JACKIE PAYNE STEVE EDMONSON BAND "OVERNIGHT SENSATION" Source: Big City Blues Date: 10/2008 Writer: Gary von Tersch

Don’t let the album title fool you, this dynamic soul/blues duo have been at I for years, with countless appearances at clubs and festivals locally as well as globally. I know the Wheelchair Man and I have caught them more than one Sunday afternoon at the coast side Half Moon Bay Brewing Company out our way. Terrific soul-clapping vocalist Payne and guitarist Edmonson (whose father Travis was a well known touring folk musician back in the day) are accompanied here by their usual back-up quartet of bassist Bill Singletary, drummer Nick Otis (son of the legendary Johnny Otis, who Payne worked with for years), and the famed Sweet Meet Horns – composed of veteran tenor and alto saxist/arranger Carl Green and trumpeter Lech Wierzynski. Special guest musicians on a few tracks include versatile keyboardist Gail Deadrick and baritone saxist Jeff Turmes, with Mitch Kashmar adding some steamy harmonica fills on both the declarative “No Money, No Honey” and what sounds like a lost Muddy Waters song titled “I Got a Mind to Go to Chicago.”

Other originals, with Edmonson writing the music for Payne’s lyrics, that particularly connect, include the clever “Bag Full of Doorknobs,” a conversational classic-to-be-a la Al Green or Solomon Burke called “Midnight Friend” (bolstered at the close by an uncredited female vocalist), the slowly and soulfully unrolling ballad “Take a Chance On Me” and “Can I Hit It Again,” that tosses a little finger-popping funk into the combo’s heady mix.

A handful of well-chosen covers attest to the duo’s versatility as well as to their chemistry as a team. I’m thinking especially of a brilliant nine-minute medley of Rodger Collins’ “She’s Looking Good”. Eddie Floyd’s “I’ve Never Found a Girl,” shifts the mood on a dime its stylistic flair recalls the timeless R&B sounds of Otis Redding or Bobble “Blue” Bland. Other covers like a down-home “Mother-in-Law Blues”, a tightly arranged redo of Isaac Hayes’ “Your Good Thing (Is About to End)” and a gospel influenced version of country songwriter Charlie Rich’s world-weary “Feel Like Going Home” raise the eyebrow as well. Yet another winner from the leader in West Coast roots and blues music. Check out their ever-growing catalog at deltagrooveproductions.com