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JACKIE
PAYNE STEVE EDMONSON BAND "MASTER OF
THE GAME"
Source: Big City Blues
Date: 11/2006
Writer: Gary von Tersch |
For
the last ten or fifteen years that Johnny Otis
operated his horn-studded Revue band, the diminutive
vocalist Jackie Payne was the usual front man.
Possessing one of the greatest natural soul voices
since the idiom’s heyday in the 1960s, Payne
spent his formative years in Houston, working
with legendary bluesmen like T-Bone Walker, Albert
Collins and Pee Wee Crayton. His musical cohort
on this Delta Groove project--accomplished, Steve
Cropper-styled lead and rhythm guitarist Steve
Edmondson has shared the stage with both blues
icons like James Cotton and Syl Johnson and more
mainstream performers such as Maria Muldaur and
Van Morrison over the years. After a brief, hard-touring
spell with the soul/blues combo the Dynatones,
he linked up with Payne and the two enlisted bass
guitarist Bill Singletary, drummer Nick Otis (Johnny’s
grandson, I believe), tenor and alto saxist Carl
Green and trumpet player John Middleton to round
out their classic Southern soul sound. Guests
encompass pianist Fred Kaplan on two tracks (the
romping, instrumental “Cabranito”
and a moody cover of Brook Benton’s gospel-soaked
ballad “I’ll Take Care Of You”),
John Thomas (who plays either piano, B3 or Wurlitzer
organ on most of the cuts) and fire-in-the-belly
backing vocalists Cynthia Manley and Jessica Williams.
Like
few others these days, deep soul stylist Payne
operates solidly in the rarefied realm of legends
like Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Al Green
and Solomon Burke. Tight-as-a-drum band originals
like the jumping “Mean Evil Woman,”
the guitar/organ soaked title tune and smooth,
superbly arranged ballads like “A Fool
Named Me” and “Warm Rain Fallin’,”
in particular, reveal how well Payne and Edmondson,
whose blend of West Side Chicago and Texas guitar
styles is quite refreshing, unfailingly bring
out the best in each other. Other highlights
include a pair of bawdy, under-the-sheets, knock-outs
(“The Real Deal” and “Sweet
Landlady”), a greasy horn/organ spiced
redo of Bobby “Blue” Bland’s
cathartic “A Nickel And A Nail”
and the bluesiest track on the album—a
brooding tribute to Payne’s adopted hometown
titled “Wake Me Up In San Francisco”
that sounds like it could have been waxed for
Johnny Otis’ famous Dig label back in
1957 or 1958.
The
Payne/Edmondson duo released an excellent but
ill-distributed CD in 2003, titled “Partners
In The Blues,” but with this debut on
the high visibility Delta Groove imprint their
popularity should begin to match their talent
and move beyond the West Coast. For more info,
audio clips and photos dial up DeltaGrooveProductions.com.
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