On Wednesday night, WBGO hosted January’s installment of The Checkout: Live, featuring the pan-African stylings of the The Olatuja Project and the EJ Strickland Project's tribute to Stevie Wonder. The radio/web simulcast twin bill was at 92YTribeca: an unexpectedly excellent venue for live music, with its sleek modern performance space, full bar and superior sound.
Wednesday's host for the NPR-sponsored series, WBGO's Josh Jackson, introduced the Olatuja Project as a group whose mix of “African Diaspora, soul and jazz” would provide an electric opening to the night. The deep tribal percussion jam between drummer John Davis and dundun (talking drum) player Kofo Wonder certainly justified Jackson’s introduction. Michael Olatuja’s funk-inspired five-string electric bass along with Durell Ron’s beat-driven dancing (during which he unfortunately appeared to injure himself), further energized the atmosphere.
The Olatuja Project claims musical inspirations as diverse as Bob Marley, Nigerian music and the rhythms of Cameroon.“Soki” was African-funk-jazz in a gospel-inspired blanket, courtesy of the Project’s trio of backing vocalists. The soulful “Odun De” spoke about approaching one’s current life with a fresh start. Alicia and Michael's skat and bass intro to “Sumo Mi” eventually led to a dundun solo, adding a unique texture to the overall structure. “Playground” involved a fairly complicated audience participation clapping rhythm, impressing event host Jackson. “Iye” featured an explorative and animated bass intro by Michael as well as a tension-release section by pianist Christian Sands. “Hold Me”, the first song Michael and Alicia wrote together, once again called upon the audience for participation, this time a capella. The well-paced “The Promise” closed the set, which felt like an audience reward for its collective rhythmic and vocal efforts.
After the break, the EJ Strickland Project presented "A Tribute to Stevie Wonder." Strickland admitted to host Josh Jackson that restructuring “The Maestro’s” arrangements was “very scary” and assured us that he was “not trying to compete or outdo Stevie, just trying to arrange the pieces in a new light.”
Featuring songs from Wonder’s In Square Circle, Songs in the Key of Life, Innervisions and The Jungle Fever Soundtrack, the Strickland Project offered varied interpretations combining jazz and funk. Vocalists Charenee Wade and Pauline Jean found their collective groove towards the end of “Never In Your Sun,” which also featured saxophonists Jaleel Shaw and Marcus Strickland (EJ’s twin brother), trading exploratory variations on the theme. A stripped-down version of “Overyjoyed”, featuring upright bassist Ben Williams and bare-handed beats by EJ segued into the tension-release “As.” EJ urged the audience to “pay close attention to the words of the poet, the maestro” during “Make Sure You’re Sure”, during which bassist Williams transported the audience to a virtual smoky, uptown jazz club in the waning hours of the night.
“Golden Lady” and "Ribbon in the Sky" evoked the spirit of John Coltrane, with pianist David Bryant exploring the full latitude of the classic song’s theme while saxophonist Jaleel Shaw carried the main melody into the air before bringing it in for a smooth landing. The final arrangement of the evening, “Funday,” highlighted the impressive abilities of guitarist Tom Guarna.
A musical journey from West Africa to Motown proved to be a truly enjoyable experience for the crowd gathered at 92YTribeca – and, presumably, those watching and listening from home.