Jordan Valentine & the Sunday Saints

Celebrating the release of their first album, Van Van and Cleo May, Jordan Valentine & the Sunday Saints are taking to the stage at the House of Blues’ opulent Foundation Room tomorrow night and turning Lansdowne street into a dark New Orleans alley. With a voice that can keep the devil himself in check, Jordan Valentine embodies the spirit of soul as she weaves a voodoo spell over the audience; she bends and twists every note to it’s breaking point before setting it free with a smile. Backing her up as always are the Sunday Saints: seven brave sidemen who extol the virtues of old Motown and match her passion with their own, note for note. Together they form something that is much greater than the sum of it’s parts, they push and prod each other to new heights, none wanting to be left behind while the others surge ahead to another level. It’s that raw energy and excitement that they’ve harnessed for the new record, so once the live show is over make sure to pick up a copy for the road – you’ll be able to turn your living room into a seedy NOLA speakeasy whenever the mood strikes.

As if anyone needed another reason to attend, half of the evening’s proceeds will go to the House of Blues Foundation charity to aid them in their mission of bringing the arts to schools and communities through programs that promote cultural understanding and encourage creative expression. So not only will you be treated to a powerful evening of music, you’ll also be helping children. It’s win win.

10pm / 21+ / $10 (free for Foundation Room members) - Boston Band Crush

by Jonathan Perry

There are few singers around town who can touch Jordan Valentine for brassy bluster and old-school sizzle. But capturing the energy, urgency, and charismatic swagger of an in-the-moment live performance, and then translating it to a studio setting for posterity, is another matter entirely. Just ask James Brown, Tina Turner, or Otis Redding — all of whom blazed brightest under the hot lights, working it out in front of a live audience.

While this audaciously self-assured debut co-credited to Valentine’s crack seven-piece band the Sunday Saints may not match every rivulet of sweat-soaked soul she summons on stage, it offers a potent primer on what this Boston outfit does so well. Cut with more Stax/Volt grit than Motown sugar, Valentine & Co. bump and grind their way through 10 tracks (including a trio of choice covers) of hard-grooving, New Orleans-spiked R&B. It’s a testament to both the strength of the band’s songwriting chops and its attention to vintage period detail (’65-style Memphis horn charts; wah-wah dosed electric guitar) that originals like “Daddy’s Boy’’ and “Get At What You Got’’ sound right at home alongside chestnuts like Cyril Neville’s “Tell Me What’s on Your Mind.’’

Like Etta James (whose version of “Seven Day Fool’’ she tackles with bumptious aplomb here), or soul revivalist Sharon Jones (with or without her Dap-Kings), Valentine convincingly conjures an earthy personae that’s at once tough, tender, and hard not to root for. And while Valentine’s powerhouse voice rarely fails to deliver a knockout punch with brass knuckles, it’s the hard-hitting rhythm section that will leave the listener reeling. (Out now) - Boston Globe

"What a voice...just wonderful!" -- Craig Charles, Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show, BBC6 Radio - BBC6 Radio UK

“Valentine is among the most dynamic singers, male or female, to hit town in a while.” - The Boston Globe

“Valentine’s vocals are suitably brassy but also warm and emotive, a counterpart to the glamorous image she projects on stage.” - Brett Milano

“Valentine… is a veteran of the Bucket of Blood circuit, where five or six sets of hard entertainment is what keeps bikers and other bar beasts from peeling each others’ skins off, and a good singer needs to be able to hold and bend a note in a firestorm of sound–just like she does.” - Ted Drozdowski

“Miss Valentine (sounds) like Otis Redding’s long lost daughter raised on a steady diet of Billie Holiday…” - Brian Mosher

“…Lead singer Jordan Valentine displayed powerful pipes and a radiant sweetness that just scream ’star!’” - Now Wave! Zine