REVIEW

Lonie Walker
"All That I've Got I Gave to Music"
By Rich Webster

Lonie Walker's cd, "All That I've Got I Gave to Music," recorded on Underground Wonder Music is a rolling celebration of joy and survival. As the sounds of her piano dance around the head, her voice scats, moans and wails straight through the heart and into the soul where laughter rushes to be heard and tender memories rise
from the deep sleep.

From Willie Dixon's " I Love The Life I Live" to Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now," she takes the beloved songs of our past and combines them with her contemporary arrangements. On the sensual but playful "Fever," Lonie becomes the mistress, sliding in and out of madness, while on the beautifully tortured " Vincent," she drops her voice to a soft lullaby and paints a sad, comfortable landscape on the piano. But it is on her roaring masterpiece, " Me And Bobbie McGee," where all the best in Lonie shines-- the piano rumbles
as she sings through a wicked smile that can be heard over the glorious musical riot.

Lonie Walker's music is a combination of rock/soul/funk/jazz and blues which lays bare her soul and expects no less of the crowd. As a jazz artist who believes in the importance of fun and the energy of rock n' roll, where the performance is impossible to separate from the music, she is the voice and lifeline to a time when piano bars reigned and the audience considered the performer a friend.

"All That I've Got I Gave to Music" was recorded live at the Underground Wonder Bar where Lonie has become a legend of the Chicago night, playing every night for the past seven years to a fiercely devoted audience. Her performances are emotional journeys- driven by a relationship of intense interaction with the audience, she pushes herself to the breaking point of agony and ecstasy. There are no lies when Lonie Walker takes the stage-a performer pure in her emotions whose traveled and driven heart paints smiles on the tortured and draws tears from the coldest of eyes.