Reviews of the Grease to Gravy album
Terry Hanck, GREASE TO GRAVY. When it’s time to find an album that can absolutely put it in the alley with the best of them, it’s time to look up tenor saxophone and vocals terror Terry Hanck. From the Windy City itself, he’s been out there riding the back roads, getting on major stages and just generally making sure that someone for sure is taking care of business for all those that love rhythm & blues played right. He’s got a history as long as anyone still walking, and a feel for the blues that doesn’t come from college courses.
This is someone who knows how to lay it all the way down when necessary and makes sure every time he picks up his saxophone that everyone he’s involved with knows what needs to be done. And when he brings in songs to record that he didn’t write–and he wrote a lot of these–he turns to Ray Charles, Chris Kenner, St. Louis Jimmy Oden and other real-deal heroes to cover. Terry Hanck is a man to believe and follow. The years have allowed him to open his soul when he’s ready, and he doesn’t have to look around for tips. Because this soul man has seen it all, and can take it to the limit whenever he wants to. Producer-guitarist Chris Kid Andersen has his action straight too, and doesn’t call his San Jose studio Greaseland for nothing. And whether Hanck is singing or blowing horn, it’s a true fact that he’s got the goods and he brought them with him. Funk it up.
There's too many people out there that try very hard to change a genre like the Blues, by trying to repackage and reselling it to the masses under forms that, far too often, have got nothing to do with the Blues.
For all those fans that were born in the last couple of decades, to get to know at least the basics of the Blues means scouring old records of Pioneers of the genre, like the late greats Muddy Waters, B.B. King or Howlin' Wolf, just to mention a few, because sadly, we don't have a lot of true Traditional Blues artists still with us, in 2025.
It is therefore a blessing for a Blues lover and, if we may add, for any respectable music fan in general, when a record like Grease To Gravy from the 80-years-old American Ace Saxophonist and Singer-songwriter Terry Hanck, sees the light of the day.
Hanck is so highly respected, within the Blues industry, for the impressive musicianship demonstrated in the last six decades of Blues, Soul, R&B, R'N'R and Funk, thanks to his incredible and indisputable skills as a saxophonist and as a powerful, eclectic singer.
Through his brand-new album, produced by Kid Andersen, one of the hottest names in the business, Hanck's music comes across as strong, inspiring, passionate and drenched with the desire of showing that if you are gifted with talent, that said talent will always stay with you, no matter how old you can be.
In the 12 songs included in Grease To Gravy, seven of which are Hanck’s originals and the rest, fellow artists' covers, the American Saxophone Maestro moves effortlessly between Blues, Soul, Jazz, early Rock'n'roll and even Dub with such electrifying confidence, swagger, power, making every note of each song counts like it could be his last, while supported by a fabulous array of studio musicians, which includes his loyal compadres Johnny Cat Soubrand on guitar, Jon Otis on drums and Tim Wagar on bass, plus some special appearances from Jim Pugh on piano and Wurlitzer and ace fellow Bluesman and guitarist J.P. Soars., among others.
Grease to Gravy is a highly seductive record; the quality level of Hanck's vocal performance throughout the record and the way he adapts his singing style to each of the genre played, is so remarkably impressive.
The American artist is totally unstoppable in every possible way; as a Saxophone Maestro, his solos on songs like Wilson Pickett’s Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You or Ray Charles' Come Back Baby and the instrumental Overall Junction are impeccable, strong and classy, while his singing skills on numbers like Best Years Of My Life, Fats Domino's cover of Sick And Tired and Pins And Needles, among many more numbers, is outstandingly perfect.
At the tender age of 80, Terry Hanck might as well delivered the masterpiece of a lifetime. To us at Bluebird Reviews, most certainly one of the most riveting and extraordinary albums of 2025 so far.
If soul had a sound, it would sit comfortably in the notes and grooves of Terry Hanck's latest album, Grease to Gravy. Released under Little Village, this record is a simmering stew of blues, soul, and rock 'n' roll, lovingly ladled with a hearty dose of New Orleans funk. With his unmistakable saxophone playing and warm, charismatic vocals, Hanck serves up an album that’s both deeply nostalgic and incredibly fresh.
"Don’t Let the Green Grass Fool You": A masterful cover of Wilson Pickett's classic, Hanck reimagines this with a tender, jazzy twist. His saxophone glides through the track as his warm vocals transform it into a soothing ballad, pulling you in with every note. It’s less swagger, more soul, but the emotional weight is undeniable. "Goin’ Way Back Home Tonight": This tune transports you straight to a dimly lit New Orleans bar in the mid-1950s, dripping with nostalgia. With its contagious rhythm and devil-may-care attitude, this track feels like a direct homage to the legends of rock ’n’ roll, such as Fats Domino and Little Richard.
Grease to Gravy isn’t just an album for blues aficionados; it’s for anyone craving music that grooves with sincerity and soul. Terry Hanck reminds us why music matters—not just as entertainment but as a connective force that bridges time, places, and people.
Listening to this album is like digging into a home-cooked meal; every flavour, every nuance, feels deliberate, full of love, and undeniably satisfying. With tracks that roll back the years and yet feel palpably alive in the present, Hanck has put his unmistakable stamp on each note played and sung.
Terry Hanck is a first rate, well seasoned, and still in his prime, live performer. A soulful saxophonist with a classy, relaxed intensity, his playing is his own, but in the best way, stylistically reminiscent of past greats like King Curtis, Junior Walker, Red Prysock and Red Holloway. Terry’s singing comes straight from the heart. He writes some poignant songs, some humorous songs, but above all, he writes true songs. And like only a small handful of today’s songwriters, he comes up with material that make me say “Damn! Why didn’t I think of that?!?"
-- RICK ESTRIN of Rick Estrin & The Nightcats (WINNER-The Blues Foundation "2025 Band of the Year")
Terry Hanck – Grease To Gravy – Little Village #LVF 1071 – Wholly Satisfyingly Diverse Musical Tapestry Unfurls
Now, here is something to get very, very excited about! This 12-cut musical excursion by Terry Hanck is Grease To Gravy, indeed! Seven originals and five choice covers of this quality in this day and age rarely, rarely deliver such an overall enthralling listening experience!
Hanck is a masterful saxophone artisan, one whose efforts on the instrument just drip with exquisite tonal attributes. He never, ever overplays, but idyllically constructs passages that only enhance the backbone of the song being presented. His solos are simply tasty and riveting at once!
Hanck’s vocals are a sensation to be experienced for his appreciable proficiency to relay the sentiment at the core of each tune. Clear with superb phrasing, Hanck’s singing conveys both strength and vivacity. No matter the tune’s subject matter and related emotional depth, Hanck utilizes his God-given voice to its greatest effect.
A more pleasingly diverse 12-cut song selection has not crossed this blogger’s desk in a very long time. Let alone Hanck’s incredibly formidable originals, the covers found here by the likes of Wilson Pickett, Albert King, St. Louis Jimmy Oden, Chris Kenner, and Ray Charles are not slavish imitations; no, they all stand high upon the perch of Hanck’s oh-so-appealing interpretations.
Hanck is mightily supported by a cast of musical partners who obviously bought-in hook-line-and-sinker to his highly-targeted musical visions, including Kid Andersen and Johnny Cat Soubrand on guitar, Jim Pugh on keyboards, and Jon Otis and June Core on drums, among others. The appearances of boogie-woogie king Mitch Woods on one selection, Lisa Leuschner Andersen on backing vocals on two cuts, and JP Soars guitar on a couple of songs are of special note. But, all involved brilliantly shine!
New Orleans swagger, soul’s reflections, blues’ lamentations, rock-n-roll drive, and jazzy sway; yes, they are all superlatively found here!
This may very well be Hanck’s finest outing ever. Period.
Yet again, “bravo” to Little Village for its continued support of artists whose work may otherwise not be discovered.
All will want this phenomenal assemblage in their collections. It’s that incredibly enjoyable!"
-- Curt's Blues - Blues. Only. Spoken. Here CURT'S BLUES!
"I just finished listening to Terry's new CD "Grease To Gravy" and, I'll tell you what, I think it's the best, most fun, movin' and groovin' CD I've listened to in the past 12 months. Please congratulate Terry & all the folks who helped him make this happen. (Loved the instrumentation & the backup vocals as well.) Look out Blues Music Awards - this CD is what I call a Crown Jewel!"
-- Peg Nagel, The Wild Irish Rose, KAFM, Grand Junction, CO
Hail yes! Had to listen to Grease to Gravy twice in headphones to decide on four tracks for this feature. So much going on in here: period-precise dynamics/tempos/timbres forged in tones time forgot surrounding Terry's quality vocals and fine saxophone work -- a variety of rhythm approaches augmented by some imported tracks from opposite coast players -- and fine guitar from Johnny Cat Soubrand who knows not only the tones and phrases, but has mastered playing just behind the beat enough to lubricate the grooves when he solos.
Several things in the ensemble kept my attention: Jim Pugh's organ locked into the pre-Jimmy Smith era stops and vibratos and adding tons of splash in ten-knuckle chords when he chooses. Kid Anderson playing a Fender Precision Bass that sounds like it still has the factory sponge muffler under the bridge end of the strings, emulating the decay that Leo Fender hoped would seduce string bassists into making the switch (pretty sure James Jamerson had the same). Yet the bass clef does not get all Kid's attention: his contemporary slide solo on "If a Politician Was a Doctor" is inflection perfectly expressed.
"Going Way Back Home Tonight" assembles two components I'm not used to experiencing in the same unit: New Orleans commercial-style foundational rock 'n roll, driven by a quarter-note snare drum pattern straight out of Motown (Stevie Wonder's Uptight comes to mind). It works.
"Run Run Baby" has me arguing with myself over who is most influencing the guitar work by Soubrand: Gatemouth Brown or Johnny Guitar Watson? Importing drums and rhythm guitar from Fort Lauderdale may seem like a non-necessity given Greaseland's talent pool, but damned if they don't rattle the second line loose on "If a Politician Was a Doctor" (which gets my vote for Editorial Blues of the Year to date).
But each track belongs to Terry. Though he is generous with the arrangement space offered to various soloists, he never enters a song aboard his tenor without polishing the entire proceeding. Yet he never gives us wall-to-wall reedwork, stepping in and out masterfully in a way that makes the ear wait in anticipation for his contribution. While he has the standard range as well as full command of the false-fingering stratosphere (his exit solo on "Goin' Way Back Home Tonight" orbits on held notes well above the ozone layer), he doesn't make that feature de rigueur. Taste -- and tone to burn -- are the hallmarks of Hanck horn work. Just when you think you've heard the range of his influences melded into personal expression, "Run Run Baby" brings the ghost of Willis "Gator" Jackson sauntering in with Ruth Brown on one arm ready to take on all contenders atop the nearest bar. All this -- and yet Terry Hanck sings like he never needed an instrument to express himself. Spotless intonation in whichever register he cruises lets him resist being style-stuck: gritty blues and satin soul enwrap his lyrics as demanded."
-- Dave Gallaher, Talkin' the Blues with Microwave Dave, WLRH FM / WJAB FM, Huntsville, AL
