JACKIE PAYNE STEVE EDMONSON BAND "OVERNIGHT SENSATION" Source: Hittin’ The Note (Issue 59) Date: 09/2008 Writer: n/a

The teamwork on display in the San Francisco-based Jackie Payne Steve Edmonson Band is tight-knit and spectacular.  On Overnight Sensation, the six band members and their guests swirl together a scintillating and zesty mélange, leaning decidedly towards the soul end of the soul/blues realm they so naturally inhabit.  The herky-jerky rhythms and blasts of brass in “Can I Hit it Again” seem snatched straight out of the James Brown trick bag, but are in fact original.  Payne’s honeyed growl is perfect for that kind of groove, but he’s at his zenith when he sings downright resplendent soul.  He alternately croons and belts out “Take a Chance with Me” as if directly to the spirits of Redding and Pickett.  Believe it, they’re right there, quite impressed.  Edmonson works his guitar like a paintbrush, stroking and soloing with subtle yet striking style and clarity.  He bites only when he has to on this album, and does just that on the ingenious “Bag Full of Doorknobs.”  Overnight Sensation is a colorful affidavit affirming the fact that Jackie Payne and Steve Edmonson lead one of the best old-school, new imagination soul/blues acts, period.  (DeltaGrooveMusic.com)