Zac Harmon

Mississippi BarBQ

Catfood Records

Zac Harmon is from Jackson Ms. where he grew up in a musical family. His father, a pharmacist, played harmonica while tending to the needs of local musicians including Muddy Waters, BB King, Albert King, Ike & Tina Turner, and Little Milton. Young Zac began his professional career as a guitarist playing with Sam Myers, Dorothy Moore and Z. Z. Hill. At the age of 21 he moved to Los Angeles and found work as a studio musician, songwriter and producer. As producer he worked with the reggae band Black Uhuru resulting in a 1994 Grammy nomination.

After composing some blues for a movie score Harmon recorded his first blues album, “Live at Babe & Ricky’s Inn”, and introduced himself as a torchbearer for future generations. Zac Harmon and the Mid-South Revue took first place in the band competition at the 2004 International Blues Challenge. In 2005 Harmon released “The Blues According To Zacariah” and won the Blues Music Award for “Best New Artist Debut”. As an actor Harmon starred in the independent feature film “Black and Blue” in 2010. He released his last album “Right Man Right Now” in 2016 on Blind Pig Records.

“Mississippi BarBQ” is Harmon’s seventh album overall and first for Catfood Records. The album is produced by Jim Gaines and recorded at the Sonic Ranch Studios, in Tornillo, Texas; thirty miles east of El Paso International Airport. Eight of the eleven songs were written or co-written by Harmon, five with Catfood Records owner and Executive Producer Bob Trenchard.

Harmon, is both vocalist and lead guitarist on all tracks, recorded with two completely different bands; Trenchard’s “Rays” (formerly known as Kay, Kay and The Rays) on seven tracks, and The Zac Harmon Band on four. The Rays include bassist Trenchard, Richie Puga, drums; Johnny McGhee, guitar; Dan Ferguson, keyboards; and the horn section of trumpeter Mike Middleton, alto saxophonist Andy Roman, tenor and baritone saxophonist Nick Flood, and Drake Dominigue, trombone and tuba. The horn arrangements are by Rudy Torres.

“How’d you get So Cold” is the first of five tunes from the songwriting team of Harmon and Trenchard with some fine guitar from Harmon. The funky “Smoke and Mirrors” features the background singers Janelle Thompson, Shakara Weston, and SueAnn Carwell. The background singers are featured again on the fabulous title track, a soon to be Southern Soul classic, with Corey Carmichael on keyboards. “Desperate Love” is another well produced track with the horns and the background singers, and another nice solo from Harmon. The fifth song from them is “Sunday Morning After Saturday Night”.

Linda “Kay Kay” Greenwade passed in 2012 one of her songs “Lord Save Me From L.A.” is reprised here, co-written with Trenchard, it also appears on Catfood Records “The Best of Kay Kay and The Rays”. “Son you gotta’ go down, down, down, down that Gypsy Road”, is from Trey Hardin and Sandy Carroll.

Four more songs are performed with Harmon’s regular touring band, included are keyboardist Carmichael and the rhythm section of Chris Gipson, bass; and Ralph Forrest, drums. Harmon’s “Honey Pleez” features Bob Corritore on harmonica. “Make A Dollar Out of 15 Cents” is from Harmon and co-writer John Hahn. The lone cover is an outstanding version of the Bob Dylan classic “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”.

Harmon states “For the first time in my career, I have had the opportunity to just be the best artist I can be at the guidance of a master producer…I got a chance to work with The Rays, which is a group of studio musicians headed up by Bob Trenchard. The Rays are incredible, and they bring the best out of every song. I also got a chance to collaborate in the writing with Trenchard…my favorite is the title song “Mississippi BarBQ” …my other favorite is “A Dollar Out of 15 Cents” which I wrote with John Hahn.”

Harmon has surrounded himself with the best in the business resulting in this truly great recording. Vocally he sounds more relaxed than ever before. This is an award winning effort.

Richard Ludmerer