by S. Rotan Hale
Anyone who has experienced (and it is an experience) the movie ‘Ray’ and how actor Jamie Fox totally captured the essence and spirit of the great Ray Charles, can attest to Fox’s superior portrayal of the blind maestro who died in 2004.
However, sitting in the Jefferson Center and listening to Maceo Parker recreate the magic that was Ray Charles, was something truly spectacular.
With an uncanny resemblance, Maceo’s voice seized that bold and sultry, raspy tone that was Charles’ signature sound. It was that very sound that serenaded the packed performance hall on this stellar tribute to one of the giants of R&B.
Maceo, rose to prominence as the sax-man James Brown routinely called on during his reign as the ‘King of Funky-soul’ music. His years with Brown catapulted his career to great heights.
The performance, held Wednesday, February 2, was complete with the original 17-piece Ray Charles Orchestra, directed by Steve Sigmund.
The orchestra opened with an up tempo rendition of Duke Ellington’s ‘I’m going Fish’in’ –written especially for the Ray Charles Orchestra. They followed with ‘One Mint Julep,’ a tune Quincy Jones arranged for the orchestra that featured Earnest Vantrese who, as the band’s longest alumnist, had been with the group since 1974.
Maceo strolled out on stage in dark glasses, as Ray customarily would have done, and slipped into ‘Let the Good Times Roll’ by Louis Jordan and followed with ‘I’m Busted.’
The set (without intermission) covered many tunes by various artist that many credit Charles for lifting to greater popularity as ‘Georgia On My Mind’ written by the team of Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell.
Further authenticating the show were 3 sassy sisters–Katrina Harper, Karen Evans and Elaine Woodard as Raelettes, that backed Maceo on such favorites as ‘Unchain My Heart,’ ‘People will Say we’re in Love,’ ‘I Can’t Stop Lov’in You,’ (by Don Gibson) and Percy Mayfield’s ‘Hit the Road Jack,’ songs recognized as some of Ray’s quintessential hits. The group also raised the roof on Charles’ own What’d I Say.
Known as a saxophone virtuoso, Maceo only played a couple of tunes on his horn as the show was all about his focus on Charles and the influence the icon had on his career.
The performance couldn’t have been more satisfying for those die-hard Ray Charles enthusiasts in the crowd, furthermore one could only believe it as a stunning tribute that Ray himself would be proud of.
