Lee Sankey - My
day is just beginning
If Lee Sankey’s days begin like his CD, he must have unlimited
amounts of energy ! From the first few bars, you will be hooked on by how dynamic
this band led by Lee Sankey, himself an excellent harp player and guitarist. Composer and
writer of all the songs present on this CD, he has called on singer David Migden to
deliver his lyrics. A solid rythm section and a luxurious horn section forms the rest of
the outfit.
Lee Sankey distributed his harmonica solos sparingly but elegantly,
switching from diatonic to chromatic with ease and precision. A few instrumental pieces
allow him to venture into jazzy territory, where the spirit of William Clarke roams. His
chromatic playing sounds punchy and his phrasing subtle. His diatonic sounds rawer and
owes something to the Chicago tradition even though his phrasing is more modern and
inventive than most, as is shown by the superb first position riff that the horns repeat
in "Women and Trouble".
The final result is an album that takes its roots inblues to flirt with
funk and jazz, a blend of styles that Lee likes to call "bluebop". A firm
advocate of a modern blues, Lee Sankey does not hesitate to warp the established codes to
his own ends, and therefore fits perfectly in the modern music scene.
Greg Szlapczynski |
