Brian Edwards
Our own Brian Edwards, on percussion in this 2018 Village Tavern clip, has been selected by The Time’s Jesse Johnson to perform at the third annual Prince Celebration at Paisley Park this spring. Congratulations! Brian and I are planning an interview before he embarks.
The Suffers at Club Café
The Suffers are a high-energy R&B outfit from Houston, with Kam Franklin at the helm. Club Café is intimate, and the crowd was totally immersed. On The Soul Show (WYEP) last weekend, Kam and I talked about the band’s history, its reckoning with Hurricane Harvey, and more. Here are the 3 segments of the interview:
Anqwenique, Rick
Last Friday, two acts worth checking out were Anqwenique at The Fairmont, then Rick Matt two or three walking minutes away at Nola On The Square. Anqwenique’s Kinetic bandmates Jason Rafalak and Joe Sheehan, as well as James Johnson III, were in accompaniment. This time, it was more interesting to capture the players sharing baby holds and baby pics than to cover the performance. All of these musicians have infants and toddlers right now, so the vibe is a different kind of warm amongst them.
I did ask Joe Sheehan about the future of his Trio+ project with Rafalak and Ryan Socrates. Trio+ often served as an instrumental backdrop for singing and hiphop talents. Right now it’s on hold, he says, but there are some thoughts about how to reinvent the group once the fellas come up for air.
Rick Matt was one of the well-known Steeltown Horns, and he has recently gone on to front his own ad hoc trios/quartets. This was my first experience hearing the new project, this time with the inimitable Howie Alexander on keys.
Black History Month broadcasts on The Soul Shows
This is the first BHM for the new edition of The Soul Show on NPR Affiliate WTJX, so this year there are eight distinct themes, in order:
- The Soul Show on WTJX.org:
- Earth, Wind & Fire’s early years
- Blaxploitation movie soundtracks
- Early albums of progressive funk outfit Mandrill; Chaka Khan’s early years with the band Rufus
- Minnie Riperton’s psychedelic years + solo work; Stevie Wonder’s super-creative years (Music Of My Mind, Talking Book, …)
- The Soul Show on WYEP.org
- Soul Train’s first nine years
- Generations (Coles, Nevilles, Adderleys, Reddings, Marleys, …)
- Spotlight on Southern Soul label Hi Records (Al Green, Ann Peebles, …)
- Spotlight on Hi Records, cont’d
Go to the on-demand Archives on soulshowmike.org for all of these, and stay tuned for Women’s History Month.