Live
JEFFREY DANIEL: MAIDSTONE 29/03/08
It was a choice move kicking off his set with a volley of Shalomar hits. Who wouldn’t be on his side when the sterling and tightly knit funk band (aided by a sympathetic engineer) despatched with much vim and vigor the surefire classics...
“There it is ”followed up by “I can make you feel good” (with a cheeky nod To Rapper’s delight.) gave us all a condensed funk lesson in 15 minutes flat. This man and merry band were taking no prisoners tonight!
Jeffrey Daniel looked fit and well preserved. It was as if he’d been cryogenically frozen for 15 years and defrosted for tonight’s gig! Age has been kind to him. You have to remember that he burst in on the scene as a 16 year old dancer on “Soul Train” way back in the 70’s. Choreography and music have been the life blood and backbone of his career that spans well over 30 years man and boy!
JD wasted no time in showing off his incredible body popping and street dance moves whilst balancing the set with the old and showcasing the new material. “Amazing Poetry”, ”woman is god’s gift to man” and” Back to the world” were the three standout tracks from the soon to be released new album. Shades of the Doobie brothers and early Rick James sprung to mind. Throwing in JamesBrown’s “Make it Funky”, really slayed the crowd it was then you could really see him plying his trade effortlessly. It was during this exceptional funk workout that it all changed as he flipped into his moonwalk and sent the diners nuts!
Here we have a multi-talented man who exudes warmth and so comfortable in his own skin. JD has come into his own and totally at home at being a solo artist, entertainer and performer. I didn’t miss Howard and Jody once, nor did the yelping, hollering crowd. A polished debut in this intimate and impressive setting.
Picture of Jeffrey by kind permittion of Fitzroy "the buzzboy" from Soul Survivors.
Words Emrys Baird
