[LiveWeek] Donny Hathaway Live!

This is one of the all-time classics of soul jazz. Originally released on the Atlantic label in 1972, it is a live performance of an absolutely amazing band playing their hearts out to a very appreciative and vocal audience in what looks like a club setting. I would love to have been there. The band is Donny Hathaway on vocals and piano, Mike Howard on rythym and lead guitar, Cornell Dupree on the other lead guitar, Willie Weeks on the bass, and a conga player who I think is named Earl DeRoy and a drummer whose name I have forgotten and is uncredited. This is too bad because whoever was part of this project deserves to be remembered.

Donny’s vocal style is classic with changes in intonation and timbre as richly textured as Stevie Wonder or Ray Charles. He tells you part of the story of the lyrics by how he sings a phrase. This guy seems a natural wonder but his skill was probably the result of a lot of work. One of the other reviewers compares his piano playing to Les McCann: maybe a little less harmonically advanced yet technically as good and perhaps even more soulful.

Cornel Dupree was one of the great sidemen of the period and later starred in Stuff which he co-led with Eric Gale. He shines on this album with solos on We’re Still Friends and Voices Inside (Everything is Everything). He has a classic Fender tone- sharp, piercing and bluesy. You can hear Albert Collins in his playing and the whole history of Texas guitar. You will notice that other reviewers mention how much Stevie Ray loved this album and band. Cornell is part of the reason why.
Willie Weeks the base player is solid thoroughout. He is outstandingly funky on Voices Inside (Everything is Everything).
Listen to the album sometime just focusing on his bass for a great lesson in the art of the groove. Heck, listen to this album sometime focusing on any of these guys for a lesson in how to play that instrument beautifully within a group context. Each of these guys knows how to make the others sound even better and they all blend into a beautiful overall group sound.
And then there is the audience. When Donny sings You’ve Got A Friend the audience takes up the chorus without even being asked and keeps it up throughout. Donny goes with it and basically sings around and with the audience. Very very cool. Very professional.

Tracklist:

01. What’s Goin’ On
02. The Ghetto
03. Hey Girl
04. You’ve Got A Friend
05. Little Ghetto Boy
06. We’re Still Friends
07. Jealous Guy
08. Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)

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