JACKIE PAYNE STEVE EDMONSON BAND "MASTER OF THE GAME" Source: Blues Revue Magazine Date: 01/2007 Writer: THOMAS J. CULLEN III

In his four-decade career, vocalist Jackie Payne performed with Lone Star State luminaries like T-Bone Walker, Gatemouth Brown, and Freddie King before relocating to California, where he worked with the Johnny Otis Revue for much of the past 15 years. Guitarist Steve Edmonson has performed withBay Area blues and soul acts for two decades. In the 1980s, both artists were members of the soul revival group the Dynatones. Today, they lead one of the tightest soul-blues aggregations of the new millennium.

For Master of the Game, guest keyboardists John Thomas and Fred Kaplan augment the core band of bassist Bill Singletary, drummer Nick Otis (Johnny Otis’ son), and the Sweet Meat Horns (saxist Carl Green and trumpeter John Middleton). The group’s warm, muscular sound is equally influenced by Duke and Stax on 10 originals and three choice covers (O.V. Wright’s “A Nickel and a Nail,” Johnnie Taylor’s “Just the One I¹ve Been Looking For,” and Bobby Bland’s “I’ll Take Care of You”). Tradition-minded originals masterfully straddle the fence between big-boned Texas blues and classic Southern soul. The bump ¹n¹ grind shuffle “Sweet Landlady” tells a roguish tale in the style of Travis Haddix about a special landlady who “takes her rent out in trade.” The after-hours slow blues “Wake Me Up in San Francisco” is reminiscent of Albert King¹s early Stax years, and “Warm Rain Fallin’,” a gentle dirge, contemplates the end of a love affair.

Payne is an immensely soulful vocalist comparable to Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, and Bobby Bland. The versatile Edmonson’s guitar recalls both Steve Cropper’s shimmering minimalism and Albert King’s razor-wire snarl. Master of the Game makes fresh the glorious timelessness of blues and soul.