"You Ain't Unlucky" is an auspicious debut by a young New England pianist-singer-songwriter who is 17 and yet a seasoned pro. On this eight-song release, she is backed by a drummer with a sax added on several selections. Mike Walsh handles the drummer's chair for five of the selections, with Chris Anzalone playing on two and Ben Rogers on one. Don Davis plays sax on four selections, and Joel Edinburg heard on one.
One can hear a variety of influences in her two-handed piano playing. These go back to the boogie-woogie masters of the thirties to the Chicago blues of Otis Spann, the New Orleans piano style of Professor Longhair and Doctor John, and the hillbilly boogie piano of Moon Mulligan and Jerry Lee Lewis. Starting with the Crescent City rumba blues of the title track, the roadhouse boogie of "Clarksdale Sun" to her "Ode to Jerry Lee," and the closing "Memphis Train," Lewis shows that she is an exciting pianist with a crisp attack. This listener hopes to see her add a Jimmy Yancey styled approach to her slower material, but she is still growing and maturing after all.
Although she sings with a tad bit too much vibrato for this listener's taste, she is a robust and tuneful singer. This is a quibble, and one would expect her to be more nuanced in her phrasing and vocal dynamics. In any event, this is quite a notable debut that shows more than promise.
I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is the official video for "You Ain't Unlucky."
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