Out of everyone on the talented KRUI Online Content team, I am probably the last person who should be reviewing experimental jazz. I’m the stand-up comedy reviewer—it’s what I know best—and in terms of how it works as art, stand-up is probably the opposite of jazz. Stand-up routines are meant to be done in pretty much the same way every time, tweaked and tightened in small ways until the set runs like a freshly-oiled machine. It’s also an art form meant for the largest possible audience, as comics will often take the same set to different cities, states, even countries.

After listening to a lot of jazz over the past week, culminating in an amazing performance by renowned trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and the PUBLIQuartet last Friday at the Stop/Time Festival presented by Hancher Auditorium, I’ve come to the conclusion that most jazz isn’t meant for an audience at all. Instead, it serves as a forum for the performers to express themselves abstractly, turning pain and love into a confused, revelatory experience for audience members to hear, but never really understand. 

For Akinmusire’s performance, we sat on the Hancher stage in a small row of bleachers; I was less than five feet away from the nearest performer. The stage was bathed in a display of shifting, zebra-patterned lighting, which changed to a singular spotlight as poet and UI English professor Donika Kelly opened to the floor for a reading of her poems.

Kelly’s poetry was excellent, as expected, but what really struck me about this opening performance was the rhythmic, almost percussive quality of her delivery. Her first poem, “Its gone be what it is,” hops back and forth through familiar phrases like a record skipping. Kelly even incorporated snapping into her performance to punctuate certain moments—which, I later discovered, is written into the text. The poems were a beautiful way to ease into the performance that followed. Poems have more structure than jazz, but they still encapsulate that same spirit: art as a playground for the artist, rather than a product for the audience. 

After Kelly had walked off, Akinmusire and the PUBLIQuartet joined us on stage, along with several accompanying artists. Akinmusire and his band seemed totally in sync as soon as they entered, and would often laugh with each other in quiet, stolen moments during the show. It felt a bit like I was intruding on a secret conversation they were having through their instruments.

A highlight: drummer Elijah Revell, the heart of the performance, giving it rhythm with a steady beat and creative embellishments. Roughly halfway through, just as the concert was beginning to drag, Revell snapped the audience back to attention with a drum solo I can only describe as “sick.” When he stopped, Akinmusire could tell we liked it so much that he nudged him to keep going.

In fact, Akinmusire seemed to be radiating with pride the whole night. He smiled, laughed, and stared deeply at his fellow performers like he was coming to life. As pianist Sam Harris poured himself out onto the keys, Akinmusire would peer at him through the gap in the piano lid and nod to the rhythm, as if acting as an extension of the audience. When improvisational vocalist KOKAYI stepped to the mic to deliver fast and powerful rhymes, Akinmusire reacted to each new bar with a gentle contentment, full confidence in KOKAYI’s masterful wordplay and control of the beat. Players would often look to him as a guide to the song, making him the quiet leader of the show, but never in a way that overpowered or overshadowed anyone else. Even though he got top billing that night, I never got the impression that he thought of himself as the lead performer. He was just a fragment of the greater story.

The PUBLIQuartet gave the performance a raw, unfiltered feel. They did things to their instruments I had no idea strings could do until that day: sharp plucking, creaking, shrieking, and groaning. Usually cellos, violins, and violas automatically make a piece feel more classical to me; in this show, they actually made the music feel less refined, unrestrained in a way that complemented the rest of the music. In contrast, artist chiquitamagic lent the night a slightly psychedelic quality with their synthesizer and haunting backing vocals. The two styles may have clashed at times, but overall, the layering felt intentional, and added a new dimension to the sound.

But I know that I can only guess at what the meaning of the music actually was. KOKAYI’s vocals touched on anxiety and betrayal, and Akinmusire said before the final song that this performance felt like reaching the other side of impending doom. But watching these artists perform felt almost joyous, slightly muted, like watching a house party from outside the house. Akinmusire’s trumpet playing never formed a cohesive song; rather, he gave us short bursts of emotion that we could not decipher. Only he and the other performers know what he meant by his instrument’s passionate wails and moans. It was an experience only understandable by its creators.

The concert was not for me, but for them.

The post A Conversation Between Artists: Ambrose Akinmusire and PUBLIQuartet, Friday of Stop/Time Festival appeared first on KRUI Radio.

“Don’t be Dumb” is heavily story driven, detailing different versions of Rocky throughout the last few years with his six main characters, represented on the album cover designed by Tim Burton. Burton was a massive inspiration for the rapper, and had a strong hand over the visual direction of the project. Rocky’s alter egos each offer insight into a moment of his life. Chronologically, the first character is Shithead, which actually explores Rocky’s experiences with his friends as a young adult in Harlem, New York circa 2013. The next persona is Dummie, the one representing the stylistic choices from “Testing” and Rocky’s willingness to explore his creativity. We then get into Babushka Boi, the character that embodies his love for fashion design and self expression, referencing his usage of the babushka scarf at the LACMA Art and Film Gala in late 2018. He also shortly released a song and music video with this aesthetic, both which previewed the sonic identity “Don’t be Dumb” would take on.

The next character is Rugahand, whose design takes direct inspiration from Rocky’s performance at the Rolling Loud Miami in 2023, during which the rapper sang a few songs that teased his new musical direction. Mr. Mayers is the father persona, representing a focus on raising his family above all else. The last and perhaps most crucial character to this era is Gr1m, who appears to be the main character considering how many times he is depicted in music videos. He is important because his name is a direct link to Rocky’s ghetto futurism and German expressionism ideals, both of which heavily inspire the album. With the former, the concept is blending retro styles with futuristic ones through the lens of ghetto. German expressionism associates itself with the album because of Rocky’s deep appreciation for the aesthetic, which is the reason why he reached out to Tim Burton in the first place.

All these characters and aesthetics like European fashion, ghetto futurism and German expressionism come together to create the story that is “Don’t be Dumb”. In the opening track “ORDER OF PROTECTION”, Rocky explains his absence from the music scene and what he’s been up to since “Testing”. It’s a decent opener, but it’s a little tame and boring. The sound and energy immediately pick up with the following track “HELICOPTER.” It’s a fast paced, hype trap song that excites the audience for the album going forward. After a quick skit about his creative vision, heavy synths lead us into “STOLE YA FLOW”, a subtle diss-track about Drake. The instrumental is dense and nasty, but that doesn’t take away from the enjoyment.

“STAY HERE 4 LIFE” is a smooth, lighter track about being in love. The following “PLAYA” is also more laid back production-wise. It has a similar sound to Kendrick Lamar’s “Silent Hill”, which could be attributed to producer Thundercat being featured on both albums. “NO TRESPASSING” has some interesting ad-libs and sound effects, while “STOP SNITCHING” features some of Rocky’s most solid rapping flows on the album. The project gets noticeably more experimental as it goes on, with the second half taking many creative liberties.

“STFU” is a snarky clap-back at his haters and nosey fans over a grimy, aggressive beat. The single “PUNK ROCKY” is inspired by indie rock and it sounds very nice. “AIR FORCE (BLACK DEMARCO)” has really cool electronic synths and a fast-paced instrumental alongside a sharp and focused flow. It contains an unexpected, ethereal beat change about a minute in to give the track some breathing room. Then, it’s right back to the chaos. “WHISKEY (RELEASE ME)” features Gorillaz and Westside Gunn, and introduces jazz rap into the album’s sonic identity and continues to be explored in the following track, “ROBBERY,” which is my personal favorite. This surprising song has a soundscape reminiscent of a 1920s dive bar, where Rocky and Doechii conduct a theatrical robbery while rapping almost seductively over piano and horns. Jazz rap is at its finest here, and Doechii was an immaculate choice for a feature. 

“DON’T BE DUMB / TRIP BABY” is an interesting two-parter that unfortunately falls a little flat on the second half. The first disc concludes with a will.i.am and Jessica Pratt featuring on “THE END,” a somewhat weak, pessimistic closer with a flaccid instrumental. There are four bonus tracks on side two. Overall, the album is a very enjoyable listen and while not his best work, it’s a worthy addition to ASAP Rocky’s discography. 

The post The Return of ASAP Rocky, “Don’t be Dumb” Album Review appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Oklahoma City industrial metal band Chat Pile caught up with us in the back alley of Gabe’s in Iowa City ahead of their exuberantly chaotic, sludgy set upstairs. The four members talked about their life on the road as a touring band, described their love of horror films, and bashed some of the many unsavory aspects of capitalism. Along with this, they pushed back against the idea of nihilism. 

Surrounding his performance for the Englert’s new concert series Track Zero, alternative jazz musician Sen Morimoto phoned in from his studio in Chicago. From there he went over his personal origins, his vast array of musical influences, and the unfair practices of streaming services like Spotify. He also brought up his excitement about coming to Iowa City back on November 11^th. 

You can check out the channel here, where you can watch all our videos from there. Like and subscribe and all that other cliche self-promotion. Stay tuned for more content to come in the coming months. This marks just the beginning. 

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Jack Lion performing. Image via Izzy Dorothy

Jack Lion kicked off the show as the opener with a roar of powering bass, trumpet, drums, and syntenic sound. The band is local to Iowa City, and consists of drummer Justin LeDuc, bassist Drew Morton, and trumpeter Brian Lewis Smith. Their use of techno music with jazz instruments created a new, calmer sound. Their music felt like the oceans with crashing waves and peaceful tides to show the build up and release with the music played by the three musicians.

The entire vibe of the band reminded me a lot of Finding Nemo with the calm blue surroundings but also the intense chaos of the fish that Marlin in the movie meets. Maybe I get that impression from the vivid marine lights covering the performers. Through out their performance each member really stood out with solos of their own. I enjoyed the drummer’s interesting use of a scarf and shirts as mufflers for his drums during the songs. The red scarf really made the performers pop out. Overall they were able to create a spectacular opening to the show and established the electronic jazz vibe to continue through the rest of the night.

Tahjia Dorothy reciting one of her poems. Image via Izzy Dorothy

The next performer of the night was Iowa City poet Tahjia Brantley, a large crowd favorite given from the loud applause and yells she received for crossing the stage. Her performance was a bit different from the night’s other musical numbers. She surely did not disappoint with her series of poems, consisting of topics ranging from womanhood, to sexual identity, and to her relationship with her parents.

Brantley’s words came out calm and collected but had such a powerful and influential meaning behind them. She used such an interesting combination of words that can easily set a descriptive scene for the audience. Brantley is not afraid to show the dark realities she faces. Overall her poetry was an immersive experience that had me searching for what some of her descriptive words meant at the end.

Kassa Overall and crew performing. Image via Izzy Dorothy

Kassa Overall and his amazing band brought in a bang with their performance. Overall’s music is heavily influenced by the percussive instruments in jazz. This created a new, interesting sound for the rap lines over it, occasionally showing a chorus of the performers singing a phrase together. This mixture of sound can range from impressing to solemn, and from relaxing to insanity all within one show.

Three other people performed along side Overall at the concert. Each of his band members were extremely talented with their own instruments. On the keyboard was Ian Finkelstein, and playing the congas was Giulio Xavier Cetto, while Tomoki Sanders played soprano saxophone, bongos, and pretty much any other percussion instrument you can think off. All of them sang back up vocals too. Throughout the show while performing, everyone except Ian had a chance on the drum set in each song. It was incredible to see the talent that each member had, Kassa Overall included, performing a killer two minute long drum solo.

The music is not the only attraction to Kassa Overall and his troupe, but their spectacular stage presence as well. Each song never fell into a dull moment with Overall’s high energy and humor. During his opening number he jumped into the crowd while rapping to plop down right next to one of the audience members. In one of his songs he pretended to be floating mid-air, mentioning how he was imagining the show as a music video. One of my particular favorites of his quips was during a call and response song where he ran around the crowd, getting them to chant the word “HOT”, and pointed the mic right at me to shout it. I was shocked but felt so lucky to have picked that seat.

Overall wasn’t the only member to have great stage presence either, but Tomoki Sanders also did so with his fashionable bright orange wig that he sported with a cartoonish purple hat with a pink flower on top, matched with some killer red sunglasses. Seemingly jumping straight out of a Doctor Suess book, Sanders brought the magical energy to the crowd with his impressive soprano saxophone playing, and intense cowbell love. He ran around the stage and audience while aggressively keeping the beat on the cowbell.

Image via Izzy Dorothy

As the show came to a close Overall gave the statement, “Here’s one more slightly coherent one before we make our way away,” before crashing into the jazz song “The Lava is Calm“. As the smooth instrumentals began to play out, audience members made their way onto the floor for a final dance party before the night was over. We were lucky to snag one more song out of the band with their unique remix of the song “Drop It Like It’s Hot” by Snoop Dogg. Overall, Overall did an spectacular job at entertaining the entire audience that evening and it was very much worth the five hour drive that the band admitted to just to be here on tour.

The post Kassa Overall’s Ode to Percussion for Track Zero appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Because of this, Crosby gradually let himself slow down, however this was all to change. Following the Christmas of 1973, Bing started having serious health issues. By New Year’s Eve, Crosby was rushed to a hospital, and it turned out he had a tumor in his lung. Thankfully it wasn’t cancerous, and it was able to be removed, albeit two fifths of his left lung had to be removed. Speculation started on whether he would be able to sing again, but after his recovery he came back fiercely.

After the operation and recovery period, Bing came back with a vengeance. He signed a deal to do a few albums for United Artists, along with recording two TV specials. In 1975 alone he would record 5 albums and an audiobook along with many TV appearances in the United Kingdom to promote his upcoming albums.

Later that year, the realization he had been in show business for 50 years led Bing to get back on the concert stage throughout 1976, something he hadn’t done since the early 1930s. He did numerous shows throughout the United States and the United Kingdom. In 1976 alone Crosby took the stage thirty-five times. Performances from the London Palladium were turned into an album, although he recorded two other albums along with his yearly Christmas special and other various TV appearances.

1977 seemed like a great year for Bing. Concept albums, worldwide tours, and more TV shows were on the horizon. The first show was a televised version of his usual concert to complete the 50th anniversary celebration. After the show had completed, triumph went to tragedy as he fell twenty-five feet off of the stage when taking bows. Thankfully he didn’t suffer any major injury, only breaking a disc in his back. This had put a lot of plans for 1977 on the fence.

However, by August he was feeling well enough to go on the road again. He did his last American concert on the day Elvis Presley died, and went to Norway to do a show for the Red Cross. In September, Bing recorded a concept album, a Christmas TV special with David Bowie, and started another two week stay at the London Palladium. Going into October, the London Palladium performances continued, and he would do one last show on October 10. The next day he would do a photoshoot for his latest album and make his final recordings. Three days later, after winning a game of golf, Bing died from a heart attack at the age of 74, leaving a massive legacy behind him. All of the accomplishments in his last few years alive would be impressive alone, but when you add on the quality of them, it really shows what he could do at this time of his life.

If you found any of this interesting, be sure to check out Crooners’ Chronicles every Monday at 6pm on KRUI 89.7fm, hosted by yours truly.

The post Bing Crosby, a Course in Late Career Triumph appeared first on KRUI Radio.

His third album, “For My Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her”, earned critical acclaim. Conor Lochrie from Beats Per Minute said of the album, “…where Black art often seems like it has to have a greater point, a higher purpose–indulging in traumatic images of violence in racial horror, as in the above case–white people, contrastingly, get to make whatever art they wish.” McKinley has a talent for addressing issues like the one mentioned above, and discussed the struggle of establishing a place in the music industry. Having faced both under-appreciation for the rap and jazz genres and trying to mix the two together into something beautiful for his upcoming album “Beloved! Paradise! Jazz?!”, both issues, and more, are explained below. 

When you first became a musician, did you originally know that you wanted to be both a rap and jazz artist, or did one appeal to you more than the other? 

I’ve always sort of wanted to be a storyteller; I think that’s really where it started, I wanted to tell stories through music. From there, I knew that instruments moved fast enough in my mind for me when compared to just beats. I can manipulate instruments easier than I can beats because I can just tell someone to change up what they’re playing. But I never really had the intention to do jazz; I just had the intention of making stories, and jazz kind of came out of that. 

Would you say that you only want to tell stories through music, or would you do it through writing or another medium as well? 

People always try to get me to write long-form essays and honestly, I could. It’s just that, do I want to, you know? I really enjoy animating, so I also like to tell stories through cartoons. So I think for me, an alternative to making music is animation, you know? A series or movie or something like that. 

That’s really cool, I really enjoy animation too. So, I know this is kind of a generic question, but I am just kind of curious about what inspired you specifically to become a musician? Was it friends, family, other musicians? 

I think it kind of goes back to the first question where I had these ideas and these thoughts about stories that I wanted to portray and talk about. I really liked finding moments that are beautiful and funny moments and mundane moments that are average to my life. I wanted to use those moments to show a lot of the Black experience and then sort of interpret them as if they’re being watched, you know? As if it’s a movie or cinematic, very theatrical, very dramatic. I kind of really always wanted to make beautiful stories out of moments that not everyone usually sees as beautiful moments. They are to me. 

I understand that, that’s really beautiful. Speaking of which, I was excited when I saw that your upcoming album ‘Beloved! Paradise! Jazz?!’ was inspired by writer Toni Morrison. Was she always an inspiration when it came to your music? 

Yeah, I grew up reading Toni Morrison books, and she had this trilogy called ‘Beloved’, ‘Jazz’, and ‘Paradise’. I thought they were really beautiful even though many people don’t know that those three books were in one package. So for me, ‘Beloved! Paradise! Jazz?!’ was me taking the word ‘beloved’ and being like, ‘Alright, well, these show moments in your community. They are like moments that you have.’ Paradise is where you feel safe, and then jazz is sort of the chaotic aspect of it. 

Would you say there are some similarities between her trilogy and your upcoming album? 

Yeah, I think what the similarity is between her trilogy and my album is that they both describe love. You know, she’s really good at showing you that love is not just beautiful and it’s not just harrowing; it’s both of it together, and it’s complicated. I’m trying to show that in my music, being inspired by her. And like her books, my three albums were a trilogy, and now this one will encapsulate that trilogy. 

That’s really interesting, I’m glad that she was so important for your music. So why did you want to create an album that encapsulates your trilogy? 

‘For My Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her’ was a combination of my other two albums. So for this one, I was like, ‘What is a way that I can encapsulate the trilogy?’ It goes back to being inspired by Toni Morrison and the upcoming album title being a name from her trilogy. I just wanted to make one that could represent all three. The title is like a combination of my previous albums. 

After ‘Beloved! Paradise! Jazz?!’, would you make another album, or would you take a break? 

I think I’ve got a couple more albums to make. When people think of music, they think of band stories, but they don’t think about how, with rap, I’m just telling my story. So there’s a certain point when it comes to telling my story where I’m like, ‘Am I going too far ahead? Or am I not going far enough?’ I think I left where I was in the south and came to Chicago because I couldn’t make another album there after a decade, and I’m also just chasing experiences. So hopefully those experiences will turn into another album after this. 

Yeah, I hope it does if you want to do that. Were there any challenges or hardships when trying to get into the music industry? 

Yeah, so when I first came in, I was using instruments and the thing is, when you rap and use instruments, people haven’t really seen that. It’s not a new phenomenon, but it can seem like it is. A lot of rappers didn’t really put me in their music because my set was a lot from adding jazz. And it’s understandable that a lot of rappers also sort of don’t really know that the two can be together, since rap is more about accessibility. Like storytelling accessibility. So for me, I had a band and it made things complicated. Aside from rap, I’d be on rock shows with rock artists, and they would sort of be like, ‘Oh, you’re a rapper, so let’s cut your set short.’ Or, ‘You can only have this amount of time’, or, ‘We can just have you play at the end of the show.’ So a lot of it sort of came from anti-Blackness and also in not really knowing what to do with me, but I made it out. 

I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with that, but I’m glad that you made it out, you seem like a talented artist, incorporating both jazz and rap. 

I appreciate that. Jazz is really just a way to piece together beautiful images with words from rap, and like I said, rap is more so a genre of accessibility. It’s like, you have an idea in your mind, but you come from a place where you can’t really access the instruments that you want to show those ideas how you want to, so I sort of just did it myself. 

McKinley Dixon performed at Gabe’s on April 8 for the Mission Creek Festival. His fourth album “Beloved! Paradise! Jazz?!” will be released on June 2, 2023. 

The post An interview with McKinley Dixon for Mission Creek 2023 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Odom Jr. is most known for his portrayal of Aaron Burr in the original cast of the hit musical Hamilton. The main antagonist of the show, Burr confronts many obstacles in his pursuit of political influence, mainly Alexander Hamilton, who was first played by the show’s creator Lin Manuel Miranda. Odom Jr.’s performance in the show earned him the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

In an interview with WBUR 90.9, Odom Jr. described how his experience in Hamilton influenced the creation of Mr. “In that show, I got to do a little jazz, little R&B, some Broadway stuff, some folk,” he said. “I got to really do all the things that I love to do. And so ‘Mr.’ feels hand-in-glove, in the same way.”

“You know, Lin was so incredibly generous as a creator, and as a scene partner,” Odom Jr. said. “You know, he didn’t hoard the good stuff. He wasn’t afraid to let the people next to him shine. And so in this record, what I tried to do was surround myself with as many brilliant, lovely, wonderful people as I could possibly find.”

Mr starts out with two stunning tracks, “Stronger Magic” and “Standards,” both of which are chiefly settled in jazz with a few sprinkles of R&B to give each song a unique twist. Odom Jr. draws you into the album with Sinatra-esque smoothness on “Stronger Magic,” making the integration of a modern trap beat in the chorus even more impactful.

“Standards” thrills with a showy baseline underneath Odom Jr.’s powerful vocals as he tackles a wide range with ease, even showing off some scatting in the track. Though the song is directed to a singular “you,” its lyrics also make a statement on the marginalization of minorities in America: “The truth is, I’m demonized for standing my own ground / So you push me to the deep end, hoping I drown.” Mr confronts the current social atmosphere in a similar way that Hamilton does, subtly connecting lyrics in the songs to current issues without directly alluding to them.

Later songs in the album take on a bit more of a modern sound, with a focus on beat rather than the full-band accompaniment of the jazzier first few pieces. Odom Jr. moves easily between styles, his malleable voice commanding upbeat R&B as well as a few ballads. “Lose It” is a tender song about the fading of a romantic relationship and trying to reconcile with where it all fell apart. It is one of the several moments in the album that combines musical genres together extremely effectively with a lush accompaniment of strings, piano, and a simple electronic beat.

Not one to his forgo his on-stage roots, elements of musical theatre can be found throughout Mr, but aggregate in the later half of the album. There is an entirely spoken track on the album, “Eva’s Song (A Psalm of Life),” that flows like a monologue one might hear from the main character of a stage play. This piece is followed by the ballad “Foggy,” which makes several references in its lyrics to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Rounding out the theatre-influenced portion of the album is a short instrumental piece entitled “Entr’Acte (The Joyful Messenger).” Here, Odom Jr. pulls directly from theatre traditions, as entr’acte means “between the acts” in French, and is typically the title from music played between acts in a stage production, most frequently in musicals or opera.

Mr is an album that transcends any one style of music, and fits right into the current cultural movement that Odom Jr.’s work in Hamilton also worked to tackle. Odom Jr. is a performer unlike any other, with the ability to mold his voice to ignite the soul of any song he takes on, and Mr is a showcase of just that, soul.

The post Album Review: “Mr” by Leslie Odom Jr. appeared first on KRUI Radio.

I first saw Counterfeit Madison— the moniker for artist Sharon Udoh— at last year’s Mission Creek Festival, where I was dazzled by her no-holds-barred performance style. Udoh connects with music in way that is fascinating to watch, giving her entire self over to the rhythms and melodies with intense vigor.

Udoh took the stage with a beaming smile, and quickly took a seat at the lone Steinway grand piano that was positioned at center stage. She began the night with an alluring rendition of “Strange Fruit,” a song made famous by Nina Simone as well as Billie Holiday. Udoh’s vocal range is exceedingly similar to Simone’s, with rich, low notes and a powerful belt.

Udoh explained her connection to Simone in its entirety in an interview with Little Village, discussing how the two had similar upbringings and relationships with music. Both women trained in classical piano, both grew up going to a pentecostal-adjacent church, and both took stage names, among several other commonalities. In a break between songs, Udoh told the crowd of the moment when she first discovered Simone’s music.

“When I was 29 years old, working in a bakery in Columbus, Ohio, we would take turns playing music over the speakers,” Udoh said. “I heard this voice that was rich and deep, and I was like ‘oh what’s this?’ I didn’t want to tell anybody I didn’t know who it was, because I was embarrassed. So I was icing cupcakes, and I put down the icing bag, and I shimmied over to the computer. I looked and I saw a video of this woman, this androgynous woman, with a short haircut and dark skin and a broad nose, playing the piano classically and singing, and I was just like, what?!”

The performance featured covers of Simone classics like “Feeling Good,” “I Put a Spell On You,” and “Young, Gifted, & Black,” among others. All of Udoh’s covers of Simone’s music are available on her website, recorded when she first began the project in 2016 of connecting her own experiences with life and music with Simone. Between songs, Udoh spoke to the audience about the history and songs of Simone, and how her legacy is still extremely important in the current cultural moment.

“Nina craved the prime-time television spotlight of people like Aretha and Gladys Night, and she felt like she was being punished for her politics,” Udoh said. “Few people on this earth were able to live as honestly as she lived because they were afraid. Nina prompted people, black people specifically, by asking them to have some self questions: Who am I? Where do I come from? Do I like me? Why do I like me? How would this country be different if we asked ourselves those questions?”

Simone, who passed away in 2003, was exceedingly known for her ardent advocacy of equality for people of all races, particularly during the civil rights movement in the 1960s. This focus is prevalent in much of her music, particularly after the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. This act of white supremacist terrorism caused the death of four young black girls, and injuries to 20 others, prompting Simone’s release of “Mississippi Goddam” in the following year. The song was so contentious that many of the white-run radio stations of the time refused to play it, some even returning Simone’s record to her broken in half.

Performing more somber covers of “Mississippi Goddam” and “Brown Baby,” Udoh brought a focus to the conflicts Simone’s music confronts. Unfortunately, our country is still facing much of the racial issues it was grappling with during Simone’s heyday, with increasing police violence and mass shootings. In a rousing final conversation with the audience, Udoh questioned why the U.S. continues to facilitate the destruction of minorities, connecting today’s issues back to Simone with a quote on the concept of freedom.

“Why is a black body such a perceived danger for a police officer?” Udoh asked the crowd. “Is that why they shoot us when we’re unarmed? Americans, Americans who are we? What’s all this fear? Nina once said: “I’ll tell you what freedom is, no fear!” Land of the free and home of the brave, we like to say. When and how, will we begin to make America land of the free and home of the brave for black and brown folk?”

The post Witching Hour: Counterfeit Madison @ Englert Theatre 11/2/19 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Kamasi Washington took The Englert Theatre this Halloween. A large audience was waiting, excited to hear his soulful music wash over them.

As soon as I entered the venue I heard loud James Brown and Michael Jackson songs blaring and saw most of the audience was wearing full-on Halloween costumes. I knew then that this was going to be a type of concert I have never experienced before.

Washington is a Grammy-nominated musician with high critical acclaim. He is a musician of many talents: saxophonist, bandstand leader, composer, producer, and jazz cat. Kamasi has worked with artists such as Snoop Dogg, Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner, and Raphael Saadiq.

With a stage set with two drum sets, a stand-up bass, and full keyboard/mixer, I could tell right away I was in to see a full band perform an orchestral style of jazz.

East Coast based artist, Victory, took the stage as the opener. Victory started her set with a slow, soulful, and beautiful cover of “Feeling Good” from her recent EP, It’s a New Dawn. Then she moved into tracks from her first album, The Broken Instrument. Victory’s songs had a purpose, giving voice to the African American experience in the United States and also a message of hope for all when experiencing troubles.

Washington took the stage a little bit after 9pm and played till 11pm. During that time the whole audience knew they were experiencing a quality of music and talent that is rare in this world and very rare to come through the Midwest.

The band consisted of truly talented musicians, such as Brandon Coleman, Miles Mosley, Patrice Quinn, just to name a few.

Washington’s talent on the Saxophone was something I was really excited to see in first person, and once he started to play I could feel the power and tones through my body. As I sat in the audience I slowly noticed that one by one, everyone around me started to groove and dance to his music.

Two songs in I saw something I have never seen before in all my visits to The Englert Theatre. over half the audience stood and either ran to the front near the stage, forming a large crowd, moving along with Washington’s music, or standing where they were and doing the same.

The band played some amazing tracks such as “First of Fury” and “Will You Sing”. The only way I can explain their performance is as one that seems to be preaching to the gods of Jazz and Funk, with a message of global unity and love. It is an easy, powerful message to go along with and feel an audience connect with. It will be exciting to see what Washington will be diving into in the future. Hopefully Iowa City will always be a stop for this rising jazz cat star.

Both Victory and Kamasi Washington’s music can be found on Apple Music, Amazon, and Spotify. Be sure to check out Victory’s The Broken Instrument and Kamasi Washington’s album Heaven and Earth as well as his EP, The Choice.

Check out the links below for great videos of these amazing artists!

Street Fighter Mas

Fists of Fury

Victory – Feeling Good

The post Kamasi Washington w/ Victory @ The Englert Theatre appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The band is comprised of three men: a drummer, a bass guitarist who also seems in charge of the sampler, and a trumpet player. They are spread apart on the stage’s surface, music the common denominator. Naturally, your ear gravitates toward the trumpeter.

At first, the eye is almost fooled into thinking it is going to watch some kind of new wave show. and, that’s not too far off. With the amount of digital music equipment on stage, the trumpeter is the only remnant of jazz amidst the wires. And it works.

There is absolutely no other group like Jack Lion. Mixing lo-fi samples with jazzy upbeat overtones, this band is an impressive hybrid of the digital and analog. The group makes this sound coexist so well, it’s almost easy to forget just how innovative Jack Lion really is with their discography of genre meshing.

There is no apparent singer in the band. The crowd almost seemed alarmed half way through the set when one of the featured samples on the set list had even the hint of lyric attribute.

The music remains charged with feeling though, operating without a word. Lyrics seem needless with the type of thick harmonies this group employed throughout their set.

Each band member is a musician in their own right. The drummer alternated between rock rhythms and large scale drum breaks to slow-moving jazzy soft beats. The simple scrape of the drums would signify the meshing of genres. The bass guitarist, most center stage, operated a sampler and a bass, sometimes at the same time. Finally, the trumpet player came armed with a MacBook. This band’s creative quotient was so high, it felt like they were almost creating directly in front of you. Needless to say, the energy was electric.

Bands like Jack Lion prove that in the midst of soulless chart-topping pop, innovation still exists. Even further, it exists with a unity between genres that spand decades. Sometimes, these genres would coexist in a single song— the audience always felt on the same page as the group, creating a participatory live experience that was truly one-of-a-kind.

I left the show with the unforgettable sound of a trumpet, echoing toward the audience like a brassy bell. The harmonies unified with a sample of repetitive, measured beats and topped with rock-based drumming.

If you’d like to check out Jack Lion’s music, here is their bandcamp.

The post Witching Hour: Jack Lion @ Gabe’s 10/13/18 appeared first on KRUI Radio.