DIUNNA GREENLEAF * I AIN'T PLAYIN ' *
DIUNNA GREENLEAF -
I AIN’T PLAYIN’ (Little Village, May 2022)
We are so very excited to present and celebrate the new blues & soul recording from perennial Blues Music Award nominee/winner DIUNNA GREENLEAF! Diunna has one of those distinctive, powerfully emotive voices that just stops you in your tracks the first time you hear her. This dynamic and gifted singer from Houston has an absolutely amazing voice, full of soul, emotion, feeling, finesse, and strength! Even though Diunna is always winning or nominated for best traditional blues female singer of the year, this is remarkably her first album in over 10 years (since 2011’s highly acclaimed Trying to Hold On) and her first that was not self-released on her own Blue Mercy label.
Executive producer Noel Hayes excels in thoughtfully picking out killer songs from the past to fit the style of his favorite current singers, like Diunna. This winning team of Noel with co-producer Jim Pugh and his Little Village record label and co-producer Kid Andersen and his Greaseland studio have helped to create magic again in the studio and unearthed a batch of buried treasure blues, soul, R&B, and gospel songs that perfectly match Diunna’s distinctive and expressive vocals. In addition to the four outstanding originals from Diunna, many of these fascinating songs are from singers from her own home state of Texas, which she has transformed to make them all her own. Lone star state standouts are the funky “I Don’t Care” from Long John Hunter, the deep blues of “Let Me Cry” from Johnny Copeland, and “Damned If I Do” from the vastly underrated singer/songwriter Joe Medwick.
Diunna, with the help of Alabama Mike (one of our other favorite real deal blues singers of today) created a new version of a classic gospel song done by The Staples Singers, “I Know I’ve Been Changed,” and they also killed it on a soulful country gospel duet, “When I Call Your Name” from Vince Gill. The head turning opening Koko Taylor track, “Never Trust A Man” is also available on YouTube where you can see how it was masterfully done at Greaseland with this all-star band of Kid, keyboardist Jim Pugh, drummer D’Mar and the legendary bassist, Jerry Jemmott, who “lays down the groove that could anchor the solar system!” “If It Wasn’t For the Blues” was one of Mighty Sam McClain’s favorite songs and it really says how Diunna feels, too, and “Answer To The Hard Working Woman” is a twist on Otis Clay’s hard funk soul song, where she flips the script. Be sure to check out one of the most meaningful, powerful songs that still resonates today, “Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free” where she eerily channels Nina Simone; I don’t know anyone else but Diunna who can pull this off so well.
We feel like this remarkable recording will catapult her to a higher level and the star status she well deserves. Writers, editors, MDs and DJs, we thank you for your help bringing her passionate soul stirring, gospel-drenched vocals to the masses. As she sings in her friend Deitra Farr’s uplifting declaration song, it’s “Her Turn, Her Time” …Diunna Greenleaf AIN’T PLAYIN!
- Kevin Johnson, Proud Papa Promotions & Publicity, delrayjohnson@yahoo.com, 773-742-4327
1. Never Trust a Man (E. Williams Jr) 4:17
2. Running Like the Red Cross (D. Greenleaf) 3:43
3. If It Wasn't for the Blues (J. Montgomery) 5:52
4. Answer to the Hard Working Woman (D. Greenleaf) 3:39
5. When I Call Your Name (Gill - Dubois) 3:58
6. I Don't Care (D. Roberts) 2:58
7. Damned if I Do (C. Owens - J. Medwick) 3:55
8. Back Door Man (D. Greenleaf) 5:58
9. I Know I've Been Changed (Traditional) 3:20
10. Sunny Day Friends (D. Greenleaf) 4:36
11. Let Me Cry (J. Copeland) 4:57
12. I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free (Taylor - Lamb) 3:41
13. My Turn, My Time (D.Farr) 4:01
Recorded, Mixed and Mastered at Greaseland, USA™
Produced by Kid Andersen
Executive Producer - Noel Hayes
Photography - Bob Hakins
Graphic Design - Maurice Tani
Diunna Greenleaf- Vocals
Jerry Jemmott - Bass
Jim Pugh - Piano, Organ, Clavinet
Kid Andersen - Guitar, Bass on track 2
Derrick “D’mar” Martin - Drums
Additional Musicians :
Horn Section on tracks 1, 3, 4, 7, 12 & 13
Mike Rinta - Trombone and arranger
Aaron Lington - Tenor Sax and Flute
Jeff Lewis - Trumpet
Horns on track 8:
Sax Gordon - Tenor sax
Maëlys “Miss Bee” Baey - Baritone sax
Eric Spaulding - Tenor Sax on tracks 6, 10, 11
Paul Revelli - Drums on track 2
Vicki Randle - Percussion on tracks 8 & 13
Igor Prado - Lead Guitar on track 3
Nic Clark - Guitar on track 9
Alabama Mike - Guest Vocalist on tracks 5 & 9
Lisa Leuschner Andersen - Backing Vocals on tracks 8 & 13
Group Vocals on track 2:
The Sons of the Soul Revivers (Walter, James and Dwayne Morgan)
It’s hard to reconcile that Diunna Greenleaf doesn’t already have her place among the distinguished top-tier performers of the blues realm. Her talent bubbles up naturally from within, quite unlike some blues singers who labor to generate legitimate soul from desire or want.
“When I first worked with her, I had this moment when I realized I’d fallen deeply in love with that voice,” says producer Christoffer “Kid” Andersen. “And then I realized that I was working with someone who had one of the most pure blues voices I’d ever heard. Even back into the ’50s or ‘60s, there never were a lot of women who could sing like her.”
It’s evident that Diunna’s gospel upbringing in Houston nurtured her singing talent. Her parents, Mary Ella and Ben Greenleaf, were gospel singers, and her father even tutored Sam Cooke and Johnny Taylor in their vocal work when both were starting out. But it is Diunna who shaped that voice to carry the vibrancy and assuredness into potent blues force. She’s earned three Blues Music Awards and been nominated for 10 others through the years, but this collection by Little Village should be a bugle call for celebrating her talent.
- Michael Kinsman
"LITTLE VILLAGE is a 501c3 nonprofit record company that seeks to shine the light of awareness on musicians that might not otherwise be heard, and in doing so furthers the idea that a life filled with diverse music builds empathy making for stronger communities and a better world. All proceeds from sales of the albums are given back to the artists as a way to promote artist agency and ownership of their work. Recording an artist helps them connect to their community, while providing Little Village with an opportunity to share their music with the world and win the artist acclaim."
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