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| Sky Covington |
As a journalist who's reviewed jazz concerts in
Michigan for many years, I'm embarrassed to admit Saturday evening at the Dirty
Dog Jazz Café was the first time I've experienced the chanteuse Sky Covington live.
I've been familiar with her well-built reputation as a multi-skilled performer
skilled at Neo-Soul, R&B, and jazz. Her stagecraft, I once heard, is on par
with the greats Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan. For Covington's Dirty Dog
closing set, she sang jazz standards terrifically, backed by bassist Ruben
Stump, trumpeter John Douglas, drummer Jeff Kennedy, and pianist Alina Morr. The
hour set opened with the band sailing through Herbie Hancock's "Maiden
Voyage." On that classic, Douglas and Morr fed the audience the song changes
like appetizers, after which Covington sang "Satin Doll" with such warmth
and aplomb I wondered if Billie Holiday's spirit gave her a pep talk before the
performance. Like Holiday, Covington has a realness and warmth that immediately
draws you in and never lets you escape. "Don't Get Around Much Anymore,"
"Green Dolphin Street," and "Afro Blue" were the other standards
she and her band repurposed. Covington embodies essential qualities too many
jazz vocalists lack. For example, she shared the spotlight with her band and didn't
spend the lion's share of the set scatting. The audience experienced the breadth
and magnificence of her voice, which covered them like an expensive quilt. The set
closer, "Afro Blue," was the best part of the set. She had the
audience jot down a positive aphorism on a paper she passed out. After she
collected them, she mixed them with the lyrics of "Afro Blue." Before
the song ended, she walked through the audience, touching people on the
shoulder like a Goddess blessing them. In the 15 years, I've caught concerts at
the Dirty Dog, that was the first time I experienced that kind of audience
participation. It was overkill because Covington had already blessed the
audience with her voice for a solid hour.
