Kellylee Evans And La Santa Cecilia In Concert

Jazzy Sexy Funny

By Preston Sinclair

Courtesy CPS

     Kellylee Evans and La Santa Cecilia performed in a fantastic double bill concert at SUNY Potsdam Crane School Of Music in Potsdam New York, presented by Community Performance Series.  It was a crisp Fall Saturday evening outside but things were heating up inside the acoustically awesome Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall.

     Kellylee brought her own brand of jazz and Motown fusion to the stage first.  Her energy was infectious and she pulled out all the stops to engage the audience resulting in everyone quickly standing, dancing and singing along.

     Coincidentally, I had heard Kellylee's song 'My Name Is' on NPR radio on the way to work the week before. I was immediately lured in by her voice which reminded me of Nina Simone. The host mentioned that the Canadian singer song writer had won a 2011 Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year, yet at this time I didn't even know I was going to see her in concert.  Soon after, a friend e-mailed me and invited me to the concert as his plus-one to which I eagerly agreed.

     

If you think jazz is all cool, dark and smokey, I'm here to say 'Nuh-uh.'  I'm telling you, you haven't heard Nina Simone's 'Feeling Good' sung this way. This song is a classic and get's sampled a lot and has become very commercial lately, but Kellylee makes it all her own. Another great surprise was her cover of Eminem's 'Lose Yourself'.  She was also backed up by an excellent keyboardist, drummer and bass player from New York City who brought the music to life.
     After a twenty minute intermission to change out instruments, the energetic Grammy winning (2014 for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative) band La Santa Cecilia took over the stage. When lead singer La Marisoul bounced onto the stage wearing a yellow watermelon embroidered skirt we knew this was going to be fun.
     People who wanted to dance filled the aisles and the back row which allowed folks who wanted to sit, bounce in there seats and tap there toes to do so.  Regardless, the band's joyous sound and undeniable beat made it impossible to sit still for very long.

     La Santa Cecilia's love for all genres of music and pride in their heritage showed through on every song. Two standout songs were their heart felt cover of The Beatles 'Strawberry Fields', and the beautiful acoustic cover of the U2 song 'One'. Kudos also to the accordionist Jose 'Pepe' Carlos.  His soaring melodies brought a Latin European flavor to the songs which raised it to the class of World Music.
     La Santa Cecilia intelligently raised awareness of the immigration situation by sharing stories of their families, and their own frustrations with the system.  They brought the conversation to the table in a positive way with their music which engaged everyone.
     Alternative, independent and emerging are all words that describe all of the artists in this concert. It's impossible to divide Kellylee Evans and La Santa Cecilia into two different shows.  Each one complemented the other in a unique way that created an evening of entertainment that might not ever be duplicated.

Resource Links:

KellyleeEvans.com News, info, social media

LaSantaCecilia.com Concert info, social media, great Halloween splash page!

SUNYPotsdam More info about the concert and The Community Performance Series

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                Elle King

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