listening to Buckshot Lefonque
October 7, 2006Over a decade ago, I heard Another Day by an unnamed singer, probably on a jazz radio station. But what struck me most was the amazing soprano sax soaring around the vocals, doing somersaults and exuberantly playful meanderings against the rather depressing lyrics. I liked the song so much I recorded it on cassette, and listened to it again yesterday.
It took some time to find online, but it turned out to be Buckshot Lefonque, a group founded by none other than Branford Marsalis, which certainly explains the sax. The singer was Frank McComb, whose voice is compared to that of Donny Hathaway, a favorite of mine.
As Marsalis explains, Buckshot Lefonque defies categorizing, even though some say it’s a combination of jazz and hip hop.
