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 We went to the Blue Note to experience the voice of Lalah Hathaway, daughter of the soul legend
Donny Hathaway, who died in 1979, and of the classically trained voicalist
Eulaulah. She entered the soul and jazz scene in 1990 with a self-titled debut album. She has been stylistically said to be reminiscent of Patti Austin, but her voice has a deeper, smokier edge. She climbed to the top of the R&B charts with her debut hit "Heaven Knows", delivering a solid and varied album. After that she came out with "A Moment", a slightly lesser album, which didn't receive the same attention as her debut album. She records, works and tours with artists such as
Grover Washington, Wayman Tisdale, Al Jarreau, Chaka Khan,
David Sandborn, Dizzie Gillespie, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock,
Burt Bacharach, just to name a few. One of her finest recorded performances was released in 1999, an album of duets with pianist
Joe Sample. The album proved to be a great success, and her voice is highlighted in a splendid way, proving that apart from being a talented R&B singer, she is also an elegant jazz vocalist, with her own personal style. Lately she has worked with
Take 6, Marcus Miller and other artists, and she is working on her next album which will be released in Summer.
The Blue Note hall is totally crowded with people, there's a big audience this evening. The lights go dim in the hall, and
Chris Park (bass), Andrew Sherman (keyboards) and Todd Snare
(drums) appear on stage, followed by Lalah Hathaway, who welcomes
the Blue Note's audience. Her first song is " Smile",
 where we can hear a very strong presence of bass and drums. The second song is "Come Away With Me", where Lalah conveys great emotion and feeling to her audience. During this song she slips off her high-heeled sandals, remaining bare footed.
I liked this simple and intimate gesture. She entered in direct contact with the ground. I like to think that she wanted to ground herself with roots to the earth to convey to the milanese audience the profoundest part of her soul through her voice.
 Her voice is warm and elegant, and she conveys spontaneity and genuineness of intention and expression. The song is extracted from her album " The Song Lives On". Then we listen to "Flyin' Easy", where
Chris Parks plays a long solo on his bass. The next piece is her very interesting version of "Summertime", which is highly evocative.
She's undoubtedly a young and very talented artist, endowed by nature and genetics with an extraordinary and personal taste and style, and looks totally unaffected, totally natural. During "Summertime" we have the possibility to appreciate long sections of solos played by all the band members.
At a certain point, Lalah tries to involve the
Blue Note audience in singing along with her, organizing a chorus, but there don't seem to be many aspirant singers this evening…. So the experiment is quite short….
The songs she proposes after this are " One Day I'll Fly Away", that she sings with masterly skill, and "When Your Life Was Low" (another song from the album "The Song Lives On"). Even this time Lalah doesn't disappoint us: with her intense smoothness she manages to touch some emotional chords in every one of us.
 The next piece is a remake of a very famous Beatles' song: "Jealous Guy", recognizable from the very first notes, even though it has been arranged in a different way. The last song she offers us is a very well-known standard which has been sung by many great artists: "Fever". Her interpretation is in no way inferior to that of her famous predecessors. Lalah Hathaway and her band leave the stage, but they are soon called back by the audience for another song, so we have the opportunity to savour "Street Life".
 I have only one regretful remark about this wonderful evening: a remark that doesn't concern Lalah and her band, and neither
Blue Note. Before each
concert Blue Note explains to the audience how to behave during the concert.
This evening, I was surprised by the fact that some people were talking too loud at their tables, and this was greatly disturbing both to the rest of the audience that wanted to listen, and (I guess) to the artists on stage.
I'm sorry but I feel I have to say it...When an artist is expressing himself on a stage, he is revealing and offering to the audience his deep emotions and feelings. He is offering his whole life and his experiences, his own self to the audience. It is an act of love, both as far as music is concerned, and as far as the audience is concerned. And the least we can do is listen with great attention to what they are saying, and accept the gift which is being offered...allowing any possible catharsis to take place… it is a gift we owe ourselves and the artists on stage.
I am sure we shall hear again about Lalah Hathaway very soon, especially if she will be proposed projects perfectly suiting her voice and style. I have greatly appreciated this evening at the
Blue Note, it is truly a concert worth listening.
I'll surely go back to her when she comes back to Milano with her new
album...What I've heard makes me want more.
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