Patti Parks – Come Sing with Me
VizzTone Label Group VT-PP02
10 songs – 45 minutes
Based out of Buffalo, N.Y., where she’s a blues hall of famer, a practicing nurse and an advocate of the healing power of the music through her foundation, Nurse’n Blues, Patti Parks’ honeyed mid-range voice is enough to make her a star in her own right. And it’s even more of a treat when she joins forces with another giant, too. And that’s what she does here, teaming on the mic with soul-blues master Johnny Rawls for a set that includes two duets.
Patti’s second release on the VizzTone imprint, the revolving lineup includes appearances from BMA winner Anthony Geraci on the 88s along with label co-owner Richard Rosenblatt on harp.
Produced by Rawls and recorded, mixed and mastered by Anthony Casuccio, it’s a mostly-original effort that includes six tracks penned by keyboard player Guy Nirelli, one in partnership with Johnny, who added two more of his own, and another with Parks. The work of award-winning team of Derrick Procell and Terry Abrahamson are featured on two cuts. The only cover in the set was by vocalist Phyllis Livingston, who was married to song-and-dance legend Fred Astaire for 21 years until her death in the ‘50s.
Joining Geraci and Nirelli on keys is Aaron Blackmon, who also adds drums. They’re joined by guitarist Aaron Flynt and bassist Tony Cammilleri, who appear throughout. Hugh Arthur handles drums on seven tracks, and Kenny Thomasula adds percussion and congas on three. The lineup also includes horns from Kenny Parker (tenor sax), John Maguda and Rick Keller (trumpet) with backup vocals provided by Kimera Lattimore, Zuri Appleby, Robin Grandin and Casuccio.
Patti and Johnny kick off the action in style with the duet, “I’m in Love with You Baby,” trading verses atop a slow, but steady groove as they set the stage for what’s to come. Each note they sing is imbued with deep emotion and devotion. Geraci blazes on the keys from the jump for the uptempo, steady-driving “DJ’s Boogie (I Like to Boogie)” as Parks sings praises for cutting a rug on the dance floor all night long.
Then the tempo gets molasses slow for Percell and Abrahamson’s burner, “One Foot Out the Door,” in which Patti comes to terms with the fact that her man’s going through the motions before leaving for one last time. The feel brightens from the opening notes of “Sing Around the World,” which celebrates performing for audiences around the world and urging them to join her in song. “I’m Sorry,” a funky shuffle, apologizes for her own multiple missteps in a relationship while pointing out that it’s all been payback for the offenses coming her way, too.
Delivered with true stop-time Windy City feel and featuring Rosenblatt on the reeds, Livingston’s “Hamburger Man” is a love song directed at a man who truly cooks. It yields to the “Why,” a powerful ballad that questions why a seeming one-and-only has been running around with other ladies on the side.
The brightness returns with Percell and Abrahamson’s sparkling “A Lotta Man” before Parks and Rawls team once again for “How Much Longer,” a duet in which she wonders how long it’s going to take before her man comes to her side. His response is that – after a 40-year relationship – he knows she’s been cheating, too. And, as the closer states, it’s a “Good Day for the Blues.”
If you love soul-blues, you’ll treasure this one. Patti and Johnny shine atop skintight arrangements throughout.
