A perfect summer evening outdoors at the Millennium Bandstand stage in Markham, Ont to see the legendary Maceo Parker & Company. It’s not everyday a girl gets to dance on stage with one of the great funk alto sax players of all time! A bit of a stray from my normal jazz type concerts but I love a good funk now and then and who better then the Mo’ Better Blues man himself – Maceo Parker! Great tunes – tight band! I loved “the freeze” the band did at the end of the first tune- a whack at the drum and the whole band just froze in place – just like the game we played as kids! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX1yDXQRdOg
But child’s play this band is not – a well produced, energetic, a truly funky band – they do what they do best (320 shows a year!) and they do it very well. Maceo not only plays great sax – he sings, plays flute and has some great dance moves – he is very funny to watch. They did pay homage to the “jazz” festival, featuring piano and Maceo on sax, by playing a really up tempo version of Satin Doll. The rest of the evening was pure funk….Pass the Peas, Make it Funky, Give me Some More were just some of the tunes performed last night – he also performed a soulful Charles-like rendition of You Don’t Know Me. His daughter, Darlene Parker, who does great backup vocals also performed a powerful rendition of Stand by Me. I was dancing the entire night as were so many others – Maceo really connects with his audience – when I got the eye to come on down to the stage, I didn’t hesitate – Wow! A Funkadelic night it was!!
AND ALL THAT JAZZ! 