Saturday, November 28, 2009

Leroy Powell : Rip This Joint

Leroy Powell brought his southern-fried self to Harvelle's Friday night. Leroy is a hell of a singer and played lead guitar alone and in tandem with Johnny Stachela creating a most Jagger/Richards-esque combo.

Bjorn Fleuren (bass) and Iahji Hampden (drums) are too of the most in-demand players in town; I seem to run into them all the time at jazz and funk gigs. They evidently never played before with Leroy, but to watch these guys git it raw provided an awesome night of real rock 'n' roll.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Gary Allegretto : Pix

Images from Gary Allegretto's performance at Harvelle's Nov 13 2009. Rich Cohen on guitar, Dave Kida on the drums, Paul Eckman on bass and Gary Allegretto on harmonica and vocals.


Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Soul Funk! : The Return Of Mayia Sykes

My night started off with Coq Au Vin. Two days before Thanksgiving and she wanted to prepare Coq Au Vin. And who can say no to Coq Au Vin? Seriously.

Good food is a ripe aphrodisiac for haughty musical exploration, and as luck would have it, my favorite eclectrician, Ryan Cross, was holding court with his cast of players including Zane Musa, James Allen, Robert Miller and Mr Brandon Coleman.

Pictured top: Tom McNalley accompanies featured vocalist Mayia Sykes in what was one of the best musical performances I have seen in a while, at Harvelle's or anywhere. Detroit native Tom is an accomplished guitarist with a passion for Haitian music and
culture. Mayia Sykes continues to surprise and delight audiences around the world, and to experience her in an intimate setting like Harvelle's is beautiful and rapturous.


Soulfunk is every Tuesday night.