Frenchy’s Fracas

General Info
Artist: Marcus Miller ||
Location: De Boerderij, Zoetermeer
When: 19 October 2007

Who?
Marcus Miller is one of the big boys of modern jazz or Big Boys Of Modern Jazz, same thing?
His track record includes collaborations with almost every great musician in jazz music, producing and playing along with Miles Davis and making funky tunes with my dear Meshell Ndegeocello.
I only have one album of his, Tales, and it’s a beauty! Saw him perform with his excellent band on North Sea Jazz these last two years and at that festival he’s one of the public’s favorite. Now, I got me a chance to see them perform on a smaller set, with a smaller audience. Together with my SweetLake Friends
Check out some of his performances

The Show
Oooh.. No opening hickups, straight dive into the music and the show. Mister Miller’s talented band follow his lead like an old-school big band and Miller gives them plenty of solo time. Another sweat thing is seeing and hearing all the band members play off of eachother in turns, improvising and battling!

The Band: the bearded giant Poogie Bell (a Muppet Show reference wouldn’t be too cheesy) on drums, the coolest of cool Patches Stewart on trumpet, the quiet but diverse Keith Anderson on sax, the seemingly bored Bobby Sparks on keyboards, and the horribly talented Gregoire Maret on harmonica.

Familiar tracks were performed, his inevitable classic Run For Cover still sends chills down this little boy’s back time after time. A great Miles Davis tune called Jean Pierre (lovely name) again showed the audience the pure musical talents of this band. Like I’ve said before: You don’t have to like it, but if your ears are working you know you’re listening to a masterful performance.
The funky version of the Beatles’ Come Together is another of the crowd pleasers and yes, it still is weird to sing the chorus

Conclusion
The performance was a bit short but tight and light, serious fun, a joy for any mainstream music lover and purist alike.
Just to tease Hieronymus Fox, Miller had a special guest on vocals: miss Jean Norris. Oooon and ooon and oooon.. that’s the only hint you’ll get, son!
Back to the show: it’s great to experience this band in a smaller setting, they seem to take more risks and that’s always fun!
My world wasn’t rocked, but I can advice everyone to go see these guys perform!

Rating:

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Our impressions of our second day at the North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam:
[Hieronymus Fox - HF; Frenchy - F]

RH Factor (Roy Hargrove)
[HF]
Couldn’t follow whatever the performance was about. The vocals weren’t that good. Mostly a ragtag set of tracks
[F]
Finally some jazz! Kept feeling the story told in most tracks ended a bit unfinished. Not impressive

Marcus Miller
[HF]
BassMaster! Great version of Miles Davis‘ Tutu. Great harmonica performance. Solid performance.
[F]
I dislike this guy, he’s way too good ;o) Also impressed by harmonica player (very, very impressed).

Erykah Badu
[HF]
Delay resulted in a shorter show (too bad). Compressed and hurried, not enough time to set up a real performance
[F]
Ultimate diva, a bit distant at the beginning, warmed up to the audience at the end. Great setup with sampler. Loved the I Want You track!

Paul Weller
[HF]
Very beautiful. Enjoyed it, sitting quietly with my eyes closed. A very restrained but personal performance
[F]
Grand old man of British music (cut your wrists if you’re thinking: BritPop). Solid performance.

Marcelo D2
[HF]
Samba hip-hop party. Great interaction with the crowd. Language barrier. Sauna temperatures at the Yukon venue
[F]
Best performance, best new personal discovery. Great artists!

Jhelisa
[HF]
Saw just a coupla minutes, too short. Nice, but didn’t seem to work with the crowd or the Yukon venue, should’ve gotten a better jazz location
[F]
Great singer, just didn’t work for me (getting a bit tired)

Kanye West
[HF]
Great setup with the live violins and harp. Nice make-up on the same performers. Not impressed enough by performance to start buying his stuff. Doesn’t click, doesn’t have it. Excellent DJ, though.
[F]
Never liked his stuff (still can’t really explain it). Funny to see the appeal this guy has: a very wide selection of people were really enjoying his performance.

Honorary Mention
The DJ at the Yukon who played in between acts. Very, very great work and prime quality selection of music!

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July 14-16 2006: North Sea Jazz Festival@Rotterdam - some of the acts I wanna go and see:

• Sergio Mendes
• The Neville Brothers
• Tower of Power
• RH Factor feat. Roy Hargrove
• Marcus Miller
• Erykah Badu
• Marcelo D2

Happy Puppy, me.. yes..

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General Description
Artist/Band: Meshell Ndegeocello (1, 2, 3)
Album Title: Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape
Year: 2002

Abstract mind, concrete soul, tender heart, free my mind..
 
How I Got Into This Music
Trying to stir those old grey cells into action.. Hmm.. First time I heard of her was about 10 years or so when I saw the video “If That’s Your Boyfriend” and soon after that her version of the Bill Withers classic “Who Is He And What Is He To You”. I was curious about the woman standing strong in the center of attention while looking almost fragile: Meshell Ndegeocello. I discovered she was a bassist when she appeared in that video with John Mellencamp, wowee..
Still, when I heard the “Plantation Lullabies” album, I couldn’t get into it, and I lost intrest, my loss for sure. Then a coupla years later a colleague of mine brought the same album with him to work and we played it for days and days without getting bored: how could I not be intrested the first time around?!? Faulty wiring, I gues..
After that, I bought every single album of this lady. One of those was the long awaited “Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape”, so here we go..

Album credits at ArtistsDirect.com
|| Lyrics at FreeMyHeart.com

Tracks that got my attention:
(well, all of them actually, but still..)

Dead Nigga Blvd., Pt. 1
Some tracks are like destined to be the ideal opening track for an album. This is one of them. Opening lyrics:
you sell your soul like you sell a piece of ass

And she goes on with her words hitting its target perfectly and without mercy:
you try to hold on to some africa of the past
one must remember it’s other africans that helped enslave your ass

Ouch!!
Listen to the beat, the tempo, the bass(!!!!), the vocals, damn!

Hot Night
A Puerto Rican type of salsa mixed with vocal samples of Angela Davis? In case you wondered if Lady Meshell was getting less in-your-face about her social-political stuff: ya blind, baby..

Interlude: Blah Blah Blah, Dyba Dyba Dyba
Yes, a 40 second interlude is worth a review - great loops and beats - Meshell purring like a cute but hungry tiger that just caught sight of her prey..

Priorities 1-6
i ain’t gonna pay your rent
cuz all i’ve got is Love
and time to spend
can i hang with you?
Man!! One of the funkiest, grooviest and nastiest bedroom songs ever produced on the face of the earth! I get this chill of excitement and other stuff when I just close my eyes and let the vocals and the beats fill my mind..

Pocketbook
That bass loop reminds me of “Come Together” from the Beatles, but that’s just my little twisted mind, I guess..
Well, it’s Meshell taking care of business.

Barry Farms
I can not ever forget the first time I heard this song! I was at the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague where she performed in one of the bigger venues. And what almost made me roll on the ground laughing was the pay-off line.. Go listen for yourself!
Pure Go-Go Music groove in a very slow and sultry manner.. And that bass solo!!!! Momma grooves mightily, indeed: you can wake me up anytime to listen to that great piece of music..
she couldn’t Love me without shame
she only wanted me for one thing
but you can teach your boy to do that

Trust
Now we arrive at the Caron Wheeler part of the album: YES!! This lady’s voice most people will recognize as the voice behind the first coupla hits of Soul II Soul. She kinda disappeared for a while, but I was very happy to discover her talented voice on the Scritti Politti album “Anomie & Bonhomie“. Meshell also did some vocals and bass on that album, so I guess they enjoyed the collaboration!
Trivia should be my middle name..
The track? Sensual, erotic, romantic, beautiful and that’s just Meshell doing the lyrics.. Caron Wheeler adds so much depth and warmth to the song, thank you very, very much! Also love the ending, keeping me hooked for more..

Akel Dama (Field of Blood)
What can I say? Read the goddamn lyrics.. I’ll not pretend to know what went in Meshell’s head when she made this song. It’s poetry by inspirational people like Gil Scott-Heron. A clear and present heartbeat sets an anxious but also soothing tone to the track and her lyrics? Well..
but if one is to truly be born again
you would have to gouge out your eyes,
cut out your tongue, and grieve
and cry like a baby that’s been snatched away
This track doesn’t rank in my Top Whatever Favorite Tracks: it’s much, much more..

Earth
The beat.. incredible! And the harmonica floating around the song, love it!
But what really, really breaks my heart and/or fills it with joy is Caron Wheeler’s vocals (I’m guessing it’s her) half way the track..

Better By the Pound
Did I mention I was happy with Miss Wheeler’s vocals on this album? Probably not, heheh.. Her background/foreground vocals mixed with Meshell basso voce work perfectly. Nice and easy bass lines too.

Criterion
Cool Jazz and Warm Vocals

GOD.FEAR.MONEY
Nasty funk and subtle lyrics:
the devil would have a great apartment on the upper east side
be a guest v.j. on total request live

Jabril
Marcus Miller and Meshell, together again.. Nuff said!

Dead Nigga Blvd., Pt. 2
great reprise

Interlude: 6 Legged Griot Trio (Weariness)
Another great stage for poetry: here’s the text of Etheridge Knight’s poem.

Pocketbook (Rockwilder and Missy Elliot Remix)
Oh well..

Conclusion
It’s been a while since I played this album and while looking for some CD’s to play in my car, I came accross this one again.. Dangerous driving: singing along, swinging and grooving behind the wheel, cops too scared to pull me over, heheh..
You might have understood from my review that I seriously enjoy this album, but just to recap: LOVE IT!! Go and buy it and if ever you get a chance to see this beautifully complex and interesting person perform live on stage: DO IT!!
perhaps to be free
is to all love those who hate me
and die a beautiful death
and make pretty brown babies
Nuff said..

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General Description
Artist/Band: Soundtrack
Album Title: Love Jones
Year: 1997

How I Got Into This Music
So it’s already more than seven years ago.. Wow..
Anyways, a guy I worked with had this CD and it was one of our favorites to play during office time. I never saw the movie, still on my To Do List, I guess..

Tracks that got my attention:

Dionne Farris - “Hopeless”
This one’s one of my favorite “dream away” music. That voice melts down the toughest of souls, incredible! Gotta start checking this lady out for any other goods she’s delivered

Lauryn Hill - “The Sweetest Thing”
Here’s an artist that never impressed me with her talents, other than the incredible beauty she radiates, but that really ain’t enough in my book.. But this song was perfect.

Groove Theory - “Never Enough”
Soulful track, performing great music in a time that crapola R&B ruled

Cassandra Wilson - “You Move Me”
Ooooohh.. on your knees and thank the creator of choice for such a great talent and great track!

Marcus Miller and my girl Me’Shell NdegeOcello - “Rush Over”
Some songs are worth a lifetime of happiness and inspiration and this track’s one of them: crazy jazz/slaphappy/funky bass lines with the incredible dark and luxurious voice of Me’shell - Happy Puppy, me!

BNH - “I Like It”
Brand New Heavies at the peak of their powers - groooovaay..

Kenny Latimore - “Can’t Get Enough”
If you gotta have some smooth R&B to accompany some romantic nastiness, look no further! Shmoooooov..

Duke Ellington and John Coltrane - “In A Sentimental Mood”
Perfect, nuff said..

Conclusion
Soundtracks don’t really work for me but sometimes you come across a gem like this one. Great collection of tracks performed by excellent artists
Doesn’t hurt your brain with existential dread, it just mellows out your day for you. Nothing more, nothing less!

Rating:

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