Tia Carroll is the archetypal American artist who is better known internationally than stateside. Her major-league debut on Little Village should change that perception for this Bay Area singer who has fronted her band for decades and sang backup for E.C. Scott, Jimmy McCracklin and Sugar Pie DeSanto.
Noel Hayes, an impresario of sorts, brought her to Greaseland Studios’ Kid Andersen, who worked with Hayes on last year’s smash debut of septuagenarian soulster Sonny Green. Like he did with Green, Andersen surrounded Carroll with a crack studio band that included himself (guitar), Jim Pugh (piano/organ), a horn section, gospel singers, and guest guitarists Charlie Hunter and Brazil’s Igor Prado. Hayes, Pugh, and Andersen developed a diverse song list while Carroll added three previously unrecorded originals of her own.
Since the arrangements are so killer and deep, it’d be easy to fill this review commenting on every torching Andersen ride and Gordon Beadle’s double-dubbed sax solo on “Never Let Me Go.” But such pontification could overshadow Carroll’s terrific vocal prowess. Regardless of whether its blues, funk, soul, or R&B, her performances are consistently stellar and her pitch always perfect, raising the question of whether she should be mentioned in the same breath as soul queen Sharon Jones?
Even though Carroll doesn’t have any stylistic limitations, it is also obvious she is most comfortable with soul and R&B, where she can pour out her passion. That is especially evident on the first two cuts. Instead of the typical, high-octane opening number, she counters with a slow rendition of Anthony Hamilton’s socially-conscious “Ain’t Nobody Worryin’.” “Even When I’m Not Alone,” a Carroll original, gradually draws you into the brutally honest portrait she paints of her protagonist.
Horns dance and strut on another Carroll composition, “Move On,” with the underlying message being to rise above dejection. If she hadn’t persevered during her career in the tumultuous music biz, there wouldn’t be this opportunity to celebrate her success with one of this year’s best recordings.
