JACKIE PAYNE STEVE EDMONSON BAND "MASTER OF THE GAME" Source: Down Beat Magazine Date: 03/2007 Writer: Frank-John Hadley

Jackie Payne Steve Edmonson Band: Master Of The Game (Delta Groove 110; 51:07) *** Soul-blues singer Payne has the pedigree–he cut his teeth back in the ’60s in Texas blues speakeasies with Albert Collins and long worked for Johnny Otis. Co-fronting one of the best working bands today, Payne and able guitarist Edmonson show a lively intuition in overhauling the tried-and-true Southern soul and blues forms. They smack a three-run homer energizing “Wake Me Up In San Francisco.”