“Two Ladies Of Soul Concert” Oleta Adams & Maysa Leak
Union County Performing Arts Center Rahway, NJ 10.21.23
We had the pleasure of attending a unique show bringing two powerhouse divas together in one space on one ticket. Revered darling Ms. Oleta Adams had the house eating out of her hand as her vocals were crystal clear & sounded amazingly like every single record she sings on. For me, I had no idea she played keyboards as well as she did. I thought she was going to be fronting her three-piece trio consisting of guitar, bass, & her husband of 29 years on drums. HECK NO!!! Ms. Adams was right there in the mix with her band throwing down on a Roland keyboard as well as laying it down vocally. The only time she DID NOT play was when they stepped out front to do a two-three song acoustic set letting her simply sing to us, as the guitar player switched to an acoustic guitar, & the drummer played a cajon which looks like a rectangular box you sit on to play.
Now just when you thought it COULD NOT get any better, she announced to the crowd that she
was 70 Years
Old!!! That generated an incredible
wave of applause because MY
GAWD…, SHE LQQKED FLAWLESS!!! If
there is ever hope for anyone who complains about getting a late start on life,
she is the poster child for pursuing your dreams regardless of where you are on
the life spectrum. She chose a nice mix of songs that featured her voice, her
band, & her catalog. When she delivered the song she wrote for South Africa
& their struggle for freedom, it resonated with the audience. When she got
down, dirty, & grimy with a blues song it took us back down home with that
soul shaking feeling that only the blues can deliver.
However, when she closed the
show with her signature breakthrough smash hit “Get
Here” it was game, set, & match. Every time I hear
this song, I immediately think of Ms. Dianne Reeves’s song “Better Days.” Those two songs are bookends of our life journey
as they transport us into better places & spaces in our life through the power
of their words, their melodies, & their impassioned deliveries. She simply
tore this song up, as she had the whole crowd jamming along with her &
walked off triumphantly into the night when it ended. Thank You Ms. Adams You Were
INCREDIBLE!!!
Then Ms. Maysa Leak came out
& let’s be clear, this woman already has “Goddess
Status.” When she finally took front
& center with the UK Acid Jazz group Incognito, her voice was a breath of fresh
air & a shot heard around the world. We COULD NOT wait for each new
project just to get wrapped up in her rich/textured vocal tone. Then…, KABOOM!!! She left the group??? SAY
WHUT??? Oh Wait…, She Left To Go Solo (but
would still appear on selected Incognito album cuts)!!! Her 1st
solo project was everything we wanted & needed from her as she was finally
able to deliver ALL of herself to us in a collection of songs that
represented her. Then she continued to do that over like 13
more albums. I probably have 10 of those bad boys in my CD collection.
Her latest project has to be the
most special project to her since her debut project, because this one is
released on her own record label imprint. She said she was involved with EVERY THANG from the writing, to recording, to merchandising,
& the selling of this record. It’s a double CD called “Music For Your Soul.” Again, if you are a fan of Ms. Maysa Leak, you
already know what to expect. She’s gonna deliver soulful vocals, jazzy grooves,
R&B grooves, love songs, & a dance track or two you can groove to.
On this night she featured quite
a few cuts from this project. “Relax
Your Mind, Music For Your Soul, Make Sure You’re Sure, & Runnin’ From
Myself” come immediately to mind. Her
band was tight consisting of two background singers, saxophone player, keyboards,
guitar, bass, & my man Tim Hutson on drums who I had the pleasure of
chatting with in May down in Philly as he played with bassist Gerald Veasley backing
saxophonist Ms. Paula Atherton.
Maysa actually featured more of
her new songs, than any of her past hits & sometimes fans feel a type of
way when artist do that, cause most of them really only come to hear the hits,
refusing to grow with their artist as they themselves have grow. Well Maysa
solved that quick, fast & in a hurry. She told us that she loved all those
funky 70’s – 90’s party jams & she was going to take us on a
journey. She kicked it off with one of her own tunes, then that morphed into a
mega mashup mix as they ran through like 15 jams non-stop the way a DJ would
mix from one party song to the next. It
Was Pure Fire!!! Everything from Cameo,
to Pleasure, to Ohio Players, to Parliament Funkadelic, to
club bangers, & beyond as she had us eating out of her hand making half the
venue jump up to start dancing in their seats.
For me when it comes to Maysa it
is simple. She has one of the most unique & recognizable voices in the
business. Its dripped in honey with a deep richness to it that tingles your ear
drums. Add in her range of hitting high notes, then dropping down to her
resonant lows, with a tone that is as clear as glass, letting you see she can move
you with strictly her voice. She graduated from Baltimore’s Morgan State music
college, so you know her musical training was perfect given the depth of their curriculum.
She can cover any style from the scatting harmonies of jazz, to the soulful walings
of R&B, all the way up to the soaring glory of gospel. She gave us a little
bit of all that last night. She’s bad & she knows she bad.
The mark of a true artist is
even with some technical sound issues, mostly the onstage monitoring system
trying to throw her off, she centered herself & delivered in spite of that
until the venue finally got it together for her. At one point she even stepped
in front of the monitors, leaving the microphone on the stand & just belted
out the song to us at the edge of the stage like she was in a high school
musical. GO ‘HEAD LADY!!!
As Ms. Oleta Adams did…, Ms.
Maysa Leak also closed the show with one of her iconic signature jams, “Deep Waters” from the Incognito files. She took us on 15-minute
ride as she sang the song, then blended vocal lines from other artist songs inside
her song as she just poured her heart out to us to end the show. Me & my
wife LQQKED at each other, like WOW!!! The gentleman on my left who recognized me from the
Liz Warfield show at SOPAC exhaled right along with us. Then the two ladies behind
us were saying the same thing. We COULD NOT get over the jam session
of the show where Maysa took us on a dance floor thumper journey. We were like,
“WHO IZ THIS LADY & WHERE
DID OUR REAL MS. MAYSA GO???”
Cause whoever this woman is out her right now…, she is KILLING IT!!! LOL!!!
As I’m getting older I DO NOT NJoy the Big Arena shows like I used to in the days
of my youth. I love intimate theaters, where you can see the artist, feel the
band, absorb the venue & see the audience’s faces. It’s probably because as
a musician in a band myself, I know what it takes to simply try to deliver a cohesive
show to an audience out in front of you. When artist do shows in intimate places
like this, they CANNOT hide behind the
technology, the lights, the glitz, or the glamour. They must LQQK you straight in the eye & deliver the goods. Oleta Adams made
mention of this & on this night…, these two divas DID NOT just deliver…, they superseded expectations with
not one, but two AMAZING
PERFORMANCES!!!
The Brother AJ
