Dave Keller You Get What You Give

Dave Keller
You Get What You Give
Tastee Tone Records

Singer-guitarist-songwriter Dave Keller has put together a special new recording dedicated to raising funds toward enhancing racial justice and equity. Keller, whose mix of soul and blues has earned him acclaim, fans, and friends, is joined by Trudy Lynn, Joe Louis Walker, Annika Chambers, Johnny Rawls, Annie Mack, Dawn Tyler Watson, Brother Bob White, Carly Harvey, Toussaint St. Negritude, Katie Henry, Chad Hollister and others who donated their time and talent for this recording. Even before release, raised over $2,000.00 from pre-orders with "all of which will go directly to groups working for racial justice and equity." The list of recipient groups includes the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Know Your Rights Camp, N'COBRA, and Jus' Blues Foundation.

Separate apart from the fundraising aspect of this album; the performances are stunning. This starts with the opening duet between Keller and Annika Chambers, "One More Tear." It is a superb Memphis soul styled song about two lovers who can't get over each other. The production, the playing, and the singing are exceptional. It sets the tone and standard for this album. More of the same is present in the duet with Carly Harvey, "The Thing We Do," as the two celebrate their love for each other. Another outstanding duet is the title track with Annie Mack with its country-soul flavor. There is an uplifting duet between Keller and Dawn Tyler Watson, "God Is Love/ Love Is Everything."

Among other inspired songs are "The Evil Men Do." This song has a topical lyric about this land be haunted with bodies handing on the tree and lying on the ground under a knee as Annika Chamber, Annie Mack, and Johnnie Rawls add their voices. Ira Friedman adds a stark piano backing, with Tom Palance adding a haunting trumpet solo. Friedman's spare piano also backs Keller's sober vocal on "The Spark." Brother Bob White sings and plays piano on the classic gospel number "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" with Keller adding responsive guitar.

There are other equally stirring performances. These include those with Joe Louis Walker and Katie Henry. Also, Keller's acoustic steel guitar and harmonica support Toussaint St.Negritude on the spoken blues "I'm Gonna Let It Shine," about standing on the banks of tomorrow and pressing for a brighter tomorrow. This number concludes a remarkable recording, one of the finest new recordings I have heard in 2020. "You Get What You Give" is not merely great music but raises money for a great cause.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here Dave performs "The Evil Men Do."

Annika Chambers Kiss My Sass

Annika Chambers
Kiss My Sass
VizzTone

About Annika Chambers' 2014 debut album "Making My Mark," I wrote about this excellent debut, "Annika Chambers may possess a powerful voice but she also is a marvelous singer whose timing, phrasing and her sense of dynamics is quite impressive, and one awaits more funky blues and soul from her in the future." In the interim, she won the 2019 Blues Music Award for Female Soul-Blues Artist. This is her third album and produced by Richard Cagle and Larry Fulcher who produced her debut album with drummer Tony Braunagel co-producing two selections he plays drums on. Fulcher is the bassist on this with a variety of other musicians including guitarists The Might Org, David Carter, and James Wilhite. One track is a duet with Canadian guitarist Paul DesLauriers.

There is a nice mix of songs from a variety of sources opening with the "Let the Sass Out," where after a workweek is over and she no longer has to take crap she can let her sass out. Her impressive vocal is set against an insistent groove, and there is some hot guitar. As strong as that vocal is, she is perhaps even more commanding on "That's What You Made Me," singing about what her cheating man has made her. She commands the listener's attention with her articulation, dynamics, phrasing, and passion in her singing.

Her singing is superb throughout, and the backing is first-rate. A few more of the stand-out tracks include Mack Rice's "What Your Thing," where Ruthie Foster adds background vocals and on which the Mighty Org lays down pedal steel guitar in the backing. Then there is a marvelous rendition of Angela Strehli's "Two-Bit Texas Town" celebrating listening to the blues over the radio and Muddy Waters, Lightnin' Hopkins, and others making them want to dance. Barry Sellen's Hammond B-3 adds grease to this spirited performance. Chambers and Fulcher wrote "A Brand New Day," a terrific blues where her heartfelt singing is backed just by the Mighty Org's nuanced guitar, Randy Wall's keyboards and Fulcher's bass. Perhaps no performance better displays the emotion and soulfulness she sings with than a Carolyn Wonderland blues-ballad, "Stay." Then there is a marvelous cover of the Sugar Pie DeSanto-Etta James classic "In The Basement."

The album closes with Chris Smither's "I Feel So Same," where Canadian blues wizard Paul DesLauriers whose provides the steel guitar slide accompaniment as well as adds vocal responses to Chambers vocal. It is another moving performance on an excellent album.

I received my review copy from VizzTone. I will be posting my review of "Making My Mark" shortly. This review appeared in the September-October 2019 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 386), although I made minor stylistic changes. Here is a recent performance of "Kiss My Sass."