Usually on tour with Joe Bonamassa, tenor saxist Paulie Cerra brought his own band into Bogies Bar Tuesday night and by the end of the set had the audience wonder why this guy isn’t touring on his own, with Joe B as a sideman!
Not only is Cerra possessed with one of the richest tones on the sax, but he’s got the voice of a blue-eyed soulmaster, accompanying himself on keyboards as well with his adroit team of Sam Meek/g, Bill Steinway/key, Tony Braunagel/dr and Billy Haynes/b. And, except for the opening tune, a gloriously churchified take of Sam Cook’s classic “Bring It On Home To Me,” all of the material was as home grown as mom’s stew.
For the 75 minute set, most of the material was from Cerra’s latest album Hell & High Water, and Cerra took you on a trip through Southern juke joints as the air tight rhythm team shuffled to Braunagel’s crisp sticks on “You Got Me Thinkin’” and the Memphis Soul’d STAXY title track that mixed a strutting groove with Meek’s gritty guitar work.
Cerra himself sounding like a mix of Al Green and Eddie Floyd as he gave a drenching soul ballad of the pretty “So I May Fall” accompanied by Meek’s tasty selection of spacious musings, while the leader got declaratory on both voice and sax as he waild and moaned through the groove sauce of the upbeat backbeat of “So You Think You’re In Love.” His tenor work here, and on the funky tribute to Dr. John during “At Night In The City” was a perfect smoky fog, coaxed on by Steinway’s flavorful keyboards and Haynes’ bass work that had his thumb working in overtime.
Cerra and Meeks then took the upscale audience to the back porches of the Delta on a rural blues “The Cost Of Sugar” before having the band pop the clutch and close out with a two stepping boogie of “I Can’t Talk To You.” Cerra and company made classic American sounds feel modern, and showed that whether as a well deserved leader or as a sideman for Joe B, he’s well dressed in blues.
Upcoming shows at Bogies include Julie Newsome 06/18, Blues Messenger and Freedom Band 06/23, Bill Champlain 06/27 and Carl Verheyen 06/30