Sonny Green Found! One Soul Singer

Sonny Green
Found! One Soul Singer
Little Village Foundation

"Found! One Soul Singer" is the latest release from the Little Village Foundation. The album is the first full album by Robert 'Sonny' Green, a Louisiana native who relocated to Los Angeles. Green was named Sonny by Big Jay McNeely to make folks think he was Little Sonny Warner, the vocalist on "There Is Something On Your Mind." Growing up, he was a classmate of Mighty Sam McClain. He did record some highly prized 45s.

This recording was done at Kid Andersen's Greaseland Studio, and Andersen plays guitar. Others on the session include Jim Pugh on Hammond B3, Chris Burns on clavinet and piano, Endre Tarczy on bass, and Ronnie Smith on drums. Others on the session include Mariachi Mestizo on violins, Jeff Lewis on trumpet, Mike Rinta on trombone, and Aaron Lington on tenor and baritone saxophone. D'mar plays drums on one track while Terry Hanck and Gordon Beadle are heard soloing on one track each.

Musically, this is a very appealing album of modern urban blues and soul-blues in the vein of Bobby Bland, Little Milton, Syl Johnson, Little Johnny Taylor, and others. He has the gospel-rooted screams and chocked cries down and puts everything into the performances here that are ably backed. There are times when his diction is a bit slurred, as on the cover of Bobby Bland's "I'm So Tired" and Little Milton's "If Walls Could Talk." His rendition of "Blind Man" owes a bit to Little Milton. It is a fine performance, as is Green's channeling of Syl Johnson on the churning groove of "Back For a Taste of Your Love." Trumpeter Lewis stands out with his brief horn blasts here.

Rick Estrin's "I Beg Your Pardon" is a superb slow blues with a vocal that would do Little Johnny Taylor proud. Pugh plays a greasy organ solo. There is a deep soul rendition of an early Willie Nelson song, "Are You Sure." Alabama Mike joins on an original, "Trouble." It is a first-rate duet in the style of the Jewel recordings by Ted Taylor and Little Johnny Taylor. Incidentally, the CD cover lists it as the ninth track. It is the eighth track, and "If You Want Me To Keep Loving You," another strong performance in the Little Johnny Taylor mode, is the ninth track.

This album closes with a well-sung cover of Ted Taylor's "Be Ever Wonderful." There is plenty to enjoy about this recording. Sonny Green ably evokes so many greats as he recreates their songs. He certainly displays his considerable vocal chops, and Kid Andersen and the backing musicians provide top-flight backing. For fans of soul-blues and deep soul, Little Village Foundation has indeed found a most soulful singer.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is Sonny Green performing recently.

 

The Lucky Losers In Any Town

The Lucky Losers
In Any Town
Dirty Cat Records

It was a little over a year that this writer praised the debut release by The Lucky Losers, "A Winning Hand." This band led by vocalists Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz (who also plays harmonica), also includes Marvin Greene on guitar; Chris Burns on keyboards, Tim Wagar on bass and Robi Bean on drums. Recorded at Kid Andersen's Greaseland Studio, Andersen also adds guitar, keyboards and percussion as well as co-produced this with Berkowitz and Lemons. Others contributing to this include Terry Hanck, Frank Goldwasser, Jeff Jensen, D'Mar and Michael Peloquin. Berkowitz and Danny Caron contributed four originals, Lemons five and there are a couple of renditions of songs not often covered among blues-roots bands.

Listening to the duo again, I remained especially impressed by Lemons natural and soulful delivery while Berkowitz's own unforced singing complements her so well. This is evident on the opening Berkowitz-Caron original "So High," a strong performance that might evoke Delaney & Bonnie. There is an unexpected, and very playful cover of the June and Johnny Cash duet, "Jackson," that shows the rapport between the two. Lemons' original "Don't Let 'Em SeeYa Cry," is a powerful slow blues set against a backing that recalls some of the Johnnie Taylor blues for Stax in the late 60s and early 70s (for example "Hello Sundown" and "Little Bluebird"). Greene suggests Little Milton with his solo on this which is followed by a nice harp solo from Berkowitz on a potent performance. Berkowitz sings "Blind Man In The Dark," for a nice blue-eyed soul performance. Franck Goldwasser plays slide on the rocking blues duet "I Can't Change Ya," while there is a reflective quality by Lemons on her title track.

A cover of Bobby Charles' "Small Town Talk," closes another fine recording by Lemons and Berkowitz. The quality and variety of material and the crisp, uncluttered and unhurried backing contribute to another superior recording from The Lucky Losers.

I received my review copy from a publicist. This review appeared originally in the July-August 2016  Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 367).