Southern Avenue satisfies in debut

Southern Avenue

(Self-released)

To look at their lineup on paper, up-and-coming local band Southern Avenue would seem like a potentially ill-fitting combination. They’re a group led by a Middle Eastern blues guitar prodigy, buoyed by a pair of sisters raised in the heart of Memphis’ African-american gospel/church tradition, and rounded out by a veteran bassist who has logged time on the jam band and country-roots circuit. And yet something about the sum of these strangely matched parts works perfectly, the proof positive coming on their new self-titled debut EP.

Back in 2013, Ori Naftaly was a young Israeli guitarist who had traveled more than 10,000 miles to perform at the annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Representing his home country, Naftaly wowed audiences and became the first Israeli act to make it to the event’s semifinals. On the strength of his IBC performance, Naftaly decided to come to the United States to pursue his musical dreams. Amid an extensive touring schedule with his own band, Naftaly found a home in the Bluff City — where he’s become a presence on the local music scene as a performer and guitar teacher.

After touring heavily for a couple of years with his solo band, Nafataly decided to switch gears late last year, enlisting sisters Tierinii and Tikyra Jackson for Southern Avenue.

Tierinii Jackson began singing in church choir and moved on to musical theater work, yet her vocals are squarely tied to the blues-soul tradition.

Her younger sister, percussionist Tikyra Jackson, is preternaturally gifted — a multi- instrumentalist who elected to focus on drums, and has played in the church and as part the University of Memphis Tigers Pep Band. Locking in with bassist Daniel Mckee — who has played with Copper Possum, the Memphis Dawls and John Paul Keith, among others — they create a potent rhythmic foundation for the group.

Representing the Memphis Blues Society in January’s International Blues Challenge, Southern Avenue made it to the event’s finals. Despite finishing out of the top three, the band made a strong impression, selling more CDS than any other act. The disc they were hawking was officially released locally late last month (it will be given a national release later this spring).

Recorded with engineer/producer Kevin Houston (Lucero, Patty Griffin), it features five new original numbers, a mix of material that highlights the sharp interplay of the band, particularly the musical conversation carried out by Naftaly’s guitar and Tierinii Jackson’s vocals.

In addition to the standout soul burner and first single “What Did I Do,” the disc mixes trad blues efforts like “80 Miles from Memphis” with jazzy, groove-fueled excursions like “Wild Flower.” Southern Avenue also gets the proverbial papal seal from Mid-south blues-rock high priest Luther Dickinson, who adds his signature slide guitar to the proceedings.

It’s a more than promising start for a group that seems well poised to transcend the niche blues world they’ve been inhabiting in favor of a greater commercial destiny.