
Overnights
Overnights on HYFIN: Monday - Friday, 12 am - 6 am
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In June, the pianist/drummer Julius Rodriguez released his debut album, Let Sound Tell All, a project so dynamic that even the umbrella of jazz couldn’t quite contain its essence. Though the genre was surely present, the songs “All I Do” and “In Heaven” showed reverence for R&B and gospel — the former a posh cover of Stevie Wonder‘s 1980 song, the latter a piano-focused ballad rooted in the sound of Black church. It culminated in his ascendance from White Plains, N.Y., where Rodriguez studied classical piano and taught himself how to play drums, tagging along to jazz concerts with his father, who drove the then-11-year-old to clubs like Smalls while Thelonious Monk played on the car radio. Along the way he studied at the Manhattan School of Music, then Juilliard, before dropping out to tour with rapper A$AP Rocky in 2018.
Rodriguez is now a rising star at the intersection of jazz, soul, hip-hop and blues, playing alongside other multi-hyphenates like José James, Madison McFerrin and Meshell Ndegeocello. On Let Sound Tell All, through an amorphous blend that he simply calls “the music,” Rodriguez converged past and present with stellar results, showcasing himself as a torchbearer among a cohort of young New York players bringing history into the future. People like him, vibraphonist Joel Ross and flutist/producer Melanie Charles combine traditional jazz with contemporary rap, electronica and soul, nudging listeners to drop preconceived notions of what Black classical music is supposed to be. Like others before them, they’re showing that jazz can be edgy and expansive, not just the backdrop for sipping overpriced drinks in cramped nightclubs. Can Rodriguez play that scene? Sure. But his virtuosity is broader than that, transcending age and genre, making him one of the most well-rounded performers I’ve encountered in recent years.
I’ve seen Rodriguez perform three times this year — at a private taping in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (above), then twice at BRIC JazzFest as the leader of his own band and as lead pianist for José James’ headlining set. As leader, he’d switch between piano and drums, wading through the delicate “Where Grace Abounds” or pounding out the frenetic “Two Way Street.” Even when he wasn’t at the helm, Rodriguez still commanded the stage from the piano bench, playing superb solos without overtaking the show’s star.
“What makes him so special is his unique ability to go deeply into the music, whether it’s jazz, hip-hop, R&B, experimental, whatever,” James told me recently. “He really gets inside the concept of the song or project and creates from inside it, rather than adorning it from the outside. That’s a subtle thing but so important. Because it means he’s fully present in the moment and walking the edge of creation at all times.”
Indeed, there’s a fluidity to Rodriguez’s work, the feeling of defiance based in the renouncement of industry-crafted tags. Whether he’s retooling Erykah Badu cuts or building his own soundtrack, his artistry is limitless and Let Sound Tell All was one of the strongest statements of 2022.
Written by: NPR
Event Type
All
Community Event
Concert
DJ event
Fashion
Theater
Event Location
All
5 Points Art Gallery + Studios
cactus club
Insomniac Studios
Lupi & Iris
Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
Radio Milwaukee
Shank Hall
Thalia Hall
The Back Room at Colectivo
The Cactus Club
The Salt Shed
The Sugar Maple
Turner Hall Ballroom
Unfinished Legacy
Wantable Cafe
14jun8:00 pmCupcakKe at Cactus ClubZed Kenzo • bdwthr • DJ DR!PSweat
Elizabeth Eden Harris, known professionally as Cupcakke, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. She is known for her hypersexualised, brazen, and often comical persona
Elizabeth Eden Harris, known professionally as Cupcakke, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. She is known for her hypersexualised, brazen, and often comical persona and music although she has also made songs with themes supporting LGBTQ rights, female empowerment, and autism awareness.
(Wednesday) 8:00 pm
cactus club
15jun7:00 pmMeshell Ndegeocello at Turner Hall Ballroom
Acclaimed GRAMMY-winning multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello makes her Blue Note Records debut with the June 16 release of The Omnichord Real Book, a visionary
Acclaimed GRAMMY-winning multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello makes her Blue Note Records debut with the June 16 release of The Omnichord Real Book, a visionary and deeply jazz-influenced album that marks the start of a new chapter in her trailblazing career. Following her 2018 covers album Ventriloquism, Meshell returns with an album of new original material that taps into a broad spectrum of her musical roots. The Omnichord Real Book was produced by Josh Johnson and features a wide range of guest artists including Jason Moran, Ambrose Akinmusire, Joel Ross, Jeff Parker, Brandee Younger, Julius Rodriguez, Mark Guiliana, Cory Henry, Joan As Police Woman, Thandiswa, and others.
The Omnichord Real Book is introduced today by the expansive lead single “Virgo,” the mind-altering 8-minute centerpiece of the album which features Meshell on vocals, key bass, and keyboards, Younger on harp, Rodriguez on Farfisa organ, Chris Bruce on guitar, Jebin Bruni on keyboards, drums by Abe Rounds, Deantoni Parks, and Andrya Ambro, and additional vocals by Kenita Miller and Marsha DeBoe. The Omnichord Real Book is available for pre-order now on Blue Note Store exclusive color vinyl, black vinyl, CD, and digital.
“It’s a little bit of all of me, my travels, my life,” says Meshell. “My first record I made at 22, and it’s over 30 years from then, so I have a lot of stored information to share.” Reflecting on the impact that the forced stillness of the pandemic lockdown had on her, she says “I must admit it was a beautiful time for me. I got to really sit and reacquaint myself with music. Music is a gift.”
“This album is about the way we see old things in new ways,” Meshell explains. “Everything moved so quickly when my parents died. Changed my view of everything and myself in the blink of an eye. As I sifted through the remains of their life together, I found my first Real Book, the one my father gave me. I took their records, the ones I grew up hearing, learning, remembering. My mother gifted me with her ache, I carry the melancholy that defined her experience and, in turn, my experience of this thing called life calls me to disappear into my imagination and to hear the music.”
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(Thursday) 7:00 pm
Turner Hall Ballroom
1040 Ve. R. Phillips Ave.
Overnights on HYFIN: Monday - Friday, 12 am - 6 am
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