D'Angelo and the Vanguard
D'Angelo and the Vanguard (Nancy Bundt/RCA Records)
(Nancy Bundt/RCA Records )
D'Angelo's "Black Messiah" album is about as powerful as studio recordings get. A collection of vivid soul that touches on love and politics, it shocked the world when it finally arrived last December -- so many years after the singer's "Voodoo" that many thought it would never come.
To bring the music on the road, D'Angelo has turned to his band, the Vanguard: a murderer's row of jazz and R&B players who have been studio and stage secret weapons for years. Some had already joined him in the lengthy recording process for "Black Messiah" and in his previous backing band, the Testimony. Some are talented newcomers; others are influential veterans.
Recent incarnations of the Vanguard have also included John Blackwell on drums, Cleo "Pookie" Sample on keyboards and "Black Messiah" co-writer Kendra Foster on vocals: this is who D'Angelo's representatives say will be joining him now, including this Sunday's Portland show at the Crystal Ballroom. Let's get to know them.
D'Angelo
Instruments: Vocals, guitar, keyboards
Resume: Three of the most relevant R&B albums of his generation, one unforgettable unclothed music video, newfound guitar chops.
Keyon Harrold
Instrument: Trumpet
Resume: A protege of Wynton Marsalis, the New Yorker's toured with Cirque du Soleil and collaborated across the hip-hop world, from Jay Z to Mary J. Blige.
Kenneth Whalum III
Instrument: Tenor sax
Resume: A solo artist in his own right, the jazz player shares history with Jay Z, Maxwell and Joss Stone.
Rodrick Simmons
Instrument: Keyboards
Resume: With a gospel upbringing, Simmons has gone on to work with Raphael Saadiq and toured as Joss Stone's organist. Sensing a pattern?
Isaiah Sharkey
Instruments: Guitar, vocals
Resume: One of the group's younger members, the 20-something Sharkey has played with Vanguard drummer Chris Dave. His playing is already being transcribed and geeked over by would-be soul shredders.
Jesse Johnson
Instrument: Guitar
Resume: It's one of the Vanguard's longest. Johnson was an original member of Prince cohorts Morris Day and the Time, but went solo after "Purple Rain" and delved into soundtrack and production work. His most recent solo album, "Verbal Penetration," was released in 2009.
Pino Palladino
Instrument: Bass
Resume: This is a guy who's toured with the Who: stepping in for John Entwistle is the Thor's hammer of bass playing. Palladino is worthy. He's been an in-demand studio musician since the '80s, but was particularly crucial to the rise of neo soul, playing on Common's "Electric Circus," Erykah Badu's "Mamma's Gun" and, of course, D'Angelo's "Voodoo."
Chris "Daddy" Dave
Instrument: Drums
Resume: Keep in mind that Dave's walking in Questlove's "Black Messiah" shoes this summer, though that doesn't seem to faze him. Dave has released his own material, including a mixtape with the Drumhedz, was featured on Adele's diamond-selling "21" and was also part of the cast that contributed to Maxwell's "BLACKsummer'snight" along with Harold and Whalum. Dave's also one of the Vanguard's most active Instagram posters, offering an inside look at the group's handful of shows.
Joi Gilliam
Instrument: Vocals.
Resume: Gilliam rose through the '90s ranks alongside the Dungeon Family -- the collective including OutKast and Goodie Mobb -- and had a brief tenure in Lucy Pearl amidst a two-decade solo career.
Charles "Red" Middleton
Instrument: Vocals.
Resume: The New Brunswick native grew up singing in church with his cousin -- fellow Vanguard vocalist Jermaine Holmes.
Jermaine Holmes
Instrument: Vocals
Resume: Before the Vanguard, there was the Testimony, and Holmes was singing in it as D'Angelo began his live return in 2012 and 2013.
D'Angelo and the Vanguard, Crystal Ballroom, Sunday, 8:30 p.m. show. Tickets: Sold out, try Stubhub.
-- David Greenwald
[email protected]
503-294-7625; @davidegreenwald