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The SoulMates and the Sound They Create

9/27/2011

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For most of my life I have been a great and devoted admirer of the music of YES and King Crimson, The Beatles and The Left Banke, The Four Tops and Stevie Wonder, Sibelius and Schubert, and the Holy Trinity of Jazz: Monk, Miles and Trane. But never-and I mean never-have I ever been moved like The SoulMates move me. The sound they create is emotional. It is creative. It is healing. And it makes you want to...SHOUT. Kick your heels up and SHOUT. Throw your hands up and SHOUT. Throw you head back and... you get the idea.

This Monday night was no exception. Even after Jaybird and Reinhardt had been in Japan touring with Gino Vanelli, even after the jet lag, even after missing two weeks of playing together, The SoulMates pick us up where they left us off; in the middle of musical paradise.

Everyone wants to join in. Paul Creaton joins Jarrod on vocals one night, the incomparable Mel Brown shows up to watch Reinhardt another Monday night, George Mitchell shows up to revel in Jaybird's own virtuosity or it could be like last night when Liv Warfield (http://www.livwarfieldmusic.com) joined Jarrod. Ms. Warfield has toured with Prince and is well aware of the power of soul. As she writes about Jarrod on her twitter entry: "Yaw betta wake up. He is the truth!"

As she sang with Jarrod last night, she admitted to the crowd "I have to just watch Jarrod. I am such a Jarrod groupie!" Jarrod responded, "I am your groupie--let's get it straight!" She sang for a bit with him and then sat on the floor behind Jarrod in what he called "the Gandhi pose."

Luminaries from the music world shoot by like comets to hear The SoulMates perform. However, there are some of us who are locked in orbit in this star system.

One of my favorites is Tim. He always shows up after the show is well underway and he drags up a chair to sit directly in front of the band or sometimes right in front of Reinhardt. Last night, he arrives and pulls his chair in front of Jarrod and reaches across the keyboard and raps knuckles with Jarrod in the middle of a Stevie Wonder tune. He takes the music seriously and he furrows his brow as he bobs and sways to the music; he has to. We all do. This is the effect of the sound that The SoulMates create.

There are so many of us who are caught in their gravity and we'll look at more later. But...

As Jaybird always says, “We’re gonna join you for some cocktails then be back after a break.”

And so will I…


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    Travis  studied music since he was 7 years old. He knows the real thing when he sees it and he had seen it for real on Monday nights, first at the Candlelight and then at Quimby's in Portland.

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