KEN SAYDAK
It's My Soul (Evidence Music)
Reviewed by Eric Steiner

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Chicago blues piano man Ken Saydak's left the Windy City for Colorado, after over 30 years' making blues magic at the keyboard with the likes of Sam Lay, Johnny Littlejohn, Magic Sam and Otis Rush. The City of the Big Shoulders' loss, however, is the Rocky Mountains' gain. Ken worked for five years in Mighty Joe Young's band, toured with the Lonnie Brooks Blues Band, and has played extensively with Johnny Winter, too. This collective experience shines on Ken's debut on Evidence Music, It's My Soul. It's My Soul features a baker's dozen of piano-fueled original blues, with Saydak's solid - and appropriately ragged at times - vocals. It's My Soul is Ken Saydak's third solo CD, and his first two recordings on Delmark are also well worth picking up (Love Without Trust, 2001 and Foolish Man, 1999). Ken Saydak's given us a glimpse into his muse, and his styles range from Sunnyland Slim, Otis Spann and Pinetop Perkins to Professor Longhair, and each would be right at home listening to (or playing on) It's My Soul.

Track List:

My Soul * Half-Assed Love * All I Really Need * Darling I'll Pray for You * Learned My Lesson * Hanging By a Thread * Hard Work * Two of Everything * Bonedance * Love in The Dumpster * Rearrange * Preaching to the Choir * Road And the Weather

© 2005 - Eric Steiner