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Taken from Philadelphia Inquirer (January 11, 2016)
A soulful, funky night with legendary Maceo Parker
by Brion Shreffler, For The Inquirer
Maceo Parker played the packed Ardmore Music Hall Saturday. INES KAISER |
Among other things, it was a night of twangy, funky bass overlaid with humming, soulful organ music cut by staccato drums. Maceo Parker's Saturday night show at a packed Ardmore Music Hall was also a survey of decades of American music history as the saxophonist channeled greats such as Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, and his former band leader, James Brown.
These musical nods and prolonged tangents came just as seamlessly as Parker switching from vocals to lift us off with the sax.
Both his brass work and that of trombone player Greg Boyer provided the emotional context as Parker deftly took us to his jazz beginnings before diving back into funk with lyrics that were repeated invocations, calls to a more relaxed state of being as the bass drove the music.
To the jazz interludes where his drifting sax sounded like the backing for every lonely walk through every faceless street in cinema, Parker answered with persistent reminders that "it's all about the love," with calls to communion amidst the sharp pickups as the music shifted.
As with another of his former bands, George Clinton and Parliament Funkedelic, which played Ardmore Music Hall in December, each member of Parker's combo had standout moments, with the solo or two-piece interludes sharpening listeners' ears for when the full band was back on stage.
Given Parker's stature in music, it was only natural for him to freely shift the musical landscape; as with the George Clinton show at the Ardmore Music Hall, the proximity to a legend in the intimate space was thrilling. Both shows heightened appreciation of the music that flowed out of the funk Parker helped create: hip-hop.
Late in the show, the band jumped into the raucous funk classic, "Pass the Peas," which had even more vibrancy than "Make It Funky," the second song in the set.
In between, there was a stunning rendition of "Stand by Me," by the band leader's cousin, Darlene Parker; a smooth, soulful version of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" that opened with some sharp, trilling guitar work (the cover appears on the Mo' Roots album), and Parker adopting Ray Charles' mannerisms as easily as he integrated jazz flute into the set.
Another of the night's high points came toward the end, with "Shake Everything You've Got," in which Parker followed the delivery of the exhortation with saxophone play that wound back through all the years of funk history the audience had traveled. Earlier in the night, Darlene Parker repeatedly declared of her cousin, "I want to hear him blow," and here was jazz, funk, and one man's history beautifully tied together.
Donations were accepted after the show for former P-Funk keyboardist Bernie Worrell, who is battling late-stage cancer and is set on finishing his Retrospectives album. The Ardmore will continue to accept donations, according to managing partner Tom Linquist.
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