Debra Power - Even Redheads Get The Blues

Album: Even Redheads Get The Blues
Size: 83,8 MB
Time: 36:18
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Blues, piano blues
Art: Front, back

1. Streets Of Heaven (3:22)
2. Turn Me Around (3:00)
3. Just A Little Bit (4:39)
4. I'm So Happy (3:34)
5. Love Glasses (3:10)
6. Temptation (4:22)
7. Even Redheads Get The Blues (3:22)
8. Jesus Is Crying (4:04)
9. You Bring Out The Lover (3:39)
10. Wish I Was A Child Again (3:01)

Singer, piano player and composer Debra Power is well known both in Canada and United States, thanks to her energy to approach songs, as well as her bright piano attack. Her father led a dance orchestra during the golden age of swing back in the forties, so Debra learned very soon to play the eighty-eight keys, founding her first band when he was still in high school. Despite she has got a great popularity in the Calgary blues scene, it has not been up to now that Debra Power has released her first album.

This is a very good work that shows a woman in high spirits, but at the same time bright, unique and incomparable, showing it along the ten album songs covering from blues to funk, gospel and rhythm and blues with good reliability and professionalism. Debra’s voice and piano are backed by Mike Little on Hammond B-3, Russell Broom on guitar, Chris Byrne on bass, Kelly Kruse on drums and Mike Clark on tenor sax. All together succeed to create a warm casual atmosphere with songs full of rhythm, groove and delightful moments. /La Hora Del Blues

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Debra Power - I'm Not From Chicago

Album: I'm Not From Chicago
Size: 102,3 MB
Time: 44:25
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2022
Styles: Blues, piano blues
Art: Full

1. Magnificent Heart (3:17)
2. Hardwired For The Blues (4:48)
3. What Colour Is Love (Feat. Keesha Pratt) (4:32)
4. New Shade Of Blue (4:26)
5. Slow Love (4:21)
6. I'm Not From Chicago (4:34)
7. The Last Time I Saw Memphis (4:17)
8. The Woman With The Hole In Her Heart (5:45)
9. Put Down The Baggage (4:26)
10. Debra Marie (3:55)

Anyone who has witnessed this red-headed fireball deliver her brand of the blues live can never forget her. And yes, with 2,618 kilometres between Calgary and Chicago, she’s not anywhere near the Windy City - yet her music can transport you instantly. A wicked piano-player, powerful vocalist and all-round nuclear explosion of a personality, Power is also a budding lyricist and capable songwriter - with only one non-original across ten songs. Blasting off with “Magnificent Heart”, the word ‘dynamic’ doesn’t quite cover the ball-busting, in-your-face experience, pushing her vocals slightly. Guitarist Steve Pineo’s “Hardwired For The Blues” proves the perfect cover for her as a slightly subdued Power bites into it utilizing a slower, more soulful approach - piano always in the foreground, joining Pineo’s slide and Mike Clark’s tenor sax.

The Mississippi-based Keeshea Pratt joins Power for the hard-hitting, soulful duet, “What Colour Is Love” - with its elevated message, delivered with sisterly gusto. The deeper blues groove of “New Shade Of Blue” is Power at her best - as she melds with her band (Chris Byrne, bass; Kelly Kruse, drums; Mike Little, B3; Pineo & Clark - including a much-loved shot of harp from Harpdog Brown) as Power’s more relaxed pace brings out her best playing and singing. Likewise, “Slow Love” is another slow burn and strong band number, as Power offers a strong, pleading vocal with strong accents from Clark’s tenor sax and Little’s B3.

“I’m Not From Chicago” brings Harpdog back into the fold and moves things much closer to Chicago, thanks to his distinctive brand of mid-‘50’s, Chi-town blues while, Pineo takes a step forward with a stronger guitar presence. Power’s vocal and front-and-centre piano style abounds. A true story-song, “The Last Time I Saw Memphis”, spins a tall tale that, in Power’s hands, sounds entirely believable, aided by Pineo’s slide, a mood-building band performance and another stand-out Harpdog cameo, adding harp and the voice of Elvis’ ghost. One of the album’s greatest moments comes with the highly personal “The Woman With The Hole In Her Heart”. While it tackles depression - if not the stress brought on by the isolation of the last two years - its strong piano arrangement and compelling vocal is entirely uplifting, with great B3 and slide guitar adding to the overall effect - a real show-stopper.

The bouncy, infectious “Put Down The Baggage” is yet another demonstration of Power’s effortless range and specific piano skills, incorporating jazzy barrelhouse, stride and good ol’ boogie woogie at will, as the band drives home its tight rhythmic core. Mike Clark’s tenor sax is on parade while Power struts her stuff, offering one of her most-focused piano solos. Originally written to crack up her mother with reminiscences of her childhood, “Debra Marie” provides a universal glimpse into childhood and the precious relationship we carry with us. At the same time, this highly personal song is a showcase for Power’s innate sense of humour while it helps to provide a backdrop to a true, consummate entertainer. /Eric Thom, Toronto Blues Society

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

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Debra Power - Unapologetically Me

Album: Unapologetically Me
Size: 90,8 MB
Time: 39:21
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2026
Styles: Blues, piano blues
Art: Front

1. I Choose To Sing The Blues (2:54)
2. Candy Shop (2:54)
3. Too Tall (3:11)
4. The Architect (4:42)
5. I Got A Secret (4:17)
6. Unapologetically Me (3:12)
7. Last Night's Indiscretion (3:49)
8. Ya Gotta Like That (3:49)
9. Harpdog's Lament (6:29)
10. Mr. Red Shoes (4:01)

The city of Calgary, Canada, has established itself as one of the epicenters of blues in the country. It has produced fundamental artists of the scene such as James "Buddy" Rogers, the Gunn Blues Band, Brett Spalding, and Debra Power who has just released her new album, Unapologetically Me. Known as Calgary's piano virtuoso, Debra Power presents her fourth album, successor to the celebrated I'm Not From Chicago (2022), a work that earned her numerous nominations at the Maple Blues Awards and the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.

Power's music has deep roots in tradition: her father led a big band, and that legacy is clearly perceived in her sound, which naturally moves through blues, boogie woogie, barrelhouse and some nods to dixieland, elements that clearly emerge in this new album. Since her 2016 debut, Even Redheads Get the Blues, her powerful voice and expressive piano playing have been hallmarks of her style.

On Unapologetically Me, we find a more mature artist, deeply connected to the lyrics of the album's ten songs, supported by arrangements that respect the musical tradition upon which she has built her career. This, her fourth album, presents an honest Debra Power with identity and skill, settled in a moment of creative maturity that invites us to closely follow what is to come in her career. /Historias Del Blues

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Debra Power - That's How I Roll

Size: 121,2 MB
Time: 52:07
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Rockin' Blues
Art: Front

01. All Night Playing The Blues (3:08)
02. Takin The High Road (4:45)
03. Blue Tears (3:53)
04. That's How I Roll (3:46)
05. Last Time I'm Lovin You (4:19)
06. If We Haven't Got Love (4:52)
07. Don't Ever Leave Me (5:58)
08. I'm Comin Around (3:16)
09. My Grateful Song (4:36)
10. Let Me Love You Tonight (5:06)
11. Please Forgive Me Blues (3:17)
12. Side On Sue (5:05)

Calgary's piano ace and powerhouse vocalist Debra Power released Even Redheads Get the Blues in 2016. It was her first album after many years of performing locally. It was intended to bring her wider exposure and it did just that, leading to the semi-finals at the IBCs and to her nomination to the New Artist category at the Maple Blues Awards. She impressed at her Blues Summit Showcase that year as well. For the new album, she has twelve excellent new songs and performs them in an ambitious variety of settings from solo piano to big band. She opens with an anthemic "All Night Playing the Blues" that has the early 50's R&B feel of jump blues - it names her heroes proudly. On the rocking "Takin' the High Road" she's ditching someone whose opinion offended her. Cobalt Prize winner Ann Vriend adds sterling backup vocals and Mike Clark helps out on sax. "That's How I Roll" has the larger band with special guest Tim Williams on slide guitar. This attractive song is all about how she lives her life and it should be a model for everyone. "Last Time I'm Lovin' You" is a delightful duet with Jack Semple who also adds lead guitar. The repartee gets a little over the top but it's fun. Another great rocker has Ms. Power coming over to get her friend out of the house to party in "I'm Coming Over". Joey Landreth plays slide on this one. A highlight is the solo piano & vocal "Please Forgive Me Blues". It’s a warning to a partner who’s thinking of playing the field. The set list concludes with something very different: "Side on Sue" is a raunchy Chicago-style blues that features Steve Pineo on harp and Landreth on slide in a half-spoken, angry tale of an encounter with a crack addict in a bar. Debra Power has given us a very impressive sophomore album, it should do even more for her than the first one. ~John Valentyn

That's How I Roll

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