Wee Willie Walker & The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra - Not In My Lifetime -

Wee Willie Walker & The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra - Not In My Lifetime - Blue Dot Records

Listening to a recording as good as "Not in My Lifetime" is bittersweet, knowing that there will be no more music from this marvelous soul and blues singer. Wee Willie Walker, who recorded for Goldwax Records decades ago, passed away three days after finishing recording this album. As a brief snippet of an interview with Willie that opens this album indicates, Willie went home feeling joyful after the music before dying in his sleep. It is a follow-up to "After A While," also with Anthony Paule leading the backing. I wrote about that album that it was "an imaginatively programmed and arranged recording, that showcases one of the last original soul singers. We should be thankful he is with us and still sings with all his vocal talent intact on a terrific recording." 

Paule on lead guitar and electric sitar leads a backing band consisting of Tony Lufrano on keyboards, Endre Tarczy on bass, Kevin Hayes. On drums, Derek James on trombone, Bill Ortiz on trumpet, Charles McNeal on tenor saxophone, and Rob Sudduth on baritone saxophone. Background vocals are provided by Larry Batiste, Sandy Griffith, and Omega Rae, with The Sons of the Soul Revivers doing the background on one track. Jon Otis adds percussion to four selections, and Curt Ingram adds french horn to one track. There are ten originals, one an instrumental by Tarczy, and nine songs are by Christine Vitale, mostly in collaboration with Paul and Batiste. One of the covers revives one of his Goldwax recordings, and the other two are songs that go back to Little Willie John.

The music here is consistently top-flight soul and blues with a strong dose of Memphis with a touch of the Philly Sound. The Soul orchestra is tight and pushes a strong groove behind Walker's soul-drenched singing, starting with Walker exhorting his women to "Don't Let Me Get In Your Way," as she tells her friends Willie is not satisfying. The Memphis feel of that opening track shifts to the soul ballad, "Over and Over," with the vocal chorus evoking the Philly sound. Then there is a Latin groove for "Real Good Lie," which punchy horns from Tony Lufrano's horn arrangement while Paule musically dancing with his guitar solo.

"Darling Mine" conjures the classic era of deep Memphis soul with a vocal that has some of the power of the legendary Johnny Taylor. The Sons of the Soul Providers provides a gospel feel for the positive message that we are in this together on "I'm Just Like You," and we should try to find common ground. "Make Your Own Good News" has the feel of a classic Curtis Mayfield recording if it had been recorded at Memphis or Muscle Shoals. I am not familiar with the Goldwax original "Warm To Cool To Cold," but Walker was still preaching his soul at these sessions. It is great to hear the covers of Little Willie John's recordings "Heartbreak" and "Suffering With the Blues," sung with such conviction and backed so wonderfully.

Tarczy's "Almost Memphis" is a funky instrumental that allows the band members to stretch out, followed by "'Til You've Walked In My Shoes," a jazzy-flavored and sophisticated performance with Paule's carefully crafted guitar solo along with Walker's outstanding singing. "Not In My Lifetime" is a recording that will stay in the hearts of soul and blues lovers for many, many years. Wee Willie Walker left us with a stellar recording that is sure to be on many Best of 2021 lists.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is a performance by Wee Willie Walker & The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra.

Paula Harris Speakeasy

Paula Harris
Speakeasy
Self-produced

Born in South Carolina but now based in the San Francisco Bay area, vocalist Paula Harris has impressed folks in the Blues Scene. Her band finished in the top 3 in the 2012 International Blues Challenge and recordings have furthered her stature with praises from Dan Ackroyd, the late Lou Rawls and Stax legend William Bell.

Her new recording takes her into more of jazz setting as she explores the nexus of blues and jazz backed by an acoustic piano trio. The backing musicians include pianist Nate Ginsburg, bassist Richard Girard, and drummer Derrick 'D'Mar' Martin, with guest appearances from trumpeter Bill Ortiz, a poetic rap from Big Llou Johnson, and Christoffer 'Kid' Andersen on bongos on one song and waterpipe on another. "Speakeasy" was recorded at Andersen's Greaseland Studios, and he mixed the recording.

10 of the 16 songs on my CD are originals with Harris' lyrics and music from her and Ginsburg, two are from Bay area friends, and the others are interpretations of standards. Scott Yanow has suggested in the liner notes that Paula Harris has created a jazz-blues fusion, bridging "the gap between blues and jazz, while not neglecting soul and R&B." I have other singers around Washington DC (where I live) do the same, although they are often viewed as jazz singers. This is not to diminish the talent or what Paula Harris has accomplished here. She is a terrific vocalist. She sings expressively with power, but subtle and nuanced and one can appreciate the what the late Lou Rawls meant when he said she was "A thin vanilla coating on a dark chocolate soul."

And she brings her vocal talents to some stunning originals like the cautionary "Nothing Good Happens After Midnight," and the evocative ballad "Haunted." The there is spice and exuberance of "Soul Sucking Man," well she sings about resisting the temptation and charms of this gentleman, and her sober, elegiac rendition of "Good Morning Heartache" a marvelous interpretation of a song associated with Billie Holiday. "A Mind of Her Own" is a superb straight blues while trumpeter Ortiz creates a haunting mood to the sensual "Something Wicked" with interplay with her interaction with Big Llou Johnson's poetic rap. Ortiz's muted trumpet adds to the late-night feel of the Thelonious Monk jazz standard "Round Midnight" to which she has provided original lyrics and delivers a superb, longing vocal. Her splendid rendition fo Al Kooper's "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" is based on Donny Hathaway's interpretation. After the minor-toned blues about a cheating lover, "Who Put Those Scratches On Your Back," the CD closes with a playful take on Louis Jordan's "Is You Or Is You Ain't My Baby."

The contributions of her backing piano trio should not be overlooked. Pianist Ginsburg especially impressed with his deft accompaniments and lively, imaginative solos while the rhythm duo of Girard and Martin provide a light, yet firm foundation for Paula Harris' expressive, subtle singing. With this backing and the excellent material, "Speakeasy" is a superb recording.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is a video of her performing "Nothing Good Happens After Midnight."