Live Review: Maceo Parker: A Tribute To Ray Charles

If not for his careful ambling on stage from the wings, we would forget how old Maceo Parker really is. He turned 75 this year, but is still a powerhouse when it comes to channelling the vision and heart of his idol: the late Ray Charles. Best known among jazz circles and enthusiasts as a funk, soul and jazz saxophonist who collaborated with James Brown in the 1960s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s, Parker has returned to the roots of his inspiration by rallying up the reunion of Charles' original 17-member band and the female vocal back-up singers and more recently released Roots & Grooves, a tribute album to Charles recorded with WDR Big Band.

Tonight, however, Parker is amply backed up by Melbourne's very own The Meltdown Big Band under the helm of conductor Steve Sigmund, an affable compere whose broad American accent and comedic foil harks back to the golden era of big bands. 

With his sunglasses, colourful coat and ever-swaying posture, Parker is greeted by standing ovations with a drummed-up introduction by a voiceover. A longtime wishlist guest by Melbourne International Jazz Festival Artistic Director, Michael Tortoni, the packed auditorium certainly attests to this city's fondness of both Parker and the legacy of Charles.  

A Fool For You and the stellar favourite Georgia On My Mind stick very close to Charles' original arrangement and vocals, with Parker doing a very close imitation of the legend. But as the band prepares to play Hallelujah I Love Her So, Sigmund informs the audience that Parker's vision for this tribute is to sing Charles' hits but with his own interpretation over the original arrangement and, with that, Sigmund wasn't going to let him get away without playing his signature instrument. The spirited bursts of sax notes strip decades off the image of the man we see on stage. The band aptly contrasts this with another heart-aching favourite from Charles' repertoire, You Don't Know Me. For those who only knew the Jann Arden version, Parker's soulful vocals seem to run away from the rhythm of the instruments, yet it all still fits and results in a more faithful nod to Charles' free-wheeling style

Melburnians swell with pride at each instrumental introduction, solo and bridge by a member of The Meltdown Big Band - a band described by Sigmund as "world-class".

Whether staged or accidental, the hilarious jibe where Parker is so eager to "bring out the girls!" that he nearly skips a track and prompts an anxious Sigmund to hurriedly correct him is a golden moment to treasure. It doesn't help that the track he nearly passea over is the somber blues number That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day). The Raelettes, as the effeminate moniker suggests, is the all-female group who were established by Charles specifically to provide backing vocals to his music, with each member also featuring a number on her own or in accompaniment with Charles. On this tour, they are represented by Katrina Harper, Karen Evans, and Elaine Woodard. Of their solos, Evans particularly captivates with the heart-rending Shadows Of My Mind. Thankfully, the trio stay around to add powerhouse oomph to Unchain My Heart and Hit The Road Jack.

Parker still manages to hold the emotional strings of the evening by closing out with I Can't Stop Loving You and I Believe To My Soul, the latter with the meaningful verse, "One of these days and it won't be long/You're gonna look for me and I'll be gone".