I’m off the ship and home from Jam Cruise, but my mind is still wrapping itself around all that I saw and heard on board. Soulive’s theatre set was one of my favorites of the whole week. The three-piece consists of brothers Alan and Neal Evans on drums and keys respectively and Eric Krasno on guitar. It’s all instrumental, and it’s some of the smoothest and funkiest sounding soul and jazz I’ve ever heard.
Soulive put out an album of Beatles covers in 2010, and I was delighted that they incorporated many of those into their set. They did “Come Together” and “Eleanor Rigby” brilliantly…and played a powerful, building version of “I Want You” with “Tomorrow Never Knows” stuck in the middle of it. There was something very classy about their renditions…I think any Beatles fan would’ve been proud.
What struck me about this music was that I was pulled in and captivated by the songs even with no lyrics to grab me. And usually with any instrumental music, I expect to be dancing like crazy, but this was something else…a different kind of groovy that I really enjoyed just sitting and watching. My attention was held by the true talent and soul dripping from every note.
