When the
levee breaks

by CANDICE IVORY

When the levee breaks

After three jazz albums, the St. Louis-based vocalist Candice Ivory debuts a new sound on When the Levee Breaks, a tribute to the legendary Memphis Minnie (1897-1973), produced by guitarist/bassist Charlie Hunter. On “World Of Trouble,” featuring several percussionists and pedal steel player DaShawn Hickman, she demonstrates why she is called the Queen of Avant Soul.
Miquel Botella Armengou, Ciudad Criolla

Candice Ivory, the Queen of Avant Soul, takes some time off from her usual jazz life and honors one of the greatest blues talents, Memphis Minnie (born Lizzie Douglas). Minnie is regarded as one of the best blues singers/songwriters, and Ivory’s tribute session is remarkable both for her personalized interpretation of the songs and her desire to honor this great musician.
Jim White, Blues Roadhouse

Candice Ivory is one of America’s greatest soul and blues artists. WoodSongs is proud to introduce her celebration of one of the most revered blues artists of all time: Memphis Minnie, a guitar queen and blues artist whose work was covered even by the rock band Led Zeppelin. In her latest album project, When the Levee Breaks: The Music of Memphis Minnie, Ivory reintroduces the music of this legend, almost forgotten until Bonnie Raitt purchased the headstone for Memphis Minnie’s grave site.
Michael Johnathon, WoodSongs

An early link between urban and country blues, singer-guitarist-songwriter Memphis Minnie has great stature in the blues story. Candice Ivory, a St. Louis-based jazz-and-more singer with Memphis roots, knows it and celebrates Minnie with an album that has her treating a dozen songs recorded by her foremother in the early 1930s. Ivory’s appealing, heartfelt voice goes at the lyrics with determination to assimilate Minnie’s dramatic sense.
Frank-John Hadley, Downbeat

Is Candice Ivory the last of the red-hot mamas? When The Levee Breaks: The Music Of Memphis Minnie would lead one to believe so. Ivory belts out these 12 tunes, all written by the glorious Memphis Minnie, with fire, passion, soul and arrogance…. Thank you, Candice Ivory, for making these songs come alive again.
Mike Greenblatt, Goldmine

Candice certainly has the proper voice and reverence for Minnie’s music…. The songs vary from a straight traditional approach to a style unique to Candice. But I feel certain that every song would meet the approval of Minnie.
John Sacksteder, Blues Blast

Because Candice Ivory takes these songs so deep into her vast spirit that in many ways they become her own. Ivory infuses them with total feeling, no matter that they originated close to a century ago. Her voice comes from another place, one where time doesn’t exist and the overwhelming depth of her singing feels like it has been here forever. This is a woman who has arrived to tell her truth, and there will be no debating that it belongs here now. Listen and love.
Bill Bentley, Americana Highways

Candice is one of a very few real-deal female blues singers around today. I wanted to put her in a situation where the full breadth of her creativity could be realized. I got my A team together: Atiba Rorie and Brevan Hampden on percussion; George Sluppick on drums; and DaShawn Hickman on lap and pedal steel. I then had the ability to draw from the full history of the blues from the 1920s to the Art Ensemble of Chicago, all of which Candice can handle with aplomb. — Charlie Hunter, producer of When the Levee Breaks

When the levee breaks