The rising singer Charenee Wade opened this day with songs of her latest record Offering: The Music Of Gil Scott-Heron And Brian Jackson. The greatest moments of the concert arrived with “Home is Where the Hatred Is”, where groovy funk and swinging jazz in its purest tradition cohabit, and “Song of the Wind”, a ballad that tells the importance of our ancestors. While the former piece featured a widely applauded sax solo by the Harlem-born Lakecia Benjamin, the latter thrived with the cascading arpeggios and counterpoint created by pianist Oscar Perez. The rhythm section …show more content…
He led a cohesive quintet composed of Abraham Burton on saxophone, Steve Nelson on vibraphone, David Bryant on piano, and Dezron Douglas on bass.
They opened with “Silver’s Serenade”, a piece included in his most recent record Serenade For Horace (a homage to Horace Silver), which featured improvisations by everyone except the bandleader.
The vibrant Latin pulse of Cedar Walton’s “Bolivia” was immediately recognized by some of the attendants, who reacted effusively when the bass brought up that dazzling groove. Hayes delivers an intuitive solo here and then thanks everyone, declaring: “it’s wonderful to be here! It couldn’t be any better!”
Swinging along with an engaging melody, “Hastings Street”, which was composed by Hayes and Silver and earned its title from a famous street in Detroit, was the tune that followed. The band finished in a hasty rhythm and bop panache with another composition by Silver, “Cookin’ at the Continental”.
Drummer Terri Lyne Carrington was surely assertive in her socio-political statements and musical activism, which focused on justice, equality, and