Papadon Washington
Give Me Wings Review
"His style continues to reflect the sanctified sounds of his religious upbringing, goosed by high energy rock- and funk- inflected embellishments. He plays all the instruments on the disk, but in performance, he is one of the few younger- generation keyboardists to specialize in acoustic piano."
"He'll insert rich gospel chords into a slow-grinding 12-bar lament (Tears on My Pillow) or insert a glory- bound ascending melodic pattern into the turnaround of a strutting second line rhumba- boogie (Because My Baby Says So). "
"His greatest asset is his keyboard prowess: his contrapuntal rhythmic attack, deft touch and multi-layered harmonic imagination breathes new life into vintage ideas, and he is schooled in enough different blues and gospel styles to be able to fuse them into new and surprising wholes: elements of stride, barrelhouse boogie, and steady ragtime, as well as both traditional hymns and contemporary gospel-pop, arise in unexpected places throughout. "
"With his broad stylistic range and obvious affection for the vintage styles he updates and makes fresh, Don Washington brings a delightful and much-needed voice to the music. This disk is highly recommended."
-David Whiteis
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To read the review, in its entirety, read Living Blues Magazine,
Issue #185 Volume 36 # 4, July/August 2006.
Buy Davis Whiteis' book, "Chicago Blues: Portraits and Stories" at Barnes & Noble or Borders.
