Live
Still Black, Still Proud - The African Tribute To James Brown: The Big Chill 02/08/08
Everyone knows James Brown was the law and a law unto himself………..
When fellow cohorts Fred Wesley and Pee Wee Ellis touched down in Africa, in Abidjan, on the Ivory Coast, in 1968. “We were mobbed at the airport,” Wesley comments. “We'd see women doing our dances, you could tell how much they were influenced by America. James loved the drive of African music. They had the same beat and chords, but they had that hard drive.”
A defining moment, indeed ,when the two cultures merged into one. A self fulfilling prophecy that ignited the world!! However, without his superlative cast of accompanists, notably Fred 'The Ambassador of Funk' Wesley and Pee Wee 'Cultural Attaché to Soul' Ellis (and let’s not forget the curiously estranged Maceo Parker in this) Mr Dynamite could not have achieved such greatness on his own.
So, with their credentials in full tact, they took to the stage in a buoyant mood. The Big Chill Crowd, now swarming, knew they were in for a monumental ride with this ultra-stellar band presented before them.
Opening the show with some blistering funk instrumentals (including a glorious version of Pastorious’s 'The Chicken') we were privy to witnessing some furious bone blowing and strident tenor and darting alto (courtesy of rookie James Morton, filling the shoes of Maceo admirably!)
Stepping up to the mic to sing 'It’s A Mans World' was the irrepressible Cheikh Lô singing in his native senegalese. His projection and enviable control coupled with great force of clarity and heart felt conjecture, saw the summer air fill up with his long sensual tones, like a voice out of the dawn of time!
Kicking into gear Rapper Ty (and he is different gear!) added his unique soul of blessed blackness with the field hollering “make it Funky” which to my surprise had A great D.C.Go Go feel to it courtesy of the mightily robust drumming groovemeister Guido May (this bus was going nowhere without his say so!) Ty knows how to whip,whoop and wipe out any crowd-he was on tip top form even mimicking the cloak scenes (JB used to do) with backing singer par extraodinaire the beautiful, Lizzie Deane, possibly one of the best white singers I’ve heard in ages.
It was good also to see Fred Ross up on stage too, shining his light on the seminal 'Say it Loud I’m Black an I’m Proud' bolstered by the horn maestros now in full stride with their sharp, entrancing phrasal explosions making the funk as real as real can be and giving out the coldest of cold sweat! Tony Remy’s concise, rhythmic perambulating riffs added the necessary grit this genre demands- the cogs in the wheel of funk were well oiled!
What made the show so special was the abundant collective energy emanating from these highly skilled purveyors of pleasure and the old theory of the whole being greater than the sum of it’s parts being true. Soul Brother No1 knew this and his discipline instilled is what keeps the legacy alive. A legacy that stretches back beyond the landmark of spirituals and Gospel to Africa, vocally, rhythmically and harmonically-Funk has come full circle. Vingtage grooves abound this was a veritable humdinger of a gig- Funk in the name of Funk!
Words Emrys Baird
