Joe Barr with Breezy Rodeo - Soul For The Heart

26-10-2021

Joe Barr comes straight from the smoky back rooms of Chicago, where the musical identity of the city. In the ranks of the obscure (and deserving) soldiers who animate, night after night, the urban nights, this pianist and vehement singer resides at the Kingston Mine (famous club in the North of the Windy City) with his Soul Purpose Band. For his part, the young guitarist Breezy Rodio officiates every Tuesday at the Blues Chicago (on Clark Street), within the Linsey Alexander Blues Band. Cultivating a reciprocal admiration (and having already united their talents on stage), these brilliant musicians are now going through the studio, for a common first album with an explicit title.Supported by organist Chris Foreman (of the Blues Organ Trio) at Hammond B3 and a solid vintage brass section, they dispense an irresistible blend of vintage soul, unrolling a panel of golden covers on edges, as well as on a groovy rhythm. infallible. It takes, indeed, the nerve, the trunk and the know-how, to start the festivities by resuming the "Drown In My Own Tears" of the great Ray Charles. And from the outset, Joe's unstoppable performance (both in terms of patter and expressiveness) wins support. His adaptations of the fiery "A Woman Was Made To Be Loved" by Tyrone Davis, as well as those, immaculate, of "Try Me Tonight", "We Are Getting Careless With Our Love" and "I Believe In You" by Johnny Taylor are a good illustration of the register favored by middle-aged regulars at his headquarters.Foreman's organ works wonders, as does Garland Green's "Jealous Kind Of Fellow" (with early O'Jays-style background vocals), while in the spirit"Less is more"from giants such as Steve Cropper and Jimmy Nolen, Breezy Rodio's guitar operates in the conciseness that befits true spadassins. Carried by brass and a piano with small onions, the sublime "Ain't Nothing You Can Do" by Bobby Bland (already transcended in its time by an ecstatic Van Morrison) here resumes its youthful complexion, by the grace of 'a Joe Barr displaying all the range of his emotions, as well as that of a Breezy Rodio with imperial licks. Concluding with the unstoppable three-of-a-kind of BB King's "To Know You is To Love You" (Rodio shaking himself there as on Beale Street) and the tender "My Latest My Greatest Inspiration" by Teddy Pendergrass and "I Need To Belong (To Someone) "by one of the tenors of Chicago Soul, Jerry Butler, here is a soul record as unexpected as it is timeless,and as expansive as it is delicately manly. With Joe Barr & Breezy Rodio and their album "Soul for the Heart", the good Chicago Blues is back! Joe Barr says, "When I was young, I hung out at Walton's Corner, one of the best-known clubs in the African American community in Chicago. The owners quickly offered me to go on stage to perform as a singer. Then I started playing the piano and the keyboard. From then on, I scoured all the institutions of the city from Johnny Peppers to Bootsie's, via Keymans, which allowed me to accompany artists like Howling Wolf, Luther Allison, ZZ Hill, Freddy King and d 'other legends. This is how Joe will share the stage for 7 years with Nate Turner. Then he will form the Soul Purpose Band which will quickly become the referent group of Koko Taylor's club on Wabash Avenue. In the aftermath, Cookie Taylor, Koko's daughter, becomes Joe's agent. (The group regularly raises funds for the Koko Taylor Foundation for AIDS Research). In early 2007, Joe performed regularly with his Soul Purpose Band at Kingston Mines, the legendary club in North Chicago. At that time, guitarist Breezy Rodio was a member of the Linsey Alexander Blues Band and performed every Tuesday at the Blues Chicago on Clark Street in downtown Chicago. At the end of each concert, Breezy hurries to join the Kingston Mine to attend the last set of Joe, captivated by his talent. This is how Joe invites Breezy to join him on stage. A few years later, Joe and Breezy got a regular gig at a Chicago South Side club and the idea for an album began to germinate. Joe Barr with Breezy Rodio has released "Soul For The Heart" on 10/22/2021, Mazik. "Soul For The Heart" (dixiefrog - pias) is recorded at Joyride Studios in Chicago. It features "Big" Lewis Powell on drums, Johnny Reed on bass and the fabulous Chris Foreman (of the Blues Organ Trio) on the Hammond B3 organ. The album was mixed and mastered by Pete Galanis and Breezy Rodio. Soul Made in Chicago's Best Kept Secret ! One of the greatest soul discoveries of recent years. Joe Barr shaped his art in the smoky clubs of Chicago. This essay in the form of a tribute to the big names in the genre is definitely a masterstroke ! It was in the smoky clubs of Chicago that Joe Barr gradually developed his talents, first as a singer, then on piano and keyboard. After his debut at Walton's Corner, he gradually scoured all the other venues and performed alongside artists like Howling Wolf, Luther Allison, Freddie King and many more. After accompanying singer and musician Nate Turner for 7 years, he sets up the Soul Purpose Band with whom he has been playing since 2007 at the legendary Kingston Mines, north of Chicago. At the same time, guitarist Breezy Rodio was part of the Linsey Alexander Blues Band and played every Tuesday at the Blues Chicago, in the city center. Breezy Rodio gets in the habit of rushing off to Kingston Mines at the end of every gig to see Joe Barr's latest set, which impresses him a lot. One evening the singer invited him to come join him on stage and the understanding was perfect. The two artists would perform regularly a few years later together in a club and begin to consider the idea of an album. Thus was born "Soul for the Heart", a superb blues and soul record recorded at the Joyride Studios in Chicago in the company of "Big" Lewis Powell (drums), Johnny Reed (bass) and Chris Foreman, of the Blues Organ Trio at the Hammond organ B3. The 10 tracks are covers of Johnny Taylor, Ray Charles, Tyrone Davis, Garland Green, Bobby Bland, Teddy Pendergrass, BB King and Jerry Butler, all magnified by the exceptional voice of Joe Barr and the magical guitar chords of Breezy Rodio. An album that is both vintage and modern, worthy of the best moments of soul and R&B. Masterful !

1. Drown In My Own Tears (4:36)

2. A Woman Was Made To Be Loved (4:15)

3. Ain't Nothing You Can Do (5:31)

4. Getting Careless With Our Love (5:03)

5. Jealous Kind Of Fellow (4:06)

6. Try Me Tonight (4:26)

7. I Believe In You (5:33)

8. To Know You Is To Love You (5:17)

9. My Latest Greatest Inspiration (6:30)

10. I Need To Belong (To Someone) (6:25)

Joe Barr - vocals and piano

Breezy Rodio - guitar and backing vocals