Sydney Ellis - Live! Just Before Dawn [Live] (2011)

                                                                    Sydney Ellis
 "Live! Just Before Dawn" is Sydney Ellis' fifth album. Previously released were "Goin' Home" (1994), "Amazing Grace" (1995), "Ask A Woman Who Knows" (1998) and "Tug River" (2003). The impressive singer was born in Red Jacket (West Virginia) and grew up in Cleveland (Ohio). Her career began in Los Angeles in 1991 and as the frontwoman of various bands she has performed in over three hundred clubs around Los Angeles. In addition to singing, traveling the world is another passion. It's great when you can combine the two, because Sydney Ellis has now given over a thousand concerts in twenty-five countries.

The protagonist's musical roots are in the blues. However, her recordings and live performances make it clear that she also cuts an excellent figure in soul, gospel and jazz. This fact is also proven by the current record "Live! Just Before Dawn".

Christoph Böhm aka BeBof is an outstanding guitarist who has his own band, BeBof DeLuxe & The Delta Horns, and also plays in the Ludwig Seuss Band and Al Jones. Keyboard player Martin Preiser is at home in many styles, studied jazz piano at the Conservatoire de Musique in Luxembourg and »has been a teacher at the Emmerich Smola Music School in Kaiserslautern since 1997.« With drummers Roland Weber and Christoph Zeitner and Doc Ellis on bass, Sydney Ellis has a real groove station behind her.

The album "Live! Just Before Dawn" doesn't ask the listener any questions, but gives answers. With compact songs or numbers that are refined with a lot of inspired improvisation, the singer and her band have released an impressive album.

In addition to her own compositions, the American puts her own stamp on songs by Preston Foster, Al Jackson, Elmore James, Koko Taylor and T-Bone Walker, for example. "Jump For Joy" is not only the title that is the perfect door opener for an extremely entertaining album, which leaves nothing to be desired even with its almost seventy-five minutes of playing time. The opener grooves, has drive and with the first solos from Martin Preiser and BeBof you can guess where the musical journey will take you.

The song "Fishin' Trip" goes deep into the blues. This slow blues is dynamic and her singing is almost guaranteed to give you goosebumps. If you expect the classic "Stormy Monday Blues" to be a piece that is played from the sheet, you're definitely wrong about Sydney Ellis & Co. They give the number a groovy jazz outfit. This gives the track a new side that is simply tongue-in-cheek. This number is awesome!
But watch out! There are more highlights to come. From the heart-rending slow blues "Trouble In Mind" to the emotional "I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home" comes, in my opinion, the central piece of the live album. "Was It A Whisper", a composition written by Sydney Ellis, is the album's highlight. Soul, gospel, funk and blues are all in line and all genres are covered. At almost ten and a half minutes, this song is a brilliant musical journey, a gourmet delight, in a class of its own, and not just because of the floating groove.

Time flies, just like at a real concert. "Live! Just Before Dawn" is a gorgeous record in every respect and if "Stormy Monday Blues" was a surprising interpretation, then you can be sure that the reading of another classic ("I've Got My Mojo Working") is of the same high standard.

Syndey Ellis is a special singer who combines all facets of the blues and related styles in her voice. Many other artists can only dream of that. "Live! Just Before Dawn" is an excellent example of what live music should sound like in a twelve-bar setting.

320 kbps
162 Megabytes

Credits:

Don Ellis - Bass  
Christoph Zeitner - Drums 
Roland Weber - Drums   
Bebof - Guitar   
Martin Preiser - Organ   
Sydney Ellis - Vocals   

Tracklist:

01. Jump For Joy 05:22 
02. Fishin' Trip 07:26 
03. Oh Yeah (Part 1) 00:18 
04. Stormy Monday Blues 05:38 
05. Trouble In Mind 05:26 
06. I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home 06:29 
07. Was It A Whisper? 10:23 
08. You Gotta Move 04:40 
09. Oh Yeah (Part 2/The Sequel) 00:10 
10. See Lyin' Woman 08:01 
11. Tired Of That 07:29 
12. Just Before Dawn 03:41 
13. I've Got My Mojo Working 09:34