bryanjazz

It's simply amazing. Not just her deliciously sultry voice, which covers your eardrums like a silk blanket, but the fact that she makes it appear so effortless. The power, depth and intensity with which she delivers her artistry reveals a wisdom one might not readily anticipate from a 25 year old. I believe we are definitely talking about an old soul here.

I had the good fortune of seeing Lizz Wright live in New York City last week, the day after the release of her second album, Dreaming Wide Awake, which beautifully fulfills all the dreams and promise of her debut (full review forthcoming). The concert was wonderful. Supported by a tight band of excellent musicians, Lizz passionately delivered most of the songs from the new album, and a couple from her first, Salt, which I'm sure was appreciated by her longtime fans. I was especially pleased to hear her sing "Blue Rose", one of my favorites from Salt, and one that she wrote (with Kenneth Banks).

Another treasured surprise of the evening was a guest appearance by Toshi Reagon. Toshi (who has writing and performing credits on the new album) added a nice element to the set as she joined Lizz on stage for a couple of songs, including what is becoming one of my favorites on Dreaming..., Neil Young's "Old Man". On this song particularly, in addition to her own beautiful voice, Toshi added a hand clap that fit in nicely with the song's down home, country feel. Lizz actually joked with Toshi about it onstage. I know I will never hear the song again without hearing those claps. Ah...the beauty of live performance!

Just saw the Pat Metheny Group (PMG) in concert tonight (Lisner Auditorium, Washington, DC). As expected, Pat did not disappoint, playing for a solid 2.5 hours, then returning for a brilliant encore. You can always tell that this band really just enjoys playing music. After playing the new album, the band pushed the crowd over the edge with with great new versions of classic PMG songs, and some recent favorites. Joined by long time collaborator Lyle Mays (keyboards) and veteran band member Steve Rodby (bass), PMG covered material from the present day to as far back as Offramp (1982). The band was rounded out by Antonio Sanchez (drums), Cuong Vu (trumpet, percussion, voice), Gregoire Maret (harmonica, percussion), and Nando Lauria (guitar, percussion, voice). As with the last PMG tour (_Speaking of Now_ 2002), I was impressed by Cuong Vu. What he does with the trumpet is amazing, adding a sensual romanticism to the group's sound that is simply beautiful. [Subsequent to the last tour, I got his first album, Bound (2000). I highly recommend it.]

I always enjoy PMG concerts. Thus my commitment to see them whenever they're within 50 miles of my current location. LOL. Anyone who enjoys their albums owes it to themselves to see this incredibly talented group of musicians create music live. (see my review of The Way Up -- and other albums -- here)

a good weekend indeed. feeling good about the future. the friday night highlight was me attending Twins Jazz on U street for a fantastic set by DC's own antonio parker. great straight ahead jazz with very impressive musicians.

after a slow-paced, relaxing saturday, i headed up to baltimore to see Fertile Ground, the best band in black soulful music today, with all due respect to the current neo soul rennaissance. if you have yet to see this group live, gift yourself with the experience. each time i see them, they seem to get better.

sunday, walked down the street to get breakfast. took my laptop in my first test of random, mobile computing. of course, the world is not as wired as the technology is ready for, so i worked offline. :-)

all this comes before the last three days at the job.

life is good.