Mary Jo Curry Band Front Porch

Mary Jo Curry Band
Front Porch
Self-Produced

Out of Illinois, the Mary Curry Band makes a strong musical statement with its new album. A classically trained singer, pianist, and actor was struck by this band she heard in a small club. It was there she met the guitarist, and her future husband, Michael Rapier. Five years after playing together, they met Chris Rogers on bass and Rick Snow on drums to form the core of the band. Not only did they become a tight band, but they also became gifted songwriters and produced this new recording. Brett Donovan or Ezra Casey on keyboards, and Brian Moore on saxophone round out the touring and recording band. On this recording, they are joined by special guests Albert Castiglia, Tom Holland, and Andrew Duncanson. Nine of the eleven songs are band-written originals.

With a funky bass riff, the album kicks off with "Nothin' Is Easy," as Curry sings about bad times being here and she standing at the crossroads but life ain't unfair. Castiglia takes a short solo while Brett Donovan on the Hammond and saxophonist Moore stand out. It is followed by a party song where Curry says she wants to turn up, get down and "Turn It Loose." She quickly displays an authority in her singing with nuanced vocal dynamics, clear diction, and the relaxed feel of her phrasing. All this while the band helps build the excitement in her vocals with their backing. Tom Holland adds scintillating guitar on as she lambastes her lover on "All Your Lies." The band is superb with Rogers and Snow putting together a tight shuffle groove.

She impressively handles the complexity of a relationship in "The Man," as well as duets with Duncanson on "Lookin'," which set against an insistent driving groove. The urgency of her vocals on these two songs contrast with the wistful quality on the ballad "House Is Lonely." It says so much about how good a singer she is that she is equally convincing in both settings. Andrew Terrell Thomas wrote "Explaining the Blues," where she pulls out all the emotional and vocal stops singing about while she left one man for another. Casey's organ solo adds to the drama of her outstanding performance.

"Shake and Bake" is an instrumental feature that showcases Tom Holland's fleet Chicago blues fretwork and saxophonist Moore, set against the crisp rhythm section. Castiglia is back for a spirited cover of Edgar Winter's "We Had a Real Good Time," and the brooding title track about waiting and making her plans for her man who has been keeping strange company and doing Mary Jo wrong. There is a second line-gospel-funk feel to "Joyful," that closes this impressive, outstanding recording.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is Mary Jo Curry in performance.

 

Mary Jo Curry Impresses

Mary Jo Curry
Guitar Angel Records

A veteran of touring theater companies, Mary Jo Curry discovered a love for the blues five years ago. Now she has an eponymously titled debut album produced by James Armstrong comprised of four originals and five covers. Curry wrote two of the originals and her husband Michael Rapier wrote two as well as shares guitar duties with Armstrong. Others on the album are bassists Darryl Wright and Lawrence Baulden, drummer Andrew Blaze Thomas, keyboardist Brett Donovan, a horn section of Dick Garretson (trumpet), Mike Gillette (sax) and Larry Niehaus (trombone) and backing vocals from L.A. Davison.

Curry impresses as a singer throughout this nicely produced straight-ahead set of blues. Her pitch, her phrasing and dynamics underlie her very expressive and soulful vocals. The backing is also very nice, handling a nice range of material from the opening Curry original jump-blues shuffle, "Ooooo Weeee," where she celebrates her wrong-doing man having left and she is finally free to Rapier's closing, funky "Smellin'," where she confronts her cheating man who is smelling like sex again with nice slide guitar from him as well. Themes of relationships in trouble are also present on Rapier's "Husband #2," an urban blues with some solid guitar (thinking it may be Armstrong taking lead here) and riffing horns, as she advises watch one says and do, as she is looking for Husband #2.

Covers include a nice rendition of Junior Wells' "Little By Little," as well Koko Taylor's "Voodoo Woman," although she doesn't quite match Koko's original (which few could reach in any event). "When a Woman's Had Enough"  originally recorded by Bettye Lavette and later by Shemekia Copeland, on which Curry produces a fine vocal that perhaps best displays her vocal range on thismarvelous song. Not previously having heard of Mary Jo Curry, this listener were delighted by this solid debut. Kudos to James Armstrong for the tight, uncluttered production and to the musicians who played on this fine recording.
I received my review copy from a publicist.Here is a clip of her performing in public.