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Tia Brazda’s first show was
sold out to the walls with a crowd forced to sit on old wooden chairs from the
Marquis de Sade collection. But the charming Brazda
made the pain in the ass worth it. Her just right amount of vocal flexibility was
wrapped in coquettish velvet and sass — she sounded a bit like Billie Holiday,
especially on her no frills guitar and voice take on “Summertime.”
Her band was an assembled group of swingin’
crackerjacks including Rochester based drummer, Sean Jefferson. Brazda’s set was pure delight as her band dialed into groovy
jazz with authentic swing.
Nikki Hill and her band brought some surly and savage
rock ‘n’ roll to the Jazz Street Stage in front of thousands hungry for just
that right surly and savage rock ‘n’ roll. Now with Hill’s voice — a snarling blend
of Barbara Pittman, Wanda Jackson, and Ruth Brown — and her powerhouse band,
the scene was positively electric. The band has plugged in another guitarist in
addition to the incredible Matt HiIl, and ultimately
it sounded a lot like the Stones and left the crowd howling in disbelief.
With Nikki Hill ringing in my head, I ventured to the Big
Tent to witness guitarist Johannes Linstead tame the crowd with his acoustic-based world music. This time the people were
sitting on chairs that, unlike the Montage’s equipment, didn’t offer permanent
ass damage. Linstead’s playing was slick and percussive
and sexy, but sound-wise, the guitars sounded plastic and kind of like toys.
The grand dame of the night was Danielle Ponder and her
band The Tomorrow People. The Fusion tent was the scene of
R&B salvation and sonic redemption as Ponder and TTP threatened to crack
the sky. If there is a God, he heard it all right. The sweet spot for me was
standing on East Avenue between Chestnut and Gibbs where the sound
between Nikki Hill’s second set and Ponder’s
comingled in a beautiful, emotional explosion of powerful black women that
virtually reduced me to powder. I left with my head, my ears, my heart ringing.
I’ve got nothing left …
This article appears in Jun 29 – Jul 5, 2016.
Told ya! Tia Brazda is a talant to keep an eye on!