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Saxman Boney James saves his best for last, and that's too bad
Sunday, August 24, 2008
KETTERING — How about a little hot, steamy sax to liven up your Saturday night?
That's what a near full house at Kettering's Fraze Pavilion got on Saturday, Aug. 23, as they listened to Boney James perform on a hot night made more steamy by his smooth sounds. His opening act, singer/guitarist Jonathan Butler, was just as smooth, and therein was a bit of a problem. These are both fantastic musicians who couldn't translate their magnificence into the kind of sustained power that keeps a show hopping.
Let's start with Butler. He has a voice of sustained clarity few vocalists can match. His 75-minute set was a mix of smooth jazz, music tinged with the sounds of his native South Africa, even a cover. The one song that got the crowd moving — "Rio" — was the only one that injected some much-needed funk into the night. The one song that left the crowd awed — "No woman, No Cry" — is the most hauntingly beautiful song few have ever heard, and was worth the price of admission alone.
His opening number, "Fire and Rain," was a terrific and original cover, and his "Sarah Sarah" a crowd favorite (he's performed that at Fraze before.) In an interesting paternalistic touch, he brought out his two daughters as his background singers. All they proved is that they have a long way to go to match their old man's chops.
So after Butler's set, the crowd was primed for James, one of the premier sax players in the country today (forget about the smooth jazz label; this guy can flat out blow). He opened with, "Into the Blue," a tune that showed his band was as tight as a cap on an unopened jar. But the power was still missing. He ripped through songs like "All Night Long," "Stone Grove," "Metropolis" and a nice medley that included an outstanding "Creepin."
But it took until the last two songs of the nearly 90-minute set — "See What I'm Saying" and "Grazin' " — before the music got juiced. James went into the crowd, dancing while he played, and had the crowd spontaneously on its feet. The showman had finally arrived, but it was a bit late.
It was a show with the smoothness of a Billy Dee Williams, but simply lacked raw power or sustained excitement.
