Friday, September 20, 2013

Catching up and moving forwards--Josh Groban, Judith Hill, and amazing voices

I owe you:
That was one hectic week last week... I need an (empty) weekend to catch up.

But before I do... just realised I hadn't written about Josh Groban. Josh will be performing at Sacramento's Sleep Train Arena on Sunday, October 6th--part of his "In The Round" tour, supported by Judith Hill.

If you don't know Josh, he has one of the clearest, purest and strongest voices ever. It's like listening to liquid beauty. I've seen him draw people open-mouthed across Fry's shop floor, to stand, gaping, at a recording on a large-screen TV. And yet, he's tucked away in the "easy listening" section of the record store, and dragged out at Christmas to sing carols. If you keep your radio tuned to rock stations, you might not have heard him--or you may have dismissed him as yet-another-musak-maker when wandering the mall at the end of the year.

I first listened to Josh on a transatlantic flight, when skimming through the on-board selection of music. Then I had his album on repeat all the way from London to San Francisco.

Yes, a lot of his recordings are "easy". Yes, I think it's a waste that he doesn't do rock more often. But yes, he is absolutely worth listening to. And he does do more than "easy listening".

Try Brave, for example:



Now that's a voice...

Opening for Josh is Judith Hill. You may have seen and heard her on NBC's "The Voice", if you watch TV talent shows. Judith was one of Michael Jackson's backup singers, can be seen in this year's movie "20 Feet From Stardom". She's recording her first solo for release later this year. And she, too, has an amazing voice.

Judith grew up in a musical family, was immersed in it from birth: her father, Robert "Pee Wee" Hill a funk bassist who played with Sly Stone, Jimmy Smith and Bob Dylan among others, and her mother, Michiko Hill, keyboardist with Chaka Khan, Wayne Shorter, Billy Preston. And they also run a recording studio. Cool place to grow up! After spending time in the background of great stars such as Michael Jackson and Michel Polnareff, it's now Judith's turn to take the spotlight. I'm looking forwards to seeing her progress.

It's going to be a great show. Yes, I still have (big) reservations about the sound quality at Sleep Train, but this show will be on a round stage, in the center of the arena, and like with a basketball game, the acoustics should hopefully work perfectly with that arrangement. It's well worth expecting that the sound will be better this time, and buying a ticket.

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