Nokturnal Escape has lost their home in the basement of Boomtown, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still performing soul fulfilling jazz, R&B and spoken-word poetry. They’ve been finding alternate locales in which to entertain, like Mongo’s Downtown (where they’ve traditionally held their after-parties), and the Karpeles Museum, where they last held From Billie to Badu this June, in honor of Black Music Month.
Love for the music and black culture always shines through, and it helps that they’re a talented group. The lighting might not always be great, and once in a while there’s bump in the production, but they make up for it with sheer musical chops and a passion for what they do. The show was as much a celebration of Black Music Month as it was of the power of black women in music.
One thing about the show that surprised me was that Billie Holiday and Erykah Badu were the only people it focused on. Because it was Billie TO Badu, I expected a progression of singers and a sampling of what came between Billie and Badu. Instead, the musical part of the show focused solely on these two mavens of song.
That being said, Joy Dennis (as Billie Holiday) with her beauty of bygone times and the gracefully statuesque yet earthy Akia McDaniels (as Erykah Badu) truly captured the spirit in song of these fine ladies.
It makes sense that the two should be paired, since the neo-soul music of Erykah Badu has often been compared to Billie Holiday. Badu, like Holiday, represents the forefront of strong female soul music. Both women have been brave, unafraid to use their music to speak of the troubles they’ve known through the emotion of their music.
There was as much theatre in the introductions to the songs as there was in the songs. Each song was prefaced by a bit of history and sometimes about what connected the two artists. The audience learned that when Billie Holiday sang ‘Moonlight in Vermont,’ it was not without a sense of irony, since she sang of a romance that would only be accessible to white people. It wasn’t in the program, but Joy Dennis, as Billie, sang the song Holiday is most known for—‘Strange Fruit.’
An artist accompanied the spoken word poetry, performed with soul by Bridgette Hogan as she painted to the poetry. Other performances included a monologue piece from Gene Holliman about meeting the great Billie Holiday when he was a boy and a dance performance by Kerri-Ann Prescod (representing Billie) and Henry Barton.
Between the two acts, patrons got the chance to peruse art on the walls, in particular the striking art of Denise Cooper. Out in the lobby, folks could buy CDs of other Nokturnal Escape artists (such as Tony White aka T-76) and clothing from Two and Fro Clothing. They also munched on cheesecake bites provided by Sweet Truth catering.
The heart and soul of Nockturnal Escape, Emanuel Washington, hinted that this production of From Billie to Badu was just a beginning. The hope is that the show can be done again, tweaked according to what worked and what didn’t and depending on what venues they’ll be playing in the future. Despite losing Boomtown as a venue, they’re definitely still quite a creative force here in Jacksonville.
I sat in the audience wishing there was more of a diverse audience to enjoy this superb showcase of music. Not because I felt uncomfortable in a room mostly full of black people, but because I felt that others were missing out on something beautiful, passionate and progressive. The music and the soul that comes with it can belong to all of us— black, white or otherwise, if we’ll just step out of our box and listen.
See the second performance of Billie to Badu this Saturday at the Karpeles.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
