Every Tuesday night at Harvelle's, Tasha Taylor brings her "A"-game and gives us an evening of indelible soul with her incredible voice. [TashaTaylor.com] Feminine and knowing, her voice has a warmth to it, not unlike Gladys Knight's or Carole King's - comforting and deeply passionate. That voice, she owns!!
Her originals - culled mostly from her CD Taylor Made - are plush, radio-friendly bites of classic songwriting with some memorable lyrics; In What Difference Does It Make she manages to rhyme "high life" with "sunrise" and "Hawaiian islands" which is a great trick not many can do!
"I want to marry a man who meditates/ who asks me to slow dance in the middle of the day/ drive home ... just to see my face..." she sings in Somebody, listing the qualities she desires in a Prince Charming who hasn't yet shown up.
My fave track continues to be "Refund"; we can all relate when she - completely unsatisfied with her selection - demands "I need a refund for my lover!"; later in the verse she drives herself crazy trying to figure out what went wrong ("You WON'T (and) I CAN'T do the right thing...") - I just want to hug her and tell her it's going to be o.k. and not to listen to too much Alanis Morisette in the interim.
Some of Taylor Made's other standout cuts include "Wonder Woman", "Best Friend" and "Queen", although the song quality and craftsmanship is very consistent throughout. In her live show, she mixes things up with versions of R&B classics, often doing Eddie Floyd's "Knock On Wood", her father, Johnnie Taylor's hit record "Who's Making Love" and last week, in dedication to Amy Winehouse, she covered "Valerie" (see video below).
Her band is Tommy King (keys), Kunio Kaneki (drums), Kyle Bolden (guitar) and Rick Taub (bass). The horn section is Zane Musa (sax), Wes Smith (sax), and Will Artrope (trumpet). Tasha's brother Jon Harrison Taylor plays acoustic guitar, and Tasha herself boldly rocks the rhythm on a black Gibson SG.
Already extending it's run twice, Tasha's Tuesday night residency at Harvelle's is scheduled to continue through until the end of August. Tasha's CD Taylor Made is available at the gigs and all the usual outlets: CD_Baby + Amazon + iTunes + DigiStation
DJ Arthur Allblack representing Club Soleside, always spins a funky selection of rare grooves from the 1960s exclusively on vinyl 45's, keeping the crowd moving with smiles on their faces, until closing.
below - Tasha performing Amy Winehouse's "Valerie"
for more about Tasha Taylor check out my other blog [fulltimepoet.com]
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