Teedra Moses: Tiny Desk Concert

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of her debut album, Complex Simplicity, Teedra Moses came draped in all red, the same color she wore on the album’s cover. She couldn’t wait to get into the office and sing. Admittedly, I held off from formally inviting her to play the Desk for a couple of years because I knew this landmark was approaching, and this album was worth honoring in a major way. She rarely performs songs from Complex… exclusively, so she brought family and invited special guests to participate, including long-time collaborator J. Black and Tiny Desk alumnus Durand Bernarr.

2004 was a banner year for R&B albums, with debuts from John Legend, Ciara, and Fantasia. We also got the final album from Destiny’s Child and Usher‘s magnum opus, Confessions, among many others. Moses came at a time when love songs still reigned supreme and while she carried that tradition into Complex Simplicity, on the flip side, she also wrote about how she really felt, which makes this album unique. The balance of hard, soft and slick was a refreshing formula. Moses’ brazen approach to songwriting influenced a generation of women in R&B, like SZA, Summer Walker, and Ari Lennox. Behind the Desk, she ran through the best of Complex Simplicity, closing with the original and Kaytranada remix of “Be Your Girl.”

SET LIST

• “Caught Up”
• “Complex Simplicity”
• “You’ll Never Find (a Better Woman)”
• “You Better Tell Her”
• “No More Tears”
• “Take Me”
• “Backstroke”
• “Be Your Girl”

MUSICIANS

• Teedra Moses: vocals
• LeShawn Thomas: bass, musical direction
• Sharod Virtuoso: guitar
• Branden Akinyele: drums
• Brandon Butler: keys
• Durand Bernarr: background vocals, co-musical direction
• J. Black: background vocals
• Amanda Mikkel: background vocals

TINY DESK TEAM

• Producer: Bobby Carter
• Director/Editor: Kara Frame
• Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
• Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
• Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Sofia Seidel
• Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
• Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
• Photographer: Estefania Mitre
• Tiny Desk Copy Editor: Hazel Cills
• Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
• Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
• VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

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