Staples Jr Singers at the Jazz Cafe

Nearly 50 years after recording what is now a rare gospel soul LP at a tiny studio in Tupelo, Missisiippi, the Staples Jr Singers, from nearby Aberdeen, made their UK debut at the Jazz Cafe last night. And they went down a storm with a good sized and appreciative crowd. Named after their musical heroes the Staple Singers, the band's album, 'When Do We Get Paid', recorded in 1975 with only 500 copies pressed, was reissued earlier this year on David Byrne's Luaka Bop label, bringing their brand of rootsy soul to a new, young audience. The main members are lead singers Edward Brown and Annie Brown Caldwell, with A R C Brown on guitar and background vocals. This is very much a family band, with Annie's sons supporting them on bass guitar and drums and her husband also on guitar. Their repertoire last night consisted mostly of songs from their original LP and the reissue, which has a slightly different track listing. They kicked off with 'I Feel Good' with Edward's soulful vocals to the fore, and moved on with the title track of their album. A highlight was 'Looking For A Man', a gospel version of Bobby Womack's 'Looking For A Love', with powerful singing once again. Annie took the lead on the next song entitled, I think, 'You've Been Good To Me' and it became audience partipation time as she handed the microphone to various enthusiastic audience members to sing the chorus line, with mixed results. 'I'm Going To A City', an extended version, closed the set and Edward, Annie and A R C took full advantage of the audience's excitement. It was, as my friend Dave C said, a slightly rough and ready performance, with the group's rural Mississippi roots showing through both in their down home singing and their dress and appearance. But a thoroughly enjoyable one - a music event the likes of which the Jazz Cafe will not have seen in many a year.