Phil Upchurch Concert
Jon Jung (jjung@mail.summer.hawaii.edu)
Wed, 21 Aug 1996 09:15:21 -1000
Wow, what a surprise, soul's favorite son, Phil Upchurch playing in Hawaii, of
all places. For those of you who don't know Phil's repertoire, it includes
playing with Donny Hathaway, Aretha Franklin, the Crusaders, Cannonball
Adderley, etc. in addition to recording several great solo albums including
classics like "Darkness, Darkness" and "That Lovin' Feeling".
Anyway, Phil had a quartet with him: Tennyson (I forget his last name, but he's
been a collaborator with Phil since the beginning) on keys, and a local rhythm
section. They started out with Wes Montgomery's "West Coast Blues" and headed
into a mostly covers including Bobby Lyle's "Night Breeze" (original versions
can be found on Ronnie Laws' "Fever" and Bobby's own "The Genie"), Charlie
Parker's "Cherokee" (with a local vocalist providing the vocalese touch), Dave
Brubeck's "Take Five" (with an oh-so-funky feel), and others. They covered
pretty much all jazz bases: straightahead, funk, latin, Brazilian (the latter
two were pulled off OK without an ample percussion section). A great show.
Probably the best that's been here since Freddie Hubbard hit the islands. Hana
hou!
--Jon