The best coffee shop in the world.

2 new Jazz Adjacent mixes and how I am missing one hell of a show...

Aug 16, 2024

Hello again,

I love working in coffee shops. I mean, I am a multi hyphenated digital nomad and it is my office of choice, along with public libraries.

So I am coming to you from the best coffee shop in the world right now. Sitting on a comfy couch in a discret chilled rehearsal studio in London while a band rehearses for one of Gilles Peterson’s many festivals.

But this ain’t just your ordinary band.

This is the band of the iconic Dee Dee Bridgewater and this band is rehearsing songs that she recorded while was she was making me, some songs way before I was even a twinkle in my daddy’s eye, other songs my sister Tulani wasn’t even on this earth yet. Like how are we in 2024 and mom is gonna be singing some of these songs for the first time ever in her 50 years + artistic journey?

I will remember the night mom called me saying “Gilles wants me to headline ‘We Out Here’, I need your band.”

It was late at night and I was having a beautiful hang with Brendan Reilly (who along with the inimitable Vula Malinga said an immediate yes to join the band). We were very gay in the sleek Paris streets thanks to some delicious champagne.

“Can you see if they are free” she says to me filled with the excitement of a teenager who just got gifted tickets to her favorite’s artist show. I knew they may not be free. Because I had shows. But don’t we all want to make sure that our parents are taken care of and loved? I called my musical director Kwame Yeboah “…So ya’ll gonna do a gig with my mom. Put the dates on hold. I am calling the rest of the crew…”

Long story short mom is headlining We Out Here this coming Saturday alongside Floating Points, Sampha, Andre 3000, Yaya Bey, Asha Puthli, Corinne Bailey Rae, Brian Jackson, Kae Tempest…

So here I am in the best coffee shop in the world, live, in the flesh music, instead anonymous nondescript Lo-Fi beats playing the background. Knowing very well I am going to miss this momentous performance - because I still have my concerts (fortunately I know some dope musicians who could do the gigs that I have). As the band jumps from song to song, fine tuning hits and placements, I am getting goose bumps. I have been listening to this music all my life. These bass lines that were played by Stanley Clarke or Bryon Miller, funky staccato piano majestically performed by George Duke or Roland Hanna, flaring percussions by Sheila E… All of this music is speaking to me in a way that most music doesn’t.

As the tears well up in my eyes, enters mom. With her style and smile. Meeting these fantastic musicians for the 1st time. I can only imagine what it’s like performing these songs she recorded before dedicating her full musical life to the art of Black Classical music. She has been doing this for song long in a world where she had to overcome so many professional and personal obstacles in a time when artists had to define themselves under one flagship genre. I am seeing her take steps towards shedding those terms. She says she a Jazz singer. But when I started singing straight ahead Jazz she made sure I would not let people call me that. She has all of these funk/fusion/disco records and she is finally celebrating that part of her artistic life at 74. Singing songs she never performed live before. As she starts singing the self penned anthem “For The Girls”, I sit back with a huge grin knowing I am going to miss this milestone for the artist and the woman she is.

I made the setlist and this is the show opener… I will be on stage with her in spirt: “Maaahuuuum pleeeeease will you perform “Sweet Rain” and your version of "It’s The Falling In Love”, oh and you MUST do “Lonely Disco Dancer”!

This is absolutely the best coffee shop in the world.

Jazz Adjacent on East Village Radio

And it’s official! Jazz Adjacent has found a home in NYC. If you don’t know about the mythic East Village Radio and it’s re-birth that is alright but it’s an institution. A community radio.

And I have already done two episodes. You can listen back here.

“The mix ain’t perfect but the selection is fire!”

Next show will be September 2nd.

Nice Jazz Festival Aug 20th-23rd.

Doing something I have haven’t done before.

Next week I will be hosting the main stage of the Nice Jazz Festival.

Feeling like a huge karaoke is in order. But it must be popular cheesy songs. It’s a historic festival, the first edition was in 1948, and Nice is gorgeous August.