rochester jazz fest

Hi Sharon,

It is a shame you did not enjoy the show. I read the review by Jann Nyffler and certainly didn't get the impression that Madeleine was off. See below. Surely "soulful luminescence" is quite a hefty compliment.

For all of us that have seen Madi perform live, I think we can safely say that Madeleine's shows are not formularic pro-forma events and sometimes this means the sound & arrangement of musicians etc are not 'as the CD' , but that is what I love about her live performances. It is a beautiful organic and fresh experience.

I guess each to their own. I have a question though.
If you liked the CDs before you saw her last week - why suddenly dislike the CD now? The music on the CD hasn't changed, it just was not re-produced live in the way you would have liked.

I hope you refind your passion for the music.

Best - Seb





Concert review: Two capture the spotlight with soulful luminescence

(June 16, 2007) — It's tough to put together a double bill that really works. And at first blush, who would have thought to follow Dr. John with Madeleine Peyroux?

Friday night at the Eastman Theatre, it worked. There's something about the soulful, mournful New Orleans-lovin' sound of Dr. John that magically contrasts with Peyroux's luminous, contemplative vocals.

Dr. John and his three-piece band turned in a lovably funked-up performance of tunes by Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington and Leadbelly. It's the kind of music that makes cotton fields sound like a good place to be.

On the other hand, Dr. John thinks Rochester is a pretty good place to be. In banter with the audience about the bureaucratic frustration of life in post-Katrina New Orleans, he expressed his, shall we say, perturbation with a few politicians. "But I'm diggin' your mayor," he said, referring to Mayor Bob Duffy's role in emceeing many of the jazz festival shows.

Dr. John and his band played with the big, resonant sound you'd expect. It's not every day you see a guy playing piano and a Hammond B-3 organ at the same time, but Dr. John does it as though he does it in his back yard for fun.

The crowd loved hearing his lone hit, "Right Place, Wrong Time,'' and the raucous encore of "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)."

After Dr. John's energizing set, he sealed his fan base here by coming out to play piano and sing with Peyroux on "Careless Love," the title track of her 2004 album.

There's something about her demeanor — enchantingly timid, even endearingly skittish as she plays acoustic guitar and sings. But she appeared noticeably more at ease when sharing the spotlight with Dr. John.

"La Javanaise," a Serge Gainsbourg work from her current album, was a sweet little French ditty highlighted by the minimalist approach of just Peyroux and her guitar and the stand-up bass player. But it lacked the interplay between musicians that we've seen so much of this week. At times, they sounded as though they were struggling to find their groove.

The band as a whole seemed more comfortable on the songs like "A Little Bit" that were more rock and roll than intercontinental. It was apparent that the boys in the band really wanted to cut loose. "(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night" featured more sweet, lyrical electric guitar work, too.

When the skittishness faded, as it did on "I'm All Right," it was a bit of a relief. And the power and passion that fans might have expected finally kicked in toward the end of the set, on songs like "Dance Me to the End of Love."

The night ended with a bit of redemption in "Don't Wait Too Long" — endearing and quirky in all the right ways.

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