JACKIE PAYNE STEVE EDMONSON BAND "MASTER OF THE GAME" Source: Blues & Rhythm Magazine Date: 09/2006 Writer: Phil Wight

Jackie Payne has worked with T-Bone Walker, Freddie King and Pee Wee Crayton, and was featured frontman with the Johnny Otis Revue for fifteen years. His forte is the deep soul sounds of Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett. Jackie Payne and Steve Edmonson have a track record that goes back ten years; other musicians on board are bassist Bill Singletary, drummer Nick Otis (son of Johnny Otis), and the Sweet Meet Horns (Carl Green on saxes and John Middleton on trumpet). Fred Kaplan and John Thomas guest on piano. With ten originals and three covers on board, ‘Master of The Game’ is an old school outing, with feet firmly planted in the blues and Southern soul camps.

Home run hitters? well for me the thundering opening cut ‘Mean Evil Woman’ is a real attention grabber, ‘The Real Deal’ is a straight ahead blues with femme backing singers and a booting tenor sax chorus, while ‘A Fool Named Me’ inhabits Southern soul territory. The bluesy ‘Woman In Kansas City’ has an Elmore style intro, Edmonson really struts his stuff on this outing.

‘Wake Me Up In San Francisco’ is a slowie in an Albert King bag; Steve Cropper and Eddie Floyd penned the Memphis style groover ‘Just The One’, with Cynthia Manley and Jessica Williams on backing vocals it’s a real gospel tinged mover. Driven along by a relentless rhythm guitar line and riffing tenor sax, Edmonson’s original, the T-Bone Walker inspired instrumental ‘Cabranito’ is definitely not a filler! The closer ‘I’ll Take Care Of You’ is a slowie, with Jackie Payne delivering a passionate reading of this Brook Benton original.

Payne has not received the acclaim that he surely deserves and Edmonson is a versatile guitarist, whether laying down a rhythm line or stepping out. This new Delta Groove release surely must be the stepping-stone to bigger things for Payne and Edmonson, check these guys out, they’re hot!!