Johnny Sansone - Lady on the Levee (2015)

Johnny Sansone's music is a treasure chest of Louisiana culture. The award winning songwriter is back with his eighth album, Lady on the Levee, another stellar collection of down home folk tales, deep swamp harmonica blues, front porch cajun accordion and classic R&B tunes that add to his impressive legacy. The recording was produced by Anders Osborne and recorded at the Parlor Studio in New Orleans with a cast of Louisiana greats including guitarist Osborne and John Fohl, Sansone Osborne and Fohl are bandmates in an acoustic trio that has been woodshedding at the New Orteans songwriters showcase Chickie Wah Wah since 2009. Bassist Jeffery Bridges, drummer Rob Lee, baritone saxophonist Joe Cabral and keyboardist Ivan Neville also play on the album.
Fans of Sansone's powerful singing and gutbucket harmonica will be pleased with his hard-edged tribute to New Orleans radio station WWOZ "OZ Radio". But they'll also hear a more intimate side of the singer/songwriter on "Im still here". Where Sansone accompany's himself on acoustic guitar. The record is packed with contemporary Louisiana storytelling, darkly comic tales like "Lighting Bug Rhodes", "Gertrude's property line" "one of us", "Tomato wine" and the title track.
Sansone's hair raising " The lord is waiting the devil is too"was named 2012 song of the year by the Blues Foundation, which nominated him in seven categories at the Blues Music awards. In 2013 sansone was voted best Harmonica player at the New Orleans Best of the Beat Awards.
" Johnny's like a privet detective from the '50s out in Hollywood that writes beatnik poetry with a knack for melancholy. He is a mean harmonica player on a motorcycle wearing flip flops. He writes and sings the cold hard truth leaving you feeling comfortably warm" - Anders Osborne
" Johnny Sansone sounds like he plays music because he has to, and he's got to get whatever is inside of him out or else" David Kunian