Jazz legend Maceo Parker performs in Pretoria
Jazz legend Maceo Parker mesmerized the crowd when he performed at the Brooklyn Theater in Pretoria.
Alto-saxophonist, jazz legend Maceo Parker entertained jazz lovers at the Brooklyn Theatre on 7 May.
Maceo Parker is an American jazz, funk and soul saxophonist who has played and collaborated with Grammy award-winning South African born musician, Dave Matthews, the godfather of soul James Brown, crooner Ray Charles and music wiz Prince to mention a few.
He was brought to South Africa by the Cape Town Jazz Orchestra and the band, The Nu Notes, an ensemble of young musicians from the orchestra who opened the concert for him.
Maceo Parker perfected his sound as a sideman to James Brown. He joined the James Brown band in the 1960s and played with them for over a decade. His signature sound led, in part, to the band being recognised as early pioneers of modern day funk and hip-hop.
Constantly redefining his style, Parker has continued to live the spirit of funk. He joined George Clinton’s P-Funk ‘Mothership’, followed by stints with a number of other groups, becoming a golden thread that linked the style.
In 1990 Parker embarked on a solo career and while funk still defined his style, his music became richly nuanced with the sounds of jazz and soul. His first solo album Roots Revisited spent 10 weeks at the top of the Billboard Jazz Chart in 1990, followed by a number of successful albums. Albums like Funk Overload, Dial M-A-C-E-O and Made by Maceo cemented his catch phrase “2% Jazz, 98% Funky Stuff” with his audiences.To date, he has collaborated with Ray Charles, Ani Difranco, James Taylor, Prince, De La Soul, Dave Matthews Band and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
Parker was joined by the remarkable talent of Greg Boyer on trombone, Will Boulware on keys, Bruno Speight on guitar, Rodney ‘Skeet’ Curtis on bass, Tony Mason on drums and Martha High and Darlene Parker on vocals.
The concert started at 20:00 and ended late.
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