Several months ago I reviewed a recording by Grandpa Elliott, a New Orleans Street Singer who was associated with Playing For Change. At that time I noted that Playing for Change, according to its website (http://www.playingforchange.com), began as the brainchild of Grammy-winning music producer and engineer Mark Johnson. Utilizing innovative mobile audio/video techniques, Playing For Change records musicians outdoors in cities and townships worldwide. They have a single-minded passion to record little-known musicians. The name Playing For Change evokes the coins thrown to street musicians as well as the transformation their music inspires. The also believe music can be a force to foster understanding and peace between persons of diverse backgrounds and cultures. They have an arrangement with Concord Records to allow dissemination of their recordings, one of which was the fine Grandpa Elliott CD. Now they have issued a combined CD/DVD package, “Playing For Change Live” (Playing For Change Records/Timeless Media). The concert DVD has two more performances than are on the CD as well as two bonus performances.
Included are performances from several concerts in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Spain with a core group of musicians that travel and perform together although there does seem to be some varying personnel from tour to tour (I am basing this on the personnel on this CD/DVD set compared to slightly different personnel for a fall 2010 US tour that is given on the website). Grandpa Elliott is present on this to contribute his harmonica and vocals and other members of the Playing For Change Band here on pretty much all the performances include vocalist Clarence Bekker from Amsterdam, Netherlands; guitarist Jason Tamba from Matadi, Congo; vocalist Mermans Kenkosenki from Matadi, Congo; vocalist Ruth ‘Titi Tsira from Guguletu, South Africa; guitarist Louis Mhlanga from Harare, Zimbabwe and djembe by Mohammed Alidu from Tamale, Ghana.
There is a mix of classic blues, rhythm and blues, reggae songs mixed with African based performances. Grandpa Elliott opens up with a robust and exuberant “Fannie Mae,” with Keb’ Mo’ guesting on guitar with the band and his later rendition of “Sugar Sweet,” is only on the DVD. “Don’t Worry” is an uplifting song with wonderful vocals from Bekker and Tsira as the band gets a strong reggae groove with Grandpa Elliott taking a solo break as well as guitarist Mhlanga who consistently plays some of the sweetest sounding guitar, with a precise attack that is rhythmically compelling.
Mermans Kenkosenki contributed “Back to the Roots,” with a bit more African-reggae flavor again with such marvelous singing that bring so much warmth with the message of understanding an hope. The great Toots Hilbert is guest vocalist on a terrific rendition of Otis Redding’s “I’ve Got Dreams to Remember,’ with supporting vocals from the aggregation. There are so many highlights including Titi Tsira’s marvelous original “Fela Ngaye,” as well as Ziggy Marley guesting on “Love is My Religion.”
Bob Marley’s “One Love” serves as the basis for the group to conclude the filmed portion of the DVD while the exhilarating treatment of “Stand By Me,” on the DVd serves as backdrop for the credits. Interspersed between the performances on the film are back stage scenes and the performers talking about there background and what music has meant to them and how they came to join Playing For Change. Of the two bonus scenes, one is of Grandpa Elliott singing “Amazing Grace” without accompaniment while hugging a cancer patient who was a special guest at the performance due to the Make A Wish Foundation.
The singing is so good, the band is terrific and the non-performance film scenes show how in touring they have become as much as family as a performing troupe. The whole experience presented here has so much soul and joy about it. In case I have not been clear, this is highly recommended. It should be available from better vendors as well as from the Playing For Change website.
For FTC regulations, the review copy of the CD was provided either by Concord Records or a firm handling publicity for this release.
This review is several months old, but during the broadcast on NBC of the NFL season opener between the saints and the Vikings, at one point they showed Trombone Shorty and Grandpa Elliott jamming in the French Quarter. This review originally appeared in the May 2010 Jazz & Blues Report (issue 324) and the review copy was provided by a publicist for the record label.
Playing for Change, according to its website (http://www.playingforchange.com), began a decade ago, the brainchild of Grammy-winning music producer and engineer Mark Johnson. Utilizing innovative mobile audio/video techniques, it records musicians outdoors in cities and townships worldwide.
For ten years, Johnson and his team traveled the globe, with a single-minded passion to record little-known musicians for what would become Playing for Change - its name evoking the coins thrown to street musicians as well as the transformation their music inspires. They have had a documentary on public television try to bring peace and positive change through music. Through Timeless Media they have an arrangement with Concord Music Group to issue some of the music they document from South Africa to Santa Monica to New Orleans, in the case of their newest release by Grandpa Elliott “Sugar Sweet,” (Playing For Change).
In September, 2006, they came to New Orleans as that city was in the beginning of its recovery from Hurricane Katrina to find Grandpa Elliott. Grandpa Elliott is a fixture of the French Quarter scene, regularly seen singing and playing harmonica on the street at the corner of Royal and Toulouse. While much of what Playing For Change does brings the studio to the street, in this case they did a studio recording session with the Playing For Change Band in Spring 2009 which was led by Reggie McBride on bass and included musicians from around the world with the guitars of Louis Mhlanga andJason Tamba, the keyboards of Michael Thompson, the drums of Peter Bunetta and the djembe of Mohammad Alidu worth notting. There are also guest appearances from Keb’ ‘Mo, Joe Krown and Kirk Joseph.
Elliott has a wonderful voice as he sings a variety of mostly blues & R&B classics including Bobby Bland’s “Ain’t Nothing You Can Do,” Jimmy Reed’s “Baby What You Want Me To Do,” Little Milton’s “We Gonna Make It,” and Sam Cooke’s “Another Saturday Night.” While Bland sings the opening song as someone suffering heartbreak, Elliott’s warm, rich vocal, set against an Afro-Caribbean groove is reassuring in tone, which also falls into the mood of the lyric of “Share Your Love,” another song from the Bland songbook as well as his wonderful reading of “We’re Gonna Make It,” with a soulful country tinge and a nice harmonica solo that owes as much to jazz players as Little Walter. “Sugar Is Sweet,” is a Caribbean a slightly saccharine love song that gives this disc its title.
There is a spirited live club recording of Buster Brown’s “Fannie Mae,” followed by a rendition of Charles Brown’s “Please Come Home For Christmas,” backed by Joe Krown on Wurlitzer piano and Kirk joseph on tuba that concludes this somewhat short (37 and a half minutes) but thoroughly engaging recording.
Posts
