Musicians: Lydia Pense (vocals), Steve Salinas (keyboards), Mike Morgan (percussion), Steve Dunne (guitar), Rich Armstrong (trumpet, percussion), Evan Palmerston (bass), Rob Zuckerman (alto, tenor, baritone saxes), Donny Baldwin (drums). Plus 14 guest artists including Skip Mesquite, Lenny Williams, Michelle Shocked, David Garibaldi, Bobby Vega, Mic Gillette, Dennis Cruzan, Roger Smith, Raul Matute, David Kessner, Mike Rose, Michael Carrabello, Jeff Tamelier and Joel Behrman.
Review: It's been a long, long time! Lydia Pense and Cold Blood return with some cool new material and a couple of oldies. Baby Boomers will recall this fine Bay Area funk-rock-blues outfit.
Signed by legendary producer Bill Graham in 1969, Cold Blood cranked out several good chunks of vinyl until 1974. Those albums included Sisyphus1969, First Taste Of Sin1972, Thriller1973, Vintage Blood: Live1973 and Lydia1974.
Cold Blood rocked the Fillmore with Lydia Pense's powerful chops and a strong horn section during those vintage years. Not unlike Blood, Sweat & Tears, Chicago and others, Cold Blood featured jazz oriented reeds and brass.
The years have been very kind to Lydia Pense. With a voice that reflects Janis Joplin's in power and quality, the singer matured like a vintage wine. Pense and guest keyboardist Raul Matute are the only original members of Cold Blood but many others from Tower Of Power, another Bill Graham discovery, show up on Transfusion. Tower of Power's featured singer was Lenny Williams, who later launched a brilliant solo career, joins Lydia Pense for a soulful rendition of "It Could Be Me, It Must Be You."
Produced by veterans Steve Dunne and Skip Mesquite, the Transfusion CD remains true to Cold Blood's traditional burning delivery of good tunes. The pair penned many of the songs on the album. Lydia Pense's enviable chops do justice to such tunes as "Cool Drink," "You Make Me Sweat" and "Face The Music." Pense and Cold Blood make every effort to impress with their knockout reading of the band's early hit "Down To The Bone." Look for fine solo work by Steve Dunne on guitar. It's vintage stuff and worth a listen!
Tracks: Face The Music, It's The Man That Makes The Clothes, It Could Be Me It Must Be You, Coming Back, Wait For You, Guide Me Home, Hooked On You, Down To My Last Heartache, Cool Drink, You Make Me Sweat, Will This Saga Ever End, Down To The Bone.
JazzReview.com
