Soulive

Afterward, the Soulive funk was already in session over at Dizzy's Den so I stopped outside to catch a bit of the groove. The jazz funk soul band of Eric Krasno on guitar and brothers Neal Evans, on Hammond B3 organ and Hohner Clavinet D6 and Roland A-33 keyboards, and Alan Evans on drums were just one of the acts brought in to attract the younger jazz fans. The mission was accomplished as young and old alike were moving to their soulful funk groove. If you were sitting in the back, you might not have been able to see the stage as people were up out of their seats and dancing to the music. In addition to playing cuts from their recent Blue Note albums, they included the Sly & the Family Stone classic, "If You Want To Me Stay." Some funk is just meant to be heard while standing so you can just let it move you. Even when they slowed the funk down, it was still hot. They continued jamming until after 12am. Their new release on Velour Records is due out in October. As I was leaving, I overheard a young guy say, "I want to be a roadie for Soulive." Me too!!

Carla Cook

It was about 7:15pm on Saturday evening when I got in line for Carla Cook's 8:30pm show at Dizzy's Den. I think people started lining much earlier because I was way back in the line. Security assured everyone that we would all be able to get a seat for this much anticipated performance. I missed seeing Carla in Chicago last year so this evening was definitely special for me. A few minutes before the show, I got to go backstage and chat with Carla. I stuttered at first from the excitement and eventually got my words together. She looked radiant and was ready to give an outstanding show. She was just as warm in person as she is in her music and it was really fun meeting her.

Carla and her quintet opened swinging brightly on "Until I Met You (Corner Pocket)", an adaptation of the Count Basie signature piece and paid tribute to vocalese performer Eddie Jefferson with "Oh Gee" where she demonstrated her innate ability to vocalize as a horn. She told how the popular standard "Where or When" came to her late yet she brought a beautiful freshness to it with her wonderful vocal clarity. She dedicated the jazzy "Strong Man" as a salute to all the strong men. Bassist Lonnie Plaxico switched from upright bass to the bass guitar for Carla's soulful rendition of the Marvin Gaye classic "Inner City Blues" then she took us straight into Sunday morning with "Hold to God's Unchanging Hand." Percussionist Abdou Mboup worked it out on the bongos as Carla sang brilliantly in Portuguese on "Cancao do Sal". She closed with a gospel-tinged, soulful version of Eric Clapton's "If I Could Change the World" on which she gave us a powerful extended note toward the end of the song. Pianist Darryl Ivey framed Carla vocals to perfection and providing outstanding solos throughout the evening. Israel Bannerman kept a fascinating rhythm on the drums. With such clearness, versatility, and style, Carla has the ability to make any song special. Carla's latest recording on MAXJAZZ Records is Simply Natural.