and when he blows like mad on a harp solo, the band storms alongside proper behind him. Within the track’s second half, Roberts peels off some fantastic, compact solo riffs in response to Coleman’s singing. On an album with no weak tracks, Sluggish Down Child might be the 4 most enjoyable minutes on the entire set. And that’s saying one thing; after the wait, Unusual Occasions ought to go down as one of many 12 months’s finest releases.
—Invoice Kopp
KEVIN BURT & BIG MEDICINE
Thank You Brother Invoice: A Tribute to Invoice Withers
Gulf Coast Data – GCRX9047
Iowa bluesman Kevin Burt is a self-taught guitarist, harmonica participant, and vocalist with a uniquely soulful supply. His 2020 Gulf Coast Data debut, Stone Loopy, was a strong up to date blues outing. On Thank You Brother Invoice, Burt will get extra adventurous and pays heartfelt tribute to R&B legend Invoice Withers. Within the album’s liner notes, Burt states, “Listening to Invoice Withers inform a narrative or sing a track for me is one and the identical. It immediately attaches itself to my soul.” The fervour and musicianship that run by each monitor replicate Burt’s deep connection to Withers’ music.
Opening monitor Who Is He (and What Is He to You)? introduces listeners to the excellent chemistry between Burt and his backing band. Drummer Eric Douglas and bassist Scot Sutherland have a knack for laying down spandex-tight grooves. Burt’s voice is a robust instrument—it’s heat and endearing with a contact of gravel when wanted. Kissing My Love sports activities an lively, funky association that permits Burt and Large Drugs to strut their stuff. Sutherland and Douglas’ rhythm work is rock strong, and Valdez will get loads of room to stretch out on guitar. Burt’s vocals pack a robust punch, and his harmonica is icing on the cake.
It’s exhausting for a musician to place their very own stamp on an iconic hit, however Burt pulls it off with Simply the Two of Us. The acquainted lyrics and melody are backed up by a sparse, elegant association. Burt’s voice is honey easy, and his harp blowing provides a style of down-home grit. Ain’t No Sunshine is one other acquainted warhorse that Burt makes his personal. He bares his soul on the vocals, effortlessly shifting from sensual moans to full-throated growls. Burt’s studying of Grandma’s Fingers captures the wistful, introspective really feel of Withers’ efficiency. The guitar-driven association stirs some exhausting rock crunch into the combination, and Sutherland’s bass holds down the underside finish.
On the self-penned title monitor, Burt sings, “There can be so many holes within the soul in case your music wasn’t right here.” It’s a poignant reminder of the love and dedication that went into his newest undertaking. Listeners are certain to be moved.
—Jon Kleinman
TINSLEY ELLIS
Bare Fact
Alligator Data – ALCD 5017
If you happen to requested a dozen blues writers to give you a listing of acoustic singer-songwriter guitarists, Tinsley Ellis wouldn’t be on it. To this point, the seasoned Ellis was recognized solely as a fiery blues rock guitarist with a string of common albums. Now, together with his new, first-ever solo acoustic file, Bare Fact, we see one other aspect of the Atlanta-based guitarist. Truehearted roots and blues acoustic followers can rejoice; Bare Fact is a splendorous listening pleasure. Great things wall to wall.
Ellis is not any stranger to solo efficiency. Alligator reviews that within the final 12 months, Ellis has carried out over 100 solo reveals. He has been recording and touring the world for over 4 a long time, and by now he certainly is aware of how you can put down some explosive blues, clearly not solely with an electrical band. It’s simple to acknowledge that any guitarist in his top-tier class will know how you can play an acoustic guitar, and Ellis proves that he’s simply as badass solo acoustic as he’s as an electrical blues rocker.
Bare Fact is a potent set of a dozen equally fierce songs steeped within the folks blues traditions, together with 9 newly written originals. The album was recorded stay within the studio utilizing Ellis’ 1969 Martin D-35 (a present from his father) and his 1937 Nationwide Type O sequence guitars.
Maintain on to your hat and prepare for a foot-stomping good time, pleasant in each the raucous, uncooked barrelhouse clamber, as in Demise Letter Blues by Son Home and Don’t Go No Additional by Willie Dixon, and the gentler, tender and emotive instrumentation as in The Sailor’s Grave on the Prairie by Leo Kottke. When taking part in solo acoustic, the artist has to hold all of it, and Ellis delivers a robust punch of deep roots blues, depraved guitar prowess and, importantly, these songs will get your soul twanging with that soothing, exuberant sensitivity that solely music can deliver. You’ll really feel it right down to the bone.
On Windowpane he eerily evokes the spirit of Skip James. Ellis’ authentic Satan within the Room comes from an expression by his pal, the late Col. Bruce Hampton, who would inform his musicians simply earlier than a present was to start, “We’re right here to place the satan within the room.” A lot for negating the outdated “satan’s music” curse. Ellis places down some slashing Delta-style slide work on his Nationwide resonator on Tallahassee Blues and Horseshoes and Hand Grenades then brings on a number of extra stunning authentic instrumentals that properly steadiness the vibe: Silver Mountain and Alcovy Breakdown. He closes the album with a formidable, candy fingerpicking instrumental on the Martin D-35, Easter Track.
Bare Fact is just a joyous and triumphant celebration of acoustic music and the transcendental nature of the unique nation blues. All by Mr. Tinsley Ellis, a least anticipated, however most welcomed supply.
—Frank Matheis
MATHIAS LATTIN
Up Subsequent 
VizzTone – VT-ML-01
The Texas guitarist and singer Mathias Lattin (profiled in LB #286) emerged to a lot acclaim within the 12 months of his twenty first birthday. Since profitable first place together with his trio, in addition to the person Finest Guitarist award, on the 2023 Worldwide Blues Problem, this rising star has gained stage expertise and publicity far past his hometown of Houston. On this, his debut full-length album (following a 2021 EP), Lattin performs lead guitar and vocalizes soulfully on a set of songs that he additionally wrote. Serving as his personal producer (and even his personal bassist on three of the cuts), the wunderkind in the end incorporates instrumental contributions from 11 extra supporting gamers—on organ, piano, sax, trumpet, rhythm guitar, bass, and drums—over the course of ten strong tracks.
Drawing from his background in a jazz research program, Lattin infuses his blues with a cool sophistication balanced by a disciplined but passionate depth. Whether or not soloing, riffing, or chording, the guitar work on Up Subsequent usually suggests an knowledgeable musical creativeness that finds enjoyment of nuanced phrasing and refined elaborations. But, Lattin may ship timeless blues licks filled with emotive expressionism. As for his compositions, whereas a number of the songs stay rooted within the acquainted 12-bar construction, others evolve past that framework to incorporate melodic bridges and choruses extra widespread in basic R&B.
Alternatively, with a number of exceptions (such because the celebratory monitor Social gathering), the final focus of the lyrics is restricted to maybe the most typical of all themes, the failure of a love affair. A lot of the writing consists of a first-person voice suspiciously if not scornfully beseeching, warning, accusing, or dismissing an untrue companion. In truth, numbers equivalent to Who’s Been Loving on You, You Know This Gained’t Do, You Don’t Love Me No Extra, I Tried So Arduous, and others all milk the well-worn breakup motif for all its value. Nonetheless, Lattin often flashes a aptitude for high quality wordplay. On Lose Some Weight, for instance, the titular phrase seems to not be a literal reference to reducing energy however a metaphor expressing the necessity to half methods with a psychologically poisonous lover.
One other notably well-crafted monitor, each lyrically and musically, is the horror story track titled 2nd Diploma. Sonically, it’s a heavy bass-thumping, massive drum–pounding, exhausting blues–rocking maelstrom of menace, replete with six-string salvos of wah-wah pyrotechnics. Befitting that raucous context, the singer’s voice is distinctly distorted by way of a mic filter, muttering strains that in the end implicate him in a homicide. As this grievous verse narrative reaches a climax, the stressed-out protagonist discovers himself to be “carrying handcuffs” however he additionally claims, “I don’t know why.” Then, because the music forges on, a simplistic and eerie “la-la-la-la” vocal chant arises, echoing the basic groove. It’s a chilling impact, highlighting Lattin’s capability for conjuring drama by way of songwriting and manufacturing.
All in all, Up Subsequent is an entertaining album—and an appropriate showcase for this youthful newcomer’s spectacular and multifaceted but nonetheless creating abilities. Given Lattin’s apparent musical savvy and tender age, it appears protected to hope, if not assume, that his finest work lies forward.
—Roger Wooden
BOB CORRITORE & FRIENDS
Phoenix Blues Rumble
Vizztone/SWMAF – SWMAF 22
Each time Phoenix harp powerhouse and blues empresario Bob Corritore takes a dive into his “From the Vaults” sequence of recordings, he emerges with one other gem from his seemingly bottomless effectively of pure, unadulterated uncooked blues.
Thus far, Corritore has launched 14 lengthy gamers beneath the title of Bob Corritore & Mates, curated from jams with native, regional, and nationwide blues icons on the town to play at Corritore’s Rhythm Room nightclub. The venue has advanced because the epicenter of the Phoenix blues world since its opening there in 1984. As chief of the Rhythm Room All-Stars, Corritore usually backed artists passing by city and was capable of organize studio time with them as effectively.
The recordings don’t break any new inventive floor, however they supply an everlasting platform for outdated and new blues artists to show what makes them nice. And so they by no means disappoint. On Phoenix Blues Rumble, Corritore presents 12 tracks recorded between 1987 and 2017. All however one of many featured artists listed here are inductees into the Arizona Blues Corridor of Fame, and the lone exception, soul/blues belter Sugaray Rayford, is a Phoenix resident who’s crafting a profession that will sometime discover him rubbing elbows with the Corridor of Famers.
The checklist of stalwarts is spectacular. Chicago singer/drummer Chico Chism shared the stage with the likes of Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and Howlin’ Wolf earlier than shifting to Phoenix on the behest of Corritore within the ’80s. His gutbucket vocals kick issues off together with his ode to plus-sized ladies, Large Fats Girl 480 LBS.
With a voice as tough as 24-grit sandpaper, Egyptian-born Arizona blues icon Chief Schabuttie Gilliame shines on a few the album’s highlights: Come to Me Child, that includes chic guitar by Kirk Fletcher, and Leopard Speckled Child, the place he pledges allegiance to freckled ladies and is joined by ace Louisiana piano participant Henry Grey.
Strolling within the Park rocks like a basic Little Richard tune pushed by the polished vocals of King Karl, who helped create the mashup of rock, blues, and ballads often known as the “swamp pop” sound, and frolicked because the featured singer in Lloyd Worth’s band. On 9 Occasions Out of Ten, Mississippi-born George Bowman delivers a scrumptious slice of Delta blues.
The sluggish burn I’m Evil options the passionate vitality of Phoenix blues north star Large Pete Pearson. Rayford lends his pressure of nature pipes to The Glide, a soulful shuffle that tells the story of a white lightnin’–fueled, three-legged horse.
Whereas the gamers and singers change from monitor to trace, the one fixed is Corritore’s versatile harp. Whether or not he’s plumbing the depths of despair with a deep, husky tone or hovering with the eagles on higher register runs, he proves why he’s among the finest harp masters within the recreation in the present day, in addition to a savvy producer with an important ear.
There’s nothing revolutionary about Phoenix Blues Rumble, however that’s the fantastic thing about it: blues performed by true blue artists who’ve devoted their lives to it.
—Rod Evans
JAMES HARMAN
Didn’t We Have Some Enjoyable Someday
Electro-Fi – 3465
When James Harman died on Might 19, 2021, he had been engaged on various songs for inclusion on his subsequent album, they usually’re now collected on Didn’t We Have Some Enjoyable Someday. Eight of the songs are from livestream performances Harman and the band recorded in the course of the pandemic, and the opposite 4 songs on the album come from numerous previous studio recordings. What’s constant by all of the songs is Harman’s pleasure in making music and his capability to maneuver by quite a lot of blues kinds, revealing the depth of his immersion within the music.
The album opens with the rollicking stride blues Decide Up the Slack, taken from a livestream efficiency, which options Harman’s wailing harp using over Nathan James’ shimmering layers of guitar chords and Harman’s slyly humorous lyrics in regards to the nature of relationships. Harman and the band are having enjoyable, as they snigger and giggle all through the monitor. Percolating percussion drives the funky world rhythms of A Rut and a Groove, whereas Work Don’t Come to Me rides alongside a Chicago blues groove that mingles with a Memphis soul blues vibe. Harman settles right into a funked groove on the speaking blues Who’s Received the Geetus, illustrating his fondness for story and his charismatic fashion of telling it. The rhythms of the acoustic blues That Outdated Clock mimic the ticking of a clock because the funked-up, slow-burning track ponders the passage of time and its which means for our lives. Rambling jazz joint piano programs by the skittering New Orleans blues Hassle Loadin’ Mama, whereas the album closes with the shifting gospel-inflected title monitor.
Didn’t We Have Some Enjoyable Someday reminds us of Harman’s nice and enduring artistry, celebrating his life and music with a lot of his most memorable songs.
—Henry L. Carrigan Jr.
DANIELLE NICOLE
The Love You Bleed
Forty Beneath – FBR 038
Electrical bassist and singer Danielle Nicole (Schnebelen) debuted with siblings Nick and Kris as Trampled Below Foot in 2000. After honing each her appreciable chops and stage presence with that group for effectively over a decade, Nicole launched her solo debut, Wolf Den, in 2015. Whereas her work has lengthy had its basis within the blues, Nicole usually makes use of the idiom as a jumping-off level for her musical excursions.
Whereas 2018’s Cry No Extra displayed her affinity for (and understanding of) the basic Stax Data soul vibe, on her newest, The Love You Bleed, Nicole initially goals towards a extra mainstream basic rock character. The album’s opener, Love on My Mind, reveals the robust vocals that characterize Nicole’s method. The insistent, hypnotic drum determine and efficient dynamics anchor the track, and Nicole’s lyrics discover the love and ache that inform life.
The soul character of her earlier album resurfaces on Make Love. Nicole’s smoldering, sultry vocal efficiency makes Proper by Your Aspect a standout, and the overdubbed refrain harmonies are spot-on. The simmering, snaky, whammy-bar results on How Did We Get to Goodbye give the track a haunting character, and Nicole’s vocals reinforce that really feel.
A stomping blues character informs Head Down Low. Sustained slide guitar runs are well-placed within the association. A number of the album’s most memorable guitar riffs present up on Fireproof. The stripped-down association of A Lover Is Perpetually options solely guitarist Brandon Miller and Nicole’s voice; it’s an exemplar of subtlety on a file in any other case characterised by full-bodied rock (or blues, or soul-informed) preparations.
Say You’ll Keep extends the light character of the earlier tune, albeit in a full-band format. Judiciously used string preparations add simply the appropriate contact, and Nicole’s impassioned vocals are on the middle of issues. A stuttering beat with a ’70s blues funk really feel makes Idiot’s Gold a strong tune, however like most all over the place on The Love You Bleed, the instrumental work exists primarily to help Nicole’s vocals.
Stroll on By is a gutsy authentic rocker, not the Burt Bacharach / Hal David basic. Nicole’s bass is in lockstep with the guitar figures, and her overdubbed harmonies spherical out the association. A smoky, late-night, country-tinged weeper, Who He Thinks You Are makes the purpose that Nicole is each bit as genuine and compelling on an inward-looking tune as when she swings for the arena-rock fences.
Extra nation textures present up for the album’s closing monitor, Younger Love on the Hill. Mandolin, strings, and a few refined drum work present a comfortable musical mattress for Nicole’s ode to like. Properly assorted all through, The Love You Bleed can function a sampler of Danielle Nicole’s wide-encompassing method to her craft; it’s additionally a really pleasing listening expertise.
—Invoice Kopp
MIKE ZITO
Life Is Arduous
Gulf Coast Data – No #
Mike Zito’s tellingly titled new album arrives within the aftermath of a private tragedy, the lack of his spouse, Laura, to most cancers in 2023. As with every inventive providing, it shares feelings felt on the time of creation, however on this explicit case, it provided the means to excise the shock and unhappiness that comes when circumstances conspire to tear one’s world aside.
Fortuitously, Zito had some help in his efforts, courtesy of co-producers Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith, Reese Wynans on keyboards, Calvin Turner on bass, Lemar Carter on drums, and numerous different ancillary instrumentalists and singers who contributed to the recording. After all, Zito’s all the time been a staff participant. His stint within the supergroup Royal Southern Brotherhood garnered widespread acclaim and introduced Zito himself accolades that he later constructed upon courtesy of manufacturing assignments for the likes of Samantha Fish, Albert Castiglia, Ally Venable, Jeremiah Johnson, Jimmy Carpenter, and others. His personal albums topped the charts and reaped continued important kudos, and his partnership with Castiglia within the band the Blood Brothers elevated his profile even additional till his spouse’s sickness pressured him off the street.
It’s little shock then that Zito’s personal ardour and perseverance take middle stage at this explicit juncture, though he largely is dependent upon outdoors materials to get his level throughout. Tinsley Ellis, Walter Trout, Tab Benoit, and Fred James are among the many up to date contributing songwriters, whereas basic tracks by Little Milton and Reverend Gary Davis guarantee a timeless template. There are some surprises within the combine—a stirring tackle Stevie Marvel’s Have a Discuss with God displays Zito’s religious aspect, whereas an sudden cowl of the Guess Who basic These Eyes combines the graceful sway of the unique with an unmistakable edge and depth.
Zito retains his incendiary method total, be it by the rocksteady stride of Lonely Man, the scorching title monitor, the rousing repast No One to Discuss To (However the Blues), or the riff-ready execution that marks No one Strikes Me Like You Do. The soulful strains that characterize Perpetually My Love and the overarched method given the monitor titled Darkness supply proof that Zito’s feelings fluctuated all through. A solitary cowl of the Rev. Davis’ Demise Don’t Have No Mercy, that includes gospel-like harmonies, is especially poignant in mild of Zito’s loss.
Whereas Zito can rely any variety of triumphs over the course of his profession, Life Is Arduous is especially important. It’s an exacting effort and accomplishment.
—Lee Zimmerman
PATTI PARKS FT. JOHNNY RAWLS
Come Sing with Me
VizzTone – VT-PP02
Acclaimed Buffalo-based vocalist Patti Parks can be a longtime well being care skilled, and the sensitivity such work calls for will be heard all through Come Sing with Me. Every of this album’s ten tracks cuts to the center with empathetic directness, and the music surrounding Parks’ distinctive raspy vocals provides to this unusual sincerity.
It ought to come as no shock that Parks and her musicians really know their means round a ballad, as is quickly obvious on the subtly poetic One Foot Out the Door. Guitarist Aaron Flynt supplies tenderly felt phrases, and drummer Aaron Blackmon places simply the appropriate drag behind Parks’ heart-searing supply. The melodic basslines of Tony Camilleri and Robin Grandin’s ardent backing vocals give Why a gently entreating tone, Parks slipping from girlish excessive notes to a sighing tremolo as she beseeches an untrue love.
However Parks additionally delivers when it’s time to get together, as on the raunchy come-on Hamburger Man; Richard Rosenblatt’s harmonica and the horns of saxophonist Kenny Parker and trumpeter John Maguda completely complement Parks’ realizing lustiness. A Lotta Man, a pleasant ode to full-figured fellas written by Derrick Procell and Terry Abrahamson (additionally accountable for One Foot Out the Door), packs spicy grooves from percussionist Kenny Thomasula and drummer Hugh Arthur, with Parks scoring laughs as she declares her ardour for a man who “provides me the chocolate shakes.”
Vocalist/guitarist Johnny Rawls makes a number of important contributions to Come Sing with Me. He and Parks combine it up fantastically amidst the mellow instrumentation of I’m in Love with You Child, and the gentility of his guitar easily contrasts his no-nonsense voice on the steady-rollin’ How A lot Longer. This monitor and the biting I’m Sorry additionally present beautiful showcases for Rawls’ horn preparations, trumpeter Rick Keller making a very muscular impression on the latter.
The album’s different secret weapon is Parks’ husband, organist/pianist/composer Man Nirelli, who brings exultant swing behind backing vocalists Kimera Lattimore and Zuri Appleby on Sing Across the World. Nirelli’s album-closing composition, Good Day for the Blues, permits him to swagger joyfully over the ivories, and he supplies a equally zesty playground for Parks and visitor pianist Anthony Geraci on the walloping DJ’s Boogie (I Wish to Boogie). Skillfully recorded by Anthony Casuccio so each instrument gleams within the ear, Come Sing with Me is a simple but substantial hear, all the time extremely gratifying.
—Matt R. Lohr
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