From: Bob Davis (earthjuice_at_prodigy.net)
Date: 2004-02-16 09:22:50
Some artists are naturals, while some are forced.
Minnie Riperton was an artist who was a "natural".
Not a note was forced.
Not a lyric was forced
There is a "purity" in "naturalness"
When Marlon Saunders invites us to "enter his mind", he is inviting us to enter into the realm
of possibilities and potential.
I went to see Marlon Saunders and his band Mood Control in early January at the legendary
Sugar Bar nightclub in Manhattan. I had originally intended to post this review right after
the show, But after seeing Marlon Saunders perform live, I decided to wait till Black History
Month to share this summary of my experience in attending his live show.
That's because Marlon Saunders live in concert is much more than just your run of the mill
"Stevie/Donnie/Marvin" neo soul clone. Marlon Saunders is an artist that understands his
connection to those artists of the past and clearly means to not only take their music (and
others) into the future, but also his responsibility to extend the legacy of Black music into
the future. Now that is a pretty big statement to make, but in his case that is clearly one of
his objectives. That much can be gleaned by listening to his CD called "Enter My Mind",
however it's only when seeing him live does it become totally clear that the objective is well
within his reach...
Take for example his performance on the title track "Enter My Mind".
Go to Marlon's website:
http://www.davisind.com/redirect/?d=newsletter_marlon
<a href="http://www.davisind.com/redirect/?d=newsletter_marlon"> Marlon Saunders </a>
and take a listen to the song.
Nice cut, right????????
However that cut takes on a WHOLE NOTHER LIFE when Marlon performs it live...
When he sings it live, it sounds pretty much like it does on the album, until he gets about
1/2 way thru the song.
And then he does the impossible
He does the improbable
What he does with this song is so amazing, that I am tempted not to even tell you, because I
really do want you to be just as surprised as I was. I would really like you to have the same
smile on your face as mine did when I heard it.
(but I will tell you anyhow......lol)
About 1/2 way thru the song Marlon Saunders broke out into a
LIVE
ONE MINUTE
COVER
VERSION
OF
...."REASONS" - EARTH, WIND & FIRE
Now this is a song that we have had MANY discussions about here on Soul-Patrol.
How many times have we come to the conclusion that...
"Nobody can cover that song, nobody should even attempt to cover that song, hell even Phillip
Bailey himself can't even cover that song..."
(but Marlon Saunders did it and I saw and heard it with my own eyes and ears)
And guess what????????
People ATE IT UP
Now I really don't want to spoil the surprise, but Marlon Saunders does the same exact thing
with several other songs from the songbook that I like to refer to as...
"BLACK AMERICAN STANDARD MUSIC"
And he doesn't do the one's that you might expect
He does the ones that NOBODY EVER TOUCHES
(so I won't spoil it for you)
Afro Blew My Mind
Love Serenade
Keep Doin What Cha Doin
Enter My Mind
He played a lot of other stuff as well, however my notes are jumbled and I don't remember.
But that doesn't matter.
The show was an hour or so of entertainment, enlightenment and SLAMMIN FUNK
So who will Marlon Saunders LIVE remind you of?????????
Curtis/Gil Scott-Heron/EWF/Tom Browne/Fifth Dimension/Rotary Connection/Jon Lucien
However please don't think for one moment that this is a "retro show".
Far from it...
The point here is to educate, stimulate and expand YOUR thinking.
And Marlon succeeds in doing so.
There are some other surprises here, but I really don't want to spoil them.
You need to witness them FIRST HAND.
This was a profoundly enjoyable concert for me as well as the rest of the crowd in attendance.
I will tell you this much...
In my opinion the "hype" that the mass media machine is currently applying to Alicia Keys,
should really be applied to Marlon Saunders. He really does reach back into the 1970's for
inspiration. He's old enough to have experienced the music firsthand, yet young enough to
create original music that makes absolutely no excuses about it's inherent FUNKINESS and just
where that FUNKINESS comes from.
And by "FUNK", what I mean is "FUNK" as the ...
"essence of Black music"
Marlon Saunders live is the living embodiment of all that Samuel L. Jackson was talking about
during the Grammy awards last week.
It isn't 'NEO' ANYTHING
(cuz there ain't nothing new about it, and Marlon says as much over and over again during the
show)
It's the REAL THING
At this point, I'm certain that there are a few of you out there who might be thinking that I
am overstating the point here?
Well if you are, then you are entitled to your opinion, however I would invite you to see &
hear what I am talking about for yourself...
If you go to Marlon's website at:
http://www.davisind.com/redirect/?d=newsletter_marlon
<a href="http://www.davisind.com/redirect/?d=newsletter_marlon"> Marlon Saunders </a>
You can view some video clips from this very show that I attended at the Sugar Bar last month.
Go there and see for yourself if I am overstating the case.
In short, Marlon Saunders flips the entire idea of something called "neo soul" and uses it to
make quite a compelling point about the future of Black music. If there is an artist out there
who will be able to bridge the very serious generation gap that we have in Black music today,
I would bet my money on Marlon Saunders.
There is a sense of interity in what he is doing that makes me very enthusiastic and
optimistic
All of this and a band that is SLAMMIN and includes former members of Digable Planets and the
Ivan Neville Band
We will be talking quite a bit about Marlon Saunders as he takes this journey!
stay tuned...
"Who said that a Soul Band can't play FUNK...."
_________
Bob Davis
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