I once made a promise to myself, after seeing him live for the first time, that if Jason Robert Brown, with or without the Caucasian Rhythm Kings, was performing in New York City, that I would not pass on the opportunity to attend at least one of his sets. I have broken that promise, to my knowledge, only once.
So when I learned that when he would be returning to Birdland, the “Jazz Corner of the World,” this week for a four-night engagement I did not hesitate and booked a reservation.
The other day I was checking out jasonrobertbrown.com, as I am wont to do now and then, and I noticed he posted that he would be appearing at Birdland Jazz Club with Anika Noni Rose, whom I am most familiar with for having been in the acclaimed recent Broadway Revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof also starring Terrence Howard, James Earl Jones, and Phylicia Rashad. Although I did not see that production, being otherwise ignorant of Anika Noni Rose’s work, I was not a little intrigued to see her perform.
While I knew that, at a minimum, Jason Robert Brown and the CRC were prime musicians in addition to Jason Robert Brown being funny and a fantastic showman, I had no idea what I was in for. From the first note she sang, Anika Noni Rose was nothing less than mesmerizing. Her tone was warm, smooth, and dark. Her range was quite expansive. I thought that she particularly shined on “Stars and the Moon,” from Jason Robert Brown’s “Songs for a New World,” one of the most moving songs in Jason Robert Brown’s catalog, in my humble opinion, but she also sounded exquisite singing “I Can Do Better Than That,” from The Last Five Years. It was a joy to witness her performance. Full of warmth, Anika Noni Rose was funny, charming, sensual, and just generally wonderful, and let’s not forget drop-dead gorgeous. Anika Noni Rose has been deservedly added to my list of must-see performers anytime they’re in town. Add her to yours, too. You will not regret it.
Jason Robert Brown performed new songs and old. A song which I believe is called “This is Vegas,” from his upcoming adaptation of Honeymoon in Vegas. Exercising his fantastic wit, he told the audience, as some of us may already have known, that it was from his musical Parade. He also performed “I Could Be In Love With Someone Like You,” a song cut from The Last Five Years, if I recall correctly, and one that has grown on me and is also quite the crowd pleaser. He claimed that were it December, he would have been obliged to perform “Surabaya-Santa,” from “Songs for a New Worldd, but as it was March and the day after St. Patrick’s Day, “I Could Be In Love With Someone Like You” was the most appropriate song to the occasion.
He also performed a new (to me at least) song he wrote commemorating ten years with his wife, composer Georgia Stitt, which was lovely, and a song that had to do with the narrator not going to be a millionaire if I recall correctly, which, while my memory of it was hazy, I recall that it had a great beat, some sweet harmonies, and was generally most awesome.
I think the most interesting rendition of the evening was “King of the World,” from “Songs for a New World” which, on the World Premiere Recording, is at a quick tempo to say the least. Jason Robert Brown slowed it down and, though it’s always a joy to witness him perform it up tempo as a demonstration of his mastery of the piano, it was an interesting perspective to hear it performed a listtle more slowly. It was not revolutionary, but it, I felt, brought new perspective to the song and placed greater emphasis on the singer and the lyrics. Not that up tempo it is, in any way merely a demonstration of technique, except perhaps at the piano.
Although he performed some of my favorites and not others (“Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes,” which I have seen him perform before and is among my favorite songs he’s written, was notably absent) Jason Robert Brown is always nothing less than a joy to see perform. I might have turned out a very different musician in college had I had the privilege of seeing him before I dropped out of the Crane School of Music and obtained my degree in English Literature and Writing. I have no regrets, but seeing the likes of Jason Robert Brown and Anika Noni Rose would have provided me with much perspective on the art of performing that was probably noticeably lacking from my performing. However, having had the experience of being a mediocre singer may help me to appreciate the great ones. It was most certainly not a waste.
In addition to his phenomenal abilities as a musician, one of the things I most love about seeing Jason Robert Brown perform are learning some of the stories about how things came to be. For example, the last time I was there, I learned that he never writes for weddings, but he was asked by a friend for a wedding at which Stephen Sondheim would be in attendance and, while this may not have been a factor, it certainly impressed me, as I adore Sondheim and have done since I first saw a production of Assassins by the Crane Opera Ensemble in college. In the end, Jason Robert Brown obliged, and that is how “Long, Long Road,” from his album Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes, came to be. It’s not just about hearing amazing music being performed by expert musicians. It’s also about enriching that experience through what the artist shares.
My only regret of the evening was that, as it was a 7pm performance, it wrapped by 8:15 or so with Jason Robert Brown, as is his tradition from what I gather, closing with the gorgeous “Someone to Fall Back On,” which never ceases to touch my soul. The last couple of times I saw him, once with the Caucasian Rhythm Kings and once with Lauren Kennedy, he performed at the 9pm set and invited guests to stay, free of charge, for the 11pm set. At about 85 minutes, although I was grateful to see him perform, I would have loved to have made a full evening of it. It would have been well worth getting home around 2AM and being beyond exhausted for work the next morning.
I don’t talk about this much but for me music can be an extremely spiritual experience. I consider a trip to Birdland very much a pilgrimage. Arriving last night, in many ways, felt like coming home. It usually has that effect on me. I don’t go very often, but when I go, I tend to see the best musicians at the top of their game, so I tend to walk in expecting to experience bliss and I never leave disappointed. In many ways, I was glad that, having never seen Dreamgirls or Caroline or Change, Anika Noni Rose was an unknown quantity for me. It allowed her to take my breath away with her voice, her power, both in exercise and restraint, her tone, from the very first note.
I dearly hope that I will have the opportunity to see Anika Noni Rose perform with Jason Robert Brown again sometime soon, and I would love to see a recorded collaboration someday.
The evening was nothing less than pure bliss, precisely as I expected.
Comments