Meshell Ndegeocello returned to Seattle last night to present a set of Gil Scott-Heron material, only 8 months after her last appearance at the Triple Door. She was touring with the same band, with the exception of Keefus Ciancia on keyboards, whose absence was striking. With just bass, drums, and guitar for instrumentation, the songs were given room to breathe, and were more rock and roll than I previously thought.

She appeared confident and comfortable, and was eager(!) to talk in between songs, explaining why each song mattered to her. She was engaging and often funny. The band was in top form, too, and served the material well. Highlights included a very funky take on Who’ll Pay Reparations on My Soul?, an updated The Revolution Will Not be Televised (including pointed lyrics about Sarah Palin and President Obama – “frankly, he’s not that revolutionary”), an extended instrumental ending to Lola, and a short acoustic set featuring just her vocals and guitar on Grace and Beautiful.

As usual, she surprised and challenged the listeners, and provided yet another glimpse into her incredible musical world. If you are able to catch any remaining dates on this tour, I highly recommend doing so, as “The revolution will not be televised…the revolution is gonna be live.”

Set list
Gil’s music:

Where Did the Night Go
The Bottle
Whitey on the Moon
Who’ll Pay Reparations on My Soul?
Cannon Fodder (a song by Eugene McDaniels)
Peace Go With You, Brother (instrumental set to a taped lecture of Dr. Cornel West)
Free Will
Home is Where the Hatred is
The Revolution Will Not be Televised

Meshell’s music:

Die Young
Love You Down
Lola
Grace
Beautiful
Faithful
White Girl
Outside Your Door (encore)

Buy it
Meshell’s music available at Amazon

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010

Robert Glasper was in Seattle this week for a 2-night run at Jazz Alley, and I caught his show on March 24.  He is touring with a quartet, billed as the Robert Glasper Experiment – Robert Glasper (piano and Fender Rhodes), Casey Benjamin (saxophone and vocoder), Derrick Hodge (bass) and Chris Dave (drums).  The group was in fine form, and played non-stop for over two hours, focusing on the funky, electronic side of jazz.

He started the show with solo piano.  Not sure if this was to put the crowd at ease or demonstrate that he can actually play the piano, but either way, it was a gentle and effective beginning.  From then on, the band was in full-on “Experiment” mode.  At one point someone in the crowd suggested a favorite, and he responded “Yeah, I like that one, too, but that’s a trio piece.”  Robert moved effortlessly from piano to the Fender Rhodes, sometimes playing both simultaneously.  Styles varied widely throughout the evening, moving from soul to jazz fusion to modern jazz to funk and back again.  The overall vibe was a mix of Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters, plus a little bit of modern jazz and pop thrown in.  This is the mashed-up sound of the future of music.

The playing was top notch, with Robert acting as bandleader from the side of the stage.  He took his fair share of solos (focusing on the vibe over all else), but managed to stay just left of center, allowing others to be in the spotlight for most of the night.  Casey Benjamin took center stage on many numbers.  His alto and soprano saxophone work was great, but I was even more impressed with his vocoder/keytar work.  For those unfamiliar with this musical device, it combines vocal sounds with an instrument (usually a synthesizer), producing a hybrid spacey sound.  Think “Mr. Roboto,” but not cheesy.  Many critics say the vocoder is a silly distraction from the music, but I disagree.  Casey Benjamin proves that it can be just as effective and exciting as other instruments.  Seeing the undeniable joy on his face while he was singing/playing the lead via vocoder was mesmerizing.

Chris Dave was forceful, adding rhythmic accents at every turn, and attacking the beat so ferociously that the venue was shaking.  It’s been a long time since I’ve seen so many heads bounce back and forth at a jazz show.  The bassist Derrick Hodge kept the groove anchored, and took a nice solo at the beginning of the show’s closing number, Open Mind, which he wrote.

Robert is known for fusing gospel, jazz and hip-hop, but I was not aware of his skills as an arranger.  He seamlessly combined his own material with Radiohead’s “All I Need” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You).”  Each song flowed into the next, so the groove continued the entire night.  The final song must have lasted over 20 minutes, with the band pushing for one more round, obviously not wanting the music to end.  Overall, it was a very satisfying show.  And to think this is just ½ of his current repertoire, with the acoustic jazz work unrepresented on this tour.  We will be hearing much more from Robert Glasper in the coming years.

Check it out

This is a video from 2008 and gives you a feel for the “Experiment” sound.

This is off his Double Booked release and showcases the use of Casey’s vocoder.

Buy his music
Amazon

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010