I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Yellow River, from Jim Stephens and it's a cool mix of rock and R&B. Opening with foot stomper, Torture Me, Jim Stephens on lap steel surrounds himself with a full barrage of horns including Big Sam Williams on trombone, Jeffrey T Watkins on tenor sax, Lori La Patko on alto sax, Ian Smith on trumpet, and with a solid bottom by Desmond Milk Williams on drums and Jerry Henderson on bass. R&B track, Keep On, features cool harmonized vocals by J Thomas B-B Wonder, Aerial Skye and D Roisin with Shaun Matrin on piano, Watkins with a cool sax solo and Ian Smith with a super trombone solo. With a more traditional approach to the blues, Stephens takes the lead on vocal, adding harmonica and guitar to Rice N Greens over cool piano work by Roisin. Stephens really digs in on his lap steel on Yellow River, a country fused blues rocker with Cajun like roots. Wrapping the release is title track, Working Together, a horn powered ballad featuring Thomas, Wonder and Skye on lead vocal. This track has classic radio styling and is a solid closer for this release.
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