Liz McComb - The Spirit of New Orleans

A southern gospel favorite, Just A Little Closer Walk With Thee, finds McComb stretching every last note with the utmost soulful detail. 

Other gospel classics, Happy Working For The Lord and I Know It Was The Blood are rendered persuasively whether calm or explosive without an over modulating mass choir.   

McComb’s rich gospel style delivery and dissonant piano attack on Ain’t No Grave lends a fresh perspective to this spiritual.

The original compositions also mesh well with the New Orleans theme.  We Are More, based on the scripture Romans 8:37, is a frantic, Afro-Cuban percussive excursion that claims we shall never be separated from the love of God.

The scriptural teachings of Broken Heart delivered with still another earnest performance by McComb, comforts those who about being broken before the Lord: “Blessed are they that mourn, Jesus said they would be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)

One of Sister Tharpe’s biggest hits, Strange Things Are Happening Everyday, features a shivering guitar fills from Jam’ba, reminiscent of the blues rock guitar that Tharpe was best known for.

Knowing McComb can dare to be different, she reworks the climatic spiritual number, Old Man River from the musical production Showboat, into a sophisticated jazz big band arrangement anchored by the late Willy Tee on the piano.

McComb approached some of the finest musicians New Orleans has to offer, including the backing choir Eric Brown& Charity who provided the perfect counterpart on “Over My Head.” A four piece brass section that includes trumpeter Brian Murray also accompanies on the first four tracks, while shining collectively and as soloists. The rhythm section anchored by drummers Bernard Johnson and Herlin Riley plus Byron Johnson’s additional keyboards manages everything from dirges to the frantic Afro-Cuban percussion tinged “We Are More.”

The Spirit of New Orleans truly embodies the fervent and sincere spirit of the city, thanks to both the musicians and McComb’s uninhibited approach in everything she sings.   Whether humor, ecstasy, sorrow, or joy, McComb is never shy about how to express herself while always remembering who she is with God’s help.

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