Matt Lomeo - When You Call (2022) [CD Rip]

Personnel:
Matt Lomeo: harmonica, vocals
Billy Watts: guitar (Eric Burdon, Mojo Monkeys, Teresa James)
Terry Wilson: Bass/C-C-writer 5, 8, 11, 12 (Teresa James, Eric Burdon, Jimmy Reed, Backstreet Crawler)
James Cruce: Drums and Percussion (J.J.J. Cale, Eric Clapton, John Hammond)
Teresa James: Piano, Vocals
Kevin McKendree: B3, wurlitzer
Darrell Leonard: horns
Paulie Cerra: tensor sax

Matt Lomeo comes from earspong from Utica, New York, but nowadays lives, albeit with a stop in Memphis, where he was on the Handy Club stage at Bealestreet, in Los Angeles, California. There he is the host of the local jam on Tuesday evening, which takes place weekly in the Ireland’s 32 pub, one of the more famous clubs in the south of California. Matt starts playing harmonica at the age of nine. He quickly forms his first bands with his guitar playing brother. At the age of ten, Matt is invited to play at a Woodstock Festival. Little Charlie and the Nightcats and harmonica virtuoso Sugar Blue encourage young Matt Lomeo and his brother to continue and develop his own style. Matt calls junior Wells and George ‘Harmonica’ Smith his biggest inspirations about the harmonica game, in singing are Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Marvin Gaye and Johnny Taylor. And what does it all do you ask yourself? A very varied album on which Matt Lomeo combines soul tinted pieces (One Moore 1&1, Accepting Applications), Tex Mex (Unsentimental You) with roots music (She Was The Best, When You Call, 27). Only on track six ‘Got a New Woman’ we notice the first blues sounds. All pieces are our own, sometimes with the help of Terry Wilson, who contributes to this album as a bass player, guitarist and keyboardist. Billy Watts provides the languided ‘Outside Of A Song’ with beautiful slide work that combines beautifully with the acoustic harp playing by Matt Lomeo. After the rocker ‘Why Do I Cry?, with beautiful piano playing by Kevin Mckendree, two (Van Nuys Blues, Took My Bar And Left Me) jazzy played jazzy. Finally, a groovy performance of the tite track ‘When You Call’, which sounds completely different from the first version of this song that we have encountered earlier on this album. A beautiful first acquaintance with this talented musician and songwriter, who is not limited to one style.