A WEEK SAVORING LIVE MUSIC
Maxwell, Pink, Sheryl Crow, Jazmine Sullivan, and a Liberian children's choir
This summer I did not see much live music. There were lots of reasons, but its still sad, especially since NYC has a bevvy of free concerts along side ticketed shows, indoors and outside. The past ten days some free tickets and my wife’s birthday brought me back to live shows, two in New Jersey and two at Manhattan jazz clubs. It’s easy to be sad at the state of recorded music and streaming wars that have devalued musical artistry. But four performances in a short amount of time has rekindled by faith in the power of music and how essential the connection between performer and audience is for both.
On stage last night at his sold out show in Newark the singer Maxwell said (I paraphrase,) "I have not made decisions based on being commercially relevant, but culturally relevant." The singer-songwriter, who made his debut in 1996 with the classic ‘Urban Hang Suite,’ has built a multi-generation audience by delivering idiosyncratic albums sporacdically and becoming an engaging showman, who doesn’t curse and never fell into the lyrically raunchy R&B asethetic of R. Kelly. Instead he stuck to his guns, building an intimate Frankie Beverly & Maze like relationship with his fans. The crowd — '60s babies to '90s babies — all cheered loudly when Maxwell shouted them out. In our generationally polarized pop culture it was refreshing to see such a wide range of ages in one event, particularly since he’s only released two albums since 2001. But, as the older generation of R&B singers has either aged out or failed to build a concert following, Maxwell has claimed a position as a steady, consistently entertaining act for black adults.
The Newark crowd was 70% female, so it didn’t hurt ticket sales that his main support act was the phenomenally gifted Jazmine Sullivan, a big voiced Philly singer who’s four albums have established her as one of the most formidible voices in contemporary R&B. With a voice that reminds me of young Gladys Knight, Sullivan satisfied the crowd with beloved songs like “Bust Your Windows” and “Lions, Tigers & Bears.” Perhaps because black radio isn’t the force it once was Sullivan hasn’t attained the celebrity her talent deserves. However, as the crowd reaction made clear, this thirty-seven year old is a powerhouse with a serious following.
The night’s opening act was the promising October London, a thirty-seven year old singer, who’s silky “Mulholland Drive” was one of my favorite singles of 20222, and has a beautiful high tenor voice. It was a short, but promising set that showcased his vocals. He needs to work on his stage movement and engagement but, since he is signed to Snoop Dogg’s Death Row records, I’m sure thatsuper salesman will give him some tips.
For my wife’s birthday we had dinner at a great Manhattan restaurant and took a chance on a show at Dizzy’s Jazz Club in Columbus Circle. We stumbled upon a jazz performance featuring the Matisko World Orphan Choir, a group from Liberia composed of teenagers and adolescents with heavenly harmony. There’s a taste of their talent below.
Through an business acquaintence I was given a ticket to see Pink, with Sheryl Crow opening, at Met Life stadium. I’d been there in September a year ago to see Bruce Springsteen. I knew the Boss could fill a football stadium. Wasn’t sure about Pink. Well I got an education. It’s been twenty-four years since Pink was a young act. Today she is an entertainer with an multi-generation female audience that wore pink, knew the words to every song and came to marvel at the physically challenging show this Philly native puts on. Quiet as kept, Pink is a legacy artist with a global fan base. She’s not usually in the discusssion with Taylor Swift and Beyonce as a hugely successful female artists but, watching her rock a stadium, showed Pink working at a very high level of pop stardom.
That Sheryl Crow opened for Pink was a real treat. Her catchy, story songs have always been on my Spotify playlist so it was cool to hear “Every Day is a Winding Road” and the others live.
There were no cameras allowed at Smoke, the classy upper West Side club I heard Branford Marsalis and his tight combo, so all I have is this photo with the sax master to share. What I can say Brandon’s playing still has the spark of younger days, but with an added maturity and wisdom. I particularly like Branford on soprano sax where he can be playful and wisteful within the same song.
All in all, from jazz to pop rock, from choral singing to R&B, it was very satisfying to feel that elevation and joy good music creates in my soul. I’ve been posting a lot of interviews from my canon of musical conversations. This week was a sign it was time to make new memories.