Southern Exposure (album)

Last updated
Southern Exposure
Southern Exposure (Maceo Parker album).jpg
Studio album by
Released1993
Genre Jazz, funk
Label Novus [1]
Producer Stephan Meyner, Maceo Parker
Maceo Parker chronology
Life on Planet Groove
(1992)
Southern Exposure
(1993)
Maceo
(1994)

Southern Exposure is an album by the American musician Maceo Parker. [2] [3] It was released in 1993. [4] Although marketed as a jazz album, Parker considered it to be "98%" funk. [5]

Contents

The album peaked at No. 33 on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart. [6]

Production

The album was produced by Stephan Meyner and Parker. [7] The Rebirth Brass Band played on the album, as did Leo Nocentelli and George Porter Jr. of the Meters. [5] [8] Parker's ex-bandmates Fred Wesley and Pee Wee Ellis played trombone and tenor saxophone, respectively. [9] [10] The album was recorded in New Orleans. [11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [12]
Calgary Herald B [13]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]
The Indianapolis Star Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [15]
MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]

The Boston Globe praised the "stripped-bare style of vintage New Orleans funk." [16] The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that "Parker works simple blues phrases into a spitfiring fury." [17]

The Calgary Herald stated that the "music is rooted in the chattering percussion and jerky rhythms of New Orleans, with heavy emphasis on the blues." [13] The Indianapolis Star noted that, "on Joe Zawinul's 'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy', a favorite cover of black college bands, Parker and the Rebirth Brass Band add their own Dixieland swagger, the tempo maintained nicely by Philip Frazier's rumbling tuba." [15]

AllMusic wrote that "Parker's alto sounds close to Hank Crawford at times but with a phrasing of his own." [12]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Blues for Shorty Bill" 
2."Keep On Marching" 
3."Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" 
4."Every Saturday Night" 
5."The Way You Look Tonight" 
6."Splashin'" 
7."Walking Home Together" 
8."Sister Sanctified" 
9."Fun in the Sun" 

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References

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  2. Milkowski, Bill (Sep 1994). "Jazz-blues recordings — Southern Exposure by Maceo Parker". Audio. Vol. 78, no. 9. p. 88.
  3. McElfresh, Suzanne (Jun 1994). "Maceo Parker: Funk of ages". DownBeat. Vol. 61, no. 6. p. 26.
  4. Andrews, Marke (9 Mar 1995). "It's All in the Timing: And Maceo Parker Plays for the Future". Vancouver Sun. p. C1.
  5. 1 2 Wells, Paul (6 June 1994). "Maceo Parker sounds like he feels – good: James Brown saxman on his own". The Gazette. p. C5.
  6. "Maceo Parker". Billboard.
  7. 1 2 MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 442.
  8. "Southern Exposure Maceo Parker". News. Times Colonist. 9 June 1994. p. 1.
  9. Asakawa, Gil (5 Aug 1994). "Sound Advice". Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph. p. E2.
  10. Levesque, Roger (18 Sep 1994). "Maceo Parker: Southern Exposure". Edmonton Journal. p. C4.
  11. Green, Tony (8 July 1994). "Jazz and blues in the groove". Weekend. St. Petersburg Times. p. 12.
  12. 1 2 "Southern Exposure". AllMusic.
  13. 1 2 Brennan, Brian (18 June 1994). "Jazz Discs". Calgary Herald. p. A19.
  14. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 423.
  15. 1 2 Hooper, Kim L. (1 July 1994). "Maceo Parker 'Southern Exposure'". The Indianapolis Star. p. E9.
  16. Saunders, Michael (9 June 1994). "Maceo Parker shines in club lineups". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 18.
  17. Moon, Tom (10 June 1994). "Maceo Parker". Features Weekend. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 15.