Sugaray Rayford - Trasimeno Blues, Castiglione del Lago, 22 July 2023

“You don’t understand a word I’m saying, do you?” chuckles Sugaray Rayford as he addresses the audience at the Trasimeno Blues Festival, giving them his customary spiel about how “This ain’t a concert, it’s a party.”  I reckon more of them understand him than he thinks, not least because a chunk of them are tourists, and English is often the lingua franca among Europeans from different countries.
Anyway it really doesn’t matter, because they all understand Sugaray’s soul-blues language - 

Sugaray Rayford makes a soul connection

they wouldn’t be here otherwise.  When he and his band crank up the opening ‘Who Is He (And What Is He To You)’, a soul-funk riot á la James Brown, you just know that everyone is on board, encouraged by Sugaray’s calls of “Come on!”
They bring a lighter, Motown-ish touch to ‘Is It Just Me’, but if anything it’s more danceable.  They cool things down a bit with the suitably brooding, strutting groove of ‘I’d Kill For You, Honey’, but only to take a breath before the bright and bubbling ‘Gonna Lift You Up’, during which Sugaray pursues his mission to connect with the crowd by going walkabout among them – not for the last time.  Following that with his take on ‘Bricks In My Pillow’, a song that goes back to Robert Nighthawk and beyond, he achieves his goal of hosting a dance party, with a spot on Memphis soul groove and the embellishment of some wickedly squealing guitar work from Danny Avila.
Dancing gets a bit more tricky with the staccato funk of ‘Miss Information’, with its skipping rhythm and Latin-style horns.  But they get right back on track with long-time favourite ‘Big Legged Woman’, on which Sugaray proclaims that “Big legs, short skirts, are back in style”, shaking it all about himself and encouraging Avila to get bopping too.
They unfurl a more romantic soul vibe on ‘I Don’t Regret A Mile’, with Rayford contemplating all

Sugaray checks that Danny Avila is in party mode

the travels he’s undertaken on his musical journey, getting deep-rooted for a trumpet solo and some wailing sax playing – but along the way, characteristically, managing to take a detour into a playful burst of reggae.  And they get even more into romantic mode with a slowie on which Sugaray reflects ruefully that “The way you used to love me baby, is the way you hate me now”, while a few more solos are shared around.
Rayford takes the time to reflect on the impact of the Covid pandemic and how, despite being a serial award winner, he began to wonder if he’d had just about enough of the music business, until his wife observed that he was in too deep to stop now, inspiring the title track of his 2022 album In Too Deep, a tough and resilient affair.  ‘Invisible Soldier’ follows, like ‘Miss Information’ in a twitchy, less dance-friendly funk vein, but once again an R’n’B oldie restores the party vibe, as they belt out a warmly received ‘Grits Ain’t Groceries’.
Rayford’s playful tendencies are underlined when long-standing keyboard buddy Drake Shining leads the way on their version of Floyd’s ‘Comfortably Numb’, and if Shining’s delivery is slightly tongue in cheek, there’s nothing silly about the way Avila transitions from shimmering guitar backing to a suitably screaming solo.
At the end of the night though, it’s Rayford who’s on stage alone, seated on a chair, as he delivers an a cappellaversion of the song he says is his long time favourite, ‘What A Wonderful World’.  It’s a pin-drop moment from a singer who’s a commanding presence.  Sugaray Rayford may be a genial dance party host, but as a performer he’s also much more than that when he wants to be.
 

Sugaray Rayford - In Too Deep

Okay, sit back and relax.  Imagine it’s the late Sixties, and you’re in Memphis – Stax studios in fact.  Isaac Hayes and David Porter have come up with a song – this is before Isaac gets all Black Messiah, mind – and Booker T & The MGs are working up an arrangement for it on the fly.  Or maybe you’re in Royal Studios a couple of years later, with Don Bryant and Ann Peebles trying to sort a new tune, while the Hi Rhythm Section stand by, ready and waiting.  Or maybe it’s not Memphis, maybe it’s Philly, and you’re sitting in while Gamble and Huff are putting together a soulful statement about black pride for The O’Jays – but going easy on the strings.

Sugaray Rayford - the man knows how to get down!

Pic by Robert Hansenne

Can you feel the vibe?  Good.  Don't get too comfortable though, because now you’re ready to enjoy the kind of Southern soul, R’n’B sound served up by Sugaray Rayford on his latest album In Too Deep.
The opening ‘Invisible Soldier’ sets the tone, with its stop-start funky groove, tripping drums, bright horn interjections – and most of all the towering, molasses-rich tones of Sugaray himself.  Maybe it’s a tad energetic for a meditation on inner conflict and the elusiveness of dreams, but the tense bridge with its ghostly backing vocals helps to make the point.  This is the kind of strong soul musical mood that’s carried right through to the closing ‘United We Stand’, with its ‘Love Train’ kinda party-in-solidarity thing, on which Sugaray declares it’s “Time to get on the dance floor” to its foot-shuffling groove.  The cackling encouragement he offers as it draws to a close captures the joie de vivre of a guy who in his live shows – believe me – knows how to get down.
In between, ‘No Limit To My Love’ is a smouldering soul affair with a stuttering bass line from Taras Prodaniuk and twinkling guitar fills from Eamon Ryland, with some swoonsome chord changes contributing to a delicious pre-chorus.  ‘Under The Crescent Moon’ is a strolling, bouncing paean to the second-line funk of New Orleans, with warmly grooving electric piano and a catchy chorus, spiced up by great little bursts of horns and flute.
‘Please Take My Hand’ walks a different path, with a field song vibe based on moaning backing vocals and handclaps.  It’s a simple tune, but weighted with meaning – a magnetic summing up of the Black American experience in just three minutes, that still hangs on to hope, with a committed, heartfelt vocal from Sugaray.  It is, in its singular style, the best thing here.  ‘One’ is a more conventionally soulful hymn to togetherness, mixing the personal and political.  But it still works, with pricklings of strings creating atmosphere under another affecting Rayford vocal.
Is ’Gonna Lift You Up’ genuinely danceable?  Maybe if you can rustle up a St Vitus Dance twitch to go with the busy bass line and Matt Tecu’s shuffling drums, never mind the abrupt horn injections.  Whatever, it’s an upbeat, good-time tune, with a pin-pricking guitar solo from Rick Holmstrom and a honking sax break from Aaron Liddard.
There are other treats you can uncover for yourself - and if you like song-led Southern soul stylings, with a seriously big singer who’s worthy of that tradition, then you really should make the effort.  Maybe In Too Deep doesn’t have all the modern snap, crackle and pop that made its 2019 predecessor Somebody Save Me a real standout, but Sugaray Rayford and his songwriter/producer buddy Eric Corne still deserve a high five for delivering the goods.
 
In Too Deep is out now on Forty Below Records.

Blues Enthused Christmas Stocking 2019 - Part 2

So this is Twixtmas, that twilight zone between Christmas and New Year when we all struggle to remember which day of the week it is.  Peace has possibly descended for a couple of days until the next round of celebrations, so it’s a chance to catch up with Part 2 of the Blues Enthused Christmas Stocking!

Steve Van Zandt preaches soul to the faithful

Part 1 of this review of 2019 focused on album releases, and there’s a little more to be said on that front, but let’s kick off by talking about some of the best live shows seen this year.  And for the third year in a row, one of the very best gigs I saw was courtesy of Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul.  This time it was in Milan, while I was in Italy for a lengthy holiday this summer, and once again Steve Van Zandt and his gang delivered the kind of life-affirming rock’n’roll celebration that’s a joy to behold.  Loved it, basically, and it set the bar very high for anyone else.  Here’s an example from elsewhere this year, with‘Trapped Again’.

Samantha Fish gave it a very good go though, on a run of incendiary dates in Britain and Europe.  I caught four of ‘em, greedy man that I am, and though all of them were great, the two on my home turf in Scotland were in the jaw-dropping category.  Fish’s band, sans horns on this European trip, have a terrific chemistry, while she of course adds blazing guitar, unique vocals, and knock-em-dead performance levels to the mix.  Here they are with the dreamy ‘Fair-weather’, at the Troubadour in L.A. a couple of months ago.

Both Stevie and Samantha also delivered new albums this year of course, and very impressive they were too.  Van Zandt and his soul train’s Summer Of Sorcery may have been a little uneven, but tracks like ‘Love Again’ and ‘Superfly Terraplane’ were irresistible, Kill Or Be Kind could have been a contender for my favourite album of the year, if it had had a more impactful closing track, an explosive rocker perhaps, to bookend the album with opener ‘Bulletproof’.  As it is though, with its gathering together of soul, blues, punkish rock’n’roll and down and out pop elements, it was the outstanding crossover album of the year.  And I managed to collar the lady for a pretty good interview too!

Situation normal - Samantha Fish tearing it up

and it was undeniably fun.  Meanwhile Fish’s

Getting back to the live stuff, the early months of the year produced some other corking shows.  In January, Sugaray Rayford provided a bonkers evening of entertainment, an out and out party to complement the more disciplined delivery of his subsequent album Somebody Save Me.  Here's Sugaray feeling good on, er, 'Don't It Feel Good'.

The following month King King created a communal, even congregational atmosphere at their Boiler Shop show in Newcastle, which was sadly the penultimate show to feature bassist Lindsay Coulson and, less expectedly, drummer Wayne Proctor in the fold.  I’m not sure when I’ll get the chance to see their new line-up for the first time, due to other commitments, but it’ll be interesting to see for myself what the new rhythm section of Zander Greenshields and Andrew Scott bring to the party, both live and on their upcoming album.  In the meantime, here’s the new line-up performing ‘Old Love’, on this summer’s Keeping The Blues Alive Mediterranean cruise.

February also brought the tremendous double act of Blue Oyster Cult and The Temperance Movement to Glasgow.  In my view BOC are one of the most underrated hard rock acts of yesteryear out there, and this performance confirmed me in that conviction.  And while Donald ‘Buck Dharma’ Roeser may not indulge in much posturing or posing, as a guitar hero his playing speaks for itself – eloquently.  Check out this run through their old classic ‘Harvester Of Eyes’.   The Temperance Movement, meanwhile, underlined their credentials as one of Britain’s leading rock’n’roll outfits, like a modern, edgy incarnation of The Faces.  Here they are with ‘Take It Back’, from a show in July this year.

A month later my first live exposure to Wille And The Bandits was another example of a current band in a classic rock vein who manage to produce something fresh, blending both world music influences and post-grunge punch into their blues-rock core, and doing so with smiles on their faces and a very distinct lyrical manifesto.  As with King King, Wille And The Bandits enter the new year with a couple of line-up changes, but it would be good to see them continue on an upward trajectory.  Check out the new line-up on this ‘live in the studio’ rendition of‘Make Love’.

The late Wee Willie Walker

Later in the year, another live introduction was to London-based Jawbone, who impressed me hugely last year with their self-titled debut album.  And they did it again onstage, injecting rock’n’roll energy and a good-time vibe into the delivery of their top drawer, rootsy but pigeonhole-defying material.  I wanna see ‘em again, and I wanna see a bigger audience getting into their distinctive sound.  Here they are performing ‘Leave No Traces’ earlier in the year.

My summer sojourn in Italy also allowed me to pay visits to a couple of Italian outdoor music festivals, in Pistoia and Porretta Terme.  The former may have been a straightahead show featuring guitar hotshots Eric Gales and Robben Ford, albeit in the shadow of Pistoia’s cathedral, but the latter is a remarkable small town affair, which every year showcases some legendary soul names.  This time around the bill included the likes of Don Bryant, Pee Wee Ellis, and Wee Willie Walker, the last of whom sadly passed away just a few weeks ago.  Seeing performances like these, in the purpose-built amphitheatre of Rufus Thomas Park, was a singular experience.

These were just some of the highlights of 2019, but there were plenty of other artists keeping music live in terrific fashion in the course of the year.  Even if they weren’t listed here, more power to their collective elbow, and here’s to more of the same in 2020.

You can read Part 1 of the 2019 Christmas Stocking here.

Blues Enthused Christmas Stocking 2019 - Part 1

Santa’s checking his list by now I reckon – probably checking it twice.  Been naughty or nice, people?  Okay, I’ll believe you.  And to prove it here’s the Blues Enthused Christmas Stocking, a selection of treats to whet your musical appetite.

The first thing I’d say about 2019 is that it’s been an absolutely stellar year for blues and roots music, judging by the albums I’ve been able to lay my hands on, and some of the gigs I’ve seen.  Seriously, I think it’s the strongest year I’ve witnessed since I started on this caper.  You’ll no doubt have your own highlights, but here are some of mine.

Albert Castiglia gets heavy

My favourite album of 2019 has been Masterpiece, by Albert Castiglia.  I’ll be honest, although I knew the guy’s name this was the first time I’d actually been confronted by any of his work.  And right from the off the album grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and demanded my attention, with its combination of stomping, visceral ruff’n’tuff blues, and more thoughtful songs like the title track, ‘Love Will Win The War’, and this one - the rippling slow blues of‘Heavy’.  As someone perceptively put it, “Masterpiece is raw and primitive, down to earth and defiant, emotional and honest.”  Oh wait – that was me!

Also coming out of the States were a number of albums showcasing different blues styles in bloody marvellous fashion.  Late in the year Toronzo Cannon came up with a belting example of up-to-the-minute, forward looking Chicago Blues, in the form of The Preacher, The Politician And The Pimp – lyrically intelligent and witty, and with great arrangements, guitar and vocals.  Cop an earful of the title track.

The North Mississippi Allstars came up with a wonderful celebration of their Hill Country musical upbringing in the form of Up And Rolling.  But in the last couple of days I’ve also been listening to the recently released album Cypress Grove by Bentonia bluesman Jimmy ‘Duck’ Holmes, and I can tell you it’s the real deal when it comes to deep Mississippi blues.  I’ll be reviewing Cypress Grove soon, but in the meantime here’s Jimmy performing ‘Catfish Blues’ in his own Blues Front Café juke joint.

The soul-blues album that had the biggest impact on me was Sugaray Rayford’s Somebody Save Me.  Sugaray, a hugely entertaining live performer, collaborated with writer/producer Eric Corne to come up with a Grammy-nominated outing that knows its roots but still sounds modern, as on ‘I’d Kill For You, Honey’.

Going way down south, for me the rootlingest, tootlingest collection of original Texas blues came not from Jimmie Vaughan, much as other people praised his Baby Please Come Home, but from Rosie Flores, with her marvellously engaging Simple Case Of The Blues.  Honestly, if you liked Jimmie’s effort you should give Rosie a listen – and you can start with this performance of ‘Drive Drive Drive’.

Nine Below Zero - the boys are back in town!

Then heading back up north, like waaay up north and out of the US, Canada’s Matt Andersen came up with a stunning example of laid back, semi-acoustic roots music.  Call it soul, call it blues, call it what you will, Halfway Home By Morning is a gorgeous album, just about the best backing vocals you could dream of, courtesy of the McCrary Sisters.  And here he is with his pal Amy Helm, on the delightful with'Something To Lose'.

Meanwhile, back here in Britain, the year started with an adventurous album from Wille And The Bandits, Paths.  Are they blues?  Possibly not.  But with their album Paths they served up modern blues-inflected rock, with an inclination towards world music which sets them apart from the pack.  They’ve just gone through a major line-up change, and here are the new outfit performing ‘Make Love’.

We also had a new album from those R’n’B/soul veterans Nine Below Zero, with Avalanche.  The suitably updated NBZ band are a fun proposition to be sure, but they’re also capable of covering a number of bases to great effect.  Here they are with 'One Of Sour, Two Of Sweet'.

And, lastly for now, this year had a some kinda wonderful excursion into rootsy Americana territory by Geraint Watkins.  Being honest once again, like what I like to be, I’d never heard of the guy before his album Rush Of Blood came my way, and knocked me out with its rootsiness, its musical charm, and its romance.  Here’s our Geraint playing live in London last month, with a rather different take on ‘Johnny B. Goode’.

Merry Christmas folks.  Keep on rockin’, and Blues Enthused will be back with the second part of the festive package before New Year!

You can read Part 2 of the Christmas Stocking here.

Sugaray Rayford - Somebody Save Me

Onstage, Sugaray Rayford puts on a bonkers live show, befitting his status as a Blues Award nominee for BB King Entertainer of the Year.  His latest album Somebody Save Me though, is a different proposition.  It’s entertaining, sure, but in a different way. This is an album that takes classic blues and soul stylings, and shapes them into something teasingly modern.  In short, Somebody Save Me is cool.

If Sugaray Rayford’s vocal talents are the substantial hook on which the album is hung, much of the credit must also go to Eric Corne, who not only produced it, but also wrote all the material.  On the writing front, Corne taps into the roots, but with the arrangements and the sound he conjures up an adventurous undercurrent, akin to the modern vibe that fellow

Sugaray Rayford - Big man, big voice, big personality!

Pic by Eric Sassaman

knob-twiddler Dangermouse brought to The Black Keys.

It’s there on opening track ‘The Revelator’, a hefty chunk of blues-soul with a hint of hip-hop around the margins.  There’s a rolling, low-end riff, and splashes of keyboards from Sasha Smith, over a nagging, restrained beat, while Sugaray gets down to business with a tough vocal, proclaiming that “I’m a freak of nature, I ain’t no honey bee-ah!”  And it’s all topped off with horns – which feature on 7 out of 10 tracks – and some choral backing vocals.

The edginess is there too on the likes of ‘Angels And Devils’ and the closing ‘Dark Night Of The Soul’.  On the former there’s eerily discordant Hammond organ creating atmosphere, with more classic guitar promptings from Rob Holmstrom, who deploys some extra twang to add to the ambience.  On the latter, Rayford sings it straight to a classic soul-blues sound that’s twisted a moody fraction out of shape by a blend of deep bass and sax, plinking piano, scratchy guitar fills from Eamon Ryland, and flashes of harp from Corne.

‘I’d Kill For You, Honey’ also has that vague sense of something lurking in the shadows, courtesy of a rumbling riff from Ryland’s slide guitar, Corne’s injections of harp, and Wurly piano from Smith.  And if Rayford is singing a classic tale of a man driven to distraction by his woman, and the melody also has echoes of songs gone by, he’s Wolfishly urgent in his delivery of lyrics that don’t rely on well-worn clichés.

But let’s not get carried away by all this critic-pleasing modernity, eh?  ‘Time To Get Movin’’ is a simple but hugely effective traditional R’n’B outing, with a classic blues guitar riff from Holmstrom over a shuffling rhythm, while the sonorous, BB King quality of Rayford’s voice is underlined as he gets stuck into take-no-prisoners lyrics demanding to “Call things by their name – racism, bigotry”.  The following ‘You And I’ is a big, fat slice of horn-laden Stax soul, with a nice weeping guitar tone from Holmstrom, and smart, sharp lyrics.  If I say there’s no more to be said about it, that’s a compliment.

‘Sometimes You Get The Bear (And Sometimes The Bear Gets You)’ is another bright affair, with straight-up guitar work including a relaxed solo, and little fills here and there, juxtaposed with the horns and organ.  And ‘Is It Just Me’ could be a Smokey Robinson Motown offering, complete with “Shal-la-la-la” female backing vocals, except Rayford makes Robinson’s singing sound like a little girl on this tale of a woman capable of working miracles.

There are a couple of slower efforts too, in the soul ballad ‘My Cards Are On The Table’ and the title track, which features violins and cello, and spare sprinklings of guitar. It’s traditional but imaginative, with Rayford delivering an emotional but restrained vocal – think Ben E. King, maybe.

Somebody Save Me may not be a stone cold classic, but it’s still a no-filler, all-killer winner.  It’ll be getting plenty of airplay in this household, and it should do in yours too.  Time to get movin’, and tune into the Revelator!

Sugaray Rayford - Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, 15 January 2019

So here’s a question for you folks.  When was the last time you heard a singer announce, before a note has been played, that “We’re gonna get butt naked about 10 songs in”?  Not an everyday occurrence is it?  But what this gig demonstrates is that Sugaray Rayford is not your everyday live performer.  Oh no. He’s a colossus.

When he’s finished warming up the packed crowd with a getting-to-know-you preamble, and his band get down to business, it’s with crunking funk guitar from Alastair Greene, a gut-thumping backbeat from drummer Lavell Jones, honking horns and whatever else they can

Sugaray checks if Edinburgh is on the soul train

chuck in as a platform for Sugaray to get to hollering – and boy does he holler, like a soul locomotive. Not only that, but when Greene rips into a screaming solo, and Drake Shining takes over with rattling piano, the Sugar fella likes to get his groove on.  We are talking about a seriously big black dude – and he will not object to that description – who likes to get on down, and wants the audience to get down with him.  As he says, this is not a concert, this is party time.

If you want a blow by blow, track by track account, then go find another reviewer.  But there’s strong evidence for Sugaray’s assertion that he has a band who can play anything he wants at the drop of a hat.  One minute they’re playing something as mainstream as ‘Born Under A Bad Sign’, but with a whacking horn sound, and throbbing keyboard runs from Shining ahead of a freshly-laid-this-morning organ solo.  The next minute, just to make a point it seems, they deliver a slab of floor-shaking reggae.  And then, for no apparent reason other than that the big man fancies it, they launch into ‘Comfortably Numb’, with Shining delivering most of the vocals, and Greene going for broke on an eardrum melting solo.

For the most part though, it’s a feast of funk, soul and blues – I was going to say a diet, but that’s not a word that fits in the same sentence as Sugaray Rayford.  I reviewed his stylish album Southside a few years back, but didn’t foresee the degree of energy that he musters on stage from listening to that recording.  The reason, I think, is that digital ones and zeroes, or flimsy magnetic tape, simply do not have the capacity to capture such a huge personality.  Whether it’s the big fat soul groove of ‘Blind Alley’ (at which point I notice a woman in a parka and big scarf, dancing but somehow not melting), a rollicking ‘Beans And Cornbread’ with walking bass from Alan Markel, or an explosive version of ‘Grits Ain’t Groceries’ (“Ready for something soft?” he asks beforehand), they’re all driven along with the force of an avalanche, with Rayford’s rich, mountainous, soulful voice to the fore.

On a slow blues he resumes after an instrumental solo without the aid of a mic, and goes walkabout in the audience, out the door and into the front bar, singing all the way out and back.  But then it’s back to top gear with Al Kooper’s ‘Nuthin’ I Wouldn’t Do (For A Woman Like You)’, with a great horn riff and a cracking little solo from Alastair Greene, before they close out with ‘Cold Sweat’, the chemistry between the band as they funk it up to a drum-thrashing finale – and still leave room for a mellow interlude, and a sax showcase from Aaron Liddard when he too ventures offstage to cook up a call and response passage with the crowd.

As Steve Van Zandt would put it, “Gabeesh?”  You get the picture?  Sugaray Rayford is a Blues Award nominee for BB King Entertainer of the Year, and no wonder. Frankly I think they should just hand it over now.

Earlier that same evening, I arrived in time to stand at the doorway of the already jammed

Bourbon Street 5 set light to 'Matchbox Blues'

ballroom, and catch another outfit in the middle of a damn fine reading of ‘As The Years Go Passing By’, with a rather cooler and younger black dude catching the mood nicely on vocals.  This was support band Bourbon Street 5, and the singer was Emmanuel James Mathias.

Their delivery of the Fenton Robinson classic is in keeping with a set of old-fashioned electric blues revolving around the likes of Bobby Bland’s ‘I Wouldn’t Treat A Dog The Way You Treated Me’, a trio of Albert King tunes including a strong version of ‘Matchbox Blues’, and their own, well-penned ‘Heart Mending Blues’.  They combine in a satisfyingly tight-but-loose sound, underpinned by the supple rhythm section of Rod Kennard on bass and Stuart Spence on drums.  Guitarist Louis Crosland is an effective foil for Mathias’ spot on phrasing and interpretation, extending himself with some well-judged soloing without ever becoming aimless, while Guilhelm Forey on keys proves adept at switching from jazzy little piano soloing to soulful swells of organ on ‘Matchbox Blues’.  It’s all good stuff, and the rousing reception they got was well deserved. Their contribution to the night could be easily forgotten in the wake of the Sugaray experience, but I look forward to seeing more of them.

Sugaray Rayford - Southside

The passing of B.B. King didn’t just mean the loss of one of the seminal guitarists of blues history.  It also entailed the loss of one of the great blues voices – deep, rich and resonant – and the touchstone for a particular blues style, with a warm, jazzy, big band feel.  It’s comforting, then, to find that a band leader and singer like Sugaray Rayford aspires to similar vocal and stylistic capabilities.

On Southside Rayford, together with his bass player and writing partner Ralph Carter, opens up with a couple of tracks that are right in the BB vein.  ‘Southside Of Town’ and ‘Miss Thang’ are steady, relaxed, rolling numbers, characterised by Rayford’s deep timbre and quality phrasing, classy horns from Allan Walker on sax and Gary Bivona on trumpet, and some stinging lead guitar fills from Gino Matteo.  The following ‘Live To Love Again’ inhabits a still more laid back and soulful groove, before Rayford co pull a couple of rather different rabbits out of the hat.

Sugaray Rayford - taking it easy

‘Texas Bluesman’ ups the ante with a tribute to the blues greats of the Lone Star State, with Rayford shifting gears and summoning up extra vocal rasp and grit, while Matteo puts his foot down hard on guitar.  Then ‘Take It To The Bank’ affects an off the cuff acoustic jam on the back porch, rendered all the more authentic by Bob Corritore guesting on some down home blues harp.

With those songs bringing variety to the mix, ‘Call Off The Mission’ reverts to a Stax-ish Memphis groove, as a frame for lyrics expressing concern about the environment, violence, and armed conflict.  ‘All I Think About’ inhabits funkier territory, built around a rolling piano line from Leo Dombecki and brassier horn parts, and with some wah-wah guitar thrown in for good measure as Rayford describes his lipsmacking appreciation for his woman.

‘Take Away Those Blues’ is a slow-ish blues of ‘steady as she goes’ quality, adding little to the big picture beyond a twanging guitar solo from Matteo.  But ‘Slow Motion’, rather daringly for an album closer, does what it says on the tin.  It may not be a classic, or as intimately romantic as it aims for, but with its hushed, restrained and extended delivery it shows an impressively different slant to their repertoire.

Southside, Rayford’s third album, is a polished take on mainstream, soulful blues, from an accomplished ensemble.  But it’s the songs that shake things up, showing more of what Sugaray can do, that suggest the potential for future progress.