Diunna Greenleaf I Ain’t Playin’

May 21, 2022

Diunna Greenleaf

I Ain’t Playin’

Little Village

I Ain’t Playin’, the latest release from Texas blues artist Diunna Greenleaf is a must-hear. This three-time Blues Music Award winner, dishes out thirteen wonderful tracks, incorporating blues, soul, funk, and southern gospel. Her amazing vocals are backed by a stellar lineup of musicians which include producer Kid Andersen on guitar, Jerry Jemmott on bass, Jim Pugh on keys, and Derrick “D’mar’ Martin on drums.

The album busts loose on a strong Stax-influenced start with “Never Trust a Man”. A funky bassline, groovy beat, and stellar horn section provide the perfect pocket for Greenleaf’s fiery voice. Steeped in seventies soul, “Running Like the Red Cross” gets down as Pugh deals out a generous dose of swirling keys to accompany the song’s lush melody. “If it Wasn’t for the Blues” is delightfully funky in an Isaac Hayes kind of way. With guest Igor Prado on lead guitar, this is the song I can listen to many times over and enjoy it each and every time. All it takes is five seconds for Jemmott’s infectious bassline riff on “Answer to the Hard Working Woman” to reel me in for an invigorating musical explosion. I love how Martin’s precision beat, Greenleaf’s vocals, and those fabulous horns get increasingly thicker until the final note. The blues sounds so good when Diunna sings “Damned if I Do”, and with accompaniment by Andersen, she sounds even sweeter.

Ain’t Playin’ is such a dynamic album. Everything about it works and it sounds amazing.

By Phillip Smith; May 14, 2022

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

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