October 6, 2024
Spivey Hall
Morrow, GA – USA
“Life with Shenita, LLC Presents An Elegant Evening of Jazz”
Lori Williams, vocals; Trey Daniels, saxophone; Gino Rosaria, piano; Al Smith, keyboards; Stephon Williams, guitar; Joel Powell, bass; Charles Nesbit, drums.
Mike Shaw & Matt Miller | 9 OCT 2024
Billed “an elegant evening” of jazz, it might just as well have been advertised “an energetic evening.” From the get-go, singer Lori Williams’ interpretation of “I Can’t Help It,” a song Steve Wonder wrote for Michael Jackson, through the excited riffs of the enthusiastic saxophonist Trey Daniels to the flying fingers of pianist Gino Rosaria, Spivey Hall pulsated with increasingly robust rhythms and booming sound. And it wasn’t only the featured performers or the formidable players engaged to accompany them—Al Smith, keys; Stephon Williams, guitar; Joel Powell, bass; Charles Nesbit, drums—it was as if organizers had hired the audience as well. At the invitation of the performers, many, maybe most, of the audience didn’t just sing along; they delivered an orchestrated background for several of Williams’ renderings, then exchanged multi-note frenetic riffs with saxophonist Daniels—on cue, on time, and on key.
Williams’ contribution was a combination of tenderness and power, a versatility she easily managed through a set including a vocal rendition of Freddie Hubbard’s typically instrumental “Little Sunflower,” a moving “You’re Beautiful,” and Bill Withers’ popular “Lovely Day.”Saxophonist Troy Daniels opened his set with another Stevie Wonder composition, “All I Do” to robust cheers from the audience. His solo on alto saxophone brimmed with frenetic energy, quoting Atlanta’s Outkast and others amid a flurry of pentatonic lines before returning to the tuneful melody. He and the house rhythm section delivered fresh takes on familiar melodies, and again, the audience didn’t hesitate to join in. Following a rousing original, “86th Street,” the crowd sang along to the chorus of Anita Baker’s “Caught Up in the Rapture of Love,” then mimicked in call and response Daniels’ saxophone on “People Make the World Go Round.”
Throughout the set, Daniels opened the arrangements for solos from his bandmates, including innovative statements from keyboardist Smith and bassist Powell.
Following an intermission, a cascade of synthesizer notes rang out as keyboardist Gino Rosaria entered through the audience playing a gleaming white keytar. Taking the stage along with the house band, Rosaria switched to his more traditional Roland as he embarked on a series of original compositions with accompanying tracks filling out the arrangements. On tunes like “Ride Along” and “Don’t Stop Now,” Rosaria performed upbeat melodies before improvising with skill and precision.
Slowing down for “Gentle Touch,” another original, Rosaria showcased his harmonic sophistication in a rubato introduction before the band joined with a driving groove.
As the evening ended with all the night’s performers on stage for a concluding jam, Rosaria asked the audience if they would return for next year’s show. The answer was a convincing and resounding “yes,” and as expected, in perfect unison. ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Spivey Hall: spiveyhall.org
